Young are not marketing savvy: they’re suckers adam ferrier
The industry may kid itself that young people understand the finer points of marketing, but it’s simply not the case. While many young people believe they’re not prone to marketing hype or taken in by ads, they have no idea why they buy products—and marketing does, in fact, play a big role.
Consumers are not marketing savvy. Hell, most people who work in agencies aren’t even marketing savvy. And most especially, young people are not marketing savvy.
Stop this ‘today’s consumer is so marketing savvy’ bullshit. I personally believe we like to pretend to ourselves that consumers are marketing savvy because it makes us feel better about flogging stuff. Consumers, and especially young people, are suckers for marketing. They love it and—this is my point—they don’t know why.
When was the last time you asked a kid why they bought those sneakers and he or she replied, “Well I loved the way they embody Tiger Woods’ values of overcoming adversity...and the Nike swoosh on the side has over the years been cleverly associated with success, thereby ensuring I will be the envy of those poor kids who can’t afford a pair...and the advertising did a terrific job of associating the shoe with freedom, fun and fame…and finally the fact that they’re limited release means I belong to an exclusive club of young up and comers”.
If a kid answers that, then I’ll believe he or she is marketing savvy (and a little demented!).
More likely he or she will say, “Oh man these are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned”. And if I reply in my best focus group empathic voice, “But mate, they’re pretty bloody expensive aren’t they?” he or she will then say, “But dude, check out this quality—these puppies will last you a decade”.
He or she has no idea why they bought those shoes. They won’t be wearing them next season, let alone next year.
Try it around the office. Ask people why they bought that item of clothing they’re wearing and they’ll tell you, “It was cheap”, or “It’s so comfortable”, or “It’s lasted so well”, or even “I liked the look of it”. People honestly believe they purchase goods and services for their functional attributes. They believe they are not suckers for marketing, that they can see above the glitz and the glam, that “the ads don’t work on me”, and young people are no exception.
People like to feel good about themselves and the decisions they make. They like to minimise (psychological wank coming up) cognitive dissonance (that is, the gap in how we act versus how we believe we should have acted). Hence, people may buy clothes to feel cool, or belong to a crowd; however, they are very unlikely to admit this to themselves. So they will post-rationalise their purchases functionally and rationally.
Today’s youth consumer is less (not more) marketing savvy than ever. They are suckers for marketing and they love it. They spend proportionately more of their disposable income on consumer goods than any other segment of the population. Why? Because they believe the marketing promises. They believe that purchasing branded goods will make them feel sexy, popular, in control and cool.
They are willing to spend $400 on a pair of jeans that are from the right brand, rather than a $60 pair from a different, ‘uncool’ brand. Are they willing to do this because they are marketing savvy? No, they are doing this because they don’t understand the process, or the underlying reasons motivating their purchase decisions. They do not understand that they buy on the emotional promise of a brand (its values and associations). They believe they are buying for functional reasons. At best they may say they are purchasing “because it looks good”, but because brands are now so strong, they distort our ability to judge aesthetics independent of the brand (for example: Will an identical pair of jeans look sexier if one has a Sass & Bide logo on it? You bet they will).
People buy on emotion and justify their purchase rationally. It’s the way it is. When people understand this, they’ll become marketing savvy.
Until then, a celebrity like Delta Goodrem will always have a role as a soda-popstar because it sells. Why? Because people—especially young ones—are not marketing savvy. If I have one more client come to me and say “our target market is very marketing savvy, so we have to sell to them subtly”, I’ll scream. Young people are into marketing and love it, but that does not mean they understand the process. People are also into crime, they love crime books, but that does not mean they are crime savvy—they don’t understand how crime works or why people commit crime. Being interested in a topic doesn’t make you an expert in it. Marketing is no exception.
Adam Ferrier is a consumer psychologist and partner at Naked.
