Youth Pulse: What makes the younger crowd flock to sales?

Stores scream ‘Sale’ all the time. What makes the younger crowd flock to sales?

The youth and sales?

There are two kinds of young buyers — the ones who look for only brands, and the ones for whom price is the key buying trigger. The former will never compromise on their core preferences and buy a product just because it’s on sale, while for the latter a discount definitely makes a difference. That said, for the second set, nothing sub-standard would go, even if it’s on sale. ‘Sale’ could also bring to mind ‘clearing of old things’, ‘low quality’ and ‘desperate measures to make us buy’.

Do I wait for it?

For the first set of buyers, a sale isn’t something they would wait for. Their purchase is more impulsive. But the second wait with anticipation for a good deal or a range of options to get their wishlist fulfilled.

Is it cool?

The youth are definitely excited when it comes to clinching the best deals as it makes great conversation with peer groups. But it gets even better if they get a great deal on an aspirational brand, and that is usually when it becomes a purchase of some importance.

How to sell a sale?

The negative values that a young customer attaches to a sale could be addressed by making it an earned privilege. For example, if a sale is packaged in a way that makes it available only for a select few, youngsters would look forward to the purchase and their concerns regarding product quality and the store’s intentions would vanish. Even if such exclusivity is notional, it would be a sure shot winner.


Methodology: A network of ‘student transmitters’ across campuses that act as insight seekers and conversation seeders. The network reaches six metro cities and connects with over 10,000 students. The network has been created by Concrea, a youth marketing & communications agency, part of the Electronic Youth Media Group.

Age Group: 18 - 22 years Want to peek into the mind of the youth? Send us your queries at brand.equity@timesgroup.com

Mangalore youth will show WEF a way to make ore export more profitable

M Raghuram
Vivek Raj, 28, a resident of Mangalore, is among the youngest CEOs of a company that has the potential to become a billion-dollar one. His achievements have been recognised by the World Economic Forum. At Summer Davos in China between September 13 and 15, Vivek will brush shoulders with captains of industry from across the world. Leading lights from Pepsi, Airbus, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Reliance and 100 other companies will be present at the meet. Raj is also scheduled to meet the Queen of Jordon, and the CEOs of Sinosteel, world’s largest steel importer, Nestle and the Chinese prime minister.
The young entrepreneur’s business model is sure to take leaders from core sector industries across the world by surprise. He has developed a formula to add value to low-grade (45 grade) iron ore, so that it is turned into high-grade ore (65 grade) with minimum wastage. “It makes perfect economic sense. All the countries are now looking at importing high-grade magnetite ore, but that is hard to come by. The prospecting for high-grade ore takes a lot of investment and funding, but it is the best way to transform low-grade ore into high-grade ore.”
“I have a technology product called benefaction of ore. This is a process of treating crude ores and mineral products in order to separate valuable minerals from waste rock or gangue. It is the first process that most ores undergo after mining, so that a concentrated material is obtained. The primary operations are called ‘comminution’ and ‘concentration’. I am planning to set up a plant in Goa. The government of Goa has already given me the initial permission to acquire land; this will be the first ore benefaction plant in the country.”Vivek Raj further explained,“It does not make good economic sense to export raw ore. Benefaction of ore will help to create greater value for the produce, as it will be converted into high-grade ore. Crude ore is exported at Rs200 per tonne; if it is subjected to benefaction, it could be sold at Rs3,500 per tonne, which would still be at least 20% below the market rate. That would represent huge forex earnings.”
Such is this young man’s wisdom that he even has a plan for the by-product, ore slurry, which results from the benefaction. He would like to make bricks with the slurry that can be used in construction. Some costs incurred in the whole process will also be covered by the brick manufacturing process.
So how did the young man get into all this? “I come from a poor family. I started work when I was 14. After matriculation, I migrated to New Zealand with the help of a family friend. I studied for an MBA degree, and then took to export of New Zealand’s dairy produce to Sri Lanka. Later, I also started export of mining produce. Then I returned to India and set up Panama Group in Mangalore.”
But why Panama? “Was any ship ever stopped at the Panama Canal?” he asks with a sparkle in his eyes.
m_raghuram@dnaindia.net
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_mangalore-youth-will-show-wef-a-way-to-make-ore-export-more-profitable_1436609

Nepal: Taboo-breaking radio show makes waves among youth

Nepal News, 2010-09-08

KATHMANDU: In a Kathmandu recording studio, young workers sift through piles of letters from Nepalese teenagers seeking advice on everything from unrequited love and homosexuality to drug abuse and HIV.

