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.

John Lewis is using ‘Made in UK’ on over 4,000 products as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. So I’d like to know if London members think that ‘Made In’ is relevant to today’s consumers.

My opinion is that it works for certain countries. Switzerland is synonymous with fine timepieces, Germany highly regarded for precision machinery, Italy is the ultimate for gold jewellery, and France is associated with perfumes and luxury accessories.

What does Made In mean?
It sounds obvious, but it needs defining. Currently, as long as imported goods are 51% produced in Europe, it can qualify as ‘Made In’. But we suspect that John Lewis has a more stringent category, because as a British retailer, their customers expect it to support other British firms when it can.

What does it mean for Britain?
What do you think ‘Made in Britain’ conveys? Is it design, creativity, quality, traditionalism? Let me know your thoughts on @CIMLondon Twitter. Certainly, ‘Made In’ triggers the emotions and branding is all about emotional connections.

So maybe its time to ride the wave of British Pride – keep calm and carry on style.

Hello from Brisbane.

I guess you have all seen the newly launched iPad now. Whilst it has got a kicking from the geeks, the marketing for it and build up has been great and the pricing is reasonable so I think there will be a storm when they are released for sale over here. I am trying to convince my husband to let me get one!!

Social Media – good use of time?

I have been thinking about social media a lot this week so thought I would base my blog on it this week. I recently sat down and worked out all the different social media platforms I am involved in whether it is for research, writing or just for fun. It’s a fair bit – well I think so!

How much is too much?

I am sure some of you are involved in more, but I am registered on: Facebook, Twitter and  LinkedIn. Then as well as that I obviously write this blog, I have another one that I write on my website as well as my millions of Google alerts, and it all adds up to quite a lot of time which (my husband would disagree) is worth it!

I am obsessed with Tweet Deck and each time my desktop tweets I get very excited and want to see what the latest news is with Apple or what’s going on in the world.

Is that a bad thing?

A friend of mine in Birmingham, UK recently campaigned on facebook to see if people could spend a whole 24 hours without using Facebook or Twitter. I crashed and burned unfortunately.

Here in Australia the internet is now the most consumed media according to a 2009 Nielson’s annual Internet and Technology survey, with the average Australian spending 16.1 hours per week using the internet. This is compared to 12 hours a week of TV, 8.8 hours of radio, 2.8 hours of reading newspapers and 2 hours reading magazines.

That’s huge.

Many Australian businesses are now recognising the importance of having an online presence and are shifting their budgets accordingly. It has taken a bit longer than the UK as I have found moving to Brisbane for example that many marketers favour the more traditional methods of marketing.

Read the full article about in bound and out bound marketing if interested-

I remember when banners were a taboo word in the UK as they supposedly didn’t bring in much revenue and were a waste of time but over here it’s social media frenzy. I am working for a radio broadcaster and publishing company at the moment and we are frantically putting our social media policy and strategy together to ensure we have all of our business units covered. It doesn’t have to be major though – look at Coca Cola’s policy .

Bye for now.

Zoe Gell

The social media scene in Brisbane is rife with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter groups to join and get involved with and jobs are also advertised this way. In fact I read when I first arrived into Brisbane that it is the Facebook capital of Australia, and more recently a survey by Scientific American Mind revealed that Australians rank 17^th in a worldwide study of top social networking users. 

Digital Marketing in Australia

Australia is really embracing the digital age especially where marketing is concerned, with many companies now expecting to see digital resumes with examples of work in the marketing arena as well as candidates with their own websites and wacky ideas about how to get themselves noticed. I haven’t had to send my CV out on a baked bean can yet but it did cross my mind when I was searching for work … how can I be more creative than all the other people looking. How can I get my CV noticed?

Changing economy, changing demand

I was chatting to Tim McNamara who works for Aquent – an international creative, marketing and digital recruitment company and he believes it’s now more important than ever to stand out from the crowd when applying for positions, particularly when competition is so fierce.He can validate my remarks about the employment market and said that the employment market in Brisbane – and indeed Australia wide – has changed remarkably over the last 12 months. He also said that ‘between 2002 and 2007, Australia experienced chronic skills shortages in a number of industries, but particularly within marketing and creative. The current economic downturn, however, has seen demand for marketing and creative professionals drop significantly, and fast. For the first time in recent memory, these professionals find themselves in ample supply but relatively modest demand.’

I have heard the same from my marketing chums in the UK.

Depressing! But he did have something optimistic to say- .. ‘that the lull will not last forever; indeed, we are seeing some encouraging signs emerge as we head into 2010 and our recent Aquent Market Eye Survey indicates permanent hiring intentions are on the way up now, but in the current environment it is imperative to shine through a polished application.’Refining your strategy

He gave some advice to anyone currently looking for a job whether it is in the UK or in Australia ; ‘Emailing a generic cover letter and resume and expecting the job offers to flood in is not going to prove effective in this market; those who succeed are the ones who go that extra mile, do research on and show an interest in the company they are applying to.’

Things are starting to pick up here though with an interest rate rise predicted shortly and I am noticing  that more and more marketing jobs are starting to pop up which was not the case earlier in the year.  So all is not lost and there is a mood of optimism out here at the moment.

If you are interested in how to stand out above the rest when applying for a new job, I found a recent article that Tim wrote really useful so here is the link if you would like to read it for yourself..

 Bye for now

 Z

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