Logo Love & Light Sticks: What Actually Impresses Young Consumers

We talk with Edward, a 14-year-old from Sydney, to get authentic insights into what makes brands appealing to young Australian consumers and how promotional products influence their perceptions of companies.

• Nike, Adidas, McDonald's, IKEA, and Sony stand out to young Australians because of their distinctive logos and youth-targeted marketing
• For promotional items, the brand logo often matters more than the product itself to young consumers
• Official licensing and authenticity are important factors when evaluating branded merchandise
• Social media is the primary channel for brand discovery, but young people typically need active promotion from influencers to take notice
• Promotional products that enhance experiences (like concert light sticks that sync with music) create the most memorable brand connections
• Sustainability matters to young Australians who don't want to be associated with brands that harm animals or the environment

Please stay tuned for future episodes and connect with us through your social media channel of choice. All the necessary links to contact us are available at the bottom of this podcast.

Find out more and visit our website: https://www.cubicpromote.com.au/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the latest episode of the Promo Playbook

(00:03):
by Cubic Promote.
Today's title is calledMarketing to the Next Generation
how to Appeal to YoungAustralian Adults.
And to help me along with thistopic, I have a special guest
with me, edward.
Edward, please introduceyourself.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
My name is Edward and I'm 14 years old, and I live in
Australia, sydney, new SouthWales.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Brilliant and Edward tell us a bit about yourself.
Were you born in Australia?
How long have you been inAustralia?
Sydney, New South Wales.
Brilliant and Edward, tell us abit about yourself.
Were you born in Australia?
How long have you been inAustralia?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
I was born in Australia and I've lived here
throughout my whole life.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Sounds like you're going to be the perfect person
for me to talk to about how tomarket to young Australians like
yourself.
So, edward, I'd like to firstof all share with you a question
, a very simple question.
If I was to ask you the topfive brands any brands at all
off the top of your head, whatare the top five brands that you

(00:55):
will mention that you feel arethe?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
top five brands.
Top five brands, I think Nike,adidas, mcdonald's, ikea and
Sony.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Okay, so clearly five very popular consumer brands.
Some of those brands areclearly the type of products
that you will consume on aday-to-day basis.
So my next question is why doyou think these brands stand out
to you?
Because it's interesting, youmentioned all five brands.
All five brands have biggerbrands competing for the same

(01:25):
market.
Mcdonald's has hungry, hungryjacks.
Ikea would have, for example,freedom furniture.
Nike adidas would have kuma aswell as under armour.
So you specifically mentionedthose five brands.
Why do those five brands standout to you?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
these five, I think, to me stand out because of their
logo and their marketingtowards younger people.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Okay, let's talk a bit more about marketing.
With marketing, promotionalproducts, promotional items,
giveaways is a key and core partof marketing.
How do you feel about companiesbig brand companies and smaller
brand companies using giveawaysto influence your opinion of
their brand?
How do you feel about receivingmerchandise?

Speaker 2 (02:10):
I think companies having giveaways for free is a
great idea.
Some young people do not haveany money to afford what they
sell to us.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
And how would that influence your opinion of the
brand these?

Speaker 2 (02:24):
will influence people to the brand so they're able to
understand.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
The next question I've got for you, edward, is are
there any types of promotionalitems or products that you find
especially cool or interesting,and why do you find them cool or
interesting?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
I think some promotional items are very cool
and interesting due to theirdesign and how they're able to
display it.
The Hot Wheels or Mini GT carslook very similar to the real
life cars, such as the GT looksvery similar to the die-cast one
, which is very cool, I guess.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Okay, and next question is when you see a
product it could be a customprinted t-shirt, it could be a
custom branded pen or anythingin between.
Perhaps it's a basketball or afootball what matters more when
you receive the product, is itthe product itself or the
branding of the product?
Say, for example, the brand isa brand that resonates with you.

(03:23):
Let's just take McDonald's, forexample.
If you received a McDonald'st-shirt, does the t-shirt mean
more to you or the fact that ithas the logo onto the t-shirt,
and why does it matter To me?

Speaker 2 (03:35):
I think the product matters, but to most younger
people it's more about the logothat matters to them.
It's officially licensed byMcDonald's itself.
I think it's also veryimportant that it has to be
officially licensed, compared toa fake McDonald's t-shirt.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
How do you normally discover new branded products?
Is it through social media,having products with a branded
logo on the back of, perhaps, aninfluencer?
Do young people take notice ofthese?
Or are you smart and savvyenough to realize that's a
product placement and that youpsychologically switch off from
seeing the brand or the logoinside a social media post?

Speaker 2 (04:13):
I am not smart and savvy, so I normally find these
things off social media, as I amnot smart and savvy.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
So, on social media, if it was an influencer and you
saw the product in thebackground with a logo perhaps
it's a startup company would youregister and remember that
brand and would you researchinto it?

