Copyrights reserved – HDI, Youth Marketeers, B. H. van den Berg, 2007 Chapter 10
10.1 TECHNOLOGY
In a recent article on international trends published in 2007 by trendwatching.com they make the claim that …
“1 billion consumers worldwide consider online access an absolute necessity, needing it “like they need oxygen.”
Millions of consumers are obsessively checking their email, checking their buddy lists. Why? Consumers are CRAVING recognition, and email and chat deliver just that: it’s about who they are connected to, and how desperate others are to hear from them!
Blogging enables and empowers individuals to publicise comment, opinion and emotional postures to a captive audience who can respond and interact with ‘a safe distance between them.’”
Urban youths in South Africa are tech savvy consumers. Technology is part of their DNA and it is becoming increasingly important for brands to utilise their favourite technologies in promotional offers to engage the young consumer. It allows for brands to connect directly with the youth wherever or whenever the youth wish to.
As we have indicated over the past three years, the computer era has really never surfaced in the home environment. The Khuza survey last year showed us that less than 12% of youths have access to computers in households. Greatest access is achieved in primary schools and tertiary institutions. But with cellphones going online, access will be increased dramatically and we can assume that this international online lifestyle and the need for recognition, regarding opinions and connection will change the face of South Africa’s online demand and potential.
We have already seen that young people are starting to rediscover the importance of connecting with people to get meaningful information and skills. But it is also true, and confirmed by their coolest job selection (Actor, DJ etc.) that they crave attention, audience and recognition.
Online contact, mobile cellulars and MXit empower young people who crave networking and the aforementioned recognition to fulfil these desires. In last years survey we saw that the youth crave content. This year, we see them redefining content as people. That is, people are the content and in many cases, the key to understanding complex contexts. In reality this shift empowers young people to identify what people think, what they do and where they are. The difference is, in most cases today; the context is now, current, immediate and not historical.
Mobile connecting and online connection becomes a 24/7 desire, because of the rising popularity of networking. This global trend is referred to (by some trend trackers) as an ONLINE OXYGEN LIFESTYLE. Devices that allow for this are referred to as OXYGEN LIFESTYLE DEVICES and they empower even the youngest user to experience the value of context when you have content.
The biggest challenge (and downside) facing us, is to manage the demand within the context that South Africa already suffers from insufficient bandwidth capacity.
Manifestations of the OXYGEN LIFESTYLE:
Imagine South Africa’s youths, close to 12 million of them adopting this oxygen lifestyle. In the past year, we have seen the most incredible rise in popularity of a web site referred to as MXit that came from nowhere with no above the line advertising, and by purely word of mouth has created a new breed of MXit chat junkies, in primary schools and secondary schools.
Thousands of Young Adults who have access to internet, either through WAP phones or home computers, are posting their profiles on Facebook.com populating You Tube with interesting mobile videos and sharing pictures, addresses, buddy lists, games, files, music etc.
The new status device is measured by its ability to give you access to “online oxygen” and capacity to store digital material, play it back and or modify contents. We create new places to dock these devices and WiFi hotspots to accommodate the oxygen lifestyle in all areas of our urban community.
This metatrend is fuelled a concept called infolust which is thelusting after detailed information on where to get the best of the best, the cheapest of the cheapest, the first of the first, the healthiest of the healthiest, the coolest of the coolest, or on how to become the smartest of the smartest. Instant information gratification is upon us.
10.2. COOLEST HI-TECH GADGET
The Top 3 Tech Gadgets are the same for all three age groups.
- Apple iPod leads this category by 24% and achieves this for the second year running. Girls have driven the preference for Apple iPod with 20% more of them showing a preference for Apple iPod
- 2nd place goes to PlayStation 3 (30.3%) which moves up from 4th place in 2006 to 2nd place. This is driven primarily by the male respondents. 23% more males would prefer a PlayStation to females.
- PlayStation PSP moves down from 2nd place into 6th place this year.
