Target Practice: Connecting Your Brand to the Right People in the Recession

I’m glad that Fed Chairman Bernanke thinks that the recession is wrapping up just as much as anyone else. But, if you’re not working on Wall Street, then it’s tough to feel the wind changing directions.

For the rest of us, it still feels like we’re knee deep in economic sludge. So, what do you do if your brand needs to connect with young folks who might be a little too focused on the economic news out there?

Well, according to the Pew Internet and American Life study, it turns out that this same group of young adults is also using the internet as a diversion. What do they classify as a diversion?

“Listening to music and watching online videos are among the most common of the activities we evaluated; roughly half of all online economic users have done each of these activities to relax. Approximately one-third of online economic users have played online games or chatted with friends (on a social networking site, listserv or other online group), while an additional 22% have taken their minds off of their economic or financial circumstances by creating or posting content online.

Young Americans in particular go online in great numbers to relax by watching videos, listening to music, playing games or chatting with friends.”

- Pew

Before you say, “Well duh,” please hear me out on why this information is a little more important.

1) First and foremost, you’re not paying for this information so stop whining. Plus, there won’t be people in your office running around yelling, “Who wasted money to study this?!”

2) Assumptions, even if they are correct, are still assumptions. Any bit of information that fills the gap between a hypothesis and a conclusion is worth knowing, even if it’s the answer to a seemingly obvious question.

3) This information is actually very interesting. Another way to interpret the findings of this study is that (like television news presenting negative stories and people changing the channel to less thought provoking entertainment) people who are heavily informed about current economic events are not so discouraged that they are turning their computers off. In fact, this study is stating the opposite, so get out there and start connecting.