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Young Canadians Now
Presented by Max Valiquette
Presented to Halton Region“Breakfast with the Mayors”
June 15, 2005
about youthography
• Founded in 2001, Youthography is Canada’s leading youth marketing consultancy
• Youth market research, strategy and marketing• Plenty of research (quant and qual)
– We put ‘youth at the epicenter’
• A lot of marketing– ‘money where mouth is’ factor
contents
• demographics• psychographics and values• youth trends right now• media• connecting to students
sources
• Qualitative and quantitative research– Regular online surveying of young Canadians– Focus and immersion groups
• Our youth community of approximately 14,000 +• Ping
– Current trends and related stats
• Statistics Canada– Will refer to periodically
demographics
the 4 x 5 factor
• The 10-29 population divides into four equal five-year cohorts
• This is the one thing you need to know…
demographics
Statistics Canada, 2003
Age
Male / Female
(number)
Male / Female
(% of population)
10-14 2,117,600 6.7
15-19 2,120,500 6.7
20-24 2,188,500 6.9
25-29 2,118,100 6.7
TOTAL 10-29 8,544,700 27
demographics
• 80% are from families with 1-2 children at home• 60% of women work out of home• 67% of unmarried 20-24-year-olds live at home
demographics
• 1 in every 2 young people (20-24) attending post-secondary school
• More students working part-time and taking longer to graduate
impact
• These demographic factors drive more youth trends than anything else…
…keep this in mind as we move forward
psychographics and values
psychographics
• There is a prolonged pre-adult life stage• This is the one thing you need to know…
psychographics
• Many youth ‘values’ actually have their roots in demographics…
• Fewer siblings at home = reliance on friends• Single parent households = greater self-reliance• Six-pocket syndrome = more as-needed cash• Immigration = colour blindness and diversity
psychographics
• Partially getting into adulthood earlier, but fully getting into adulthood later than ever…
• Average age of 1st menstruation = 12• Average age of 1st cigarette = 13• Average age of 1st intercourse = 16 (>)• Average age at graduation = 26 (mean 23)• Average age of 1st marriage = 29• Average age of 1st childbirth = 29
psychographics
• Think about this: how old is someone who is on-line all the time, likes movies, has a cell phone and texts with it, is in school but working part-time, sort of knows what they want to do with their life, is unmarried, childless, drinks beer, has sex, lives at home, and smokes a bit of dope on some weekends?
• Are they 15, or 25?
impact
• Some responsibilities earlier, but full responsibilities later
• They have more money to spend on food, fashion and fun than any other generation before
• ‘Save to Spend’ mentality– Some saving, but short-term (so far)
• Full adult purchases come later than ever
life stage borrowing
13 years 29 years
All Video Games Networked Games
Downloading mp3s Downloading DivX movies
Buying a Tim’s double-double Brewing specialty coffee
Skate and Snow Boarding Board Culture Brand Apparel
youth profile
• Psychographic trending with youth in Canada continues to show a group that puts high priority on:– Responsibility (to self and society)– Balance– Individuality
youth profile
• Considered by many to be a ‘hope generation’• They want to change things
– Focus on individual expression and creativity– Diversity of opinion and experience essential to this
culture– Adbusters movement– A sense of being accountable
youth profile
• Intensely aware of the world but not overwhelmed by it
• Late ’90s = ‘everything fast, everything new’ • Now: still there, but balanced by a meaningful
sense of responsibility and pragmatism
…so remember, it’s a high churn group
• They’re moving! The only constant is change…• …rather than looking at fads, we try to look at
trends• The best way to connect isn’t to segment them
into tribes or to try to catch the latest thing, but to understand their values
what they value
• Relationships • Communication• Information• Diversity• Empowerment• And what sews it all together…Technology
impact
• College/university is no longer the huge jump…just another transition into adulthood that’s started when at 12 or 13
• Living a post-secondary lifestyle while still in high school
• Controlling purchases (even if it’s not their money) for a long, long time: that has an impact on school-life expectations and desire to work
media
media in transition
• There has never been such a huge shift in media habits as over the past decade
• This is the one thing you need to know…
media in transition
• Media exposure in an average day for youth:
videogames
radio
school
movie theatres
public transit
billboards
bathroom stalls
internet
TVwild postings
mall
magazines
bus stop
newspaper
media in transition
• Internet progression and adoption was incredibly fast compared to that of television:– 1994: Introduction of the Internet– 1995: In offices– 2001: In nearly every home and school; 9/10 of young
people have “regular Internet access”– 2003: 54% of households have at least one member
regularly using the Internet at home
television vs. the Internet• Based on BBM Statistics, teen television watching
decreased by over 3 hours a week from 1996 to 2000…
…versus one hour for 18+
23.2
23.2
23.9
24.1
24.2
14.1
15.5
15.9
16.9
17.3
10 15 20 25 30
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
Hours/week
Ages 12-17
Ages 18+
Source, BBM 2000
time spent
How many hours per week would you say you typically spend:
N=1537, Ping National Survey, November 2004
Total
%
9-15
%
16-29
%
On public transit 2.0 1.0 2.3
Reading urban weeklies 1.7 0.5 2.0
Reading daily newspapers 1.3 0.7 1.5
Reading magazines 1.2 2.1 1.0
Watching TV 9.8 12.3 9.3
Listening to radio 5.1 7.9 4.9
Listening to on-line radio 4.7 1.1 5.7
On-line (for school or work) 6.6 4.0 7.3
On-line (for communication) 9.3 8.0 9.7
impact
• On-line communication is necessary…– The Internet is still growing with this target, both in
access (high-speed is growing and more people have access in multiple places making it more convenient)
– Always available and always meets their schedule– You never have to explain anything—you can just
show it to someone– Versatile (one medium, multiple uses)
• a discussion board• skimming content on a major web portal• creating your own blog
the school to work transition
5 ways schools are changing
1. Teachers: content providers to content facilitators
– Always something newer out there– Need to know what’s right and what isn’t
2. Internet: the dominant force in education– The “self-directed” student– Global learning
5 ways schools are changing
3. Continued move to colleges (as opposed to Universities- or even after university)
– Emphasis on “skills” for many; particularly relevant in an era of communications
4. The ‘end’of the school as social hub– Larger age gaps– More of a life that you can bring with you
5 ways schools are changing5 ways schools are changing
5. Schools are more of a business– More expensive (means greater expectations)– Marketed as businesses are (the school as brand)– Elements surrounding schools – scholarship or
research websites; on-campus businesses, etc – greater than ever before
Which of the following statements is closest to your opinion of marketing in schools, colleges or universities?