Speaker 2 (04:31):
I'd probably research into it.
I don't think other youngpeople will research in it
because it's just more of a mething to have a look more into
it, into the detail of it.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
So you believe that some young people will, after
seeing the logo on perhaps thebackground of an influencer, do
some research and some peoplewill not.
I always think no, theywouldn't.
So you reckon generally theywouldn't.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yes, because there's more things in their mind than
the background, unless they'redisplaying the item on purpose.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
So unless there's an influencer actively promoting
that product, promoting a newservice, promoting a new item,
whatever it may be, then theywould then begin to engage and
find out more about what thatproduct could do and how it
could benefit their lives.
Yeah, very interesting.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
Do you think that brands out there right now in
Australia, do you think brandscould do anything differently to
appeal to people of your age?
No, I think they're doingperfectly fine in promoting
their company.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Promotional items, and what are some specific
examples that make you feel thatway?

Speaker 2 (05:34):
promotional items, and what are some specific
examples that make you feel thatway?
An example would be McDonald'sdeals, when they make things
cheaper and more viable, costingit like $2 or $3 for a meal,
which I think they've done verywell to market it.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
When it comes to a product, for example Nike shoes.
That might be an interestingexample because Nike shoes, as
well as other products that mayappear to young people, tend to
be quite expensive.
So how would one go and cutthrough from a marketing
perspective to a young person,like you Say, if you were
starting a young consumer brand?

Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think they'll be able to cut through by
increasing popularity and socialmedia on their product
popularity and social media ontheir product.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
Okay, so having more presence on social media
channels will have more cutthrough the people of your age?
Yes, so, assuming a companydoes that and they're able to
have their brand with everysingle influencer on every
single person that you follow on, say, instagram or any other
social media channel, that'sgoing to be great.
You're going to remember thebrand, but what would actually
make you trust that brand?

Speaker 2 (06:36):
I wouldn't know if I would be able to trust the brand
until I have reached theirproduct, which I can then make a
final conclusion.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
Okay so even if you see a brand constantly on social
media, the fact that you havenot engaged with it means that
you're still very pessimisticand you won't necessarily trust
the brand until you've actuallyused it.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
Used it.
Or if they're talked about onsocial media about how well they
are or how negative they areRight.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Let's dial the conversation back to promotional
merchandise, custom brandedmerchandise.
So, edward, can you share withus some instances of merchandise
that you've either received forfree in the past, or perhaps
that they were add-on purchasesthat you would have needed to
make a purchase for?
Perhaps you were at a concert.
They had some concert merch forsale.

(07:26):
Or perhaps you were at a fastfood joint they had additional
products for sale.
Or perhaps you were at a fastfood joint they had additional
products for sale.
Or perhaps you were at aconvention maybe an anime
convention where they werehanding out lanyards and
stickers at the door as a resultof you purchasing a ticket to
enter into the premise.
Anything of that ilk.
Can you share with us whatyou've received, what has been
memorable in the past?

Speaker 2 (07:45):
I've gotten the adult concert.
Wait, what's that called lightstick during her concert?
I thought that was a very coolemotional item as it lit it up
and glowed in sync with the restof the stage can you share with
us elaborate a bit more aboutwhat exactly is this light stick
?

Speaker 1 (08:05):
what does it do?
Why was it?
What made it so special for you?

Speaker 2 (08:10):
to me it was so.
The light stick is a stick thatlights up with in sync with the
music and changes color usingwi-fi or bluetooth sync together
to create all cool flashingcolors and lights from it.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
So from the sounds of it it appeared to you, because
it enhanced your experience ofthe event.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, it enhances the experience a lot.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
Any product that enhances your experience for any
situation.
Would it be bold for me to saythat those are the ones that add
the majority of memorabilityfor you?

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yes, I think so, as it's more memorable because it
has more funness to it.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
A lot of Australians out there, a lot of the
companies.
They value sustainability andourselves as well.
We are a certified carbonneutral company.
For a young Australian likeyourself, does sustainability
make any difference to you?
Do you care aboutsustainability and the fact that
products may or may not besustainable and kind to the
environment?

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Yes, I care about sustainability, due to me not
wanting to be associated with aproduct that has to harm animals
or trees by doing so to reachthe product.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
Okay, and do you feel that many of your friends will
also feel the same way, or doyou feel that this specifically
might be a personal thing to you?

Speaker 2 (09:27):
I think my friends will feel the same, asding
animals and trees aren't a goodthing.
Okay, fantastic.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
Well, edward, appreciate your time.
Interesting to hear theinsights of a young Australian
when it comes to marketingcommunication and, specifically
in our industry, collateral forpromotional products, and how
you react and engage with thesetype of marketing mediums.
Well, thank you, edward, Iappreciate your time and for
those listening.
I appreciate you taking thetime out to listen to the

(09:55):
perspective of a youngAustralian person speaking about
marketing.
Please stay tuned for futureepisodes and please connect with
us through your social mediachannel of choice and we'll have
all the links necessary for youto contact with us at the
bottom of this podcast.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.