Analysis: Are you wasting your time and money on ‘urban youth’?

Whether I’m talking with a politician or a marketer, I’m amazed at the stereotyping that goes on every day. Indonesia’s “youth market” is vitally important, whether you’re selling cosmetics or buying votes. That’s particularly true in a country with predominantly young demographics, like this one is so fortunate to possess. When you need to focus on urban youth, the city-slickers, the task is even more daunting. What is urban youth, how do we define the group?

Depending on who you’re talking with, you’re likely to get a different answer. Like 14-24 years of age, for example. If you ask me, I’d say anybody who’s young at heart. That’s because the mirror tells me every morning that I’m not getting any younger. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. “Values Segments” from Roy Morgan Single Source offers an intelligent option to consider.

The “Look At Me” segment takes both hard and soft factors into account in trying to answer the question that’s worth much more than the ubiquitous “US$64 million”. The segmentation takes into account both demographics, like age, as well as attitudes to life and ways of living it. By those measurements, the segment has about 12 million young people living in Indonesia’s Top 20 cities. But there’s another group of youth as well, young parents who form the group 8-million strong “Conventional Family Life” segment in the same big cities. Most of them are also less than 35 years of age, but they are driven attitudinally by their family values and responsibilities, not their youth.

True, 78 percent of the urban “Look At Me” group are 14-24 years in age. The remaining 22 percent are 25-34 years old, comprising some 3 million people that you might just have ignored if you had used the usual demographic definition. That’s because many 34 year-olds share the same interests, with equal enthusiasm, as many 14-year olds. Those shared views can range from brands to technologies, movies to motorbikes. Depending on what you’re selling, a product or your self, there are several ways to get your pitch absolutely fine-tuned. Male or female aren’t the only buttons to push.

Nowadays, six out of 10 young persons “try to look stylish”, skewed a little more in favor of women. When it comes down to “taking risks”, we could flip the same six around in favor of men, who are more prone to be adventurous than women. More than the average population, 59 percent have favourite brands ranging across product categories that they tend to be loyal to. In other words, only 41 percent could be termed fickle or brand-unconscious.

It’s heart-warming to see the scores rise for those indicators that point toward Indonesia’s future as a nation. Today, a majority of 52 percent say they “consider myself a leader”. At 49 percent, almost as many think they are “a bit of an intellectual”. Confidence is growing, across the country and in many ways. The post-Soeharto era youth are increasingly critical, much more vocal than their parents used to be. Today, 43 percent are saying “I don’t trust the current government.” The signs of our times are increasingly visible right across Indonesia’s youth, growing more vibrant by the day. A full 40 percent of our young believe that “computers and technology give me more control over my life.” That number is growing. Not surprisingly, nine out of 10 in this segment also have a mobile phone. The cellular phenomenon has embraced young Indonesia. In the big cities, their choice of network varies in ranking from the national average, led by IM3 and followed by Esia, Simpati and XL.

Six out of 10 have accessed the Internet recently, far higher than the population as a whole. If anybody is upwardly mobile, Indonesia’s urban youth are literally stepping on the gas. Now 43 percent ride a motorcycle. Millions more plan to.

Contrary to popular belief, only 22 percent of the segment are students. Today’s urban youth in the workforce are very different from the time their parents first got a job. 42 percent of this group are blue-collar workers, another 11 are part of the office-going white-collar workforce. 19 percent are job-seekers, a major chunk of the entire population’s 3.5 percent actively looking for a job today. But 24 percent already have a bank account, another 13 percent of them intend to open one soon.

Hanging out with friends is a universal pastime for youth everywhere and Indonesia’s big-city youth are no different. But there are scores that need attention. Only 28 percent “played a sport”, 12 percent read a novel recently. A more respectable 32 percent read a newspaper last week, off or online. Where there’s a problem, there’s an opportunity. How does it look through your lens, your particular perspective?

These insights are based on Roy Morgan Single Source, a syndicated survey with over 25,000 Indonesians 14 years and older interviewed each year. Almost 90 percent of the population is covered. The national database is updated every quarter.

The writer can be contacted at debnath.guharoy@roymorgan.com