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Most brand communications fail to cut though to youth audience, study suggests

Only 15% of 16-30 year olds can recall a brand communication that “resonated” with them, a survey suggests.

The study – carried out for youth focused media company Lifelounge by Sweeney Research – asked a sample of 1,000 Australians in the age group which brands they remembered seeing advertisements for.

The top brands the surveyed groups could recall were Coca-Cola (9%), Bonds (7%) and Nike (4%).

The recall figure has halved since 2010, when 27% said they could recall messages.

According to Lifelounge, the 16-30 year old age group accounts for 13% of Australia’s household spending, at $62bn per annum, and two thirds of the group’s expenditure is discretionary.

Lifelounge CEO Dion Appel told Mumbrella that the steep drop in message recall was possibly due to the increased spend on digital advertising, creating a cluttered online experience with more noise. He said: “The brands doing best are mixing above-the-line with below-the-line and digital activations, using ATL for broadcast and to garner attention and also inviting people to engage in conversation in the digital sphere. A lot of brands have taken their eye off the ball in terms of relevance.”

The report also finds that forthcoming changes to bank legislation are likely to have significant impact on the bank world’s younger clients, with 61% of 16-30 year olds saying they would consider switching bank if it was easier, compared with 12% planning to change their financial institution at present.

A total of 38% of young people surveyed said they couldn’t live without the internet, with their preferred sites Facebook, Google and YouTube. The top TV show was Big Bang Theory and 40% said they banked with CBA.

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