Over the past years, a number of companies, both locally and abroad, have sought to target the youth segment of the market. It has not been an easy task because it is not a segment that is easily defined. Very often market segments are identified on the basis of some objective criterion like age, gender, socio-economic class, working status, type of occupation, size of household income, number of persons in a household, level of education, home ownership, type and locality of residence, ownership of certain products, such as domestic appliances or a car, and, more recently, access to internet.

This traditional style of segmentation, although still very valid today, does little to explain the youth segment, as this segment cuts across all the segmentation criteria I have just highlighted. Very often one also finds a certain correlation between one segmentation criterion of the traditional type and another, but with youth, one is all over the place because within this segment there is probably the highest level of mix of different backgrounds, that produce what we call youth.

For ease of reference, some describe youth as that segment that includes persons between the ages of 15 and 25. Trying to group a 15-year-old and a 25-year-old would be a fatal mistake in a marketing campaign as there is much more that makes them distinct than what makes them similar. Someone recently wrote that this dilemma that has been created has made youth look like a foreign country; you never seem to know enough about it, no matter how much you read about it or experience it.

The issue is even further complicated because of the fact that those whom others still consider as children would like to classify themselves as youth and those who are older would like to believe that they are still young at heart. This has meant that not only do we have a youth segment in the market but also a youthful mindset, which are not exactly one and the same thing.

The jargon and way of dressing that is used by some public personalities project this youthful mindset but they are not really youth at all. What readily comes to mind is the information technology-related jargon that is used by some in discussions that have nothing to do with IT, when they rarely use a computer or a mobile phone or have only started to access internet recently. They try to project themselves as something that they are not.

So what is youth really and how critical is it in the market, considering that their disposable income is small compared to other market segments? The importance of youth in the market is best epitomised by the amount of advertising and other marketing communications activities that has youth as its underlying tone. Even advertising aimed at other market segments seeks to project a youthful image. In fact, one may even be correct in querying what is the cause and what is the effect. Is youth setting the agenda in marketing and does all marketing activity therefore have to have a youth content, or is youth simply the product of marketing strategies?

Is it yet another chicken and egg situation? Whichever way you look at the issue, there is no doubt that for the business sector, youth is an important segment of the market and there is a clear attempt to make sure that the marketing message does get through to it. The real issue is not the importance of youth in the market but what it is.

One way of finding out is by asking what they do. Well, it is very unlikely that a youth would answer you with a job title or an industry sector that defines him as an individual. He is more likely to explain what he does by what he consumes. Essentially, a youth is not in the first instance a producer and only in the second instance a consumer (like an adult), but the other way round. This is because a youth looks to a job not as a means of self-fulfilment in a chosen career but as a means to a lifestyle.

A second question that could explain what is a youth, is why he consumes certain products and services. An adult (and the use of this word has nothing to do with being over 18, but as a means of explaining the opposite of youth) would explain that the products and services that he consumes add to the comfort of his life (obviously using a subjective yardstick as to what is comfort). The answer of a youth is likely to be to enjoy new experiences. The satisfaction that he gets from consumption is the new experience that he goes through.

The third question is about responsibility. Adults earn money and spend it in such a way as to be able to meet their commitments towards the bank that has lent them money to buy a house, towards the family that depends on them, etc.

Youth does not have such responsibilities. It does not mean that they do not feel committed; it just means that they do not feel that someone depends on them for his livelihood. If anything, it is the other way round.

In summary, a youth is that person who does things that fit into his lifestyle, is in constant search for new experiences and does not feel the burden of responsibility to have to provide for other people. This makes this market segment unique. Unfortunately, most marketers do not form part of this segment and therefore end up using the wrong approach to it. This is why we end up wondering why youths sometimes behave so irrationally. It is not that youths behave irrationally but rather that we are unable to fully understand such behavioural patterns.