mobileYouth®

The Pepsi Generation
In 1963, agency BBDO introduced a radically new concept to the field of youth marketing – lifestyle. The slogan “Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi Generation” not only struck a resonant chord with the increasingly socially mobile and affluent youth demographic of the early 1960s but also, through its ensuing success, identified that marketing to youth was no longer about identifying the features but by drawing the line of relevance from the brand to the consumers’ lifestyles attitudes.

Pepsi emerged as an iconic 60s youth brand thanks mainly to the trailblazing work of BBDO. It identified the need across the generation to connect in a communal identity which fashion an emerging consciousness of “youth” but also a share belonging to a value system that contravened the mainstream adult opinion of the day.

50 Years On..
And in almost perfect timing, the mastermind of the Pepsi Generation Alan Pottasch passed away in 2007, a year remembered for the rise of social networks, declining TV audiences amongst youth and the buzzword “engagement” on the lips of all agencies and planners.

Economically, the market has changed significantly since the Pepsi Generation. In the 1960s, few companies could afford to play the mass market. With few available localized marketing channels available, only those that could bankroll nationwide TV and print campaigns could reach the consciousness of the young consumer. 50 years on, low barriers to entry and relatively cheap distribution channels have opened up media to a wider set of potential players. Pepsi hit the note, but was ultimately a best compromise for the individual consumer in the form of “one-size-fits-all”. Given the choice, they would always choose something more relevant to their individual lifestyle.

“Small is the New Big”
In the post Pottach era our industry is shaped by the works of opinion formers such as Seth Godin and Chris Anderson. Godin’s “Small is the New Big” points to the illusion that “big” is in the interest of the consumer. “Small”, writes Godin “means you can tell the truth… Small means you can answer email from your customers”. When the mobileYouth report identifies only 27% of young customers “trust” their mobile operators, transparency and customer service are key tools that need greater attention within the mass market tech brands.

Godin also highlights the work of Peter Van Stolk, ex CEO of Jones Soda. “Your not listening to consumers when you tell then ‘You need me’” said Stolk in a FastCompany interview. One of Stolk’s most well known off-the-wall ideas includes the launch of his “Turkey and Cranberry” flavored Soda. “The world doesn’t need another soda”, remarked Stolk “Coke and Pepsi dominate the soda market. But we ‘own’ the meat-flavored drink market”.

Relevance through identifying the increasingly smaller niche is key to Jones’s strategy, and which young consumer wouldn’t identify with the anarchic undertones of this young upstart? As one observer in Capital Press put it “If you’re playing David in an industry full of Goliaths, it pays to remember that even a small stone can be effective if slung correctly.”

Why Stay Small?
Where being “big” once meant economies of scale it now impinges the creativity and human touch required to forge relationships with young consumers. When marketers complain of this generation’s cynicism, they are merely reflecting their own brand’s inability to create relevance. A great marketing campaign will do little to mask the inefficiencies of a poorly managed customer service strategy. Lipstick on a pig as they say.

Following on from Anderson’s “Long Tail” we find ourselves in a market where the main competitive differentiator between companies is not the economies of scale and scope but the ability to identify the smallest possible niches and supply profitably to that segment.

Being “big” once meant the collective buying power required to bargain with the advertising networks. Small now means the creativity to explore new methods in reaching out to young consumers. When youth cinema audiences are in sharp decline, the studios are stuck for ideas to reverse the trend because the need to create economies of scale to offset the capital risk in movie production has sidelined the creativity required to deal with such problems. In outfits that are less restricted in their approach, the results are beginning to bear. New Line Cinema is tapping into the creativity of their audience to promote their new film “Take the Lead” starring Antonio Banderas as a professional dancer who volunteers to teach NYC school kids all the moves.

As Paul McEnany writer for the “Beyond Madison Avenue and The Madison Avenue Journal” points out. “The “Take the Lead” website includes a do-it-yourself music video maker. The viewer gets to select from a variety of images and sound styles and create their own movie trailer. They can enter it to win free stuff – like iPods. More importantly to the filmmakers – viewers can email their digital “mash-up” to friends to show off their emerging skills a music video auteur. Viral marketing at work.”

Small in Mobile
At the top end of the mobile industry, the mobile operators still subscribe to the concept of their being a “Pepsi Generation”. Youth, they believe, are keen to identify with the collective global diaspora that upholds stars such as David Beckham, Paris Hilton and Madonna. As the distribution channels open up, brands and new market entrants such as Heyah!, Blyk, Helio, suppliers of Bollywood content and the local MTV derivatives are able to reach young consumers without the blessing of the mainstream networks thus slowly chipping away at the head of the market providing youth with increasingly niched and relevant offerings.

Staying small means constantly tasking your marketing and product development to identify increasingly targeted niches and subdividing the brand to create greater relevance. It means drawing a line through marketing teams and established operations to create unique cultures that understand their respective consumers as opposed to being everything to everybody. The MVNO bandwaggon lost its wheels when Disney Mobile pulled the plug. For many operators this signalled that the operational cost of such lifestyle offerings were higher than the potential rewards from such a small market.

The concept however has not laid down quietly, it’s time to revisit. Pepsi Generation strategies will create little consumer loyalty amongst young consumers when they expect highly targeted offerings outside of technology.

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