Youth, modern guinea-pigs of the leading brands, part 2 Research result 2/2

Trend agency YOUTH

The second part of my research in London was my visit at  trend agency YOUTH, a leading trend agency in London specialized in youth trends and a desirable company for youth expertise. To get an idea, YOUTH has worked for companies like Adidas, Nintendo and MTV.

I had a conversation with Tom Carrington Smith from trend agency YOUTH. He gave me some great insights in big youth trends in London, as well as in market trends like products and services, and it seems more and more likely that these trends go hand in hand.

Friends are InfluencersAs came out in the interviews, friends play very important roles in the lives of youth. YOUTH has also noted this and sees this as a shift. Celebrities aren’t as much of an influence on youth as they used to be. Friends are now the biggest examples for youth to emulate. If friends buy or do certain things they are more likely to copy their behaviour than the behaviour of some random famous person that they don’t have a personal connection with. Youth is more able to see celebrities in perspective and they realise celebrities aren’t always the right example for them. This perception increases with age.

Innovators and early adoptersAs I said in the introduction, youth are often ‘innovators’ or ‘early adopters’ when it comes to trends. Those terms are marketing terms from the ‘Diffusion of innovations theory’ devised by Everett Rogers. This is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. According to Rogers there are four main elements that influence the spread of a new idea:  the innovation, communication channels, time, and a social system. This process relies heavily on human capital. The idea must be widely adopted in order to self-sustain.

Innovators are the first individuals to adopt an innovation. Innovators are characterized as ‘willing to take risks, youngest in age and having the highest social class. Early adopters are the second fastest category of individuals who adopt an innovation. Early adopters are known for their great influence on their social environment. Early adopters are also typically young in age and are also provided with a higher social status. When early adopters are enthusiastic about a certain product or service, it’s up to them to share it with their social circle. So it really depends on them if the product or service will achieve the cherished break-through to the early majority.

In the cartoon below you can see how the theory is build up and how it works.