YouthNation Building Remarkable Brands in a Youth-Driven Culture

YouthNation is an indispensable brand roadmap to the youth-driven economy. Exploring the idea that youth is no longer an age?it's a commodity that's available to everyone?this book shows what it takes to stay connected, agile, authentic, and relevant in today's marketplace. Readers will learn the ins and outs of the new consumer, and the tools, methods, and techniques that ensure brand survival in the age of perpetual youth. Coverage includes marketing in a post-demographic world, crafting the story of the brand, building engaged communities, creating experiences that inspire loyalty and evangelism, and the cutting-edge tricks that help businesses large and small harness the enormous power of youth.

The old marketing models are over, and the status quo is dead. Businesses today have to embody the ideals of youth culture in order to succeed, by tapping the new and rapidly evolving resources n business and in life. When everything is changing at the pace of a teenager's attention span, how do businesses future-fit for long-term success? This book provides a plan, and the thoughts, strategies, and brass tacks advice for putting it into action.

• Use New-Gen psychographics to target markets
• Build stronger evangelism with a compelling brand narrative
• Create loyal communities with immersive and engaging experiences
• Navigate the radically-changed landscape of the future marketplace

In today's hyper-socialized, Facebook fanatic, selfie-obsessed world, youth is the primary driver of business and culture. Smart companies are looking to tap into the fountain of youth, and the others are sinking fast. YouthNation is a roadmap to brand relevancy in the new economy, giving businesses turn-by-turn direction to their market destination.

Foreword: By Antonio Lucio ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Disclosures xvii

How to Connect with Me and Learn more about YouthNation xix

Introduction: Forever Young xxi

Chapter 1 From Status Symbol to Status Update 1

Chapter 2 From Things to Thrills 13

Chapter 3 The Rise of Electronic Dance Music 35

Chapter 4 Access over Ownership 45

Chapter 5 The Communal Table 55

Chapter 6 The Peer-to-Peer Economy 67

Chapter 7 The Power of the Crowd 81

Chapter 8 Free Agency 97

Chapter 9 Lifehacking 115

Chapter 10 The Field Guide to Lifehackers 131

Let’s Pivot to Brand Building 146

Chapter 11 TV, the NFL, and the End of Demographics 149

Chapter 12 The Game-Changing Science of Media 157

Chapter 13 Big Data 101 173

Chapter 14 People Are Brands 183

Chapter 15 Brands Are People 213

Chapter 16 A StoryWorth Sharing 223

Epilogue 249

Endnotes 259

Index 267

MATT BRITTON is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MRY, (formerly known as Mr Youth) a global marketing services firm which has helped the word's leading brands use creative technology solutions to reach America's youth. In 2013, MRY was named Digital Innovator of the Year by Mashable.

Matt also helped spearhead the creation ofCrowdTap an advertising technology company named as one of America's Most Promising Companies by Forbes magazine and one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States by INC magazine.

Matt is continually featured as an expert on youth marketing and social media in leading media outlets around the world including the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, and the New York Times. Matt is also a Fox Business Network ongoing contributor.