How do you PLAY with youth?

Sounds like a dodgy headline doesn’t it?

 But I really think now more than ever brands have to think about how they PLAY with youth,  in terms of the types of ideas they put out into the world. Alex Bogusky once mentioned that it’s about less about your brand story and more about WHAT GAME YOUR BRAND IS PLAYING with young people. I think this is an interesting thought, because any concept of play relies upon interaction between people, it relies upon fun, engagement and you taking away a memory you want to talk about. And games are most fun when you break the rules and freestyle a little. Brands need to think more about what ‘game’ they are creating for young people to be part of. Think about how youth are helping shape the outcome of the game you have with them…it’s less and less about linear narratives where the brand is in complete control. Youth control your brand, not you, so let them in and let them PLAY with your ideas.

Levi’s ‘Go Forth’ – inspiring Generation ‘O’ (Optimism or Obama)

Wieden & Kennedy Portland have just launched their latest work for Levi’s and I’m impressed, I think it will definitely strike a chord with American youth. American youth want to be proud of being American for a change, and this campaign helps them do that.  I worked a little on the brand at my time at BBH New York and I’m happy to see the brand stand for something ‘bigger’ than just sex appeal and make their heritage mean something.   The campaign has been designed to connect the 150-year-old brand with the youth of today, tapping into the fact that this generation is patriotic about the US and optimistic about life. 

 Doug Sweeny, vice-president for Levi’s brand marketing, said of the young Americans at whom the campaign is aimed: “They’re realists — they understand the challenge. They’re optimistic about the future, they can project forward. We found that really powerful and tried to evoke it in the campaign.”  So, they’re talking to Generation Optimism or Generation Obama (as we like to call it)  who want change, and levi’s is the quintessential American brand who can help reflect a new brighter future for youth. I think this campaign is culturally relevant in todays environment when youth are searching for something/peopel to believe in. I especially like the manifesto piece which sets the tone for this new brand belief. Will be interesting to see how global youth react to it in other Western cultures, but I think the thought of  ‘Go Forth’ is globally relevant despite its obvious US history connotations. Well Done Levi’s.

Levi's 'Go Forth' manifesto....the return of the manifesto, havent seen one like this since Impossible is Nothing

Levi's Go Forth outdoor

Sydney Youth: Interview #2 with Eimear

The other week I ran a focus group with influential 20 somethings from various backgrounds – music, fashion, fance, design, sport. Eimear, a student at UTS came along and had a really interesting point of view on youth culture. I ran a quick one on one with her…here’s her story….

Eimear lives a FLUID lifestyle..constantly changing, evolving

 

 

 

What does Eimear stand for?

Eimear stands for

E xcitement.
I mmediacy.
M emories.
E xperiences.
A ttitude.
R isk.

What’s the best thing about being your age?

The best thing about being 20 is finally being ‘in control of your own life’, but also relishing in the carefree student existence. Being a 20 year old student is like living life in a beautiful purgatory filled with friends and fun times. You’re at an age where you can do what you want and parents have little or no control, but you’re also safely cocooned in a bubble of coffee breaks, shopping trips, club nights, 3 month uni holidays and a lack of any real responsibility. Being 20 is a blissful summer day where the most important thing is spending time friends and enjoying the moment… before we’re forced to graduate, accept reality and embrace the ‘real world’.

What’s one word to describe Australian youth culture right now? Explain

FLUID….. Youth culture, by its very nature, is constantly changing, adapting and evolving. By the time you work out what is it, it’s already changing. Youth culture is an illusive concept that from the outside you can never pin down exactly. You have to be living it yourself, at that very moment in time, to truly understand what it means.

Talk me through a day in the life of Eimear

A day in the life of Eimear rarely starts before noon. Sure, I might be awake before that hour sometimes.. but not really functioning, not before my skim flat white anyway. I get up, get ready, have breakfast at the computer checking my emails, facebook and blogs.. and then inevitably get distracted and end up being late to uni despite living only a 10 minute walk away.. class itself is only one aspect of uni life though and relaying the previous weekend and planning the following weekend tends to take up a substantial portion of study time. After uni a typical day is punctuated with coffee dates, the mandatory couple of hours in the office, a trip to the gym and Thai in Newtown. Study has it’s place, but it’s generally late at night in-between skype calls and facebook chat. Sleep tends to happen some time in the early hours of the morning and 6 hours later my alarm sounds and I crawl out of bed and do it all over again.

What do brands need to know about you and your friends?

We like things to be easily accessible and we like things that we can adapt, personalise and tailor to our own lives. If something is not worth displaying and showing off to the world it’s not worth having. We want to feel like we’re the first people to get products, once everyone has them they’re not cool anymore. It’s not about being loyal to brands you love anymore, it’s about discovering the greatest new product before anyone else.