Overcoming the challenges of managing sustenance and growth in the era of economic downturns with the help of youth marketing strategies in India

Youth Marketing is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 12 to 34. Youth marketing strategies commonly include television advertising, magazine advertising and online marketing. Other common youth marketing tactics include entertainment marketing, music marketing, sports marketing, event marketing, viral marketing, school and college programs, product sampling and influencer marketing.

Youth have always been a prime target for marketers. More so in India now, as two-thirds of the population is below 35 years of age.65%, or over 700 million Indians, are younger than 35 years. Another critical factor is the increasing buying power of this segment. A distinctive feature of Indian youth is that they are extremely tech savvy. Even when marketers manage to reach this critical consumer segment, retaining their interest remains a challenge. “The main question on the mind of marketers targeting 18-35-year-olds is, ‘how do I reach out to this group‘ and, more importantly, ‘how do I keep them engaged with my product‘. The challenge for marketers is to convert today‘s youth into tomorrow‘s preferred customer. Successful marketing to youth should entertain and empower, be very responsive to their queries and needs, give them free reign in designing Web content, and engage them in quick-win SMS-based competitions. Marketing campaigns should have functional, educational and emotional components built in to successfully target youth.