We've got new research for sale over at Ypulse Research from Mobile Behavior's Next Great Thing, an Omnicom Group company. Our friend Allison Mooney, who is the director of trends & insights, has written a Ypulse Guest Post to share some of the highlights. You can now purchase the report from Ypulse Research. For readers new to Ypulse, Ypulse Research resells white papers and reports about tweens, teens and early twentysomethings from our partners in the youth research space. We will be producing our own quarterly series of interview-based white papers beginning this winter.

Highlights from Mobile Behavior's NGT Global Youth Survey

NGT's Global Youth Survey was designed for a selfish reason: We were curious. We simply wanted to hear the opinions of young people on topics that interested us. So with the help of our international network of offices, we assembled panels of teens and twenty-somethings in seven countries (Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and the US). Our survey quizzed them on entertainment choices, communications preferences, social media habits, cultural influences, noteworthy fads, and thoughts on advertising. In our report, which we've now chosen to offer publicly, we boiled down everyone's answers and teased out the resounding trends and themes. Here are a few:

Network Effects

Most respondents choose the social networks they use based upon what is popular among their friends and peers. "I originally chose Facebook because a lot of my friends were already members. I like it because it is very easy and enjoyable to use. It's like a free version of FriendsUnited," says one 23-year-old respondent from the UK. While it seems MySpace is falling out of favor, a couple other British 20-somethings preferred it for its customization options. "I like using MySpace because it allows you to be more creative with your profile and it’s more sociable," said one.

Online communities and social networks are a forum for creating and sharing content, and it seems that the older a person is, the more likely he or she is to contribute. Most of these communities were focused on celebrities, gaming, church and school groups. Communicating with like minds online, whether they are friends or strangers, is one of the main drivers of social networking. As one respondent from Malaysia pointed out, “My communities should have similar interests, if not, it will be duck and chicken talk." So true.

My Cell, Myself

Young people all over the world are leapfrogging over the PC straight to the mobile phone as their "first screen" for entertainment, communications, news, and social interaction. Global mobile usage is growing so rapidly it is outpacing both TV and Web consumption. For tweens, teens and 20-somethings, the "Connected Class," the phone is becoming an extension of themselves, a part of their identity. 68% of our survey respondents say that their mobile device is their most essential personal device (followed by Laptop/PC at 40%).

The predominant use of the mobile phone was text messaging–-an easy, discrete and often cheaper way to chat. 48% of survey respondents said that their most frequent use of their mobile is SMS/text messaging, compared to 40% who picked voice conversation. Though texting is growing popular in all regions, it was especially popular in Singapore.

Engaging Ads

TV commercials were the most popular form of advertising, though the experiential approach–giving free trials and samples–are equally as effective in Hong Kong. "The best kind of advertising would be giving free samples and television ads that use interesting and new ideas," says a 20-year-old female respondent. Limited editions are popular in places like South Korea and Hong Kong. "The most effective kind of ads would be supported by stars like Edison Chen and Juno. They release 'limited edition' items that lure youngsters to buy their merchandise," according to a South Korean teen. (Note: this was said prior to Chen's infamous sex scandal, which has soured him in the eyes of former fans.)

And the least appealing form of advertising? It seems that across all areas surveyed the least are flyers and online pop-up ads. "An ad shouldn't pop up and annoy you while you are trying to get something done online, it should intrigue you when you want to be intrigued," said a U.S. respondent. A well-stated argument in favor of effective targeting, which we see as the future of advertising.

About Allison Mooney
Allison Mooney is the director of trends & insights at Mobile Behavior's Next Great Thing, an Omnicom Group company. In addition to regularly contributing to NGT's blog, Allison has also written for publications like PSFK, Radar, and Glamour. She served on our last two Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup event advisory boards and most recently moderated our "Make Your Message Mobile" panel in Boston.

Today's Ypulse Guest Post is by Leah Spokojny from the AMP Agency, which just posted their new report over on Ypulse Research. It seemed like a no-brainer to invite AMP to participate on our Green Youth Marketing panel at the Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East in light of their research, so we did! Allison Bacon, AMP's director of consumer insights, will be joining the panel in Boston (we hope you'll join us, too.)

Good Things Come In Green Packages

When shopping for environmentally friendly products, the packaging is a last minute information source that has a heavy influence on purchase decision. According to AMP Agency’s Green AMPlified Study, a whopping 95% of millennials consider themselves to be at least a little environmentally conscious, so it’s important for companies to let them know what they are doing for the cause right there on the shelves.

The study found that millennials are skeptical of green claims, but are more likely to believe a claim that a product is environmentally friendly if it’s specifically noted on the packaging as opposed to in general. For example, when millennials are looking to be environmentally friendly, they consider whether or not chemicals are used – a characteristic that should be clearly marked. When it comes to food, they want to see a specific label letting them know that the ingredients in what they buy are natural or certified organic.