Two presenters in their early twenties talk animatedly into microphones as they record the latest episode of “Chatting with my Best Friend” or Saathi Sanga Manka Kura (SSMK), one of Nepal’s most listened-to radio shows.

The programme, a blend of discussion, drama and music, was launched nine years ago as part of a project funded by the UN children’s agency UNICEF to spread awareness among Nepalese teenagers about the dangers of HIV and AIDS.  Since then it has become required listening for young people across Nepal, a deeply conservative, majority-Hindu country where teenage sex and drug abuse are usually taboo subjects.

The show — the first to be produced by and for young Nepalese people — began as a half-hour slot on national radio, considered the most effective medium in a country where around a third of the population is illiterate.  Its no-holds-barred approach to sexual health quickly won it a loyal following among young people and within months, so many letters were coming in that it had to double its running time to an hour.

“Before SSMK started, there was no tradition of talking about such problems in Nepal,” said Kaustuv Pokhrel, a former presenter on the show who now works behind the scenes.

“The show was designed in such a way that it felt like your friend talking to you in a non-judgemental way. The hosts talk about anything under the sun — sexual and reproductive health, career or study concerns, family problems, whatever.”

Now, SSMK draws six million listeners a week, is the winner of several international awards, and has even featured “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Orlando Bloom, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, in one of its dramas.

Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF’s Nepal representative, said the mainstream media gave little attention to the issues facing young people before SSMK came along.

“This lack of guidance and information on issues that were important to young people left them feeling a little neglected and also increased their vulnerability to risky behaviour,” she added.

But SSMK’s willingness to tackle any subject has also brought criticism and, on one occasion, the threat of removal from the airwaves after a particularly controversial early episode about masturbation.

“We were accused of putting out vulgar content on the radio, so we invited the station managers in to see the letters we received to show we were not making it up — this really was an issue that concerned young people.

“Eventually they were persuaded, but for a while we had to send them scripts for approval. They said we couldn’t use the word ‘condom’ on the radio, for example, which was problematic.”

The format of the show has barely changed over the years — two young presenters, the “best friends” of the show’s title, discuss listeners’ problems before introducing a short drama in which solutions are found.

But the content has evolved to reflect the changing concerns of its listeners, many of whom were caught up in the civil war between Maoist guerrillas and the state that ended in 2006.

“After a couple of years we began receiving letters complaining that we were focusing on small issues when they country was in such a bad situation,” said Pokhrel.

“We had letters from young people who had joined the Maoists and were afraid to leave, and even from girls who had been raped and were too afraid to tell anyone because of the stigma.”

The letters are all read and answered, usually with a stock reply giving expert advice on the particular issue the writer is interested in, and a few are chosen to be featured on the programme.

Much of the correspondence comes from young people in rural areas of Nepal, where discrimination on caste, ethnic and gender lines is rife, and where most of the violence took place during the 10-year conflict.

The show used to receive between 1,500 and 2,000 letters a month, but Nepal has seen a dramatic increase in mobile phone usage in recent years and they are increasingly being replaced by text messaging.

Equal Access, the international non-profit organisation that makes the show, has exported the idea to other developing countries including Cambodia, Laos and most recently Yemen.

In Nepal, a new generation of young presenters who themselves listened to SSMK as teenagers have recently taken over on the show.

“I loved listening to SSMK but I never imagined I would one day be presenting it,” said SSMK host Swarnima Shrestha, 22.

“It’s hard work, and we’re under constant pressure because people take what we say so seriously. But to be able to touch even one young life feels great.”

How to build a super productive workforce in India

Manu A B in Mumbai

How many of you have wished a change in our education system?

Parul is an intelligent kid. But she dislikes going to school. Everyday she asks her mother, "Why do you send me to school? Why do I have to carry a heavy bag everyday? Why can't I learn everything at home?" And the mother does not have a satisfactory answer.

