Just as you thought you had left your youth behind and were heading towards the ‘settled down’ phase of your life, it seems that marketers may be re-classifying you as part of youth culture. The ‘Golden Age of Youth’ report by Viacom Brand Solutions International seeks to redefine ‘youth’ globally as based upon engagement and participation in today’s society, rather than by age, and calls for the 25-34 age group to be considered part of the youth market.
As this age group delays adopting adult responsibilities and stays physically and emotionally young for longer, marketers need to give traditional adult brands, such as financial products, a more youthful image to make them relevant.
The report identifies three stages of youth: Discovery (16 to 19 year olds), Experimentation (20 to 24 year olds) and Golden (25-34 year olds). Interesting findings from the study include that the Golden group is the most likely to be happy in their personal life and comfortable with who they are.
This is especially the case for those who live in Mexico (84%), India (83%) and Saudi Arabia (82%), while the Discovery group is most likely to be stressed, particularly if they live in Europe and the US. 25 is considered to be the ‘ideal’ age globally. There are regional variations, of course: according to the report, 22 is the ideal age for buying a car (this is 20 in the US and the UK and 29 in China), while 27 is the ideal age to buy a house (25 in the UK and 33 in Japan).
Written by Penny Crossland
