12 Global Trends in Youth Engagement in 2014
Apr 8, 2014
DIGITAL
DIMENSIONALITY
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1. Digital Dimensionality
Interactive out-of-home advertising, mobile apps
augmented reality that add a contextual layer to physical
spaces, and the crowd sharing of an event via social
media, are just a few of the elements that contribute to
Digital Dimensionality. Youth experiences like concerts or
retail in-store events are amplified when technology adds
a whole new dimension to the experience. The high costs
of experiential marketing start to pay off when the Digital
Dimensionality is applied, as a brand impression can
become a digital engagement, a social broadcast, and
even the start of a long and profitable eCRM relationship.
This is the world that youth live in today, who now expect
their real-world experiences in any location to be
enhanced by the smartphone in their hand.
Topshops’s augmented reality dressing room provides a useful service
and doubles as a showpiece of Digital Dimensionality that adds value to
the consumer experience.
© Fuel Industries 2014
THE CONNECTIVITY
CONTAGION
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2. The Connectivity Contagion
Likely the most-observed trend emerging in 2014,
Google’s $3.2 Billion purchase of the connected home
technology brand, NEST, opened the year as concrete
proof that the Internet is about to take a giant step into
connected devices in everything from diapers to your
toaster and even your light bulb. Wearable and embedded,
the Internet in everything is transforming the world our
youth live in. Where Millennials grew up as digital natives
and saw the explosion of mobile and Internet on-the-go,
it’s absolutely clear that the next generation will see
connected devices become mainstream, interacting with
them in their daily life. The only question is if the
smartphone will still be the console that manages all the
connected devices in their lives in the future.
From nurturing toys like the Sense Mother, to everyday objects like the
Kolibree toothbrush, the Internet is coming to everything. This generation
will experience The Connectivity Contagion.
© Fuel Industries 2014
CONTENT
CONGLOMERATION
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3. Content Conglomeration
As youth continue to move away from the mass media
outlets of the past, brands continue to move into the role
of content creators. In the past, marketers funded
entertainment content through advertising. But the real
value was in the content. For youth today, they only know
a world where content-is-advertising, and where digital
channels either create content to get their attention, or
curate the best content and make it easy to absorb and
share. This has given rise to a slew of powerful digital
“news” outlets for youth like BuzzFeed and Upworthy,
while propelling the advertising free on-demand nature of
Netflix and HBO to become youth entertainment brands of
choice. To engage youth today is to become a compelling
content curator AND creator. Brands who deliver on this
are going to own a generation for years to come.
This generation is growing up in a world where the brands they use provide
them with the content they love. On any platform. On-demand.
© Fuel Industries 2014
PROLIFERATION
OF CONNECTED TOYS
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4. Proliferation of Connected Toys
With many successes but few hits, connected toys like
Skylanders, Disney Infinity and the new generation of
Furby will become more and more prevalent in the toy
aisle and the everyday lives of youth. While overall toy
sales were down slightly in 2013, tablets and mobile
devices – and the apps that kids want them for – are
screaming with potential for a new wave of toys that
interact with them. 2014 will see a new wave of
innovations – and our expectation is that more of these will
stick with consumers as toy manufacturers learn from
missteps and emergent startups step into the limelight.
Toy shelves will feel the change to; as we’ll see even
traditional toys and games make the leap to digital. From
toys that teach kids how to program, to digital experiences
requiring traditional toys, to new technologies that bring a
toy to life in new ways, no other category is set for total
transformation in the lives of youth than toys.
Furby might still be a little creepy, but he’s more relevant than ever.
Innovative technology in digitally connect toys, like Furby’s high-frequency
audio signals, will reinvent the category.
