Ambient Media Worldwide worked with Lynx on a global campaign launch with an OOH stunt, featuring a bold statement. The new Lynx Black Vanilla scent has triumphed over Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, with 74 per cent of men favouring Lynx over the pricey designer fragrance, according to research for the brand.

To reinforce this message Ambient brought a non-branded, scented billboard to London’s Southbank, with a playful message asking passers-by if they thought the billboard smelt better than a £200 fragrance. Lynx Black Vanilla was diffused with fragrance across the 10ft billboard, enticing Londoners to lean in and take a sniff. The billboard displaying the results was unveiled by Love Island star and musician Wes Nelson, with support from 11 additional influencers and the sampling of 500 products.

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Ben Bestford, Director at BAM Agency Ltd, shares tips and advice on conducting youth market research to gain true insight.

Youth market research should never be underestimated. Many businesses, whether new or well established, enjoy longevity by ensuring they keep in touch with their target market through regular market research. This research helps them truly understand their audience, whilst identifying any current consumer problems and any new competitors.

Unbiased youth market research is often one of the simplest ways a business or brand can keep up to date with current trends and the needs of their target market, ensuring they maintain their competitive edge. At BAM we continually promote the value of youth market research and believe that market research and insights are vital for any brand’s wider marketing strategy.

But how do you conduct such research? At BAM we offer a unique in-house insight programme that provides brands with access to key trends and statistics on youth behaviour, motivation, and consumption.

Youth market research can be conducted at any stage in the life-cycle of a business. From pre-launch to post-launch and beyond, conducting research should never be limited to one period of time. Continual research is essential and it is key for research to remain unbiased at all times.

Pre-launch research is key for many of our campaigns. It is so important because it allows brands to:

• obtain a comprehensive understanding of the current market to form sound strategies based on reliable facts and statistics
• ensure they have their positioning and message right
• gain unbiased data from an audience unaware of the brand or product
• measure the success of their launch when cross analysing with post-launch research

Market research can take many forms. For true insight, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research is required. There are 3 key routes BAM use when conducting youth market research:

Quantitative – Surveys

From highly targeted locations to large scale country wide questioning, the aim of our surveys, whether face to face or digital, is always to accurately capture a participant’s true opinions and sentiments. Our surveys are carefully constructed to ensure they are never leading or steer participants towards a certain response. Our aim is to remove all bias from any questioning, providing brands with genuine, authentic and reliable insight.

Qualitative – Focus groups

Intimate and detailed focus groups are a great way of gaining unbiased youth market research, allowing youth insight to be gathered on a qualitative scale. BAM are experienced in conducting focus groups across a plethora of topics and are skilled in obtaining in-depth insight from participants, providing brands with a deeper understanding of their target market.

From the more specific pre and post-campaign research to assessing general market performance and research on receptiveness and brand reputation, BAM have in-house research solutions for any brand, and in an ever-changing market keeping ahead of changes in trends and youth behaviours is pivotal.

Qualitative – Shop-alongs

Shop-alongs are a unique youth market research technique implemented by BAM when unbiased face-to-face data is required. Accompanying a consumer while they browse and shop, whilst asking them questions about their experience, provides great methodology for collecting real-time, point of purchase feedback and youth insight.

In a saturated market, understanding consumer motivations to buy is imperative for brands wanting to stand out from the crowd and really connect with the youth audience. Before you can change perception and influence buying habits, you must first understand the current perception, current buying habits and your current brand position in the market.

If you would like to find out more about BAM’s youth market research solutions or would like to find out more research information, please contact Ben Bestford at ben@bamuk.com

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Helen Hanson, Founder of Hel’s Angels, shares how low and no alcoholic drinks can help brands appeal to Generation Z.

Historically the youth market has been big brand fans of alcohol but this is appears to be on the wane. At the recent Youth Marketing Strategy conference in London one of the stand-out stats was around Gen Z (those born after 1996) and their low alcohol consumption compared to previous generations, with only 30% saying they drink every week and 25% claiming not to drink at all.

This highlights a marked shift in the relationship between young people and alcohol, towards more mindful and responsible consumption and a preference for low or no-alcohol brands.

So what does this mean for the drinks industry and drinking trends in general?

Low-and no-alcohol as a drinks category is here to stay. According to the IWSR the low-and no-alcohol ‘spirits’ category is expected to grow by 81% by 2022 in the UK. Thanks to the likes of Seedlip and other brands, the days of only having soft drinks as a non-alcohol alternative are long behind us. Brands are actively marketing to younger generations who are either looking to cut down their alcohol consumption or who already adopt a low alcohol lifestyle. According to the Youth Marketing Strategy, Gen Z are more health conscious – citing mindfulness, healthy eating and going to the gym as interests. And crucially, this new wave of non- alcoholic brands offers a way for people to still enjoy the experience of drinking without the effects of the alcohol.

