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Johannesburg - If you want to understand the youth market, a good place to start is radio, where youngsters converge and interact on a massive scale.
With this in mind, media buying and planning agency Mercury Media recently hosted youth radio station YFM in an interaction with various government departments involving on-air interviews and discussions.
"It provided a chance for the departments to get a taste of what young people are interested in and how they can be better communicated to," says Sipho James, head of new business development at Mercury Media.
"Some of the media agency's clients also received the chance to share what they do. The DJs themselves are young, so they are connecting in much the same way as their listeners."
The talks were presented as part of a broader approach to getting information into the hands of those most in need of it, especially through technology. James provides an example of using blogs as a platform for people to share their frustrations with the necessary government departments instead of just waiting for an imbizo.
He says some departments are on the ball, but the process can be painful. "It is sometimes difficult to convince clients that going online is beneficial."
It is even more of a problem when the media agency itself hasn't come to grips with the new medium. "We've taken on more staff to deal exclusively with the digital space," says James.
"Educating clients and ourselves remains top of the agenda. The recession has also impacted on a faster push towards change."
- Fin24.com