MTV's 'Many Me Project' says youngsters today want to be multi-achievers

The case study also says that the youth want their brands to be as dynamic and ever-evolving like them.

Recently, MTV launched its youth study that covers 11,000 youngsters from more than 50 cities across India. Aptly titled 'MTV Many Me Project', the in-depth research which was presented with much fanfare at the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016, a flagship insights event that studies and dissects the world of the youth, explores the many facets of youth life -- their attitudes, motivations, aspirations, and anxieties.

Explaining the theme of 'The Many Me Project' further, Ferzad Palia, head - youth and English Entertainment, Viacom18, says in a press release, "The Many Me Project is a look into the ever-changing, ever-dynamic youth of India. What has emerged is that today, young people are fascinatingly multi-dimensional and multi-faceted. For them, multi-tasking isn't enough, they want to be multi-achievers."

According to Palia, the world of the young is changing rapidly, and the pace of this change has doubled over a period of time. "At MTV, the universe of the young, we are passionate about tracking this change, because today, more than ever, the youth is incredibly dynamic. And, they expect us, their brands, to be as dynamic, ever-evolving, and layered. It is a pleasure for me to share these insights in order to help youth marketers build a strong connect with young people through cutting edge content," he says.

Speaking about the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016, Sudhanshu Vats, group chief executive officer, Viacom18, says in a press release, "As a content powerhouse, it is mandatory for us to understand the pulse of our audience. MTV's constant endeavour is to understand its primary target audience -- the youth; to know what they doing and how they feel about the various aspects of life is extremely crucial."

Vats says that for the last 10 years, MTV has worked incessantly to understand every nuance of each interaction young people have amongst themselves and their media consumption habits. "It is these patterns of consumption and interaction which then form the basis of everything we do at MTV. The headline study for this year - 'MTV Many Me Project' - has thrown up some fascinating insights into the lives and minds of this absolutely dynamic demographic. I am positive that every single person who has been a part of the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016 will now be able to decode the ever-changing youth of India much better," he says.

This year, the study also explores the role of content in the life of youngsters and questions the existing paradigm that content is just a social currency. MTV also investigates the emergent social etiquettes on the social media platforms, and the plurality of the online and offline lives of youngsters. This research explores the manifestation of new-age gender definitions, and therefore, its impact on relationships between friends, families, and their significant others.

This year, MTV deployed interesting non-intrusive, yet immersive techniques like selfie-project, peerscope, digital shadowing along with ethnographic interviews, and peer group discussions to understand the new emerging face of young India. As always, the insights gathered from this research were presented through interactive seminars and presentations at the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016. The various sessions featured renowned trend speakers across the world such as Mike Reiss, co-creator, producer and writer of The Simpsons, Cindy Gallop, founder, MakeLovenotPorn and IfWeRantheWorld, Will Sansom, director, content and strategy, Contagious Insider, Kerry Taylor, senior vice-president, youth and music, Viacom International and chief marketing officer, Viacom UK, Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran, chief executive officers, GoDimensions, Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer and youth icon, and (Ferzad) Palia, who is head, youth and English entertainment, at Viacom18.

MTV Many Me Case Study - Click here to view.