With a new report stating that one in five of the UK’s young adults is out of work, it’s fair to say that the job market is a difficult world for some. Because of this, brands need to pay close attention to this demographic, as research highlights that young consumers are responding to economic hardship in different ways.

Young people are showing diverse attitudes towards the economy, and brands aspiring to connect with 18-to 24-year-olds must now tailor their offer to 5 groups, according to an agency. 

The research surveyed 1,000 18 to 24-year olds, calling the group the ‘Con-Demmed Youth’, a clever play on words between the Conservative and Lib Dem government they exist under. The 5 groups are:

• Go Getters – 23% of the sample, classed as the most ambitious and socially aware people
• Cotton Wool Kids – financially protected young adults who make up 23% of this sample
• Passive Massive 22% of the sample, the laissez-faire segment
• Minimum Rage group – 17% fall into this segment, the most likely to be unhappy and lacking in ambition
• Shundergrads – the 15% who are very savvy and see little need for a university degree.

The Go Getters are perhaps where some brands should take note. Mostly female, this group are academically successful, socially aware and with high career goals. Although not particularly materialistic and happy to mix designer and high street brands, they’re likely to spend money on some premium brands and eating out.

On the other end of the scale, the Passive Massive group shows little discrimination and lacks opinions on brands, and has little interest in the state of the economy. Unsurprisingly this is where the highest level of unemployment sits, with 55% saying a career is not necessary for their happiness.

The report makes for interesting reading. Take a look at the five groups that make up the ‘Con-Demmed Youth’ study and their favoured brands. Which group affects your brand? Tweet us @LondonCIM and let us know.

The job market is a cautious place for some at the moment. So when we asked London members for their opinions on their career options and goals for 2012, it was great to see there’s still plenty of optimism and motivation in our region.

Do you plan to study for a qualification in 2012?

41% of those who answered said yes they plan to study for a qualification in 2012

What are your career goals for 2012?

To be a real professional in Marketing and to reach the highest level.
Judeline Edmond, Creole Travel Services

Progress within the role I currently have (Marketing Manager) by taking on new projects.
Rebecca Hearn, Reed Exhibitions

1) Secure a new role (I currently have a temporary promotion while my Manager is on maternity leave) 2) Complete first year of my MSc (gaining the certificate in Digital Marketing Communications) 3) Submit my first CPD record card towards chartered marketer status  4) Start second year of my MSc.
Sarah Green, Promotions Manager

Hopefully do well in the qualification, and then perhaps move to a role within my company that has a higher level of marketing strategy, etc.
Francesca Poglia, White Hat Media

Continue as global head of marketing for the division I work for and European head of marketing for our business as a whole. Embed greater depth of metrics to further validate the business impact of our activities; cut out irrelevant / non-performing spend; continue to drive increased brand awareness in Europe; focus more on the US and Asia.
Anouschka Elliott, RBC Capital Markets

Where do you see yourself in the next six and twelve months?

Still successfully running my own business.
Deborah Rowe, Sheba Marketing Ltd

Busy training pre Olympics and then promoting training for Hospitality and Venues.
Linda Ransome, Green Parasol Trainer

In the next 6 months, I wish I would have increased my responsibilities and have passed 2 modules for the Diploma in Digital Marketing.  In the next 12 months, I wish I would have either moved to a new position with new challenges or eventually getting ready to start as an independent Consultant. In 2012, I am hoping to be able to attend more CIM and networking events which I hope will help me as a marketer.  
M A Joaille, ColArt

If there’s a change that you’re planning to make in 2012 that will raise your game as a marketer, please tell us

I started an MSc in 2011 so the main thing is continuing with that. I also intend to start attending CIM groups and events in London and use Linked In more effectively.   
Sarah Green, Promotions Manager

Continually keeping up-to-date with social media!    
Tim Martin, Marketing Growth

I intend to focus more in digital marketing.  
Maria Cenalmor, East London Volunteer

I’m always looking for ways to raise my game! As one of a few marketers (or maybe the only) who is also a Chartered Financial Analyst, focusing more on combining my two disciplines is going to be key in 2012 and beyond. Particularly in my industry.    
Anouschka Elliott, RBC Capital Markets

Can you feel the love?

I’ve been feeling a lot of love just lately – for some of the fantastic ‘social marketing’ being accomplished in both the public and private sectors.

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR to its friends, has been the subject of two recent CIM conferences, the first put together by the Finance Market Interest Group was quickly followed by the Good Marketing Conference staged jointly by the Social Marketing Market Interest Group and the East of England Region. See, there’s even love between the volunteer teams of the Institute.

At both events it was clear that at a corporate level sustainability was a major focus for many companies and organisations.  Marks and Spencer, Unilever, RSA, Lloyds Bank and Speedy Hire were all promoting the benefits to society of a green approach to business – the other driver of course was profitability, as building energy saving efficiencies into the supply chain is an obvious win win.

