Schoolies and connecting via social media

Schoolies week, the rite of passage among the majority of Australian year 12 students. 

Over the years schoolies has remained unchanged in part as well as having evolved. The Gold Coast is still as popular a destination as ever with large dedicated beach parties and other ’quieter’ locations such as Byron Bay are becoming increasingly popular.  

So what does schoolies offer? What is its appeal? A chance to express one’s self, meeting new people, hanging out with friends, dancing the nights away, chillaxing by the pool or beach, drinking alcohol or possibly even experimenting with drugs? 

Adding to the experience of schoolies are social media pages. Facebook has a number of dedicated pages and groups.

One page is by schoolies.com with over 5 000 fans. Not only are students sharing their excitement for their impending break, but they are already organising events among other students who will be going to the same destination by creating groups – which means it is likely they will have already made friends with likeminded people before they arrive.

 

Another schoolies page, with fewer fans, is by the official National Schoolies Week website. This page has in excess of 1 300 fans and is aimed at keeping its followers up to date by providing them with links to the official website and the national forum. It also keeps its followers abreast of news and current affairs surrounding schoolies, such as articles by news.com.au: ‘A fake ID racket run by teenagers has been busted’.

 

Facebook has been much more successful than Twitter in creating an online community for schoolies. There are six dedicated schoolies pages on Twitter with the largest follower base for one only being 200 – further reinforcing the fact that Twitter is not being heavily utilised by this demographic.

 

 

Planning for the future is important – there are pages and groups on Facebook leading up to schoolies 2014 (for kids who only started school in 2002, which means they are currently in year 7 (12 or 13 year olds). Although the group is labelled to be ‘just for fun’ it does make you wonder, what kind of event will schoolies be by 2014? They have 5 whole years to plan!

For many year 12 students, schoolies gives them the chance to be an individual, and for some, to express themselves without the presence of parents for the first time. There are no more rules, no deadlines with school assignments, no set times that you have to be at school, there are no more high school exams.  For some it is the chance to distinguish oneself even further by cutting or dying hair, getting a piecing or even a tattoo.

 

What this all means is that students are seeking freedom and escapism. For some, while at school, they believe schoolies is the only way this can be achieved. It is something they strive for and dream about.

Connecting with the youth of today through somatic identities, by tapping into what they are feeling and their belief system will enable your brand, website, packaging or even advertising  to connect with youth on an emotional level – which can only lead to positive associations and growth.  

On the schoolies.com Facebook fan page, a casting agent is searching for 18 year olds to film a reality show on the Gold Coast during schoolies week 2009. Those interested may be described as a ‘Rolling Wave’ (somatic identities described at www.marketingsomatics.com).

Somatic identities are highly relevant to all aspects of design – websites, pack, point of sale, creative advertising as well as brand identity. Furthermore, it has potential relevance in direct selling on and off line.

Social media fan pages latest avenue for brands

Social media is now a key driver of event participation. This year, Big Day Out is utilising social media sites even more with dedicated MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages. For summer 2010 there will be seven Big Day Out (BDO) festivals across Australia and New Zealand – two of which will be held in Sydney - this is only the second time in its 18 year history a second show has been staged in any city.

Using social media, people can see what groups and pages their friends are supporting and this is the new ‘word of mouth’. By having a constant presence and reminder of a product, in this case, the BDO festival, it ensures messages are portrayed and are cutting through effectively.

The challenge is to embed your brand and message in a way that seems natural rather than manipulative. Fan pages on Facebook and Twitter represent an interesting approach. We’ve noticed a couple of interesting examples.

Cadbury is utilising both Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook there are two Cadbury pages– Cadbury (with over 272,000 fans) and Cadbury Wispa (over 801,000 fans). Of particular interest is the Cadbury Wispa page – brought back in 2009 for a limited time (particularly in the UK), Cadbury Wispa has been using its Facebook page to raise awareness of the product and to offer fans Cadbury Wispa’s advertising space – billboards all over the UK and Ireland. Fans were invited to submit thankyou messages to friends, loved ones or anyone worthy of a special thank you, which enables fans to pass on messages of gratitude while sharing their story en masse. 

 

While not specifically targeting Youth, another good example of the use of storytelling is Jack Daniel’s.  Jack Daniel’s is possibly one of the world’s greatest story tellers (INSIDE STORY has recently written about JD as a story teller on our Inside Brand Reputation blog). Jack shares his story online using mediums such as Facebook fan pages and now has over 354,000 fans. Fans are encouraged to learn more about Jack’s story on Facebook:

“While “labeling” people is never a good thing, “labeling” a bottle is a great idea! And when it comes to Jack Daniel’s, there are a lot of stories to go with that label. For a guided “tour” of our famous label just visit this link!”

 

They are also able to share experiences and viewpoints with like-minded fans by being able to connect over activities such as the recent 21st Annual Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue.

Twitter and Facebook are growing every day - figures from Hitwise tell us Facebook's Australian market share has climbed 101% since October last year and Twitter grew 1516%, further fuelled by bands such as Powderfinger who performed guerrilla gigs across Australia - only notifying their Twitter followers of the event. Hours spent on social media sites are also on the rise – according to Nielsen figures at June 2009, Australians spent 1.6 million hours on social media sites, up from 800,000 hours a year earlier. If the growth in social media continues, we can only expect to see more innovative and exciting examples in the months to come.

Adventure and Experience - Take a Gap Year

Travelling and exploring is essential to adventurous, global Gen Y’s – and the best way to make the most of life and accumulate stories to retell. Taking working holidays, volunteering and living overseas are all part of the fun!

Very few Gen Y friends of mine have held back from taking a gap year once the idea and excitement sets in. The voice inside shouts: “Financial difficulties are never insurmountable! I’ll figure it out along the way. Career is something that can be paused and returned to! LET’S GO!”

This trend is not surprising considering Gen Y widely reported common traits: experience seekers, experimental, don’t plan for the long term and are desperate for things to happen immediately. Taking a gap year has become a major stage in life for youth who spend and live for today!

Many career websites as well as the Australian Government are recognising the appeal to youth of travelling, earning money, gaining skills and life experiences. The gap year is an opportunity to build career credentials, demonstrate personal strengths (eg initiative and determination), and a time to experiment with working in different industries and to get a feel of what the real working world is like. Career path is something that can be paused. However despite the career building rationale, the groundswell appeal of the gap year is fuelled mostly by the thrill of living a life of adventure!

Taking a gap year is becoming a norm, a natural and unquestionable part of life. Traditionally the ‘gap year’ is considered the first year after leaving high school, however this has evolved to encompass more broadly any time after leaving school, during tertiary studies and training, and through to the early stages of their career. A study by STA Travel found that “over 25% have taken a gap year between university and work and over 40% hope to take a gap year during their career.”