Companies also need to be more mindful of the actual material used to package products. I have seen companies boast of their environmental consciousness, then pack their products with harmful Styrofoam. Patrick, a 25-year-old participant in the study said, "I hate all the extra bags, excessive packaging and unnecessarily wasted resources that go to the landfill." This shows that Millennials take notice of the wasteful practices of companies and want the packaging to be minimal and recyclable.

Packaging and advertising are the sources most likely to influence Millennials that a product is in fact environmentally friendly, which proves how important it is for marketers to understand exactly how Millennials define green. Check out AMP Agency’s Green Amplified Study for more information about Millennials and the Green Movement.

Just a quick heads up to let Ypulse readers know we have a new research report for sale on Ypulse Research from the AMP Agency. I'll be running a guest post about the report some time this week, but for now, here's a quick description of what you'll find inside:

Green AMPlified - Description

– Online survey of over 3,200 respondents ages 18 to 49 years old

– Statistically significant sample for each age

– 40 shopping logs from 4 different markets

– More than 20 video interviews with consumers from all over the country

– Man on the street interviews with consumers in Boston

AMP Agency’s proprietary study on the impact of the Green Movement on consumers’ perceptions and purchase behavior

The Green Movement is here to stay

- Learn just how environmentally responsible consumers want companies and brands to behave

- Understand what drives and motivates consumers to be green and to purchase green products

- Review case studies and best practices from companies that were Green to begin with and from those that are just now going Green

- Green Evangelists can be your best friends

- Approximately 20% of consumers are passionate, loud, and always talking about the Green Movement.

- Learn how your brand can leverage this group

Read the rest over at Ypulse Research. And don't forget we're doing a Green Youth Marketing panel at the Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East in November! If your company produces research on tweens, teens or early twentysomethings and would like to sell it on Ypulse Research, please contact Carolyn Carson.

I just wanted to write a quick post to update readers on how Ypulse Research is doing. We quietly launched the channel back in June, announcing the launch here and sending out a press release, and have signed on 8 research partners and sold 9 reports. That's a little more than two reports a month. Not bad given that we haven't really marketed the channel beyond Ypulse.

In 2009, we hope to not only add more research partners and reports to the channel, but will also dip our toe into the white paper market. This means that Ypulse will produce our own white paper and see how you, our readers, respond. Since Ypulse is not a research firm — i.e. we don't produce quantitative research or even traditional qualitative research (focus groups, phone surveys, etc.) — so our approach to our white paper experiment will be largely journalistic coupled with whatever insight I can bring. If our first paper is successful, we may partner with a research firm on future projects to add a little bit of quant or qual heft, but right now my vision is 10-12 page white papers on various Ypulse-y topics sold at a very reasonable price. If enough readers buy our first paper, we'll produce more.

We will also be focusing on acquiring new Ypulse Research customers who may not be regular Ypulse.com readers or even be aware that we exist. We plan to do this through search marketing and some ad trades with other marketing publications. If you are interested in Ypulse Research and have your own reports to sell, please contact Charles Pelton.

We've got new research for sale on Ypulse Research from the AMP Agency. The report, titled "College AMPlified: Decoding the Campus Experience," is an in-depth whitepaper and data tables offer strategies for colleges, companies and brands to follow to establish credibility with students on campus. The study defines specific "touch points" — areas of opportunity from initial virtual interactions (1 in 5 students did not take an actual campus tour of the college they chose) to on-campus living spaces (where we notice that some fundamental amenities continue to correlate with levels of discomfort and dissatisfaction) But wait! This year, American University students can check online to see if a washer or dryer is available — and receive a text message when their wash or dry cycle is completed. There's also some great data on how "Green" carries relevance on college campuses.

Remember, if you work for an agency or research house that produces white papers, reports or any type of research on tweens, teens or twentysomethings, consider selling your research on Ypulse — and reach around 8K youth media and marketing professionals looking for the latest facts and figures about this demographic. Contact Charles Pelton for more information.

Ypulse readers are always looking for the latest research on youth — and we are attempting to respond with our new Ypulse Research Channel where we resell market research about tweens, teens and twentysomethings. But marketers aren't the only folks researching youth — academics are also producing valuable research on how this generation is interacting with technology. The latest issue of the Youth Media Reporter linked to a bunch of new papers that have been published on youth, media education and technology. Definitely check them out:

Youthtopias: Towards a New Paradigm of Critical Youth Studies

Young People, New Media, and Visual Design: An Exploratory Study

Challenging the Silences and Omissions of Dominant Media: Youth-led Media Collectives in Colombia

Creating Empowering Environments in Youth Media Organizations

Making Meaning of Media Education: Professional Development among Youth Media Practitioners

Shaping the Digital Pen: Media Literacy, Youth Culture, and MySpace

Examining the Intersections of Popular Culture and Youth Radio After-School

We've got new research for sale over at Ypulse Research from our sponsor and partner Harris Interactive — it's a report titled Youth 2.0: What today's youth want. From their description:

Purchase this research report to discover how youth are redefining the music world, what youth want in mobile devices and a focus on printing and photos. Answer questions such as how important is music to 8-18 year olds? When and where do they listen? How do they obtain their music? What features they want in mobile devices and what they really use. What and how often do they print. What does the future hold for these technologies?