One of the highlights of the Good Marketing Conference was a presentation by Depaul UK a London based charity working with young homeless people. Their brilliant iHobo App campaign, costing a mere £6,000, took a ground breaking and award winning approach to raising awareness and generating donor income,  particularly among young people.  By downloading the App you carry a homeless young person around on your phone for three days over which time you have to look after him to help him get off the street. If you ignore him his situation deteriorates quickly. At the end of the three days you are prompted to make a donation. If you’d like to know more take a look here.

Something else you might like to look at is Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan. Also at the Good Marketing Conference Matthew Neilson from Unilever shared their vision for a better world and to spread the word Unilever has now published a guide to the Five Levers for Change.

There’s also some great work on health and obesity. The Fit for Life campaign, for example, is still going strong despite the cuts to marketing budgets introduced by the coalition government. However, I couldn’t help thinking that there was something missing from all this good stuff. I believe youth unemployment is the root of many evils so couldn’t leading CSR advocates put some of their energy into creating new job opportunities for young people too? Just a thought.

Elections are still a top focus
November will see the elections for the Board of Trustees (BoT) and we’re encouraging you to get involved and vote for the candidate who you think fits the bill. The deadline for voting is 16 December 2011.

What’s the role of the Board of Trustees?
The BoT is the body that oversees the operations and future direction of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. That means they have input into every aspect of your membership; from research and facilities, to events and qualifications. So it’s important that you know what their plans are.

Mocky Khan, Chair of the Greater London Region is running for the election this year.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to a meeting of the London region of the CIM, sharing the platform with Anthony Thomson, chairman of Metro Bank.

My theme for the evening was marketing’s readiness to lead change and develop powerful customer experiences. After 8 years as CMO of Hilton International, striving to transform that great brand’s customer experience on a global basis, I had a few ideas I was keen to share.

The challenge facing just about any business today is leading and managing change in order to improve competitive performance.  Managing change is a complex and costly field.  It’s fraught with pitfalls and success generally requires specialist knowledge and experience.

Yet despite this, how many businesses hire specialist managers or external support with a proven track record of delivering successful change programmes? In my experience very few, which is perhaps why so many change initiatives falter. The pattern of “launch it – neglect it – re-launch it” is a familiar one yet CEOs, COOs and CMOs continue to make the same mistakes.

When it comes to brand and customer experience, marketing should surely be the catalyst for major internal change…change that transforms what customers receive…change powerful enough to influence customer buying decisions. Marketing should be the glue that holds everything together, harnessing the energy and talent of all key functions to achieve the desired outcome.

The question is, are marketing departments and CMOs, sufficiently equipped and influential to lead the change that’s required….to secure the necessary investment…to persuade and unify senior colleagues and inspire people behind a shared vision?

A recent CIM survey suggests that in far too many cases the answer is NO, a conclusion reinforced by continuing debate about the lack of robust financial, operational and broad-based commercial skills that are essential for anyone wishing to influence business strategy and shape customer experience.

In my experience of leading and managing change across organisations like Hilton, Stakis Group and ScotRail and with clients at ABCG, the most common barriers to successful change continue to be:

• Failing to identify all costs and plan adequate investment  2-3 years ahead
• Failing  to anticipate & plan for the operational complexity of change and resources required
• Failure to deliver sustained programmes of engagement and communicate over time
• Failure to identify & remove the infrastructure that stifles change & rewards ‘old’ behaviour.

These prickly issues are at the heart of managing change and shaping competitive strategy.  In my view, these are issues with which CMOs and aspiring marketing leaders must be conversant if we’re to play the leadership role our chosen discipline demands.  So may I humbly suggest that it’s time to dig into the nuts & bolts of what really makes out businesses run, to build our experience and with it our credibility and demand to be heard at the most senior levels.  We owe it to our customers.

Mike Ashton’s website is http://www.abcg.co.uk/

Want to find out if you’ve got what it takes when the heat is on, the chips are down and you only have a matter of hours to pull off the pitch of your career?

If you’re serious about a career in marketing then you seriously need to take part in this unique opportunity.

Working in a team, developing a marketing strategy, handling budgets and presentation skills will all be required for you to enter The Pitch.

The Pitch heats will take place at three venues across England in November 2011 and the deadline for entries is 31 October 2011.

Find out more at www.cim.co.uk/thepitch or contact Rachel Murray.

Join 21 heavyweight email marketers including: Philips, Standard Life, Tripadvisor, KLM, Which?, The Carphone Warehouse, Confused.com, NSPCC, Links of London, The Times and many more on 15th November as they reveal how they are maximising their ROI by increasing their open rates with relevant, engaging and behaviour-targeted emails.

CIM members receive A £150 – £418 discount. Just quote ‘CIM’ under ID Code online.

View the Conference programme.
Download the conference brochure.

