Tech Tribe 2007 report is a detailed analysis of the attitudes and thoughts of almost 3000 young people, covering both students and those in work. The report illustrated very clearly that this is a digital generation, in control of their relationship with media owners and brands and who put a high value on their own creativity and that of their friends.

Some highlights from the report in 2007:

This generation of young people want to be entertained like any other, however, as Tech Tribe 07 shows, they are not glued to their TV sets; they are consuming the content that they want when they want via the internet and downloading/streaming it for free. They are in control of the media they consume and the advertising they see. This means broadcasters and brands need to worry less about what their advertising does to young people and much more about understanding what young people do with their advertising. So the question for all marketers is how, in this digital age, to get young people to choose to engage with my content?

The answer starts with understanding what is important to them; Tech Tribe 07 shows what their passions are and what gives them a sense of identity/community. Our research shows a generation where “creativity” has huge social currency; friendship groups are defined by it; social standing is enhanced if you create and share content amongst your friends. At the heart of this is a generation who has found new avenues for self expression, making and sharing their own films, music, websites, games, photos, blogs and art.

The influence of friends on purchases made is huge, with 91% saying that friends’ recommendations have influence on what they buy. The three top factors in terms of having a lot of influence on what they buy are friends recommendations, friends using the product/service and seeing people using/wearing the product/service. 65% recommend products and services to friends often or very often, rising to 80% amongst working non-graduates – the group most likely to recommend. 64% have recommended a product or service in the last month; only 32% have put someone off.

Top 20 brands continue to be dominated by online, tech, media & big retail. Google remains top, but its supremacy is challenged by Facebook amongst undergraduates (85% vs. 81%). Tesco, River Island, Sony and Playstation are the main players to have suffered in 2007, while BBC, Subway, Apple and iPod are all on the way up.

Evian and Innocent are the 2 brands that have made the biggest gains between 2006 and 2007, while 02 and Yahoo have had the biggest falls in ranking.