The key to the new non-alcoholic brands is that they still have a depth of flavour and complex taste profile just without using the alcohol, so they feel authentic rather than contrived. As we know from Gen Z, they are keen on authenticity and transparency, which is another reason why this category appeals to the 18-24 age group.

This generation are also keen to socialise but perhaps not in the same way as previous generations. They are just as happy gathering a group of friends at home as they are going out to pubs, clubs and bars. But crucially wherever they are they want an experience and a talking point. Hence the need for non-alcoholic brands to be part of this conversation by providing something sophisticated enough to be included in social occasions.

This is the generation who have grown up with social media and are acutely aware of the impact of their online presence. So perhaps it is no surprise that they are choosing low and non-alcohol brands as their drinks of choice as they curate themselves in a more conservative way.

There is also a reported trend of switching between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on a night out. This ‘alter-nighting’ means there is even more of a need to retain quality and taste as they switch between the two.

In the past, many alcoholic brands have had the luxury of being the fuel for a night out. But they are now having to work harder and smarter to appeal to this über conscious generation. For Gen Z and more mindful drinkers the low and no category is definitely one to watch.

For more information on  Hel’s Angels, contact Helen at helen@helsangels.net or 0203 3013 845.

photo credit: hansonimages.net

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BAM Student Marketing explores some of this year’s biggest student trends and how brands can tap into them to target the student audience. 

Just when a business thinks they know their audience, new technologies, new behaviours and even new audiences appear that shake the market once again.

At BAM knowing students is our bread and butter and we’ve got 20 years of experience that proves it. So after two decades of connecting brands with the student audience, we’ve got pretty good at predicting the next big trends that connect these consumers in the ever-changing landscape of Student Marketing.

Transparency is key

We strive to continue to develop the latest technologies, but as we do so we also make it possible for our consumers to view and track us at every stage of the development and delivery journey.

This is why Transparency is more important than ever before. If you’ve got something to hide then you should be prepared for this to be found out.

Communication will always happen between humans, this works in your favour if you are a transparent brand with a lot of positives to showcase, but it will work against you if your product or service journey isn’t meeting the ethical or moral ideals of your audience.

The 2019 student is more conscientious than ever before, they care about where their products come from and the process that gets them to their door.

Transparency is now key in winning the hearts, trust and most importantly, the Capital of the student consumer. Share your values, goals and processes in a transparent and authentic way and your brand will be rewarded.

A password protected lifestyle

After all the hacking’s, breaches of data and invasions of privacy over the past year, people have seriously clued up about their online security and are more cautious than ever before, with students being no exception.

No matter the size of your business, you should ensure your security is meticulous, even if this isn’t obvious to your consumers, they still deserve thorough online protection when it comes to their details, data and privacy.

You may think that in 2019 that this is now a compulsory business requirement, but it’s not and customers are starting to notice this. Win the trust of the student consumer by promising them your bullet proof protection and increase your reputation of online safety and watch students favour you over your competitors who have not been as fail safe with their online security.

Becoming the face of your brand

As a brand your audience is everything to you. Utilise this and start to make your student consumers part of your student brand stories.

Students connect with students, even if they share no other connecting qualities or factors, they are all united by the fact that they are students and they trust each others recommendations and reviews.

Whether you include students in your brand stories though publishing testimonials, recruiting student Brand Ambassadors or even curate a place for students to discuss and review your brand online, showcasing your engagement and activity with this audience will inevitably influence the student market into seeing your brand in a positive and student loved light. It also provides you an organic and cost effective way of bypassing traditional influencer marketing.

Think Visual

It’s no secret that the use of imagery and strong visuals has been a fast growing trend in general marketing within the last 5 years, but taking this one step further in 2019, visual searches are set to become the norm.

Today’s students have grown up alongside the highly visual and engaging worlds of Instagram and Facebook and as a result of this constant bombardment of digital imagery has become a part of their everyday lives.

Although voice searching is also on the increase, when it comes to a more accurate and specific search, the future is visual.

A pioneer in this technology, Google, has long enabled reverse-image searching, but more recent developments in recording technology now makes it possible for consumers to take real world pictures and accurately and effectively find information about the subject of the image.

Pinterest was one of the first student favourite sites to implement this lens feature back in February 18, with ASOS following close behind by launching its Style Match reverse image search for shoppable clothes in March 18.

Although it is unlikely that visual search will replace text based searching over the next year, or even within the next few years, it does open the door to a new word of exciting possibilities that will inevitably play a large part in the future of searching (Sentance, 2016).

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Momentous stepping stones such as going to college, getting married, having a baby – or even starting to shave and use skin care for the first time – all carry corresponding sets of challenges that provide a completely different set of considerations when it comes to impending purchases.

