By Toby Harrison, chief strategy officer Ogilvy Network ANZ, and Dan Krigstein, director, The Growth Intelligence Centre & The Growth D_Stillery
Regardless of the constant evolution and change in our industry, one thing has remained eerily consistent…the demand for growth.
Regardless of the industry, every business is under pressure to deliver growth in some way, shape or form. It might be for the long-term, mid-term or even for the short-term.
Regardless of the time-horizon, everyone wants growth and almost everyone wants it to happen right away.
Unsurprisingly, when we are asked to find a new avenue for growth, almost all of us tend to begin the process by searching for the untapped and under-leveraged audiences that can bring us growth. Without fail, the vast majority of us will default to targeting a new audience…and almost always, this audience is the young!
It should make sense, given young audiences have yet to be cultivated and nurtured, meaning they potentially represent a goldmine of unrealised revenue. Unfortunately, this line of thinking has become so prevalent in our industry, that we have come to believe that growth can only come from the young. But the problem is…young people can be fickle, seldom loyal and very few of them actually have any significant disposable income. Meaning that potential ‘goldmine’ of unrealised value we are all searching for is still going to take a very long time to actually materialise.
But what if there is a better way to think about unlocking growth? What if we don’t need to ‘split’ our audiences up into discrete groups, but could instead talk to all people in a collective and inclusive way that could stimulate growth?”
Rather than trying to find what separates us, what if we could identify the things in our collective psyche that could unite us instead?
We conducted an extensive body of research across the nation, and what we found was a collective desire for ‘youthfulness’. Regardless of age, gender, geographic, cultural or socio-economic background…we all want to feel more youthful.
But what does it mean to be ‘youthful’? Although it isn’t easy to define, it’s important to recognise that youth and youthfulness are not the same thing. Youthfulness is a mindset and suite of behaviours that transcend age. At its simplest, youthfulness is defined by the vibrancy and vitality of someone who is searching for ways to make either, the world better…or their world better.
This can manifest in many different ways. We might be seeking to make things better through the lens of our identity, connection to community, achieving success or finding new levels of enjoyment. Fundamentally though, we are nation that is searching for better…and this is a desire that we all want to fulfill.
This presents a huge opportunity for brands. Following the recent period of flux we have all experienced, Australians are currently rethinking and remodelling the way they are living. Whilst we are collectively exploring new ways of living, working and changing our behaviours, smart brands can capitalise on our desire for change.
At a time when we are so open to change, the brands who can help us in our ‘search’ for better have huge potential to be trialled and adopted. But only if they can help fulfill our desire for youthfulness.
Some Australians are already drinking heartily from the fountain of youthfulness. Sadly though, not all of us are able to engage in our pursuit of youthfulness so easily. In fact, for many of us, there are significant hurdles that stymie our capacity to engage. We may be time-constrained, we may have physical barriers or responsibilities that are in the way. For many, there are even psychological barriers that prevent us from fully applying ourselves to the things that make us feel youthful.
However, it is these very challenges that provide a significant opportunity for brands. For those of us with the least capacity, brands can play a pivotal role in helping us overcome our barriers, thereby increasing our capacity to engage.
Which brings us back to where we began, with growth. For those who are seeking it, (and we all are…) aiding Australians in their search for youthfulness presents a powerful opportunity to tap into. There is an entire nation seeking youthfulness, and many of us have significant challenges standing in the way.
But for those who want to unlock the broadest growth potential for their brand, engaging the youthful audience and helping Australians in their search for youthfulness is a powerful, and as yet vastly untapped opportunity.
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Top image: Toby Harrison and Dan Krigstein