New mobileyouth video today. I decided to head up to London’s South Bank and talk to some skate dudes about mobile phone use to show how easy it is to start building a dialogue with young customers in their universe as opposed to stuffing them in sterile focus groups.
As a youth I fell in love with Skateboarding. It wasn’t just about shoving a deck round industrial estates, car parks and shopping centres but a music scene, fashion and a way of life with its own peer group heroes. Skateboarding’s enduring popularity since the late 70s epitomizes why some youth brands and pastimes fade out and some stay for the course; Skateboarding is a platform for behavior, for the exchange of Social Currency, for individuals to become heroes, for followers to belong to a group. The brands that led and supported the movement, Vans, Jones Soda, Red Bull are the brands that enjoy a Beachhead of support.
Here’s some questions to think about to go with the video:
* What movement are you supporting?
* How are you sourcing your insights – from focus groups or sending your team out there to talk to your customers?
* How much dialogue do you really have?
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New mobileYouth on the street video – Skateboarders part 1 http://bitly.com/UcwZr
I gave up on focus groups loooong ago; you can get more GENUINE feedback with a Flip cam in the hands of a youth P2P than pricey probing any ol’ time. At Shaping Youth kids earn ’service credits’ for their volunteer time with our 501c3 and it informs my thinking/reporting MUCH more than any stilted ‘group think’ or survey use, even with anonymity in play. I just did a similar poll in Santa Cruz with the surf scene, ironically, but it was about ‘green teens’ and the ‘natural’ beauty biz. Thanks for this, guys. –Amy
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http://www.ShapingYouth.org
It turned out pretty sweet looking. Good luck with the world tour looking forward to the TYO footage!