An intriguing session from the final day of Ad:tech New Delhi 2013 was the panel session ‘The World Of Today’s Connected Youth’. Moderated by Shalini Rawla, Managing Consultant, The Key Consumer Diagnostics and Intelligence, the panellists were young college students - today’s connected consumers. This is a generation that has grown up in a connected environment, constantly connected to their networks and to the world, simultaneously on several different platforms. They are early adopters of social media and mobile, and take it for granted that brands are as much a part of the digital space as they are, and they are keen to have conversations with their favourite brands.
Photograph by Nitin Chowdhary
The session brought out keen insights on what this connected generation expects from their online interactions with brands. Here are some of the insights:
- Have a dialogue: Converse, don’t broadcast. People don’t want to be subjected to mass messages, and just informed about a brand’s latest collection or offers, they want an actual conversation.
- Recognise and respect me: One of the panellists was a regular shopper at Zara and wanted to be recognised as such, and rewarded for it. The youth are evolved consumers and know their value to a brand.
- Reciprocate my likes: People want to be acknowledged for supporting a brand. They want tangible rewards for their actions.
- Deepen the bond – engage and entertain: They want content that affects them, that serves them. It should either give them information that they are searching for, or interest them. It should not be merely information that the brand wants to disseminate.
- Know me better, rather than expecting me to know you better – Social media enables marketers with tools that can help them learn so much about their community, and that is what users are saying they want as well.
The discussion brought forward fascinating insights into the minds of the connected, savvy generation. For more insights from #adtechin follow @IndiaSocial.