According to fresh results released from Label Networks’ Global Youth Culture Studies and Profile Reports from this quarter,youth market trends have completely re-shaped themselves based on several factors including the economy, which have caught many industries, particularly those who used to be on the cutting-edge, by surprise for the first time in their companies’ history.
Changes in the economy over the last year have dictated new concepts in spending, mash-up styles, and retail preferences that have left several industries out of touch. “Ironically, we see this from what used to be leading-edge industries such as action sports apparel companies, cell phone companies, certain former fashion leaders in denim, video game publishers, and of course, mainstream music, media, and entertainment,” stated Tom Wallace, President of Label Networks in a recent presentation about youth markets and the state of the economy.
“Fashion--the most recent hard-hit industry--has turned many degrees and headed into altogether new directions in terms of youth market preferences in styles, cuts, silhouettes, colors, price points, based on factors such as fast fashion, vertically integrated manufacturing, rise of retro, pop-up and online retail, post-gender influences, and economic options,” continued Wallace. “There are many brands in tune with this and doing well in several countries such as American Apparel, H&M, Uniqlo, but many other brands have suffered greatly simply because of a lack of knowledge based on what they thought they knew 6 months ago. Many companies may look only at their own industry and markets and not compare outside of it. If you don’t understand the crossover, then it’s like working at only partial capacity instead of at your full potential,” explained Wallace.
In its 8th year, Label Networks has uncovered such crossovers and has compiled the world’s largest network and database of historic and ongoing primary consumer research data, street photos, and insider video interviews tracking the most important subcultures, events, news, and industry leaders within the youth culture marketplace of 13-30-year-olds. By capturing data on a set of similar questions across countries, this creates a macro arc of how things are starting and which direction they’re moving in and why and where targeted campaigns would clearly make the most sense if brands knew that such opportunities existed. This has given Label Networks a unique global perspective with significant advantages for subscribers, informing them, for example, of the exact generation gap within the marketplace itself, and the ripple effects across Europe, Japan, China, and other cultural hotspots.
“The economy suffers now based on old business and service models that are being forced to change, however there are far more opportunities than ever before given advances in technology and the speed of communication to reach new markets, particularly in youth and street cultures because this is a generation that has grown up with way more being possible,” explains Wallace. “They haven’t created rigid cultural boundaries or silos and if anything, they are the market pushing forward the speed of change. Which is why it’s important to have daily information—to know what’s on the horizon, to spark ideas of what may be new or possible.”
To accommodate the growing demand for youth culture intelligence information sought by intuitive industry leaders seeking new sources, Label Networks has produced not only its largest Spring Youth Culture Study in 8 years, but also their largest volume of targeted Profile Reports, including:
- The Sponsorship + Advertising Effectiveness Report
- Digital Lifestyle Report: New Media, Social Networks, Communication Patterns, Technology
- Fashion + Religion: How Spirituality is Influencing Design, Brands, Media, + Youth Markets
- X/Y Tribes in the House: How Entertainment Venues, Runway Shows, Retail Spaces, Need to Address the Importance of Attracting Today’s Youth Culture Markets
- The Surfing Demographic Report 2008: Who’s Surfing, Who Wants to (and Who Doesn’t’), Surf Event Viewership, Top Surf Lifestyle Brands
- The Volcom Profile Report: How this “Youth Against Establishment” Brand Stands in Global Youth Culture with Comparisons to Related Brands
- Urban Influences + Skateboarding’s Evolution = Skurban Redefined: How Urban Culture is Influencing Latest Trends in Sports, Street Fashion, Lifestyle
- Creative Collectives from Europe: Where Things Started and How Things are Changing when it comes to European Upper Urbanwear and Urban Superior
- American Apparel Profile Report from Label Networks North American and European Youth Culture Studies 2008
- Urban Sports Lifestyle Profile Report: Skurban, Urban Freeflow, Freestyle Rolling, Fixed Gear Cycling
- Spain Cred Report: Fashion, Lifestyle, Current Events, Activities
- UK Cred Report: Fashion, Lifestyle, Current Events, Activities
- France Cred Report: Fashion, Lifestyle, Current Events, Activities
- Humanitarian Youth Culture Profile Report (Green Marketing)
- Snowboarding Profile Report
- Skateboarding Profile Report
- Hispanic Youth Culture Profile Report
- Japan Cred Report: Fashion, Lifestyle, Current Events, Activities
“The only thing that’s worse than not knowing what’s going on in the global youth culture, which is the world’s strongest, wealthiest, most trendsetting and resilient,” concluded Wallace, “is thinking you know your market or customers because, perhaps, you’ve worked in the industry for years. As a company that lives and breathes this, seeing data, images, video daily, and working with companies and presenting on such issues, let us be the first to tell you, re-investing in the concept of knowledge whether it be from your own sources or others is advisable now…or else be prepared for the fallout.”
Here’s an in-depth report including fresh data from Label Networks’ Spring Study 2008 with charts and graphs based on changes in the industry of fashion from a youth market perspective: “Youth Culture Fashion Redefines Itself with Adaptations to Street, Urban, Urban Superior, and Contemporary, Providing New Dangers to Brands Getting Profiled.”