2000 % 2002 %
No marketing, period 17 26
Special circumstances/
company gives back
72 64
Marketing is perfectly fine 11 10
marketing in schools
work and school
n=1480
Internal National Study / Spring 2004 / 13-29 year old
Top Box Results
Total 13-17 18-22 23-29
Developing new skills 90.9% 86.9% 91% 94.8%
Getting formally educated 88.9% 81.7% 90.6% 84.9%
Finding things for yourself 84% 79.7% 84.2% 87.8%
Having a lifelong career 82.8% 88.3% 87.7% 80.2%
Being informed - current events 65.6% 61.1% 64% 73.8%
Being street smart 58.4% 61.4% 58.9% 54.1%
Starting a business 32.2% 30.6% 31.7% 34.2%
Simply rate each of the following concepts, ideas or values in terms of their importance to YOUR LIFE
school
• Formal education is seen as being most important for 18-22 year olds – the age where people are most likely to be in some form of post-secondary education
• High school students are least likely to realize the importance of formal education or acquiring new skills…
• …but like every other demo, place more importance on skills than a formal education
school
• More and more getting involved in post secondary – at least 85% put high priority on “formal education”
• Many take a vocational approach (the BA and certificate)• Tempered by an equal thirst for diversity of experiences
that lead to a “more whole” life education• Lots more travel• Lots more “holding off” on a big career until later…
looking for “street smarts” and life knowledge
• They need more money than ever– Average tuition increased over 135% over the last 10 years– Average tuition in 2003 was $4,025 nationally
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
West
East
Central
Quebec
Incr
ease
199
0-20
00
Tuition Costs
school
school
• About half of college and university grads left school owing money for their education, mostly from government student loan programs
• One in seven university graduates owes 25K or more in government student loans upon graduating
• More are working part-time and taking longer to graduate
Which sources, if any, are you depending on to help you fund your upcoming year of study?
Total
Personal earnings / savings 78%
Parents/relatives 60%
Scholarship/ bursary / grant 59%
Federal government loan (CSL) 36%
Provincial government loan 27%
Bank loan 18%
Company / Work pays 1%
RESP 1%
Other 1%
N=1258, Canadian Youth 13-29, Ping Survey, July 2004
school
school
• Increasingly seen as part of a “whole life” equation
• Increasingly seen as expensive• Increasingly seen as part of a longer period of
transition into full adulthood• Increasingly difficult to connect to students
through school and school alone
school
• “I don’t think I am learning things in school that are going to help me get a job, though.”– Male community member, 17
• “I know that I have to get in [to a university] but none of us know what we’re going to be doing there. I’ll decide when I am there.”– Female community member, 17
• “Everyone knows that a BA won’t get you a job, but I’m taking one anyway.”– Female community member, 19
work
• “Work,” for young Canadians, divides into three neat categories:– A job for money and money alone (tweens and teens)– A job for money and money alone (young adults who
won’t be moving into a career they love)– A job for love (or at least like) and money (young
adults who have started their careers)
work
• Huge difference between job for money and jobs as a career: important to recognize those differences– “Money” jobs have a lot in common, one sector or
industry to another– “Career” jobs are driven by a desire to get involved in
a particular sector
work
• “Money” jobs: a means to an end (usually paying for post-secondary education, a car, basic living expenses) until they leave post-secondary; or something they are “stuck” in
• “Careers”: aspirations are for a “lifelong career” (less and less about a single employer or company)
• “Money” and “Careers”: want a diversity of experiences – and while focusing on stability they put increasing emphasis on developing new skills, knowledge
• Expect to be working at a whole range of jobs • Many have aspirations for owning own business
work
• “I left high school and I knew I wasn’t going to college and I needed a job and here I am.”– Male community member, 22
• “I didn’t know how to do anything other than retail after school but it’s not what I wanted.”– Male community member, 20
• “I felt like if I wasn’t going to university or college or something then there wasn’t anything for me to do.”– Female community member, 24
lessons learned
• This is a time of great transition for young people• More partially self-sufficient from an early age…• …but only totally self-sufficient at a later age• “Working” begins earlier, work-for-cash ends later:
increased pressure to have job skills right away• But less of a feeling that education provides these
practical skills• How to balance a need for academic and practical
education?
Thanks!Thanks!Questions?Questions?Comments?Comments?Cocktails?Cocktails?
