Social Media Portal (SMP) interview with Luke Mitchell from Voxburner

Luke Mitchell from Voxburner on youth marketing and the forthcoming Youth Marketing Strategy (YMS) summit

Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there at Voxburner and Youth Marketing Strategy?

Luke Mitchell (LM): I?m Luke Mitchell, Head of Insight at Voxburner and we are the company behind annual summit Youth Marketing Strategy. I look after the content strategy on voxburner.com, write monthly reports and shape the agendas for all of our events.  

SMP: What is the company / companies behind the event and why the decision to create and put them on tackling the youth market?

Voxburner reports on the new generation. Through our reports, research and events we let marketing professionals know the trends, habits and attitudes that are about to impact their business. We wanted to create an independent industry event that brought those involved in youth marketing together to hear the latest insights, share experiences, discuss fresh ideas and make new connections. 16-24s can often be misunderstood or their habits change so fast that brands can?t keep up ? Voxburner is here to help.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about Youth Marketing Strategy event (for those that don?t know), what is it and what will the event address?

Youth Marketing Strategy is the industry summit that brings together the best minds, top brands and edgiest agencies involved in youth marketing. It?s a two day event which takes place on 25th-26th March 2014 at the Royal College of Physicians in London.  

SMP: Why have you launched this event and how long has it been going?

LM: This is the fourth year that we will be running the event in London and we are very excited to be taking Youth Marketing Strategy internationally for the first time later in the year, when we go to New York. I?ve seen the event grow from a few youth marketers sitting around a table, to a full scale 300+ delegate conference. Understanding this fast-moving audience has become more
and more important to marketing professionals and the future of their brand.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why?

LM: Attendees at the conference come from a broad range of businesses and sectors. Marketing professionals from brands, universities and charities, together with those from agencies make up the majority of the audience. They come to hear from experts and learn more about best practice, to hear directly from young people, to network with their peers and basically it?s an opportunity to bring everyone together to share ideas and experiences.

SMP: What will be the highlights at the event and why?

LM: We have our best line-up yet and over 40 top speakers will share their latest insights, experiences and ideas across two days. Sessions will be run by speakers from Twitter, O2, Jack Wills, VICE, Facebook, the University of Nottingham, Yo! Sushi, Microsoft, Cancer Research and more. Gail Gallie, Chief Executive at Fallon will chair the day and we are excited to have Fraser Doherty, Founder of SuperJam as our keynote speaker.

A panel of top youth brands will share how the biggest challenges in youth marketing are tackled and beaten, whilst our live youth panel offers audience members the chance to quiz smart and savvy 18-24s.

We?ve also added an exclusive extra half day focusing on how young people interact with technology, which will be chaired by Maggie Philbin, CEO of Teentech.

Event partners include Student Beans, BAM, YouthSight, BIMA, Social Media Portal (SMP) and we are proud to be supporting The Prince?s Trust this year.

Highlights from Youth Marketing Strategy 2013

SMP: What do you hope attendees will take away from this event?

LM: We hope that attendees will take away real actions so that they can go away and use what they have learnt in their day to day jobs and when planning their next marketing campaign or strategy. This year for the first time we have three dedicated streams to suit audience interests, focusing on students, recruitment and youth culture. We also know it?s really important to hear from young people themselves and at previous events, the live youth panels have been honest, raw and brilliant sessions.

SMP: What are the challenges that you?ve encountered and how are you overcoming them in what you have been doing so far for the Youth Marketing Strategy event?

LM: The broad range of audience members and how people define ?youth? has always been a challenge. Some people say there wasn?t enough focus on students, whereas others say there was too much and want to hear from those segments of young people who didn?t go down the educational route. It?s really important not to bracket ?the youth market? as one whole segment and look deeper into the breakdown. We hope we?ve achieved that this year with the addition of dedicated streams to the agenda and speakers such The Prince?s Trust, Bright Young Minds and Jamal Edwards from sbtv.  

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?

LM: Getting top name speakers on board is always a huge buzz as each one adds more value to the event. The reputation of YMS is very strong now which enables us to more easily interest senior professionals who are busy, but can see why they should be involved. The highest moment is always on the day though; opening the doors and seeing hundreds of faces arrive.

SMP: What are the main social channels are you using, why and which are the most effective for the Youth Marketing Strategy event?

On Twitter, you can follow @youthstrategy for all the latest Youth Marketing Strategy news and announcements and @voxburner for daily insights on young consumers. We also run a LinkedIn group, Youth Marketing UK, where industry professionals can discuss all things youth marketing.  

SMP: What will attendees find their biggest youth marketing challenges and opportunities may be this year?

