Lost in translation

New report says youth have anxieties that marketers need to be aware of when targeting them

s the #feesmustfall student movement resonates on campuses, a timely new marketing report called “A Youth Lost in Translation” reveals that young South Africans are not optimistic about the state of the country.

Based principally on the findings of research by HDI Youth Marketeers and analysed and interpreted by the Yellowwood brand agency, the report shows that black youth see some improvement since their parents were young but only 28% said they were happy with where the country was heading. Just on 9% of young adults surveyed were optimistic.

Yellowwood focuses on concerns of Millennials (aged 15 and older and tech savvy digital natives) and Generation Z (age 14 and younger, whose consciousness has been shaped in a post-recession touchscreen world).

The report says the Millennial group has a huge need for education, training and skills development, not least of all because they feel the education system hasn’t given them what they need in order to accomplish what they want.

This sentiment has played out visually in the past fortnight with university students protesting

Aagainst an increase in tertiary education fees and a lack of real campus transformation. Notes Yellowwood CEO David Blyth: “This group worries about finding a job, far more than previous generations.” Blyth’s report says youth have anxieties and pressures that marketers need to be aware of when targeting them. These include the economic downturn, violent crime, environmental degradation and SA’s beleaguered education system. The report says youth happiness has dropped over the past few years. In 2010 73% of respondents said they felt happy most of the time. However that figure fell to 67% in 2015. This year 7% of respondents said they often feel depressed. Young people feel less safe than they did in 2012, when 19% said they were afraid for their safety. That number has risen to 24%.

The report says most young adults — with the exception of white youth — believe they will have a brighter future than their parents did but worry how they will achieve it. The report points out that young South Africans have a sense their teachers, the education system and authority figures in general have let them down. The HDI research asked what they would improve if they were leading the country and education came first across all racial groups, ahead of child abuse, crime and housing.

Blyth says marketers, like parents and employers, need to take cognisance of the quirks and preferences of the young “because this is a savvy influential generation, with sheer numbers, decision-making power and tech know-how behind them”. The report says effective marketing is going to involve listening to concerns, understanding where young South Africans are coming from and what they are going through or face losing their attention and loyalty.