SINGAPORE: Some 400 businessmen and marketing
professionals learnt what makes Singaporean youths tick at
MediaCorp's inaugural Youth Shout Day.
The findings of a survey of more than 1,000 youths
between the ages of 12 and 29 were presented.
The survey was commissioned by MediaCorp and
conducted by TNS, a market insights and consultancy firm.
39 per cent of those surveyed said they conform to societal
norms.
Many in this group aspire to own a property and car and get a good
job that pays well.
Another 28 per cent surveyed say they believe in the freedom of
expression, rights of others and are open to learning about and
working with other cultures and races.
The majority of youths surveyed are frequent users of online media,
with 81 per cent of them saying they feel that they are always
connected to the internet.
Participants also heard from students from polytechnics and junior
colleges, who shared their views on topics close to their hearts,
such as volunteerism and online gaming.
"We want to be deeply engaged with the youths, to understand them
better, to give them a forum to express their views, and
ultimately) we want to create content that's relevant to the youths
today," said Moses Lye, the head of youth engagement in
MediaCorp.
"In the near future, MediaCorp (will be) developing digital
initiatives, that would create content in the digital space, around
the areas of music, games and social engagement."
One of the participants, Canon Singapore's director of marketing,
Mr Edwin Teoh, 43, felt that the event took a "dramatic and
different approach" to reach out to youths.
He said: "I think for the youths of today, they are a bit more
sophisticated. From a marketing perspective, it is no longer good
for us to just push our advertising messages to them, but we need
to engage them in a more subtle way. It's really about the brand
experience that they have with us. I think that's how we will look
at crafting our messages for them in future."
- CNA/xq