- Xbox 360, ranked 8th last year, achieves 3rd place in 2007.
- The PC is popular amongst the Young Adult market primarily because it is seen as a device necessary for owning and using Apple iPod more efficiently. Over the past three years, males have biased their votes towards game consoles and females to ownership of a PC. Apple iPod has changed this significantly as significant amount of females have switched their vote to Apple iPod and PlayStation PSP this year.
Table 10.2.1:
COOLEST TECH GADGETS: / Tweens / Teens / Young Adults / ALL TOTAL1 / Apple-iPod / 41.74 / 58.00 / 62.99 / 54.21
2 / PlayStation 3 / 39.75 / 23.87 / 27.44 / 30.34
3 / Xbox 360 / 26.65 / 23.33 / 23.70 / 24.48
4 / PlayStation 2 / 19.00 / 19.53 / 18.09 / 18.91
5 / PC / 14.80 / 18.26 / 21.62 / 18.43
6 / PlayStation PSP / 22.17 / 16.82 / 11.43 / 16.63
7 / Game Boy / 10.06 / 8.32 / 4.37 / 7.65
8 / Hip2b2 / 5.58 / 6.33 / 2.29 / 4.69
9 / JNC / 2.79 / 3.44 / 1.25 / 2.50
10 / Sega Mega / 2.72 / 2.89 / 1.25 / 2.28
Almost 80% of males elected their favourite hi-tech gadget as a game console. Whilst in the past three years, this was biased to White and Indian/Asian consumers. This is no longer the case as all race groups today in urban regions of this survey aspire to owning a game console or Apple iPod. Race groups with the lowest desire for PC are Black and Coloured youths. However, it becomes apparent during qualitative discussions, that Black youths aspire to own a laptop and that they do not perceive a PC to be as desirable as a laptop. Mobility of hi-tech gadgets is an entry criterion today and does not feature as a added value element.
One might ask how Tweens are able to afford these high tech gadgets that form such an integral part of their lifestyles. According to the Tweens 45.6% of parents acquire these Hi-Tech gadgets, 11.4% receive these Hi-Tech gadgets from other family members as gifts, and only 11% of Tweens are able to buy these gadgets by saving for a portion of the purchase price and by parents paying the remainder.
According to the responses, 21% of Tweens stated that they upgrade their Technical equipment about every 2 years, and an astonishing 18% upgrade as often as ‘every 6 months’.
According to the Teen sample they attain these technology gadgets mostly from their parents. 44% of Teen’s parents purchase these products for them. 12% of Teens noted that they purchase the products with the help of their parents and 13% stated that other family members buy it for them.
Teens stated that 15% of them upgrade their technology every year and 8.4% upgrade every six months – a more realistic response than in the Tweens.
As with Tweens, parental approval rates relatively high for almost a quarter of these respondents.
More technical aspects start becoming an influence for more Teens such as quick load, integration, and reliability.
The ‘reputation’ of the device jumps from 5% in Tweens to almost 20% of Teens – illustrating the value and strength of peer influence.
‘Print’ has a strong influence on more Teens (than amongst Tweens), whilst TV influences most respondents in this age group.
It is evident (in comparison to who purchases the gadgetry) that there is only an 8% increase in personal purchases between Tweens and Young Adults. This is significant since it indicates that the primary consumer of Hi-Tech gadgets is often not the primary sponsor/purchaser, 80% of the purchases made in this category are influenced parents or older family members who purchase the devices for them.
10.3 COOLEST CELLULAR PHONES
As the capabilities of cellphones continue to grow, the role of cellphones in the youth’s life has become more significant. In this survey 67% of Tweens stated that they own a cellphone, 89% of Teens own a cellphone, and 93% of Young Adults own a cellphone.
During focus groups, it was evident that the style of the phone and level of innovation are the main drivers of desire for the phone. The features are perceived to be the physical functions of innovation and are main symbols of “cool”. The youth also indicate that their cellphone is their most important possession.
