Have you heard of Matthew Robson? If you haven’t, and you work in the advertising or media industry, you will no doubt soon be reading this British 15-year old’s report “How Teenagers Consume Media” which he wrote last week while on an internship at Morgan Stanley. Here is a copy of the report if you haven’t already read it.

Some of Matthew’s key insights include:
- Teens don’t listen to the radio or read newspapers
- Almost all teenagers have access to the Internet, where they are heavy Facebook users and searchers (and they hate display ads)
- Music is a key part of their lives – they are always listening to it, but don’t like paying for it.
- All teens have mobile phones – which function more like a stereo and text-message machine to them

Shortly before hearing about Matthew’s manifesto, I had recently read an article on how to reach multicultural youth by Tru Pettigrew on Fast Company. According to Pettigrew, multicultural youth “online and mobile consumption and spending habits are outdistancing the general market … almost 2-to-1.”

I found an interesting intersection between Pettigrew’s comments and Matthew Robson’s report on the issue of “access and benefits.” According to Pettigrew access and benefits are the most important drivers of success in marketing to and driving brand engagement among multicultural youth. According to Robson, the key driver to teenage behavior is their lack

of money. They want access to movies and music, but will go out of their way to find it cheap or for free. Any brand that is able to give them access to the content they demand cost-effectively, or free, will win their hearts.

One thing is for sure – digital technology is the great equalizer. It gives teens access to the content and information they desire on their terms, whether they are multicultural or not.

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