"The youth of today are fearless, fickle, discerning, brand-aware, connected, conflicted and influential and the best way to connect with them is to make them feel like a VIP," said Jason Levin, managing director of HDI Youth Marketeers, during the inauguralSunday Times Generation Next Youth Marketing Conference.

Held at the Sandton Convention Centre, ahead of the annual Sunday Times Generation Next Awards, the conference guided over 300 top marketers and brands on what is considered to be ‘cool’, and how to navigate the vital demographic that holds an annual spending power of over R121-billion. "South African youth don’t trust illustrations and illusions; they trust the opinions of their family friends, and trusted brands is where their spend goes," said Allen Ambor, Spur’s founder and conference keynote speaker.

Another first for the Generation Next celebration was an interactive display area that was specifically set up for the 300 youth in attendance. Proudly South African, loveLife, Vega, Bakers, Converse, Easy Waves, MyWorld of Tomorrow, Sony Playstation, Ponds, Pringles, Shell, Vida e Café, CAD House, Guess and Brainline setup interactive exhibitions offering innovative brand activations.

A clear message from the conference and research is that the youth are increasingly seeking meaningful connections with brands and are wanting to be able to engage with brands face-to-face. The interactive display area allowed the exhibiting brands to do exactly this, to the delight of the young attendees.

In association with headline partner, Proudly South African, corporate partners loveLife, Vega and the Future Group, the conference hosted a wide variety of speakers discussing various effective youth engagement strategies, consumer habits, youth trends and much more.

In the ad testing (AdForum) segment of the conference, a panel of industry experts and HDI Youth Marketeers Junior Board of Directors members assessed and rated eight award winning commercials from Nando’s to Lucozade to Santam. Reviews were mixed – the adults and the kids often pointedly disagreeing. Overall, the TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris campaign for Student Flights received the warmest reception all round.

"A key insight that was delivered by all speakers was brand authenticity and the importance of delivering engaging but genuine content to the youth. On behalf of the Sunday Times we were honored to host this interactive platform that allowed marketers to receive these valuable insights," said Trevor Ormerod, GM of group sales at Times Media.

One of the panelists in the unique youth panel formats told delegates how they often derive more value from face-to-face marketing than digital because of its interactivity and tangibility. "As the youth of today, we prefer the opportunity to experience and interact with brands directly," said 15-year-old Mtho M, a member of HDI’s Junior Board of Directors.

For more information and the Sunday Times Generation Next results, visit www.tmadroom.co.za.