Tweens, Teens and Young Adults send “please call me” SMS’ to family and friends as often as 3 – 5 times a day.
55% of Tweens indicated that their parents purchase their cellphones on their behalf, while 63% of Teens’ parents purchase it, and 50% of young adults parents purchase their cellphones. Out of the total sample only 10.7% of the respondents saved their own money to purchase cellphones and 15.7% save an agreed portion of the cost and then their parents assist them by providing the balance for an upgrade phone. 19% of the total sample indicates that they upgrade their cellphone products every two years, which confirms that many upgrades are returned to contract cellphone users who upgrade every two years.
Table 10.3.1:
COOLEST CELLPHONE: / Tweens / Teens / Young Adults / ALL TOTAL1 / Nokia / 44.96 / 58.41 / 68.19 / 57.08
2 / Samsung / 53.61 / 57.32 / 46.15 / 52.23
3 / Motorola / 27.71 / 24.41 / 21.83 / 24.67
4 / Sony Erickson / 23.05 / 22.06 / 23.49 / 23.12
5 / LG / 17.25 / 9.40 / 6.03 / 10.72
6 / Blackberry / 8.19 / 7.41 / 4.99 / 6.97
7 / iPhone / 2.61 / 3.25 / 7.07 / 4.30
8 / Siemens / 3.79 / 0.90 / 1.66 / 2.08
9 / Panasonic / 1.93 / 1.08 / 0.62 / 1.21
10 / Sagem / 1.99 / 0.90 / 0.21 / 1.00
Nokia once again, for the second year running, tops this category, being ranked 1st overall with 57.0%, followed by Samsung in 2nd place with 52.2% and Motorola in 3rd with 24.7%. Teens (38.2%) and Young Adults (68.2%) favour Nokia as their preferred brand, whilst the Tweens (44.9%) prefer Samsung as theirs.
The Top 6 places stay unchanged from 2006. Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericcson and LG dominate this market.
The preference of Nokia increases with age, from 45% in primary schools to almost 70% in Young Adults. The opposite seems true for Samsung., where more younger respondents prefer the brand to older respondents and Sony Ericcson shows no significant difference across age groups, whilst LG is more popular amongst Tweens than any other age group (driven primarily by females).
Both males and females in this section voted Nokia as their preferred brand. What is interesting to note is Nokia and Samsung shared 1st place amongst the females with 57.8% each. Male respondents preferred Nokia (56.4%) and Samsung (46.5%).
Amongst the regions, Gauteng, Western Cape, Free State and North West/Limpopo areas favour Nokia, whilst Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal prefer Samsung.
53% of Coloured respondents favour Samsung as their preferred brand, whilst all other race groups prefer Nokia.
10.4 COOLEST ONLINE SOCIAL SITES
Table 10.4.1
COOLEST ONLINE SOCIAL SITES: / Tweens / Teens / Young Adults / ALL TOTAL1 / MXit / 41.51 / 53.53 / 41.16 / 45.61
2 / Google / 36.63 / 35.08 / 44.28 / 38.43
3 / MySpace / 9.80 / 15.01 / 17.67 / 14.32
4 / TeenZone SA / 11.41 / 15.73 / 5.61 / 11.05
5 / MSN Chat / 5.41 / 6.51 / 16.22 / 9.19
6 / Cool Terms / 15.33 / 8.32 / 3.12 / 8.78
7 / Mig33 / 5.73 / 11.21 / 6.86 / 8.12
8 / YouTube / 11.05 / 7.23 / 5.61 / 7.93
9 / High Five / 7.14 / 4.34 / 9.15 / 6.86
10 / Skype / 4.42 / 3.62 / 6.24 / 4.70
Coolest Online Social Site is a new category this year. It has a mix of web sites and WAP applications for cellphones. MXit is the most popular site overall and Tweens (41.5%) and Teens (53.5%) drive this preference. Both genders rate MXit number 1 with females driving the polls for MXit and males driving the votes for Google.
