It is a known fact that 47 per cent of Indians are under the age of 20 and 10 per cent of the world population is an Indian under 25. This fast growing tribe of young Indians will prove to be the biggest opportunity over the next three decades.
The Challenge
While this is a great opportunity for brands in India or entering India, it is a greater challenge for marketers to predict the evolving nature of the youth market due to its treacherous nature. The challenge is not just right marketing and communication, it all boils down to the correct segmentation for the youth along with right packaging. For marketers involved with India’s biggest marketing theme – Bollywood, understanding the moods and sentiments of the youngsters to create the right content for the booming category is also very important.
Ashish Patil, Business & Creative Head, Y-Films, Vice-President, Yash Raj Films
The Strategy
Top consumer insights about today’s youth taken from all over the world have been used and implemented while designing marketing and communication strategies specifically to attract the youth market. Personalisation, impatience, instant gratification, unlicensed thrills, obsessive intensity in romance, humour at the cost of others and ‘MEtopia’ are some of the common traits of the younger crowd and YRF is targeting these characteristics of the youth market to contain their interest.
The Implementation
Sheryl Crow – All I wanna do is have some fun. She is not the only one. It’s a fundamental truth about young people. Patil says, “These kids have been born into a world of internet, cable TV, mobile phones, they are born happy.” They want to have fun and they are singularly obsessed with having fun. It is changing the way content and communication is being delivered. This consumer insight was tapped into by Yash Raj Films while making a movie about two fun loving people. The movie – ‘Bunty aur Babli’ became an instant hit in 2005. It was India’s biggest grosser worldwide. The content has become so drastically youth-centric these days that a television commercial for a bank is hardly different from that of a chewing gum brand.
Another important aspect of communicating to this generation is packaging. Patil says, “Making it look good is going to be critical to get you that opening, be it a film, shower gel or a car.” If it’s stylish and if it looks good, consumers would be attracted. Patil say that apart from Hrithik’s new look and Bipasha’s double role, and the bikes, this was one of the most important factors behind the success of Dhoom:2, one of the biggest grossers of the year 2006.
However, you cannot go by research alone. Patil here refers to the 2007 movie ‘Chak De India’ which was one of the most successful films of the year commercially and the film also won unprecedented critical acclaim and numerous awards from all across the world. “Had we gone by research, we would have never made a women’s hockey film in India. But it worked,” he says.
Another important character trait Patil points out is the love for self that the youngsters have these days. “What’s in it for me?” How can you design your content, communication or positioning to deliver that promise to your audience is also going to be critical.
Results
Steve Jobs – Man as a consumer does not know what he wants, until he sees it.
Yash Raj Films’ Y Films, set up especially to churn out movies catering to Youngistan, successfully released two movies this year. Luv Ka The End, touted as an anti-rom-com and Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, a movie revolving around the social networking site – Facebook. Both the youth-oriented movies were able to capture the teen market.
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