© Fuel Industries 2014
MONETIZATION
MOVES
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5. Monetization Moves
In light of Apple’s multi-million dollar refund to the tune of
over $32 million US, driven by livid parents whose children
were given the ability to rack up credit card bills via
games, the freemium model for apps has taken a
significant hit. Along with it, the change in COPPA rules
that went into effect on July 1, 2013 requires clear gates
around in-app purchases for mobile apps. These
groundswells are changing how apps are monetized. From
Star Wars to Disney to Nickelodeon, major content
providers are increasingly challenged in generating
revenue from their digital products. So to create
compelling digital products and make money, monetization
is critical. So what’s a brand to do? Go back to the paid
software model with a set price and bring more value to in-
app purchases. Although this is the trend, we do see
alternative forms of monetization on the horizon, such as
tying digital apps or virtual rewards to physical products for
a stronger overall consumer value.
Paid apps are becoming more necessary as part of the monetization trend
combined with in-app purchases as a more attractive (and transparent)
storefront for parents.
© Fuel Industries 2014
SOCIAL
GETS FOCUSED
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6. Social Gets Focused A recent focus group of 9-12 year olds revealed a pattern
of disinterest in Facebook, something reflected in recent
news stories around the decline of Facebook with teens.
While crying “the death of” is usually more valuable as a
headline than an actionable insight, we are seeing a shift
from the single Swiss-army knife-like social platform to
more mobile driven, single utility applications. New apps
like We Heart It, Jelly, Thumb, Whisper, and Backchat
(created by a 14 year old), are joining SnapChat, Vine,
Instagram, and Twitter to offer social media functionality in
a simpler and more streamlined mobile product, perfectly
tuned to the next generation. Innovative markets and fickle
consumers have a habit of destroying monopolies, and
that’s likely what 2014 will see more of as tech upstarts
vie to do that one thing much better than Facebook’s
everything. As Millennials were the generation of
Facebook, the next generation are looking to
be…something else.
Backchat, We Heart It, Snapchat, and Whisper are just a few of the apps
changing the way youth use social media.
© Fuel Industries 2014
TABLET
DEMOCRATIZATION
TABLET
DEMOCRATIZATION
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7. Tablet Democratization Tablets just became as cheap as basic eBook readers,
and they’re about to get a lot cheaper. In fact, new
Android tablets hitting the market in 2014 are set to cost
as low as a college textbook. Proliferation of these
internet-enabled, do-everything, music-mixing, game-
playing, movie-showing personal devices are going to
become evident in 2014 as we truly move from a two-
screen world to a three-screen one. With e-textbooks and
school districts adopting digital classrooms, like LA Unified
School District’s recent purchase of iPads for all students,
books are going to inch closer to a novelty. For youth
today, that means a transformation of textbooks, books
and magazines to a platform that global youth own as
digital natives. It will propel content creation and
publishing from their generation and we expect tweens
and teens to become the next global media mogul. The
window to every youth consumer is available to those who
know it best.
New Android tablets now in the $40-$120 price range are driving even
greater proliferation amongst global youth with use in the home, school,
and everywhere.
© Fuel Industries 2014
REHUMANIZING
FAMILY MOMENTS
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8. Rehumanizing Family Moments Screen fatigue from families and a desire for authentic
family moments in the home are creating a desire for
authentic family moments. While the new generation of
these experiences will likely still include a digital element,
the fundamental premise of re-connecting face-to-face is
going to grow in 2014. The whoever-grabs-their-phone-
first-from-the-stack pays game at restaurants is a good
example of this trend becoming popularized as is the
appeal of board games. With youth it means growing up in
a world where technology can be the center of family
connectivity. We are predicting 2014 to be the year of the
Smart TV, where an app enabled living room experience
begins to provide apps for kids to play together with their
families. Brands should take advantage of this insight now
with apps that enable real family moments.
Yup…families are getting sick of this. A device for every member of the
home is bringing a desire for authentic family moments. It’s an insight that
drives a tremendous opportunity for any family brand.
© Fuel Industries 2014
THE 3D PRINTED
HOME
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9. The 3D Printed Home 3D printers are getting less expensive. What happens
when a toy manufacturer introduces a simple 3D printer
for the home that allows kids to make their own toys?
