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Today’s Ypulse Guest Post is from Omer Saar. Omer is an expert in urban youth culture/marketing and is the founder of UniverSOUL Productions. If you work in the youth media or marketing space and would like to write a guest post for Ypulse, just email me.

Reaching Youth In The Action Sports World(s)

Almost every month, I go to a youth marketing and communications meeting for professionals who collectively are called “group Y.” Basically, everyone gets together to network, socialize and exchange ideas and information. I decided to post about one of the topics in the invitation for Ypulse.

This what the invitation read:

“Branding in Action Sports: Keeping Brands Relevant In Rapidly Changing Environments”

How can brands remain relevant in a changing market when the avenues to communicate with consumers have never been more varied?

Before even answering the question, it’s important to understand the audience. Action Sports enthusiasts are purists, independent minded, creative, strong willed, rebellious, and loyal. Each of the action sports (skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, motocross, bmx, and wakeboarding) are very different and each have their own music, fashion, environment, and other cultural attributes. If you approach them all in the same way you will lose. These youth are passionate about what they do and the culture/lifestyle they live. They are equally selective about what they associate themselves with, especially brands. They will only embrace brands that are authentic to their culture/lifestyle.

So how can brands remain relevant in a changing market when the avenues to communicate with consumers have never been more varied?

The answer I would give is by being intimately involved with your target audience’s lifestyle, understanding their wants and needs, and the landscape they live in. By doing so, you will know where to find them and how to relate to them.

While there may be more avenues to communicate with youth in action sports than ever before, there are four that are more effective than the rest:

1. Events
2. Online
3. Music
4. Influencers

Remember that no matter what approach you use, authenticity, adding functionality/contributing, and bringing like-minded people together are all paramount.

1. Events
Youth in action sports are most enthusiastic about the actual activity. Providing a fun, entertaining environment conducive to enjoy doing what they love most is still one of the most effective methods of gaining their attention, respect, and loyalty. It is also a great way to bring those like-minded individuals together… very important!

* For an example of this kind of event check out this .pdf.

2. Online
Like the rest of the youth, action sports enthusiasts are spending more time online than TV, radio, and print combined! Using relevant content (videos, photos, and music) is the most effective way to attract your audience. Just remember the content must be authentic and entertaining. Also, be subtle in your branding approach and do not interrupt their experience.

3. Music
Music is a HUGE part of every culture and action sports are far from an exception. Watching credible videos from each of the action sports will give you valuable insight as to what specific bands appeal to your specific target audience. There is no one band or genre that will appeal to them all, and remember that each action sport is different from the other. Generally speaking, action sports enthusiasts are less driven by pop music. Even within a specific genre like Hip Hop, bands like Atmosphere, Souls of Mischief, and Dilla will generally appeal to them more than Pharell (despite his self-proclaimed “Skateboard P” title) and even Lupe Fiasco (even though the song “Kick Push” is about skateboarding). They are rebellious, independent minded, and “alternative” by nature, so their music will be too.

4. Influencers
The tastemakers or influencers in action sports are usually those who are the best of their peers at that particular activity. They are typically popular, well connected, and very visible. Gaining their support through sponsorship/endorsement or on the strength of your product will give your brand immediate credibility, respect, and loyalty. The catch is that these influencers are also the most opinionated and will not tolerate any impurities.

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Categorized under: Youth Marketing

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