Which brands resonate with South Africa’s Youth?

The South African youth are growing up in a very different consumer landscape to their parents and the demands that they make on brands is unique to their generation/s.

Ask Afrika will reveal which brands and products the South African youth use loyally and insights into their consumer behaviour when its Youth Brands Survey is launched on Sunday, 22 November 2015. The results of Ask Afrika Youth Brands Survey will first be revealed in The Sunday Sun.

“Youth brands rise above the clutter and resonate with South Africa’s youth. These brands are used loyally amongst those aged 15-34, irrespective of background and living standard. Ask Afrika looks at what the winning brands are getting right when targeting the youth market,” says Maria Petousis, TGI Director at Ask Afrika.

The top 21 Youth Brands will be ranked by Ask Afrika as well as winners across 72 product categories. The top-line insights will be revealed with the results and rankings. This will include an exploration into age segments within this target group.

“Ask Afrika uses Target Group Index (TGI) segmentation to understand the nuances of different types of brand loyalty in different target groups, and this global market research tool can be used to segment any market pretty much in any way. This gives an in-depth understanding of the target market and marketing strategies can then be tailor-made for consumers in line with how they respond to questions in the representative survey,” says Petousis.

The Ask Afrika Youth Brands Survey asks the right questions, in the right way to understand the youth mind-set and consumer behaviour. It is linked to the Ask Afrika Icon Brands survey and also measures brand use in South Africa across socio-economic and cultural groups irrespective of language, race, ethnicity, ideology or belief systems.

“As marketers we know that in order to take brands, services and products to the consumer, one of the first things to know is who is the customer? Followed closely by what do they want and how do they get what they want? Marketing to the youth, especially in South Africa, is not as simple as it seems,” says Kay Cheytanov, MD of experiential youth marketing company 3RC in an article on their website.

“The key factor when marketing to youth is to know who they are. Know what their hopes, dreams and fears are. From there you can find the best way to engage with them. Talk with them and involve them, don’t talk to them. South African teenagers have a lot on their shoulders; they can be cynical and can spot a hard sell from a mile away. So for marketers wanting to capture their attention, the focus should be on involving them,” she continues.

Ask Afrika seeks to answer some of the questions that marketers have around the youth market through the Youth Brands Survey and to guide them in the right direction to create well researched and intelligent marketing strategies for their brands.

The Ask Afrika Youth Brands survey had an impressive sample, a total of 8374 youth consumers were interviewed, and the survey represents the views of 11 952 000 youth living in South Africa. Face-to-face interviews were done. The results were audited to make sure everything is correct by an external company BDO and sampling expert, Dr. Neethling, was asked to check all results, weightings and so on.

In order to gain an in-depth understanding of how the South African youth engage with brands, tailor-made reports can be ordered from Ask Afrika, providing insight and competitor analysis into specific industry sectors.

To enquire about these customised reports, phone Maria Petousis on +27 12 428-7400 or email [email protected]. 

For more information, visit www.askafrika.co.za.