LM: We know that the biggest ongoing challenge brands face is winning youth attention amid a lot of noise. They also want to know how they can improve their communications and get their message right. This year I think they will be particularly interested in understanding which channels to prioritise and how to distribute their budget wisely in a fragmented media environment. Retention will no doubt be on their minds too.

SMP: What is the most challenging part for you brands to build their awareness and loyalty presence in digital environments (including social media)?

LM: This is an audience that, if you don?t keep track of, you will lose touch with very quickly. On top of that, a lot of the opportunities in digital disappear as quickly as they appear as the marketing environment changes. You saw in the earlier days of Twitter and Facebook how some forward-thinking brands invested early and reaped the rewards. Today brands could look at Snapchat, Vine and Instagram and see an opportunity, but how do they put forward the business case without anything to go on but a hunch? Being a good youth marketer today is about collecting the right information and experiences to make judgement.

SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media, social networks and/or technology for the next 12 to 18-months and why (why could this impact youth marketing)?

LM: In social, definitely observing Facebook as it copes with the rise of unbundled apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp that do one simple thing but do it better. Also seeing how content marketing plays out in social media, including possible changes to algorithms to improve the user experience and how the audience responds to a further barrage of content and brands? engagement tactics ? we are seeing them tire of click bait. ?Think mobile? will need to be a priority for brands in everything they do. One interesting technology trend is digital detox. We have some very interesting new research on youth sentiment towards their tech use to release at YMS.

SMP: What are your top five predictions for youth marketing over the next 12 to 18-months?

LM replies with:

1. Brands as heroes ? in an uncertain and less optimistic world for young people where the Establishment they were brought up to trust has let them down, anyone that shines or shows the way is a magnet. Young people are eager for heroes and it doesn?t matter what they look like, so brands that recognise the opportunity for a different kind of relationship with their followers will step in.

2. Keep up or give up ? if you?re not responsive on mobile, available on all devices, active on all platforms that young people are, don?t be surprised they reject you.

3. Digital backlash ? a growing interest in the physical world. Our Voxburner Academy have told us recently about their love of printed books over ebooks and how much they enjoy a break from the technology devices they sometimes feel enslaved by. There is a tension between their attitude and behaviour.

4. Boring isn?t boring ? it?s okay to want to own a house, be highly educated and save money. In fact, the new generation is happy to admit these are all things they are aiming for. Business isn?t dull ? in the UK, more than half of young people aspire to run their own. And responsibilities are accepted. The new generation grew up Googling solutions and fixing their own problems. They grew up entrepreneurs.

5. End of youth culture ? brands will increasingly realise the majority of young people are aspirational mainstreamers with diverse interests, not a homogenous tribe of media clichés. Youth culture does not exist as it did in previous decades. They will begin to approach 16-24s with more consideration.

SMP: What are your top five youth marketing tips for businesses?

LM replies with:

1. Build an insights dashboard where you can keep track of young people?s habits, opinion and behaviour. Make research a priority and make sure you are speaking to young people regularly.

2. Step out of your comfort zone and take risks in your marketing approach. Many brands want attention but are afraid to stick their necks out.

3. Understand that great value is the top priority for young people and plan around that. Convenience and efficiency are also important.

4. Deconstruct the work of those who do youth marketing well to understand how they do it, whether media owners, celebrities, brands or organisations.

5. Make friends in youth marketing. Come to YMS, chat to everyone you can, develop your network and plan partnerships. Great things will come of it.

SMP: Best way to contact you and Youth Marketing Strategy?

LM: Check out the website and for any Youth Marketing Strategy questions contact Event Director Rubie Bridge at rubie @ voxburner.com.

You can also follow me on Twitter @coolhandorg or drop me a message at luke @ voxburner.com.


SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?

LM: Nothing today except a huge jug of coffee, which is swilling around my stomach. I?m trying the 5/2 fast?because it?s January.

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

LM: When I wash the car, I often do the neighbour?s for a surprise.

SMP: If you weren?t working on Youth Marketing Strategy what would you be doing?

LM: I?ve always harboured a fantasy to be a tradesman and own a transit full of tools (not stored overnight ;)

SMP: What?s the best youth marketing driven activity you?ve seen in the last six-months and why?

LM: Domino?s are excellent at student marketing. Their focused activity at the start of the university year meant they established an immediate relationship with new students. Handing out free slices of pizza and vouchers at Freshers? Fairs makes them the talk of the event - hundreds of students line up to collect their slice. Their digital strategy is perfectly aligned too ? young people can order at their own convenience on mobile, laptop, Facebook or their app.  

SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?

LM: Provence, an eco campsite.

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?

LM: Coffee, naturally.

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

LM: Telepathy. All the other superpowers sound great, but I think the novelty of flying or invisibility would wear off. Telepathy has more scope.

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