From the parallel world of the young generation

At some point in recent years, it must have happened - I have grown old. I didn't notice it, at least not right away. But the signs are accumulating, it just can't be denied anymore. This becomes particularly clear when I observe my media usage behavior and that of the younger generation. The good news is: I am not alone. During lectures, I like to ask the audience if they are familiar with Gronkh. Usually, they are not. Out of 100 listeners, an average of five raise their hands, sometimes even fewer. Gronkh simply passes by our reality. And yet, he is extremely relevant. Not for us, but for the future. Gronkh symbolizes for me a parallel society that is developing in the younger generation. And one that is hardly on the radar of companies to the necessary depth. Gronkh is a "Let's Player". This means he plays video games, records his gameplay and comments, and uploads the recordings online - sometimes adapted for different age groups. Just there, I see some listeners in the lecture hall chuckling in surprise, who would watch something like that? When I then explain that the videos are usually 20 minutes long, but sometimes up to an hour, most dismiss it disdainfully. No one watches that kind of stuff... Let's take a look at Gronkh's channel's view counts. Before that, it's worth looking at a few brand channels for comparison. Hugo Boss can be proud of 7 million views, Procter & Gamble almost 50 million. Nike (worldwide) can even boast 500 million views. Behind these numbers are decades of corporate history, billion-dollar budgets, and globally recognized brands. And Gronkh? A German online celebrity, without advertising budget, without a Brand Strategy Handbook, and without a team of advisors, has at the time of writing this, cracked 2.6 billion views. Over two billion views!!! And we are not talking about 10-second clips that someone watches during a commercial break, if they are not going to the bathroom or the fridge, but episodes the length of an average TV series. Hardly any of the viewers are likely to be over 35, most probably under 25. Many probably even younger. "Not relevant to us, not our target audience" might be going through your mind now. And that may well be the case. But this type of content shapes the media usage behavior of the next generation. Those who have grown up with Gronkh, Bibi, and Co. will not be explained to by a TV host how the world works, nor will they believe the advertising messages of a marketing department. Above all, they will no longer let themselves be dictated when, where, and how to consume information. 2.6 billion views and you have probably never heard of Gronkh. If you have, by the way, you are either under 25, have children of a youthful age, or work in the online/marketing industry. Ask around in your circle of acquaintances... A different reality, a parallel society indeed. And it doesn't stop with YouTubers. Watch young people and their smartphones. The days when you held the phone to your ear to make a call also seem to be numbered. Today, the phone is held horizontally in front of the face. If you wonder what that's about - the person is probably recording WhatsApp voice messages into the smartphone. Typing? Old school. In Asia, voice messages via WeChat, Line, and others have long been commonplace. In marketing, we do well to closely observe this communication behavior. Not because we necessarily have to push into the youth market. But because young people are getting older, but they carry their media usage behavior with them. And that simply often has nothing to do with the reality of (us) executives, DVD-watchers, "experienced" marketing people anymore.