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Protein® Audience Survey 2012
10
Survey Introduction
IntroductionWelcome
For over 14 years Protein has specialised in
connecting audiences with emerging culture and
new ideas. At the heart of everything we do is our
global audience of over 50 million 18-35 year old
influencers. They’re what we call cultural innovators
- they create trends, change thinking and
continually challenge traditional models of media.
More importantly though, this audience is redefining
consumer tastes, attitudes and behaviour, meaning
that what they’re doing today is what the wider
market will be doing tomorrow. And because of this,
Protein Networks continually researches their habits
and lifestyles in order to understand where they are,
how they think and what makes them tick. So we
created this, our second annual Audience Survey,
in which we observe, analyse and explain how they
live, work and play.
However, your research doesn’t need to stop there.
You can continually monitor and track behaviours
and new ideas through the Protein OS, a suite
of apps, events and daily insights. We’ve also
produced a short film to accompany this survey,
which presents street voxpops from around the
world, alongside animated data visualisations and
profiles of the people driving these trends, all of
which you can view here:
http://prote.in/audiencesurvey
I hope this 2012 edition provides you with some
inspiration and insight for your year ahead.
We’re always keen to hear any feedback, so if you
have any questions, comments and suggestions,
please just drop us a line.
William Rowe, CEO & Founder, Protein Ltd.
14
Survey Methodology
14
MethodologyThe Survey
The audience is what makes us. It’s what we call
the readers of our online publication network, a
group of leading cultural websites that specialise in
music, art, design, fashion, travel and technology.
It’s our quantitative sample of consumers that we
continually talk to, monitor and analyse. It’s through
these observations that we can understand the
tastes, attitudes and behaviours of tomorrow’s
18-35 year olds.
To do this we conducted a survey across our global
network, which consisted of a series of questions
about lifestyle habits. An MPU advert was placed on a
series of key websites, which invited people to fill in a
short survey. This ran for two months in late 2011 and
allowed us to collect a total of 2,218 responses.
This year’s survey was the biggest yet and used even
more of our network. Participants included Dezeen,
ArchDaily, MoCo Loco, Who Sampled?, FACT
Magazine, Superfuture, Unlike City Guides and Vimeo.
Once the survey finished running, our in-house
insight team analysed the data and contextualised
the findings. To do this we used desk research and
our existing observations on trends and behavioural
change, as well as asking leading experts their
thoughts about the current state and future of
their industries. And we created further context
by including examples of key cultural innovators,
projects, stores and spaces that resonate with our
audience and are shaping future trends.
The result is what you see before you: an in-depth
trend report that analyses the behaviours and tastes
of today’s 18-35 year old cultural innovators.
16
Survey Demographic
19%
16%
16%
7%
7%
4%
4%
4%
3%
3%
2%
2%
Art & Design
Student
Advertising
Media & PR
Architecture
Music
Science & Tech
Fashion
Education
Online Services
Journalism
Retail
35+
25-27
31-34
22-24
28-30
19-21
16-18
UK
United States
Canada
Germany
Australia
France
Brazil
Netherlands
India
Ireland
Mexico
Spain
43%
16%
3%
3%
3%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
How old are you?
23%
17%
15%
14%
11%
11%
9%
What industry do you work in?
What country are you from?
DemographicOur Audience
So who, exactly, is the Protein Audience? The
majority of this year’s survey sample are 18-24
years old, with 77% in this age group while 23% are
over 35 years old. Most of them are male (57%) and
around 43% are female.
The UK is the most represented country with 43%
of the sample. Around 16% live in the US and 3%
in Canada. Europe is also included in the sample,
with 3% from Germany, 2% from France, and 2%
from The Netherlands. A further 3% are Australian
and 2% are Brazilian. In total, the sample included
people who lived in over 80 different countries
around the world.
According to the results, our audience is a highly
educated group with around 85% saying they have
an undergraduate degree or higher, and a third say
they have a postgraduate degree. Some are still
studying, with 16% saying they’re currently students.
Those currently in work are mostly employed in
creative roles. The most popular industry is art and
design, with around one fifth (19%) of the sample
saying they work in this sector. A further 16% work
in advertising and marketing.
Carey, 21, Student, Manchester
Alex, 23, Blogger/DJ, London
Jo, 25, Trend Researcher, London
Marshall, 22, Promoter, London
Ansen, 20, Shanghai
Ansen, 20, Blogger, Shanghai
Ansen, 25, Marketing Assistant, Shanghai
Camille, 28, Art Director, Brussels
Survey Music
Music
Red Light Radio, Amsterdam
‘The increased inter-connectivity of everyone has made it much easier to have an audience. You don’t need a publicity machine behind you.’Sam Spiegel, Music Producer
Hypermarché, Hamburg
37
Survey Music
Listen Up
While the industry itself may remain flustered by the
internet, our audience’s behaviour is slowly redefining
how music is consumed. For them, it’s all about shared
experiences, whether that’s on- or off-line.
