According to fresh results released last week from Label Networks’ 7th bi-annual North American Youth Culture Study—Spring Report ‘07, young people 13-25-years-old are re-shaping market trends motivated mostly by new technology and communication patterns, resulting in unique preferences and influences for where they spend their money, adopt fashion, and influences from music, sports, entertainment, new media, marketing + advertising, and more.
“American youth culture still leads many markets across the world in terms of sources of entertainment, fashion, music, technology, action sports, and general attitudes and inspiration,” says Tom Wallace, President of Label Networks. “Particularly, the influences of social online networks have made many traditional marketing and advertising models almost obsolete as grassroots and bottom-up campaigns with cred mark the new age of reaching global youth culture,” continues Wallace.
This year, Label Networks has added new information measuring the effectiveness of grassroots sponsorship, marketing, and the digital lifestyle of the marketplace towards providing greater understanding for those trying to reach this savvy and elusive target market.
Highlights from the North American Youth Culture Study—Spring Report ’07 include:
- Grassroots Sponsorship--Special reports measuring the Effectiveness of Grassroots Sponsorship, Word-of-Mouth, + New Media give away what works and what fails in attracting youth culture
- Video gaming preferences for games such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution has opened the floodgates to a new marketplace
- New Rap/Hip-Hop artists such as Akon + Timbaland favored by females while males have higher percentages for old-school, indicating new moves in niche directions with new audiences
- Electronic purchase changes indicate cell phone music listening features to be a motivating factor in the marketplace in the near future
- Hispanic youth market is more interested in action sports today than any other cultural demographic
- Stores + TV have dropped the most as the leading source for “finding out about new fashion trends and styles”
- Shootings increase DIY spirit: 68.9% of 13-25-year-olds believe a shooting like Virginia Tech could happen in their schools + that only they themselves can take care of their futures today
- Top Future Concerns: Females now rank Success higher than males with growing passion + motivation to do more than what previous generations accomplished
- T-shirt Size of Market, Price Points, + Spending Patterns indicate changes in market opportunities, particularly among 13-19-year-olds males
- Footwear shopping online continues to be a leading category of items purchased online, especially among 15-17-year-olds
- Volcom+ Dickies among brandsimpacting the significant shifts in denim, along with re-invention of classics Lee + Wrangler as utilitarian, eco, premium, + sports-inspired denim niches expand
- Mad potential of women’s sneaker market quantified with shifts in buying habits, brand preferences, online shopping patterns, + sneaker-freaker female-friendly sites indicating retailers need to step-up
For thought-leaders looking to maximize their strategies as they pertain to the youth marketplace, the North American Youth Culture Study—Spring Report ‘07 provides authentic street-level information about the demographic profile, economic, and cultural threads of influence of the wealthiest new generation in history. For information call (323) 630-4000; info@labelnetworks.com.