Amrita, another 8th standard student, religiously studies equations from her chemistry book every night before going to bed. She does it not out of the love for the subject but out of peer pressure to score high marks. And she dreams of a day when she will never have to touch chemistry books

There are thousands of children like them for whom the education system is a burden. "For years, students continue to learn from the same old textbooks, subjects which are of no interest to them. Instead of discovering the potential of kids, and honing their capabilities towards subjects they like, all are forced to study just to score high marks in the examinations," says a teacher who looks forward to a radical change in the education system.

"India, the 1.1-billion people nation, currently has 600 million youth below 25 years of age of which only 320 million are in schools and colleges; less than 25 per cent are employable! The youngest nation on the planet continues to be plagued with a severe job-talent mismatch," says Amit Bhatia, founder and CEO, Aspire India.

The failure of government schools in imparting good education for all and the mushrooming of thousands of incompetent private schools from the primary level to the professional level have tarnished the quality of the education system.

"We have not leveraged the power of education. Our engineers have become people who learn by rote, pass the examination and are incapable of making a difference to the society," Narayana Murthy, Infosys mentor, said on the occasion of Teacher's Day.

And none of the Indian universities figure among the top 100 universities of the world.

So where have we gone wrong?

'Youth' is the buzzword for Hiring Companies in India

Today we are living in an era where companies are hiring as well as firing a lot of people at the same time. Then what has led to this new trend where lots of older people are getting fired and younger ones are being recruited? Let us examine this issue.

The culture of business outsourcing and the increased need for companies, especially those in service sector, to establish their own call centres have favored the hiring of younger people over the older ones.

Business outsourcing effectively means that the older and the higher paid staff are relieved from their job in the company back office, and the work outsourced to other agencies, many a time in different countries, who then recruit the younger persons, generally in their early twenties to do the work.

Same is the case with call-centres. It must be admitted in this type of work migration, many a times across seamless borders, saving on staff salaries are prime consideration. This type of work is routine in nature, and does not need any specialized skills.

Thus the younger people with their greater stamina and enthusiasm fit the bill perfectly and accept the job with alacrity. Further the work does call for working in shifts, both day and night. The strenuous nature of work then makes the younger people the natural choice.

The other reason that might also be attributed to the increasing trend of recruiting younger people is the advancement in technology. Today we are living in a very dynamic world, a world where technologies changes every minute.

Old technologies and methods are becoming obsolete. In this era of fast change only young generation would be able to adjust and cope up with the newer trends and emergingtechnologies. Youngsters are more techno-savvy than their old counterparts.

This is so because they have grown in an era where the latest technologies like the computers, mobiles and the internet have made lives speedy and easy.

The corporate sector in order to earn their profits has to adapt to the new technologiesotherwise they will perish. The increasing thrust towards adoption of new technology, outsourcing, and efficacy to produce desired output has made the increased hiring of younger people imperative.

‘India has to keep its youth in good health to become a developed nation'

COIMBATORE: India needs to keep its youth in good health, C. Rajendran, Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise, Coimbatore, said here on Monday.
Speaking at The Hindu-KG Hospital ‘Special Preventive Health Check-up for Teachers', he said the quality of health of the 64-crore youth was important than their being a majority of the population. “India needs fit, healthy youth to become a developed nation. And it is the only way the country can catch up with China.”
Chinese followed a healthy lifestyle; most of their food items were boiled. Indians, on the other hand, fried most of their items. Their lifestyle had also changed. “Is it development or degradation?”
Mr. Rajendran said it was regrettable that India was high on the list of nations with most diabetic, heart patients, persons with Hepatitis B and other diseases. “This is no way to catch up with China, whose share in world production was far higher than India's,” he said.
Teachers' role in shaping India was important because they could make or destroy a generation. In that context, their health was important. And they could not afford to fail because their failure would mean the failure of a generation.
He also asked the teachers to constantly update their knowledge. Quoting a Tirukkural, he said, “If somebody has knowledge, go beg him or her to learn that.”
G. Bakthavathsalam, Chairman, KG Hospital, asked the teachers not to show their anger on students. Students should not undergo corporal punishment, or any physical or mental stress on account of the teachers.
He asked them to consider teaching as God's calling and said it was no nine-to-five job. Only happy teachers would make good teachers. To be happy they needed to be in good health, he added.
The Hindu-KG Hospital medical camp is open for teachers, including retired, and their family members. Master health check-up is provided at a nominal cost. It is a goodwill gesture from the organisers to the teachers to commemorate Teachers' Day. Those interested could register for the health check-up at the special counter at KG Hospital, Arts College Road, Coimbatore. The offer is valid from September 7 to 14. For further details, contact R. Jeyakumar, General Manager, on 98422-21801 or R. Gandhirajan, PRO, at 98422-66630.