Sample size: 1,291 U.S. 8-18 year olds (455 8-12 year olds; 836 13-18 year olds; data were weighted to reflect the total U.S. population of 8-18 year olds.).

Read the full description of charts and tables included over at Ypulse Research. If your company produces market research on tweens, teens or early twentysomethings, and you are interested in selling it on Ypulse, please contact Charles Pelton.

Over at Ypulse Books, Alli has rounded up reviews for a few of our superstar authors who will be speaking (and signing!) at the Ypulse Books pre-conference Monday. In today's Ypulse Book Essentials, you will learn about urban lit, the buzz around Stephanie Kuehnert's I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone and a bunch of new spooky books set in Salem.

P.S. A big welcome to new advertiser Harris Interactive — they are our first sponsor for the new Ypulse Research channel.

Alloy's AMP Agency now has a second research report posted on Ypulse Research. This report is a special cut of respondents ages 18-24 from Women AMPlified: Unravelling Her Shopping DNA, AMP Agency's survey of women's shopping habits and influencers. AMP found that a woman's approach shopping is not dependent on age, ethnicity or income, but rather an innate approach to shopping that stays with her throughout her life. Check it out to understand what drives and motivates four different lifelong shopping "mind-sets." AMP even estimates the aggregate spending power of each mind-set and its monthly average individual spend on categories from food to school supplies. Interesting … 72% in this age group say they would switch to a different brand if it was associated with a good cause…

If your company produces research on tweens, teens or early twentysomethings, and you would like to sell it on Ypulse Research, please get in touch with Charles Pelton.

We're excited to announce that Sulake (the parent company of the massive virtual world Habbo Hotel) has joined our growing list of Ypulse Research partners who are selling their Gen Y related research through us, helping to realize our vision of creating a "one-stop-shop" for all of the latest market research available about tweens, teens and early twentysomethings. You can now purchase Sulake's 2008 Global Habbo Youth Survey on Ypulse. Based on a survey of 58,000 teenagers aged from 12 to 18 years old from 31 countries, the report covers values and attitudes (from "I Want a Normal Life" to "I'm Young, but I Worry"), interests, media usage and online habits, consumption habits (including "My Cash Flow") and brand preferences. Here are just a few of this year's findings:

TV
- 75 percent of all respondents say TV is an important medium for them (six percentage points up on from the 2006 study)

- When looking at the most popular TV content, teen tastes are very similar all over the world. Amongst both boys and girls the overall favorite TV show is "The Simpsons," which was also the clear favorite in 2006

Magazines/newspapers
- Girls read more magazines whereas boys are slightly more interested in reading newspapers

- Overall, respondents viewed newspapers as the least important medium with 25 percent stating them to be not important at all.

Music
- Music, along with clothing and appearance, is one of the main ways of expressing identity to others, both connecting and dividing today's younger generations through the sub-cultures associated with different genres. This is reflected by the three highly distinctive bands that emerge as most popular on a global scale: Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park and Tokio Hotel.

- also some surprising findings. For example hip hop listeners are more likely to have an interest in more traditional sports such as football and basketball, whereas extreme sports are associated with an interest in rock. Cooking is rated highly by those with an interest in girl and boy bands; however it is shunned by the rockers who are at the complete opposite end of the scale.

Mobile
- Compared to the previous 2006 survey, mobile phone usage was the one single area that showed the most significant growth compared to other topics surveyed.

- In the 2006 survey only 38 per cent of teens used their handset to listen to music; now 71 per cent of teenagers are using their mobiles as a portable mp3 player. 80 percent of teens in Singapore, Italy and Austria listened to music in this way, though teens in Japan and Finland listen to music on their mobiles the least.

- 70 per cent of teens are now using their mobile to take photos and videos, an 11 percentage points increase compared to 2006.

- 64 per cent now play games on their mobile compared to 51 per cent in 2006.

- Over a quarter of teens also use their mobile to surf the net, email and send instant messages.

Remember, if you work for an agency, consultancy or market research firm producing white papers, reports or even syndicated research you could repackage about Gen Y, we want to help you promote and sell it. Get in touch with Charles Pelton for more information on partnering.