Young Adults on the other hand prefer Google (44.3%).
10.5 COOLEST TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER
COOLEST TELECOMMUNICATION PROVIDER: / Tweens / Teens / Young Adults / ALL TOTAL1 / Vodacom / 69.04 / 68.35 / 69.02 / 68.72
2 / MTN / 52.70 / 56.06 / 51.56 / 53.34
3 / Cell C / 20.93 / 19.53 / 18.09 / 19.67
4 / Virgin Mobile / 22.68 / 17.72 / 17.26 / 19.29
5 / Telkom / 12.43 / 16.64 / 16.63 / 15.14
Table 10.5.1
Vodacom is once again selected as the youths number 1 choice in Telecommunications Provider, but its scores are down by approximately 8% from last year. And although it still holds 1st place, it as well as MTN have lost approximately 10% each of “mindshare” to Virgin Mobile, who currently sit with a preference or mindshare of approximately 25% in their first year of launch. Virgin Mobile is finding marginally more favour amongst Tweens than the other age groups.
MTN tends to be weaker in Gauteng, whilst Cell C and Virgin Mobile have achieved relatively strong preference in Gauteng and Western Cape relative to other regions. It is currently the younger White Tween sector that is driving the Virgin Mobile preference.
Across all regions Vodacom comes out tops by a significant margin followed by MTN. This brand leads over the 3rd position by, in some regions more than 48%, thus indicating that Vodacom and MTN dominate this market with Virgin Mobile nibbling away at their proportionate dominance.
Virgin Mobile entered the market last year, pushing Telkom into 5th place.
10.6 COOLEST RINGTONE PROVIDER
Ring tone providers are a new category we are reporting this year. We have monitored this category together with web sites since last year and it is evident that the market for ringtone providers has become exceptionally busy, especially amongst young consumers.
Since cellular phones play such a key role in the lives of the youth, we take a look at how the ringtones can play a role in the hi-tech world of the young consumer. The available ringtone provider brands, not only provide ring tones, but wallpapers and a wide range of acceptable as well questionable images for cellular phones.
Table 10.6.1:
COOLEST RINGTONE PROVIDERS: / Tweens / Teens / Young Adults / ALL TOTAL1 / Exactmobile / 20.99 / 37.07 / 36.17 / 31.57
2 / 35050 Mobile Magic / 21.01 / 20.80 / 12.06 / 18.02
3 / Nokia ringtones / 19.88 / 15.37 / 17.67 / 17.49
4 / 31314 Xcite Mobile / 17.78 / 15.37 / 13.72 / 15.44
5 / Nabstar / 15.06 / 16.64 / 7.28 / 13.10
6 / iTouch / 7.70 / 7.59 / 10.60 / 8.44
7 / Waptrick / 8.09 / 11.03 / 4.57 / 8.28
8 / Cobra / 7.16 / 6.87 / 3.95 / 6.06
9 / Juice / 8.07 / 4.70 / 5.20 / 5.94
10 / 1 Stop mobile / 6.89 / 3.62 / 3.33 / 4.51
The number 1 choice overall is Exactmobile - with a lead of over 13% over 2nd choice (35050, Mobile Magic). The Tweens sub-segment has selected 35050, Mobile Magic as their 1st place, followed by Exactmobile.
The female poll is 35% whilst the male poll is 28%, showing a female bias in the voting. Both males and females selected Exactmobile as the 1st position in the rankings. Exactmobile is biased to older respondents (late Teens and Young Adult respondent). Whereas 25050, Mobile Magic seems to be scewed to older Tweens and younger Teen respondents.
All regions ranked Exactmobile number 1 in this category. Across all race groups, Exactmobile was ranked the youth’s favourite ringtone provider by a significant amount.
Emerging brands in this category amongst older age group is 31314 Xcite mobile. iTouch,(more for Young Adults) and Waptrick. It is interesting to note that primary school consumers tend to select a wider range of ringtone providers than their older counterparts.
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