From stacks of CDs and records, to heavily stocked
iTunes folders, ideas around the ownership of music
are changing as streaming technology gets faster
and better. It’s no longer necessary to physically
own a piece of music, as sites such as Spotify,
Rdio, MOG and Grooveshark now offer access
to seemingly endless amounts of music all in one
place. Not to mention, it’s legal. It’s a trend we
expect will grow even more, with one fifth of our
audience saying that they prefer to listen to music
on streaming sites.
When our audience want to find new music,
they typically turn to their friends (77%) for
recommendations or use music sites (64%) such as
Pitchfork and FACT Magazine. And as more music
software integrates with Facebook, such as the
recent Spotify app, our audience are turning to social
networks to discover new music (54%), often based
on what their friends have been listening to.
Vinyl Revision
As we continue to move into the ever faster and
digital realm, we’ve noticed some of our audience
want to slow this movement down. Although CDs
may well and truly be over, we continue to see a
rise in the number of vinyl releases from artists.
In fact, according to the Entertainment Retailers
Association (ERA), UK vinyl sales were up 55% on
last year in the UK.
A number of smaller record labels are leading this
movement and continuing to bridge the gap between
music and art, partnering with artists to produce
limited edition vinyls and prints. We found that a small
group of vinyl fans in our audience (16%) are keeping
the format alive. And despite the digital revolution, a
few – around a tenth (11%) of our audience – are still
purchasing physical albums as keepsakes.
41%
21%
16%
11%
10%
0%
MP3
CD
Don’t purchase
Vinyl
Online streaming
TDK C90’s
Which format do you purchase the most?
56%
20%
16%
8%
0%
MP3
Online streaming
Vinyl
CD
TDK C90’s
Which format do you prefer to listen to?
40
Survey Music
Live Music On The Rise
Live music is very much alive and well. Our
audience regularly watch bands and DJs play at
concerts, clubs and events: a tenth see live music
every week, around 12% see it every fortnight,
and a further quarter (26%) see it every month. No
wonder there’s been an explosion in micro-events
and boutique festivals. According to industry
magazine IQ, in Europe alone there were between
2,500 and 3,000 music festivals this year.
And live concerts aren’t always just a band on a
stage. Increasingly, innovative twists on traditional
performance are coming to the fore, giving 18-
35 year olds a more visceral and unpredictable
experience. Rizlab, for instance, is a live music
workshop by Rizzla, which pairs a musician with a
visual artist in order to create a multi-sensory event.
For those who miss it, coverage can be watched
online in real time via a video stream.
Community Broadcasting
Many of these 18-35 year olds are taking their
hyperlocal sensibilities and adding them to the live
music experience. The result? Community radio
stations. Just look at the success of East London’s
Boiler Room. Part-live gig and part-online radio station,
the show invites people to come to its regular events
to watch emerging DJs play, while coverage is also
streamed live over the web. Anyone with an internet
connection can join in.
NTS Radio, also in London, is another example. It
broadcasts from a town square in the Dalston district
of the city, and uses its website to let people listen
to its shows, as well as see the personalities behind
them and photographs of the Dalston community. ‘I
guess we’re offering a really good way to tap into a
scene,’ says Clair Urbahn, co-founder of NTS Radio.
‘There seems to be a worldwide interest in Dalston at
the moment.’ The trend exists beyond London, too.
In Amsterdam, Red Light Radio broadcasts live DJ
sets from a former brothel window in a backstreet of
the city. And DUBLAB in Los Angeles, as well as FBi
in Sydney, both use a similar mix of in-the-flesh and
on-the-web live events to present new music.
‘If we can listen to an album online, why shouldn’t we be able to watch a live show or club night online too?’Antony Hill, FACT Magazine
Numbers Warehouse Party, London
Survey Fashion
Fashion
Norse Projects, Copenhagen
‘Everyone is really discovering heritage and utilising it to tell their own story.’Marcus Ross, Jocks & Nerds
RlLacoste x LOOKBOOK.nu
53
Survey Fashion
Style Council
Many of our audience live at the cutting-edge of
fashion. But this cutting-edge isn’t so much about new
trends and standing out, as spending wisely, valuing
quality and looking for craftsmanship in items they buy.
