Transparency, supporting new ideas will help attract young viewers: MTV

Do-it-yourself viewers want brands to be transparent and responsible and are more likely to plug into shows that spark change

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg was an unlikely guest at the World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland, last week. The teenager exhorted visiting dignitaries to take up urgent measures to tackle the climate crisis, something she's been doing fervently for the last year-and-a-half. Thunberg is the voice of a new generation that believes in speaking up and getting things done, one that believes in doing things ‘right now, right here’ according to a youth marketing study released on Monday by American channel MTV.
 
The study that is conducted once in every two years helps the channel understand the demographic its programing is aimed at, while providing brands that advertise to the young, valuable insights into what their consumers want. The survey says that the young are more mindful and industrious, keen on creating a new world order with the resources and talent at their disposal.

 
“If youth earlier were arm-chair activists, that is no more the case now,” says Navin Shenoy, head of marketing, youth, music and English entertainment, Viacom18. “The mantra is that ‘I have to do things myself and do it now’,” he says.
 

The ‘do-it-yourself’ approach spills over into every aspect of the lives of the young. It makes them more comfortable in their own skin, happy with “who they are and where they are,” the study notes. “Earlier, for the young in the metros, the aspiration was to head west. Similarly, the non-metro youth would aspire to make it to the large cities. This has changed now,” says Shenoy.

 
The study, which was conducted in over 400 towns and included 25,000 respondents, shows that 64 per cent of the youth today would rather work and earn in their hometowns than move to a larger city. 59 per cent of respondents said that there was as much opportunity in their own towns as in a big city.
 
Experts say the all-pervading sense of realism is born out a greater awareness of the environment. Growing penetration of smartphones and cheaper data packs have democratised access to information and accessibility to brands. Many do not see the need to move to larger cities, especially at a time when the metros are grappling with growing crowds, high pollution levels and limited job opportunities.

 
For 91 per cent of the participants, the most common association with a metro drew is choking traffic bottlenecks, 92 per cent said that cost of living would increase considerably and 93 per cent said that life would get too busy in a metro. Interestingly, 95 per cent respondents believed their small town roots are no barrier to success. And 67 per cent believed that everything they needed was available in a small town.
 
“There is also a feeling among youngsters today that all big cities are similar and that small towns are unique in their own way, feeding into the need to preserve one’s identity and to be proud of it,” says Shenoy.

 
Increasing stress and uncertainty have led youngsters to turn to their families and parents even more than they did earlier. If young people earlier were rebellious and conflicts between parent and child were pronounced within families, the relationship appears to have lost much of its hostility and mistrust.
 
54 per cent respondents said that they looked up to parents as their role models, while 42 per cent respondents said that family was the reason for their happiness. 58 per cent respondents also turned to family members when it came to talking about serious issues in life as opposed to speaking to friends, which was the trend with earlier generations.

 
Shenoy also says that youngsters have become pragmatic about money, choosing to maintain a balance between monetary needs and life goals. Work-life balance, says Shenoy, is something that millennials take seriously and are keen to leave a positive legacy behind. For brands, the big takeaway, say experts, is the need for greater transparency in how they do business and the impact they leave with their actions. As for the channel, it is all hands on the deck for shows that spark change, not just sing about revolutions and changing times.

Demographic divide

• Many (64%) want to work in their hometowns, instead of moving to a big city
• Parents are role models for the majority (54%) 
• Happiness is all about the family for a large number (42%)
• Life in a metro is all about traffic jams (91%), expensive living (92%) and no time for leisure (93%)