What happens when HP enters the home 3D printer
market with the same financial model as ink jets (revenue
on the cartridge, not the printer)? What happens when
consumers flood the market with their 3D printing files –
like allowing fans to print Happy Meal toys for themselves?
As more brands continue to experiment with campaigns
that use fast-to-market custom products, 3D printers have
captured our pop culture consciousness, creating an even
greater desire for our own creations. Although we’re not
quite expecting mass-market 3D printer adoption in every
home in 2014, we expect we’re going to get there soon.
And what does that mean for the next generation?
One way or another, this generation will be shaped by 3D printing. Product
creation and manufacturing for every child will empower youth in ways
we’ve never seen before.
© Fuel Industries 2014
IMMERSIVE
GAMING
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10. Immersive Gaming From the new Oculus Rift Crystal Cove prototype to the
freshly-funded Avegant Glyph, new VR technology is
giving youth an immersive gaming experience like never
before. Rift (as it’s affectionately called) features greatly
improved positional-tracking capabilities and a crisp new
OLED display that is being hailed as the future. This has
game developers excited, with Doom 4 in development
and titles such as Minecraft, Battlefield 3, and Half-Life 2
rumored to be on the way. Another VR innovation, the
Avegant Glyph looks like a pair of headphones, but it goes
way beyond audio, using micro mirror rays to reflect light
directly onto your retinas when pulled down over your
eyes for an incredible pixel-free viewing experience.
Imagine a world where every pair of headphones is like a
4K screen inside your head! If you’re a young gamer, it’s
not fantasy, it’s what you want for your birthday this year.
The new Oculus Rift Crystal Cove wowed at this year’s CES. The
applications for VR devices is already stunning onlookers and paints a
picture of a future filled with unpredictable uses.
© Fuel Industries 2014
THE DIGITAL
ARTISAN
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11. The Digital Artisan While the term artisan may conjure images of a Brooklyn
hipster wearing coveralls baking bread in a Pret A Manger,
the digital artisan economy represents the millions of
youth globally who are making their own products and
selling them online. With Etsy, Shopify, Square and
Square Market, and Kickstarter providing the tools to help
young entrepreneurs easily fund, promote, sell and
distribute their products, digital artisans are driving a new
way to turn their hobbies into successful careers. At the
heart is product creation, and the idea that any young
person can create art or products that can find a market.
The empowerment needed to think that way, and the
technology needed to make it accessible, has merged at
this particular point and time. For this generation, it’s not
only possible but it’s likely that something they create can
attract fans and make money. Millennials grew up
understanding that they could take control, for the next
generation, control is a given. They are driving their own
success.
Etsy is one of the ways that creative individuals are making their visions a
reality. Youth are experiencing a world where great digital tools allow their
creative aspirations to turn into a business career.
© Fuel Industries 2014
THE ONE
DIMENSIONAL 3D TV
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12. The One Dimensional 3D TV While 3D movies continue to bring more money into the
studios via increased ticket costs in theaters, at home, 3D
television still isn’t in high demand. Back in 2012, only
115,000 U.S. households even watched a 3D broadcast.
With experts saying ‘everyone who wanted a 3D TV
already has one’, the outlook shifts towards continuing to
sell more connected smart screens. Youth behavior
patterns aren’t exactly helping the outlook for 3D: shorter
attention spans, TVs being used as the second screen to
a phone or tablet, and the general willingness to get
content on any size screen at any time preclude their
interest for a ‘premium’ cinematic experience at home (let
alone a static one that requires special glasses). While 3D
will continue to tickle curiosity in theaters with blockbuster
titles becoming more immersive experiences, home TV
sales will continue to lag.
The sheen of 3D TV has worn off, and there’s not a lot of growth in store.
As youth focus on their mobile smartphones and tablets, even exciting TV
features become less relevant to this generation.
© Fuel Industries 2014
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Contact us: [email protected]
Written by: Jeff Roach, Sean MacPhedran & Nick Iannitti
12 Global Trends in Youth Engagement 2014
Thank you.
© Fuel Industries 2014
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