What India, China owe their young

Comparisons of India and China are inevitable, and will keep being made. They are both fast-growing population giants, but with many differences. Comparisons also tend to imply a degree of competition. Competition can be zero-sum, as when one supplier displaces another for a fixed market, or when one buyer locks in a given supply of a natural resource at the expense of another. India and China will both be subject to these kinds of competition. On top of this economic competition, there is political competition, for global power and prestige. This can also be couched in utilitarian terms, of risk reduction or providing a stronger base for access to resources and markets. But emotions and ideologies can also be a major factor in political competition. Territorial disputes are clearly zero-sum, although they become embedded in a larger arena of competition, with egos and image entering the mix.

For centuries, the European powers, followed by the US, carved up the rest of the world for its natural resources to fuel their industrial growth. They also fought with each other, often with horrible consequences. Yet they became, and still are, so much richer than either India or China. The lever of these riches (to use economic historian Joel Mokyr's metaphor) was innovation. In my last column, I made the case that entrepreneurship drives the harnessing of technological progress for economic betterment. This was Joseph Schumpeter's original insight. If innovation and entrepreneurship are key drivers of growth, how do India and China stack up?
On the fundamental measure of ease of doing business, China is not a world leader, ranking only 89th. Yet this is far better than India's rank of 133. Looking at the components of the overall ranking, China does much better on trading across borders, which is no surprise. China is also relatively more business-friendly in ease of closing a business. But it also outperforms India in registering property and enforcing contracts. If entrepreneurship is starting small businesses, but ones that have a formal legal status so that they can expand easily, India puts itself at a huge disadvantage. It will be critical for the current set of reforms on company law, land acquisition and related matters that affect entrepreneurship, to move forward, if India is to remove its handicaps.
India's poor governance is also a matter of concern. There are good reasons for improving governance that have nothing to do with business or material well-being, though ultimately, good governance should help citizens to lead better lives. Measures of governance along several dimensions also exist. Indians enjoy much more political freedom than Chinese. India also does better, or no worse, than China on corruption, rule of law and quality of regulation. While China is ahead of India in 'government effectiveness'. This dimension of governance is subjectively measured, but it includes of the quality of public services, the civil service, policy formulation and implementation, and of the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies. India is a messy democracy, but there is no reason it cannot do better on these criterion, especially for those of its citizens (businessmen or not) who are outside the elite. Better public infrastructure and services will also have an impact on the ease of doing business, complementing needed legal and regulatory reforms.
Not everything can be reduced to numbers and rankings. Other areas that are important for innovation include the efficiency of the tax system, specific incentives and legal protections for intellectual property, attitudes towards risk and failure, and capabilities. Capabilities depend on everything from childhood nutrition to higher education—India's failures here go back to poor government effectiveness. India also lags in the quality of its tax system, though this should quickly change for the good, with pending reforms. The reward system for innovation has not yet received enough explicit attention, but India has the potential to outstrip China on this front.
Perhaps the place where India has the greatest opportunity is in its youth. India's youth, beyond the elite, are beginning to have confidence to compete globally. And there will be many more of them than in China. In the US, the baby boomers created social upheaval in the 1960s, but also drove the great wave of innovation in the 1980s and 1990s. The Facebook and Twitter generation is piggybacking on the changes wrought by their parents. The young are naturally more innovative, but they need the environment and infrastructure in which to succeed. They need education, jobs and opportunities to be creative. In 1914, Europe's leaders sent millions of their youth to die needlessly in trenches, and solved nothing. Another World War then had to be fought. Surely, India and China will figure out how to do better. Their leaders owe it to their young people.

The author is professor of economics, University of California, Santa Cruz