Targeting youth at their most engaged

Technology is an integral part of the lives of youth, intricately woven into their daily activities. Understanding the amount of quality time that young people are spending on instant messaging presents advertisers with a potent opportunity for brands to connect with this audience.

Kealy, who is head of PR and marketing at Microsoft International, focused on Windows Live MSN Messenger; the instant messaging system which has over 8 million accounts worldwide, 350 000 of which are held in South Africa, and informed the audience how MSN Messenger is capable of engaging with youth in an unique way.

Need to understand

The motivation for the survey was the need to understand how young people in emerging online markets interact and communicate with each other in the digital age, and consequently what this means for advertising partners.

The research was conducted online by an independent research consultancy on behalf of Microsoft. The sample group totaled 19 968; 7925 of whom were teenagers, 6859 who fell between 20 - 30, and 5185 who fell between 30 - 40.

The survey found that the Internet ranks as the number one choice to meet new people in these age groups. Most respondents to the survey used instant messaging (IM) to flirt online, while two thirds of the respondents agreed that ‘It is easier to type than meeting face to face'.

The most important reasons given for high preference levels of instant messaging usage for flirting was that it was: ‘Less intimidating than face to face' followed by ‘More time to respond'. Many of those surveyed have also used IM to talk dirty; the majority of the total users have used IM to flirt with somebody whom they have never met, 31% of the users have used IM to flirt with a work colleague, and interestingly, a high percentage of respondents used IM to profess their love to another individual.

Social interaction

When it comes to social interaction, 48% of South Africans surveyed think that the Internet is the best place to meet new people, while 23% prefer bars and 24% prefer social clubs, and 47 % of South Africans surveyed had used Messenger to flirt with someone or have been chatted up by someone on MSN Messenger. South Africa came out tops (Graph A) when it was asked if it were easier to type than flirt face to face - a hefty 70% of South Africans revealed that they felt more comfortable with typing than flirting face to face.

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Interestingly, only 34% of South Africans (Graph B) surveyed admitted to talking dirty on Messenger, while the percentage in other countries was substantially higher. Perhaps we are a polite lot after all?

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The research reveals that youth today are enthralled with MSN Messenger because it enables them to instantly communicate with their friends, it entertains them, and it allows them a channel to express themselves. It is also free.