A study by Ernst & Young Africa (2012) revealed that about 65% of the total population of Africa is below the age of 35, and over 35% are between the ages of 15 and 35 years, making Africa the most youthful continent.

By 2020, it is projected that three out of every four people will be, on average, 20 years old. On top of it all, about 10 million young African youth arrive each year on the labour market.

This shows that Africa is a young continent. Younger than what you (and I) may have thought. Here’s the kicker – these are your future customers and clients.

The question to then ask is, 'do you know how to engage with them?' To answer that question, we must analyse this market. We must understand what their communication and consumption patterns are.  

With that said, here are a few things we do know about this audience:

  • To them, data is almost as important as food. If they’re not connected, they’re 'no one';
  • They are a mobile generation. They always think about the context in which they consume information;
  • Youth who are mobile are always multitasking – that’s why content must always be brief, visual, easily accessible, and not data-intensive;
  • Colloquial language is very important. They have a jargon – study it and use it;
  • Content must be aspirational. It must focus on what the youth can become – it must give them a voice; and
  • Showcase a new type of African – mirror who, and what, they want to become.

If we know that the African youth are online, and we know that they’re using multiple platforms that we probably aren’t even aware of, then how do we speak to them meaningfully and encourage them to take action online?

The answer lies in data. If this audience is online (which they most certainly are) then they’re consuming and communicating; and therein lies data. Within data lies the key.

Let’s leave that there for a second and consider a traditional buying funnel where we create brand awareness, which then filters our target audience into consideration. We might try and remarket to them in this phase as well. We then hope that the correct individuals are being spoken to.

From there we gather leads which are probably (mostly) non-qualified. The historical problem is that our data from the outset has been dismal. We market with a spray-and-pray approach and then wonder why our leads look like our fridge the morning after a party.

Now, consider a new buying funnel where we create brand awareness by first optimising who we’re speaking to through qualified data. We leverage data and analytics to target and maximise spend on high-level prospects. We then create a differentiated customer experience leveraging addressability, to create highly effective and relevant remarketing experiences.

We already have a pretty good feel for who we’re speaking to in this phase. Channel optimisation then becomes critical, as we personalise and drive increased conversions. By the time we’ve reached customer remarketing, we’ve already spoken to a qualified data set.

This is all only possible through data from the outset, which is plugged into a programmatic media buying ecosystem, which is made up of many critical players. 

Now, back to the African youth. We’ve touched on the fact that they’re young; that they’re engaging in ways we probably don’t understand; that we need to use data and think about how we engage with them differently. Now, let’s apply that to an industry. Let’s look at the travel industry.

If I were a player in this industry, how would I start speaking to the African youth to either get them to start travelling or to nurture them to start travelling in the future?

The answer is simple, but the execution is difficult. Here’s my suggestion:

  • Start by gathering data;
  • Make use of programmatic targeting methods;
  • Make sure your content is relevant, aspirational, and mirrors the type of African that they want to become;
  • Drive customised landing experiences;
  • Remarket;
  • Give. Give content, give lifestyle benefits, give music, and give data; and
  • Influencers – don’t underestimate the power of influence in their lives, especially in the realm of music, fashion, etc.

I know it probably sounds daunting to speak to an audience that you know nothing about. But with the use of sound online marketing principles, anything is starting to become possible.

Let me leave you with this quote from Eric Schmidt, Google executive chairman, 'there were five exabytes (5 million terabytes) of information created from the dawn of civilisation to 2003, but that much information is now created every two days, and the pace is increasing'. 

Data, people. Data.

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