About INgene blog : First ever Indian Youth trend Insights blog

About INgene : First ever Indian Youth trend Insights blog:
This blog explores the detailed characteristics of Young-India and explains the finer & crucial differences they have with their global peers. The blog also establishes the theory of “adopted differentiation” (Copyright Kaustav SG,2007) and how the Indian & Inglodian youth are using this as a tool to differentiate themselves from the “aam aadmi” (mass population of India) to establish their new found identity.

The term youth refers to persons who are no longer children and not yet adults. Used colloquially, however the term generally refers to a broader, more ambiguous field of reference- from the physically adolescent to those in their late twenties.
Though superficially the youth all over the world exhibits similar [degree of] attitude, [traits of] interests & [deliverance of] opinion but a detailed observation reveals the finer differential characteristics which are crucial and often ignored while targeting this group as a valued consumer base. India is one of the youngest countries in the world with 60% of its population less then 24 years of age and is charted as the most prospective destination for the retail investment in the A. T. Kearney’s Global Retail Opportunity Report, 2007. With the first ever non-socialistic generation’s thriving aspiration & new found money power combined with steadily growing GDP, bubbling IT industry and increasing list of confident young entrepreneurs, the scenario appears very lucrative for the global and local retailers to target the “Youngisthan” (young-India). But, the secret remains in the understanding of the finer AIOs of this generation. The Indian youth segment roughly estimates close to 250million (between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five) and can be broadly divided (socio-psychologically) into three categories: the Bharatiyas, the Indians & the Inglodians (copyright Kaustav SG 2008). The Bharatiyas estimating 67% of the young population lives in the rural (R1, R2 to R4 SEC) areas with least influence of globalization, high traditional values. They are least economically privileged, most family oriented Bollywood influenced generation. The Indians constitute 31.5% (A, B,C, D & E SEC) and have moderate global influence. They are well aware of the global trends but rooted to the Indian family values, customs and ethos. The Inglodians are basically the creamy layers (A1,A SEC) and marginal (1.5% or roughly three million) in number though they are strongly growing (70% growth rate). Inglodians are affluent and consume most of the trendy & luxury items. They are internet savvy & the believers of global-village (a place where there is no difference between east & west, developing & developed countries etc.), highly influenced by the western music, food, fashion & culture yet Indian at heart.








Monday, December 6, 2010

youth(sub)cultures and youth in India

Whenever I meet a global "youth" brand for discussion over their plan-d-India, a “blunt” question is being asked : “Is there any “indigenous” subculture/ youth culture/ unique counter culture in India?”…I know, its easy to ride over the “flow” of youth culture to make it “cool” and this is how many brands succeeded in west…but fortunately/ unfortunately, in India, we don’t have any “indigenous” subculture/ style culture which is deeply rooted among youth (other than the superficial visual elements, which emerges as fads and vanishes faster...for example, appearing as “Goth” by wearing black without knowing what is gothism!)…

Any [youth]subculture, is a result of “revolution” against one or many social systems (punk, hippies, zooties, skinheads, hiphop…) and the expression of revolution are shown as “visual elements” through fashion/ style/ music/ literature/ attitude/ promotion of opinion among the like minded peer groups (across the intra or inter demography) …no subculture ever emerges to be “cool” but to be “authentic” and different from the “rest of craps”…finally, by the “conspiracy of system”, when an authentic youth subculture becomes “cool” among mass, the so called “loose crap tadpoles” (they, who r not rooted to a sub cultural belief, system, rules and regulations etc.) join in and finally sends a subculture into “hibernation”, hence ensuring a “visual death of the same”…. the brands immediately move to another subculture to make it “cool” to ride on that flow! That’s the basic system of “promotion” of “youth oriented products” around the world….this system somehow doesn’t work in India!

Lets discuss, what is India, what are the “values” of being youth in India…their priorities, preferences, “boundaries”…and how they break it to be unique.

(will be continued…)

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