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September 03, 2008
Back to school
I just shipped the baby (6’1”, 190 pounds) off to his freshman year of college, after spending countless hours and a painful amount of money at Target, Staples, Old Navy and other retailers on things he insisted he couldn’t live without.
This expensive personal experience confirmed that the results of the 8th annual Class of 2012 study (sponsored by Alloy Media + Marketing) are right on target: College students today are avid, brand-savvy consumers.
The current crop of students is the largest class in history—there are 13.6 million in the United States—and they (well, actually, their parents) have accounted for $237 billion in consumer spending, up 20% since last year.
A good part of this spending is on devices to help college students communicate. According to the study, my son is among 7 out of 10 students who own a laptop (a 67% increase in three years). Two-thirds own an MP3 player, with 23% using these devices to watch videos. And speaking of video, 62% of students watch TV online: 26% viewing network programming, with 34% opting for You Tube.
How to sum up college students’ approach to communication? According to Samatha Skey, EVP at Alloy, “Students have come to expect 24/7 connectedness and mobility.” And they demand flexibility and the ability to “socialize, communicate and be entertained.”
In other words, they’re the most sophisticated media consumers in history. And when they graduate (God willing, in four years), they will enter the workforce expecting that their companies will offer the same communication environment they’ve come to expect.
What are those expectations again? Connectedness. Mobility. Flexibility. Need to socialize. Entertainment.
How does your current communication measure up?
Are you ready for these sophisticated, demanding young adults?
Posted by Alison Davis at September 3, 2008 11:12 AM