The most important thing our audience looks for in
an item of clothing is that it suits them, with 78%
saying this was vital. Value is also important, with
55% saying they seek this in an item. A further 38%
want new clothing to be durable and last a long time.
But how do they decide what to buy? For 59% the
most popular source of fashion inspiration is other
people in the street. Nearly half (46%) say their
fashion is inspired by friends, and around 38% say
they’re inspired by subcultures. Celebrity culture,
meanwhile, barely registers with our audience. Only
10% say they’re inspired by celebs when it comes
to fashion, and only 20% say they’re inspired by
what they see on television.
In terms of fashion media, blogs remain the most
popular format, with 55% saying they regular read
them to stay ahead on new trends. But old media
isn’t redundant. Our audience still value something
they can hold in their hands, with 52% saying they’re
informed about fashion by magazines. It’s a rise of
independent fashion publications, such as Inventory
in the US and The Gentlewoman in the UK, that
seems to be giving the medium this new lease of life.
Social Commerce
Our digitally native audience are, as expected,
regularly buying clothing on the web. Around a
fifth (17%) say they make several online purchases
a month, and a quarter (26%) say they do so at
least every two months. It’s no wonder that so
many retailers are revamping their sites to include
editorial stories, video content and anything else
that helps to make them more ‘sticky’.
Luxury menswear webstore Mr Porter has
pioneered this trend with a website that’s equal part
shop and style magazine. It features interviews with
leading style icons, stories about how to dress well
and in-depth features on brands. All of which then
link back to products on sale in the shop. Topman
has also been inspired by this trend, adding a
monthly online magazine called Topman Generation
to its e-commerce site. It features profiles with
young emerging artists, designers and musicians.
And it’s not just editorial that’s being used by
fashion stores. In Sweden, interior design store
Lagerhaus created the first online pop-up shop,
the Blog-Up Store, which saw six bloggers host a
widget on their site that featured a series of curated
items that people could buy for a limited time only.
59%
55%
52%
46%
42%
38%
21%
21%
20%
10%
People on the street
Blogs
Magazines
Friends
Collections
Subculture
Music
Movies
Television
Celebrity style
How do you discover new trends?
Peop
le on the street
Blogs
Magazines
Friends
Sub
culture
Male
Female
Collections
Music
Movies
Television
Celeb
rityS
tyle
56
Survey Fashion
Future Shop
Our audience are keen online shoppers but they still
enjoy the experience of a bricks and mortar store.
Despite all the frills and gimmicks that retail brands
are adding to their physical stores in a bid to entice
online shoppers back, our audience simply want
an old-school store environment. By far the most
important thing they look for in a store is that it sells
top quality products, with 81% saying exactly this.
Over half (58%) want a shop to be well-designed. And
a further 53% say they simply want good service.
And so much for QR clothes labels, AR technology
and NFC purchasing: only 6% want to see the latest
technology in a shop. And in our current age of
austerity, luxury retail just doesn’t seem to matter
to them either: only 4% say they’re interested. For
retailers, it’s time to get back to basics.
Craft & Graft
In our post-industrial and digital world, the
handmade is increasingly celebrated by people as
a luxury. And our audience is no exception. They’re
demanding more products that have been made by
hand, with around half (47%) saying they look for
‘craftmanship’ in the clothing they buy.
Several brands are responding to this need with video
content that communicates the production process
behind their goods. It’s also being represented in our
audience’s media. Inventory magazine, for instance,
features profiles with the designers, makers and
craftspeople behind contemporary brands such
as White Mountaineering and Nigel Cabourn. Ben
Sherman’s Conversations in Modernism campaign
paired two contemporary makers together to
talk about modern design, and documented the
conversation through videos on its website.
‘Social media is proving that it’s not enough to open an online store and expect lots of sales. People want to buy what their friends have.’Lee Carter, Hint Mag
Smith Journal, Melbourne
Survey Technology
Technology
Berg Studio, London
‘It’s incredible that it’s now common to see a video made by a guy in Asia, then see him have a conversation with someone in Miami and see them talk about these new creative devices they’re working on.’Blake Whitman, Vimeo
60
Survey Technology
Digital Natives
Last year we reported how our audience were early
adopters of technology. Of course, they still are. But
what’s becoming more apparent is their need for
devices and software that add function to their lives.
They simply won’t download an app unless there’s
a purpose, whether that’s to pay for goods, keep an
eye on their fitness or simply check the weather.
