slide 1 girl guides canada presented by youthography

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Girl Guides Canada

Presented by Youthography

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Who we are• Youthography is not a traditional agency

– Traditional agencies pick the thing that they do and then do it for everyone• We do lots of things but only for the under-35 age range

– This means we respond to a market, rather than a product and are in constant touch with niches within that market

• Understanding youth is our bread and butter and the soul of our business– At any given time we have numerous marketing initiatives and creative

executions in field, we survey over 100,000 young people in a year and we’ll talk face-to-face with thousands more

• We’ve also been allies with the Girl Guides for years, working on numerous projects

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About YouthographyOur capabilities are split across two distinct groups within

the agency:• Youthography Research & Strategy

– Full-service qualitative and quantitative research and strategic planning

• Youthography Marketing & Creative– Advertising and creative for TV, web, print, out of home and

any other place you can think of (yes, including mail)– Event planning, property creation and promotion development

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A GENERATION

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A Generation…• I had a discussion about this event recently with two

colleagues and we discussed how hard it is to keep up with change

• A big, historic, diffused, volunteer-based organization (that’s you) is trying to be relevant to the most fickle, unpredictable, temperamental, evolving group of people in the country… and their daughters… it’s not easy!

• If you are a Ranger right now and have been in Guiding since age 5, here’s a recap of things that didn’t exist (or weren’t known) 12 years ago when you joined…

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From kid to teen…

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living in transition• Four levels of separating from being a ‘kid’

1. Keep childhood possessions / values2. Reject parental-imposed possessions3. Put away possessions in public, but play in private

• Look at tweens and Barbie4. Put away possessions for good

• Ultimately find older, socially-acceptable substitutes to play, like video games, socialization and gossip

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For Tweens, transition means…• Tweens (typically classified as young as 8 and as

old as 13) are part of a longer pre-adult lifestage• Tweens are more actively engaged in consumer

choices than previous generations• Tweens are having a greater impact on parents

than ever before

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For Tweens, transition means…• Transitioning is a part of creating

an identity• Tweens try on multiple

personalities to create an identity they feel reflects their personality

• Experimentation is important – and they tend to do it with absolutism, even for the moment

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transition: girls

0 4 6 8 10 12

Playing fantasy games (house) Chatting with IM

Putting MP3s on

your iPod

Reading books

Shopping at the mall with girlfriends

Watching music videosWatching teen

programming like Gossip Girl

Reading teen magazines

Going to the movies with

friends

Playing with dolls/toys

Collecting

Playing with friends outside

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What is important?Communication Friends & Family

Information Diversity

Empowerment

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Fun• Tweens distance themselves from kid-related

fun…when it infantilizes them– Even if they really love or are comforted by these

things– Image and peer pressure to grow up outweighs all

other feelings of attachment– They don’t want to hang out with their little sister and

their Hilary Duff backpack is so yesterday• They want to hang with their friends and carry a purse

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Fun• Kid’s perception: being older = more fun• This fun is truly linked to the release of restrictions that

are currently in place and guarded by parents– Staying up late– Going out on your own– Dating– Wearing what you want– Eating what you want– Driving• What used to be fun at 9, is no longer suitable for

someone who’s now 11 / 12

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And as they get older…

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me to we“My friends are my family.”

“I can’t live without my cell phone.”“Why do they spend so much time texting?”“My daughter is on facebook all the time.”

“Don’t they care what’s out there about them?”

• What’s the deal with the group experience? And how is this regular connection to a youthful network blurring the line between public and private?

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me to we• To paraphrase the New York Magazine,

this trend is the “biggest generation gap since Rock ‘n’ Roll”

• The culmination of all of these trends-- relationships, communication, information and technology-- represents a natural evolution of group dynamics with young people.

• It’s not just about being part of the hive…

• …now, the hive is on steroids.

Less parental

interaction

More importance on friends

More youth-

focused society

Tech that enables

connections

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me to weTHE WAY IT ONCE WAS• One person walking through life with peaks and

valleys

Graduating High School

Graduating College

First Job Getting Married

18-years-old 25-years-old

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me to weTHE WAY IT IS• No clearly defined life path; a distant, uncertain future• High moments are not the traditional milestone events • Instant ability to connect to your network, your own age• What do you want to be when you grow up has been replaced by

“What are you doing right now?”

Moving into

residence

Vacation with

friends

Basketball tourney

First date with BF or

GF

Seeing a favorite

band

Spring Break Trip

Attend a big music festival

Go to a best

friends wedding

Graduate from

College

Move to a new city

Go abroad

Throw House Party

Camping trip

Propose

18-years-old 25-years-old

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Me

me to we• There is always a

“solo” moment: in fact, some of the really important moments need removal from the group...

• ...and connecting to the group all the time is impossible, anyway

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Me

We We

We

me to we• Moments and

achievements are celebrated with the hive, not outside of it

• The “We:”– Creates social support– Provides a sense of

validation– Provides opportunity– Can be anyone who has

come into their life at any point in time

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me to weWHY?• Because they’ve grown up

with constant surveillance... and constantly surveilling (?)…

• ...and it is a two-way relationship

• The network is the message and you are the network

• “it’s not really real until it’s in my facebook status.”

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Observations

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Key Observations• Spending time with friends tops tween girls’ list of

priorities• Tweens are looking for opportunities to be in control of

themselves and their lives; they are taking more control of choices – in and out of the home– Can Girl Guides lead and give girls more control?

• Tween behaviour is often the result of influence of others – we learn from those around us, more specifically, those we admire. – The response to role models is manifest in clothing,

makeup, music, language, etc.

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Key Observations• We need to look at Tween girls as active participants

involved in building their own understanding of themselves– That is where the fantasy meets the reality: trying on different

personalities allows them to see what fits• Self-Empowerment of tweens and teens needs to be

expressed in as modern a manner as possible, even if rooted in tradition– i.e.: Leaders have to be comfortable with Facebook and IM

• How are you different from your parents? everyone discovers the Beatles, but derivative music still sells

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Challenges• There are many identities at once on the brink of

both childhood and adolescence constantly renegotiating themselves through borrowing and creating

• Transition is why fun changes so quickly but hangs around for a while: They reject being kids but they are still young

• Trying to grow up faster, but on their terms, and with several stops and starts

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Implications for Girl Guides• Reaching them means they need to “try on” the

organization– Parents need to do that too as they tend to be just ask fickle as

their children—this year it’s yoga class, next year gymnastics• Making Girl Guides relevant to a high school age girl is

difficult when the girl has no previous experience• Girls need guides – early - so that they will want to be

Guides later• The motivations that will draw a female age 14 and up to

Guiding is a different motivation than 13 and under (that might be a parent thing)

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THANK YOU!dabramo@youthography.com