“I think I'm generation Y. I don’t know why. I think it's what I've been told”   (18tracker.com respondent, ‘Hit or Shit 48’ survey)

During the last couple of years terms like Generation Y and Generation C (for “content”) have been frequently used by media commentators, marketers and parents as a way to understand Kiwi youth in the 21^st century. The creation of labels for young people is certainly not a new phenomenon. Adult society has looked on with both horror and amusement as youth tribes like the Mods and Rockers, Punks, Goths, Bloods, Crips, Ravers, Krumpers, and Rastas appeared on the streets and in the newspapers since the early 1960s. And it’s not just the grown-ups who are doing the naming. Young people themselves often make up names to identify who and what they are. This desire to engage with the world around them and create new everyday realities is a driving force behind today’s youth culture in New Zealand. How then do we go about understanding and better connecting with the youth market?

Generation What?

There isn’t a clear consensus of when Generation Y starts and finishes. While some social commentators have suggested those born in the mid-1970s qualify as Gen Y’ers, others argue the dates which define Gen Y are 1982–2000 or 1978–1994. The issue of one’s socio-economic background is another potentially complicating factor. If we were to look closely at the lives of two youths born in 1985, one in Epsom, Auckland and one in Porirua, Wellington, would they be the same? Possibly not. Research conducted by Synovate’s youth team has revealed that while some Gen Y’ers are happy with the label, others are clearly not so comfortable as the statement above from a survey respondent suggests. When we asked youth punters at the 2008 Big Day Out festival if they were Generation Y, our youth team encountered a variety of equally positive, critical and blank responses.

When these conflicting points are put on the table, it makes it just that little bit harder to navigate or understand today’s youth culture. Here we need to ask if there is an alternative way to look at Kiwi youth instead of depending on the default term Generation Y. I believe there is. The term Generation DYD or “Digital Youth DIY’ers” provides us with a useful compromise which also recognises the do-it-yourself tradition which permeates Kiwi culture. 

From being able to “Have it your way” at Burger King, create your own hybrid sport in SPARC’s Weird World of Sport promotion to car modification, photo-shopping images, creating personal music charts on Last FM, uploading videos to Youtube or even being able to send in media footage to the major television news broadcasters, young Kiwis now have far more opportunities than in the 20^th century to customize their everyday lives. In being able to interact with the mediascape around them on a much more personal or indeed intimate level, there is arguably a sense that pop culture has to some degree become partly owned or at least more significantly driven by youth consumers than in previous decades. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, rather than prosecute fans who produce their own interpretations of the Star Wars universe, has recently invited fans to submit Star Wars-inspired movies, fiction, comics and music in the ‘Official 2008 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge’. True this is not a local promotion, but in the age of global media, New Zealand fans can participate in and be part of this as much as fans in overseas territories.

So how do marketers or other interested parties tap into the bright digital DIY ideas currently being generated by young Kiwis? There is no reason why you can’t invite youth to be part of your brand campaigns via filming their own youth-directed TVCs or producing a one-page digital storyboard for a new concept or advertisement. This is not necessarily a new idea: what is different is the quality of digital and Web-based resources that are now available to youth to participate in the future development of brands. After all, youth have been involved in brand promotions for years through wearing their Nike T-shirts, listening to iPods or walking around urban shopping environments carrying a Supre bag with their latest purchase.

Of course some sort of incentive for getting more involved with brands would go some way to attracting youth buy-in to this sort of relationship. Through our ‘Prizes and Competitions’ survey on 18tracker.com, Synovate learnt that brands don’t always invest enough energy when giving away prizes to youth consumers. Respondents in this survey expressed interest in actually seeing their peers receive their big cash prize, flash new car or holiday overseas. Someone from your marketing team who is skilled with a handy-cam or decent quality mobile phone could film the prize ceremony and then upload the footage to Youtube or your company website. By offering your consumers a more personal engagement with your brand and also demonstrating your willingness to use the new media environment in a fun or experimental way, the potential exists for building a platform for greater youth affiliation with your brand in the future.

Mainstream vs. Underground Youth Culture

“Selling out” is a phrase often given to a brand, person or musicians who are seen by their supporters/consumers as having surrendered their integrity or authentic image by selling their business to bigger and much wealthier companies. While there are countless examples of selling out, a well-documented example of this process was the case of Kiwi band Shihad changing their name to Pacifier a few years ago when they attempted to crack the American music industry. The Flight of the Conchords on the other hand have not experienced the sell-out stigma and have recently basked in the glory of winning a Grammy and also having a well-received television show on the American cable channel HBO.

The issue of selling out and authenticity where youth culture is concerned in the new media age is illustrated extremely well by the example of the Illicit clothing label. Initially started in Auckland in the late 1990s, Illicit has grown beyond its original Elliot Street premises in the Auckland CBD to now have stores in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin as well as merchandise sold in stores in Italy, Australia, America and Canada.

The merchandise stocked by Illicit could be described as offering consumers a more “street” or alternative-driven punk, gothic and vintage (1950s) image that is notably less bubble-gum than what the more mainstream clothing brands often provide. In addition to selling clothing, jewellery and footwear, the Auckland Illicit store on Karangahape Road also has a tattooing and body-piercing service and art gallery to exhibit their in-house artists and up-and-coming talent in the local market. Although some people who are involved with the underground youth culture in New Zealand have argued that Illicit has sold out or started moving away from its street roots by having stalls at the Big Day Out, there is evidence which indicates Illicit has managed to successfully keep their cool status amongst underground youth while also appealing to a more general audience. Research by the Synovate youth team at the last three Big Day Outs has consistently shown that the Illicit tent has been extremely well patronised throughout the day and plenty of merchandise sold.

Illicit haven’t embraced commercial television and radio advertising. Instead viral buzz, less commercially visible bands like N.U.T.E. wearing Illicit clothing when playing live and the brand’s use of Web 2.0 appears to have allowed Illicit to keep growing on the periphery of mainstream youth culture. Illicit also garnered additional mainstream pop culture attention when the popular singer Pink released a video for her single ‘U and Ur Hand’ in late 2006.

In her music video Pink has a number of costume changes, some of which appear to be directly inspired by the artwork of the late Martin F. Edmond whose designs have been central to the Illicit business. This use of Edmond’s imagery by Pink was discovered by Illicit and Edmond’s estate and there is the possibility that legal action may be taken in the future. This case study subsequently serves as an important warning to brands operating within mainstream pop culture. Although it is unclear at this point what, if anything, will come of the Illicit/Pink issue, this example does show us that if a well-established music brand/singer like Pink appropriates a less well-known brand’s image, there is a greater chance in the new media age that it will be discovered – and quickly. While it is possible that such unwarranted use of another brand’s image will damage the credibility of the larger brand, on the flipside there is the potential for the smaller brand to gain wider –and good– publicity for free. If you see something you want to use that isn’t your image when marketing to the youth audience, do everything possible to contact the original producer to establish a dialogue. If you don’t, your potentially cool future status could be undermined.