MUMBAI: Today’s generation is considered to be full of zest, zing and vim. The youth have their own unique odds which would be irritating to older people but which generation has not manifested such behaviors in the past? The young on-the-go audience is constantly connected to each other and has easy access to the world with information at its finger-tips. This generation’s interests are not one, but many wherein it seamlessly transcends online and offline versions of self. This generation doesn’t believe in discriminating through race, religion, or gender. It firmly believes that with these values, it will be able to build a better India in the future. The youth is dynamic, but not impulsive; is complex, but not chaotic, reveals MTV Youth Marketing Forum.
MTV is back with the 10th edition of its research titled ‘The Many Me Project’ stressing on what content is consumed and what is published. The survey covered 11,000 young people in the age group of 13 to 25 across 50 plus cities and has reached out to NCCS A, B and C across the age bracket of 13-25 years to increase the robustness of the research. For the 6 month long interactive survey, the qualitative part of the study was conducted in association with Third Eye Research whereas the quantitative segments were handled by Juxt Smart Mandate.
The investigation was done by undertaking key initiatives the like selfie project, digital shadowing and by studying peerscope and ethnographies of the youth. The data discloses youth to be multi-dimensional, open minded, brave, witty, inspired, mindful, fun, a sum of many me’s.
“We have not tortured data”, says Viacom18 head of youth and English entertainment Ferzad Palia in jest. “This data is an eye-opener for all of us. This young generation is not the era of ‘jugaadus’, but they are smart-thinkers and are not looking for shortcuts. The youth wants to strategically work smart and hard. Through this data many important insights will be presenting at the forum which are sure to change the way marketers view the youth of India today”, he further adds.
A question always arises that where does the youth consume new content from? The youth are discerning about content but not about where they watch it. The study reveals that TV still remains a go to for Indian youth and they’ll not go anywhere other than TV to consume good content. Each device has its benefits and disadvantages and the sources for discovery and consumption may differ. 36 per cent of the youth watch shows only on TV, while 18 per cent watch shows only online. The study shows that young audiences first discover a new show on TV and then watch it online.
The study shows how the role of technology has changed for multi-taskers with 32 per cent people having the opinion that they have more choices now as compared to 16 per cent in 2014.
Speaking about the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016, Viacom 18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats says, “As a content powerhouse, it is mandatory for us to understand the pulse of our audience. Hence, MTV’s constant endeavor to understand its primary target audience – the youth, what they are up to and how they feel about various aspects of life – is extremely crucial. For the last 10 years, MTV has been working incessantly to understand every nuance of each interaction young people have amongst themselves and their media consumption habits. It is these patterns of consumption and interaction which then form the basis of everything we do at MTV. The headline study for this year – ‘MTV Many Me Project’ – has thrown up some fascinating insights into the lives and minds of this absolutely dynamic demographic. I am positive that every single person who has been a part of the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016 will now be able to decode the ever-changing youth of India much better!”
Youth also considers entertainment as enrichment and resonatee that good content always has that hangover effect wherein it urges them to think, share, create and comment. Entertainment and content are not about just filling gaps of time between doing other things, reveals the data. On the one hand, 50 per cent of the young people in the age group of 13 to 17 years and 63 per cent between 18 to 25 years think that they learn a lot about coping with tricky situations through the characters and storylines of their favourite shows.
The report also reveals how 81 per cent of the youth aspire for eventually becoming self-employed, while 17 per cent of them think of working for a stable organization. The new high is becoming self-employed rather than just doing a job.
“The MTV Youth Marketing Forum is our flagship insights series and the idea was to make it as experiential for the attendees as possible. So we thought why not we actually create a teenager’s room? And what better way for you (the audience) to do it than being a part of it? So you are the prop and he (the teenager) is the protagonist. Every element in the room reflects his passion – stuff that he listens to, stuff he plays with, brands he flaunts, etc. It’s not 3D but a 4D stage because you can actually see a live protagonist, a specific boy, who was recruited (we actually did screenings and auditions) only for this activity”, adds Viacom 18 youth cluster head marketing, media and insights Sumeli Chatterjee
“No other brand does this kind of a research like us. We want to stay ahead of the curve. These insights will be shared across and will help advertisers. 2016 was a more pronounced year than 2014 and had many complexities than we ever thought”, she further adds.
Palia voices that the study will help the channel and its business partners in building a strong connect with the young audience.
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