That’s not to say they aren’t consuming large
amounts of technology. There might be a Digital
Downtime movement, as we mentioned in our
Overview section, but our audience remain as
teched-out as ever. Around 46% of them have an
iPhone, about half (49%) own some sort of MP3
player and 64% of them have a digital camera. They
tend to prefer Apple computers, with 58% owning
a Mac and 42% a PC. The iPad is proving more
popular than alternative tablet devices, with around
16% owning one, while 2% own an Android-based
tablet device. In terms of gaming, the Wii is the
most popular device, with 13% owning one, while
a further 9% own an Xbox console, and 6% a
Playstation PSP.
People are now interested in small stories because of the media. Before it was newspapers and television. But now it’s more about Twittering small moments.’Oki Sato, Nendo
Social Content
Our audience’s online habits are a mix of social
networking and information research. Despite the
rise of Facebook, email still remains key, with 60%
saying this is the activity they spend most time
on while online. Staying up to date with the latest
news is also popular, with 54% saying they do this
the most, and a further 45% say they prefer online
editorial publications. They also like to create their
own content. With use of Facebook, as well as niche
sites such as Instagram, photo-sharing has become
a key activity, with around a third (30%) saying they
do this while online. Photo-blogging too has become
prominent, particularly with the rise of Tumblr, which
grew in membership by 218% last year.
Twitter remains popular, with about a third (30%)
saying they like to spend time reading other
people’s tweets. Branded tweets, created by
companies however, aren’t so popular, with just
10% saying they read them. But most of all, people
just want to browse the web and procrastinate, with
63% saying they use the internet to simply search
for inspiration.
Browsing for inspiration
Emailing
Staying up to date with news
Streaming music
Reading editorial content
Talking to friends
Reading tweets by people
Streaming videos
Photo sharing
Location-based social networking
Reading tweets by brands
Playing games
63%
60%
54%
46%
45%
44%
32%
31%
30%
13%
10%
8%
What do you do online?
Reading tweets by brands
Talking to friends
Emailing
Browsing for inspiration
Location-based social networking
Reading tweets by people
Browsing for inspiration
Location-based social networking
Reading tweets by people
Streaming videos
Photo sharing
Browsing for inspiration
Staying up to date with news
Playing games
Streaming music
64
Survey Technology
Mobile Commerce
The audience is using mobile phones for so much
more than just communication. They use their
devices as travel guides, as health monitors and
news services. They’re also increasingly using them
to buy products. Payment apps such as Square are
enabling this to happen outside and away from the
cash register. The system has recently been used
by the Salvation Army in the US to enable on-the-
spot donations by people who don’t have enough
cash with them. Then there’s Google Wallet, which
uses Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology
to let people make payments in a store simply by
waving their smartphone in front of a reader. The
technology is still in its infancy, but we predict it will
only get bigger. Especially as 20% of our early-
adopting Audience say they want to pay for goods
with their phone as well as their cash and card in
coming years. Plus a further 14% want their mobile
to function as a travel card.
But don’t forget the Slow Technology movement.
Many of the Audience don’t always want the latest
tech fix for the sake of it. The key is functionality.
After all, around a quarter (24%) say they just want
their phone to be a phone.
Quantified Self
Our audience are proving that data isn’t just for nerds.
A growing trend for these 18-35 year olds is the use of
apps and devices to record habits in order to improve
their lifestyles. Apps such as Daytum let people
use their phone to record, well, just about anything.
Whether it’s tracking coffee consumption or how
many miles they run each weekend, people input data
about their habits for self analysis later on.
‘People will be more active and fit if they understand
more about how they move and how their body
behaves,’ says Dr Marco Cardinale, the Head
of Sports Science and Research at the British
Olympic Association. ‘The ability to provide real time
information and continuous feedback on various
parameters can actually help more people exercise
and motivate them.’
Protein Index
88
Survey Conclusion
Conclusion
Despite our turbulent times, this year’s survey
shows that our audience remain positive,
productive and pro-active. They’re a social group
operating both on- and off-line. They seek convivial
environments, niche gatherings and face-to-face
moments. They share a desire to support local
enterprise – whether it’s buying a beer from a
neighbourhood micro-brewery or supporting artists
through a community radio station.
Within retail, they look to brands that display
values of authenticity, simplicity and straight-
forward service. They support their local stores and
shopkeepers, preferring to buy products of quality,
value and craftmanship.
They also seek this sense of craft in the culture they
consume, whether that’s a workshop that invites
them to participate in a hands-on activity, or a
piece of media that shows the processes behind
a product. They want brands to share a similar
outlook and to create visually compelling content
that reveals production methods and the talented
craftsmen behind them.
Our audience are set to be at the forefront of
cultural change and new consumer behaviour.
For brands, this means engaging them online
through purposeful content and offline through
live events in their local neighbourhood.
By supporting them in a tone, manner and voice
that’s appropriate, brands can also be part of their
constantly changing world.
105
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