This paper was first presented at the ESOMAR Youth Marketing Conference, Beijing, 24–26 October 1999. It discusses approaches to youth research designed to help ensure that our understanding of the youth target is maximised. It acknowledges the complexity of the youth consumer's attitudes and brand relationships, and the consequent need to understand these relationships from a number of different angles. It focuses on an examination of methodologies and techniques which go beyond the classical qualitative remit, challenging traditional notions of researcher objectivity. It will argue that more subjective approaches to the world of the youth consumer will enable a more contextualised vision of their world and their relationship with brands. The paper will outline the belief that such an approach will contribute to the levels of insight researchers are able to offer clients, in turn enabling them to better anticipate change and development in youth attitudes and needs. Project examples where we believe this has been achieved will be detailed.
Article navigation
1 February 2000
This article was originally published in
International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children
