The generation of “I”, as in me. A generation who feel entitled to celebrity. As coined on The Lionel Show radio programme, Generation I slacks off in school because they believe they will be famous. It is so full of itself.

There is a changing paradigm how young consumers think, react and act — and the smartphone is at the heart of this. To understand their relationship to their phones is to understand how they will make decisions and impact the future.

The 16–23-year olds are today’s trendsetters and tomorrow’s decision-makers. And the smartphone is their device of choice to navigate the world. This is a generation of digital natives distinct from older generations in their ease and familiarity with new technology.

Up to date with digital trends, they lead the way in experimenting with and adopting new platforms and are also the first to move on when new options emerge. Their use of smartphones will grow by leaps and this may be the generation that will be tomorrow’s mobile-only users.

Indeed, the bulk of their living, learning and buying will be shifting to smartphones even as they continue to multi-task seamlessly across their other digital devices. As consumers, they are much savvier about brands and marketing, and very conscious about what they are getting in return for their interest and money.

No longer impressed by hard sell or dated marketing techniques, it is more effective to speak to them in their language and reach out through intelligent and responsive marketing — tailored to fit their smartphones.

Mobile use is deeply personal for this generation and, as such, monitored closely. Marketers need to understand this attachment and give these consumers an experience that builds on it.

The smartphone’s role in their lives is getting bigger, more involved and all pervasive. It’s their core device for learning, playing, communicating and socializing. Replacing most of their other digital devices, it will become like a second skin for them.

So what tips do they have for marketers?

• Reach them via social media: Young consumers get all their information from social media, which they prefer to access through their smartphones, and brands that stand out here are seen as more credible.

• Be creative and unconventional: To really get their attention, marketing efforts need to be innovative (with an element of surprise or humour), relevant (local or trendy topics) and provide value for money (a good discount or deal). Talk to them in their language, instead of grouping them with older consumers.

• Take advantage of mobile technology: Since they all have internet-enabled phones, marketers need to optimize technologies like Near Field Communication (NFC), location services and Augmented Reality to engage young consumers with their brands. Other options already in the market include QR codes, click to call/text, or daily deals via social media apps or text messaging.

• Stay Relevant: Youngsters today change requirements, needs, interests and trends in an instant. To catch their attention, marketing efforts have to be sensitive to shifting trends. Finding some sort of personal connection increases relevance.

•Stay Responsive: Brands must ensure that they are reaching to young consumers on all devices and platforms that they use with the same message and user-experience. One of their biggest problems with smartphone use is that mobile sites aren’t as user-friendly as their counterpart websites.

•Stay Connected: Young consumers have short attention spans so brands must ensure that they stay on their radar by either “wowing” them with their product or offering some tangible incentive or being a topic of conversation. Creating a ‘buzz’ in their digital sphere and being able to connect with them at their level, in a language and style that is youth-centric, is crucial — especially for niche brands that depend on word-of-mouth referrals.

Young people live in a mechanical, digitised world and brands that can reach out to connect to them at some emotional, personal level will have the most impact. Social media is the best place for such contact.

Firefly researchers’ see young people creating and sharing more self-generated content on it such as photos and videos while still consuming high levels of entertainment and information. Social networks will soon be the platform for all information-seeking and decision-making and it is where brands need to connect with today’s youth.

CREDIT: The writer is chairman of Global Firefly Board and head of Firefly Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.