Whilst business today  is being implemented from one, three and five year business plans in accordance with rapid market changes it is time to give vital consideration to the next 10 years and the strategic plan. The shift of market focus is more than apparent in industries today but with media related ones more needs to be done in order to build critical bridges with telecoms companies and channels.

Manufacturers of entertainment products need to be aware that the most significant challenges are coming and if unmanaged the possibility of loss of control of the business will be through the channels that supply and deliver ‘purchase to consumers’. Such distribution channels will be critical for the survival of the music industry within the coming years and it will be highly appropriate for such companies to have a slice or at least an affiliation/sponsorship agreement of this sector. This will inevitably save organisations form being taken over and controlled but a somewhat silent competitor ahead.

An awful lot of focus is spent on product, place and promotion and rightly so but to the senior executives and director a clear reaction is needed to acknowledge the shape of the things to come. The processes, management and strategic positioning of the new communication corporate could allow them to gain significant competitive advantage. Short term focus has gained generous business results but this is not sustainable. The cold call is starting to ring loud from organisations outside of the competitor thinking box.

Telecomms companies will see that they control the key channel that media companies and customers are using. Digital is here and growing faster ever day and the physical elements are in their end of product lifecycle. Digital provides commercial elements and tactics to telecomms companies that will be trying to make robust strong decisions and plans in business to ensure they are getting the best ‘profits and opportunities’ out of these ever reliant markets.
The genius about all of it is (from the telecoms side) is that it will happen it is just a matter of timing. A guaranteed pay day ahead it seems? So, what should be done now? If music companies could buy/invest into a telecoms giant then that would be an incredibly smart move for a sustainable business model. However as with most acquisitions and mergers there will be regulatory aspects that would need consideration (and probably a lot more than has already been given prior thought to at this time).

Getting ahead of the pack has always been the game in the business world but sometimes the curve ball up ahead is always the one to be most concerned about. Music and entertainment products are a desire, a want. Communications (Business and personal) are an absolute need. Therefore in many aspects the ‘Comms’ model has already won the race and it will be up to music and media related  companies to solve how much business they want to retain for their organisation or face the inevitable change of the new super race of telecoms breed that will be able to dictate critical decisions within the market.  What is most definitely clear, is that a strategic plan and action is needed in order to limit damage in the years to come.
Kevin Tewis MCIM Chartered Marketer

Whether you want to take a step towards a new career, increase your scope and experience or whether you want to understand the buzz words and know how to turn them into marketing strategies, the bottom line is you need to be informed about digital marketing and its tools. Gaining an understanding of what digital marketing is and how to handle successful digital media campaigns will bring recognition and rewards to you and your company, these short courses also provide Chartered Marketer CPD points. The Student Support Group (SSG) is an accredited study centre in your local area.

Download the factsheet to find out full details.

To find out more about the courses available and to find the study centres closest to you visit www.camfoundation.com/study_centres

Benefits of a digital qualification

The Diploma in Digital Marketing (DDM), Diploma in Mobile Marketing, Diploma in Digital Marketing and Diploma in Managing Digital Media (from the CAM Foundation, awarded by The Chartered Institute of Marketing), will give you specialist knowledge to understand and manage this area with confidence.

You and your employer will benefit from:

• In depth knowledge of all the key elements needed for planning and executing integrated campaigns
• Far greater breadth of knowledge and competence than work experience alone can ever provide
• Up to date, relevant knowledge of both the theory and reality of present and future digital marketing communication practice

Next available course – 1 October

Each course consists of three small units, and most CIM students will be exempted from at least one. Please contact caroline@studentsupportgroup.co.uk for further details, SSG’s next DDM course starts on 1 October 2011.

Prize Draw – £100 discount on Digital Essentails course

For studying members, The Student Support Group (SSG) offers tailored support services to help with all your studying needs. For London members this month, they’re offering you a chance to win a £100 discount off the SSG Digital Marketing Essentials course, which runs on 1 and 22 October in London.

Just answer a few questions, and we’ll enter you into the prize draw. Deadline for entries is 23 September 2011.

The LionHeart Challenge is a Nationwide Enterprise Programme, acclaimed by Sir Howard Davies MBE and Director of The London School of Economics & Political Science. And Phil Preston, GLR Regional Director; Bernie Emery, Central London Team Leader; and John Tooze, President of the Croydon and South London team were asked to be part of the Expert Help Panel at the regional finals last week.
The Challenge involves school students taking part in a practical business challenge, overseen by expert marketers and business coaches.  It aims to inspire soon-to-be school leavers to become tomorrow’s business people.

During the last few years the Challenge has been delivered to over 250,000 young people across every region of England. It was great for the Institute’s Greater London Region to be involved with this event, which was set at the prestigious Harrow School which Winston Churchill once attended.

It was fantastic to see the pupils motivated by their case study and the ideas they presented were well thought out. There are many budding business minds out there.