85% of young people believe tech giants and big brands will rule the roost in future
Youth communications agency Thinkhouse has published new research indicating that 85 per cent of 16-30 year olds believe that technology firms and global brands will have the greatest influence on people in future – edging out people power (15%), governments (14%) and lobby groups (2%).
The demographic singled out terms such as ‘technology’, ‘online’ and ‘digital’ to define their generation with most being of an optimistic bent despite high unemployment. When asked to pick a statement describing the mood of young people today the most popular option was ‘It’s just me, myselfie and I’ (29 per cent).
Privacy was found to be the biggest issue facing young people overall however with a whopping 71 per cent taking measures to hide their digital footprint. Emily Cramp, managing director of Thinkhouse said, “Life for young people today simply is digital, so it’s no surprise they’ve made choices to protect their privacy and online profile to reflect this. With youth audiences prioritising big brands over traditional government in shaping their futures, it’s those that carve out a role in young people’s lives using compelling strategies and content, both online and for mobile, who’ll win the race.”
Invited to state what was most likely to encourage brand interaction 34 per cent of young people said live experiences with festival passes (28 per cent) also high on the list. On the other hand a fifth of respondents claimed to have boycotted a brand for doing something they disagreed with.
Thinkhouse is official Youth Communications partner of the Youth Marketing Strategy event held in London yesterday, where these findings were first revealed.