HDI Youth Consultancy supports Sunday Times with Youth Survey
The Sunday Times in South Africa is broadening its definition of youth in its Sunday Times Generation Next survey, designed by HDI Youth Consultancy. “Youth” in the new survey now includes people between 25 and 30 years of age as well, where it was previously limited to ages between 8 and 23.
Sunday Times Generation Next is a way of gauging the sentiment and opinions of youth across South Africa, primarily with respect to what inspires them and trends that they observe in the broader market. This year‘s edition of the survey is its 16th iteration, and was produced by HDI Youth Consultancy.
HDI is a branding firm that specialises in creating value for the youth, described broadly by the firm as children, adolescents and young adults. The specialised scope is aimed at capitalising on a demographic segment that constitutes the bulk of South Africa’s population and that of Africa as a whole.
A substantial young population on the cusp of the working age is among South Africa’s most promising economic indicators, and their values and opinions are increasingly central to the country’s economic cause. HDI lends its expertise to a number of events and programmes that are designed for youth benefit.
The firm, in collaboration with the Sunday Times, has made the decision to include 25 to 30 year olds within the youth bracket, seen as a way to better reflect the earning population in South Africa. “We've seen the youth market develop considerably since we first presented this unique market research to the advertising and marketing community” said Eben Gewers, Head of Advertising Sales at Sunday Times’ Parent Company Arena Holdings said of the move,
“By extending the scope to include young professionals — who are now active income earners, we're able to track how their brand preferences have evolved over the years now that they are spending their own money,” she added.
CEO of HDI Youth Consultancy Bongani Chinkanda added, “Youths can no longer be seen as a homogenous group of people as a result of the various tensions they are facing in society. As such, we are seeing more and more tribes forming. Over the next three months, Sunday Times and HDI will be debunking what the tribes, tensions and trends are, and how brand owners can use these to connect with young people.