With 15 million “Gen Y’ers” in the UK currently undergoing some important life-stages, DECIDE shares key insights on how you can be first in line to capitalise on what’s being billed as “the next major consumer powerhouse.”

DECIDE believes that a consumer entering a category for the first time is much more than a marketing opportunity – and is in fact a critical first moment of truth where individuals are uniquely pre-disposed to the offering of your brand.

Click here to read the report.

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Generation Z accepts ads, but will ignore the ones that don’t deliver tangible value, says Vaughan Edmonds at global brand experience agency Sense.

It’s 10 April 2018, and a nervous Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, stands before the US Congress. It’s the turn of 84-year-old US senator and Republican high-tech task force chair Orrin Hatch to ask the questions.

Facebook is at the centre of a scandal after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a British data firm hired by President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, improperly gathered detailed data on 87 million users using the platform. Zuckerberg has just told Congress that he always intends to offer a free version of Facebook to users.

“Well if so,” Hatch replies, “how do you sustain a business model in which users don’t pay for your service?”

Zuckerberg blinks and pauses for a moment.

“Senator, we run ads.”

The exchange, along with others involving various elderly Senators, has become symbolic of the technological knowledge gap that exists in Western society. A video titled “Mark Zuckerberg explains the internet to old people” went viral in the days following Zuckerberg’s visit to Congress as members of the Millennial and Gen Z demographics revelled in the ignorance of their elders.

The attitudes of Gen Z towards technology and advertising are particularly fascinating. Also known as the iGen, Gen Z is the generation born from the late 1990s onwards which has never known a world without the internet.

Its oldest members have just turned 21 and have grown up alongside dominant tech companies like Facebook. They are used to a world where platforms are cheaper than ever before. Their favourite brands – Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat – offer their services for free. Where we used to buy a single CD for £9.99, they can now listen to any song ever recorded for nothing on Spotify. Only Netflix draws the line, offering an array of TV and film for as little as £7.49 a month.

For the free services, Gen Z knows the price it has to pay: ads. Just as Mark Zuckerberg said.

What gets really interesting is the attitude of Gen Z towards advertising in general, with 61% agreeing that posters and billboards help them become aware of new products and services¹. Gen Z is also 37% more likely to notice adverts on public transport² and 15% more likely to stop and interact at a promotional stand or event³. It seems as if the recent wave of cynicism towards brands has not been driven by the young, but by the generations that preceded them.

What does this mean for brands? Only time will tell. It remains to be seen whether this more accepting attitude to advertising is driven by youth or by a genuinely different outlook. However, it appears highly likely that Gen Z will take two traits from its youth into adulthood which could be highly significant for brands:

Shortening Attention Spans

According to most research, the attention span of Gen Z is lower than any other generation in history. In our digital age this makes perfect sense. There is so much vying for our attention and, in terms of things to occupy us, we are spoilt for choice. For brands, this has important implications. Firstly, to attract Gen Z, your marketing has to be interesting. Better still, if you really want to get this generation’s attention, your marketing should be useful. Gen Z is bombarded by hundreds of promotional messages every day. If a brand can offer something that is genuinely valuable it is far more likely to give you a precious piece of its attention.

Increased Levels of Activism

Gen Z is serious. Its members are driven to succeed, being 71% more likely to be willing to sacrifice free time to get ahead in their future careers⁴. They are also serious about social change with 76% of them happy to volunteer their time for good causes⁵. Gen Z members are activists. They strive to improve their own lives and the lives of people around them.

The last few years has seen the rise of purpose as a marketing tool, the mechanic brands use to demonstrate that they also care about improving people’s lives. Given the attitudes of Gen Z, it seems it is here to stay. To succeed with brand purpose, and to win the hearts of Millennials and Gen Z alike, the key is action. Brands must not just talk about their purpose, they must demonstrate their purpose through action in the real world. If they can make their purpose tangible, they will be able to win the hearts of Gen Z.

The world has changed a great deal in the lifetime of 84-year-old Senator Orrin Hatch. When Mark Zuckerberg was born, Hatch was in his early 50s and by the time Facebook had its millionth user he was 70. However, for the members of Gen Z, the world has been slightly more stable. They are digital natives, born and raised in the age of the internet. They are used to brands keeping their favourite digital past times free at the cost of adverts. Gen Z is quick thinking and serious. It has a different outlook to those who came before them and as its members mature into adulthood, brands will have a fantastic opportunity to become meaningful parts of their lives.

Source: ^1,2,3,4,5 YouGov (29^th April 2018)

Vaughan Edmonds is Planner at global brand experience agency Sense. Sense is a brand experience agency specialising in real world thinking and ideas. Sense manages experiential marketing campaigns from strategy to evaluation for clients including The Economist, Coca-Cola, Activision, Mars, Canon, Molson Coors, and Mattel.

Image credit: Elijah O’Donnell, Unsplash

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