A key pillar of Channel 4's success is the ability to engage with young people. However, the vibrancy and dynamism of youth culture mean having to look for new ways to understand this audience. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue.
The study used a mix of online forums, street interviews, blogs, video diaries and input from marketing professionals, designers, event promoters and others to explore today's tribes. The quantification of tribal characteristics proved a greater challenge. The solution was an online game, seeded and spread virally by users.
The study identified 23 tribes. Above this there are three broad tribal directions, each with its own primary influence: Townies (the mainstream), Indie Kids (guitar music) and Trendies (fashion). It is now possible to produce tribal profiles for over 200 brands, as well as media activities, drug usage and expenditure.
The study's method of quantifying the tribes meant that data on the size of each tribe should be treated with caution. The relative success of the seeding process could affect the number of responses achieved from a tribe.
Anyone needing to communicate with young people, from brands to the government, can benefit from the study. For example, media agencies have developed communications plans targeted towards different tribal areas.
This paper demonstrates that talking to young people on their terms and creating an imaginative and rewarding research experience produce genuine insight from probably the toughest audience to understand.
