Youth Media upgrades digital tools for advertisers

We recently caught the attention of MediaTel. Here's what they had to say:

Youth Media upgrades digital tools for advertisers

Youth Media has introduced a new range of branded app facilities on its YouthWire Desktop Platform, currently installed in PCs in 34 universities.

The Desktop Platform has previously been purely a channel for ad campaigns and interactive panels but now it will provide a new range of digital tools, such as widgets for marketing campaigns.

The YouthWire Desktop Platform is currently installed on more than 24,000 PCs in 34 universities with a reach of more than 650,000 individuals, as well as 26,000 PCs in 98 colleges, with a reach of more than700,000. Individual students average six sessions a month, with an average dwell time of 86 minutes, said Youth Media.

Justin Smith, director of Youth Media, said: "Our portfolio of media is unique within the educational marketplace and this ground-breaking initiative adds a powerful new solution to our range which will enable advertisers to really talk face to face with their selected target audiences."

What’s happening with YouthWire at Universities?

As per our recent YouthWire Uni Newsletter, we are aiming to use the YouthMedia Blog in future to display University YouthWire updates as they happen. Can I encourage you to sign up, follow and comment on our blog.

Purdah and YouthWire

Purdah is the period of time from when an election is announced until after the General election is held. The basic principle is that any Central Office of Information (COI) marketing activity which could call into question the current government’s political impartiality or could give rise to the criticism that public resources are being used for Party political purposes is suspended for this time.

As a result we will be unable to display COI information on YouthWire from now until the General Election has been held. We are working hard on some new alternative clients for this period of activity and will be in contact with you soon regarding these.

App Developments

We have just finished the design and development of a library App for Anglia Ruskin University Library – their students will soon be able to search the entire library catalogue using the Aleph App on the YouthWire panel.

If you are interested in taking up our Aleph, Innovative, Sirsi Dynix or Talis Library Apps please get in touch. Alternatively, we can create a new app based on your sites’ individual library programme.

How can professional bodies tap into the student market?

With the evolution of technology and the now global dimension of commerce, business has grown exponentially and become as diverse as you could possibly get.  It’s no wonder then that a need has arisen for specific professions to come up with a way to regulate the systems and legalities involved, with an aim towards demystifying the world of business and protecting the interests of those practicing a particular trade.  Not only is it necessary for professional bodies to support their members, but they have a mandate to ensure that the standards of their profession are upheld.  Many of the bodies do this by establishing training courses or qualifications or insisting on accreditation via membership as a requirement to practice certain professions in the UK.  Some of the obvious examples of these include medicine, finance and accountancy.

Each professional body will have a range of membership opportunities available, from affiliates who may not be interested in becoming fully qualified, but still have a strong interest in a particular field, to associates who are in the process of developing their professional careers, to fellows who are recognised with awards for outstanding achievement and competence in their field.  Last but not least, there will be membership categories aimed primarily at the student market, for those who are just embarking on their professional careers.  Each level of membership will allow access to a wide range of benefits, whether it be professional resources and information, the chance to network and build relationships within the industry, or the opportunity to take advantage of various related leisure or retail discounts and deals.

So where does Youth Media come into all of this you might say?  One of the major issues that organisations have in targeting the elusive Generation Y is that they are always a step ahead when it comes to their consumption of media and they are not so easily tempted or impressed by traditional methods.  If we’re to believe the research then the youth tend to be incentive driven and are more swayed by the opinions of their peers than the promotional marketing of a particular brand.  Ok, so if the youth aren’t likely to pick up a newspaper and feel less inclined towards ads on tv then what on earth can we use?  The answer is to pinpoint where the youth spend the majority of their dwell time – these days it’s on their phone or their PC. 

Youth Media specialises in the provision of unique and tailored communication solutions for brands looking to target the student market.  With a reach of 2.2 million students in universities around the UK, professional bodies looking to promote their membership or qualifications to the student market have a wealth of media options available.  Why not place an ad on our YouthWire platform, a unique offering situated on the desktop of PCs in areas of study, to not only promote the brand but drive targeted traffic to your website, or run an email campaign where the personal touch comes from the involvement of heads of department where emails are sent to academic email addresses, meaning no issue with spam filters and the added effect of a trusted source to encourage more opens and higher conversion.  If it’s brand awareness you’re after then we have a range of ambient media to complement any campaign.

Augmented Reality – How Real Is It?

You could easily be forgiven for wondering whether you’re stuck in sci-fi mode when it comes to thoughts of augmented reality. While the exact technicalities may boggle the mind, possibly the simplest definition has to do with digital information layered on a real environment. Ronald Azuma refers to augmented reality as a combination of the real and the virtual, something that allows interaction in real time and is registered in 3D. Now we all know what an impact 3D has had recently in the movie world with the release of James Cameron’s long awaited Avatar, which has been followed by a series of new 3D releases that seem set to change the face of the industry as we know it.

You might not realise it, but augmented reality has been around for quite some time. Anyone notice how sports commentators are able to playback footage with a bunch of arrows seemingly drawn onto the image to illustrate certain plays? How about the fact that rugby fields and cricket pitches have giant logos of the sponsors inserted to appear on TV. Even video games make use of augmented reality, where visual directions are given to a particular location, information is inserted about equipment, such as the weapons available or how far away the nearest shooter is out of sight. There are even aircraft with helmet mounted displays that allow the pilot to look through his own aircraft as if it wasn’t even there.

While it may seem like some kind of Hollywood gimmick, the fact remains that augmented reality is here and it’s something gaining popularity in the marketing world with an increasing number of digital agencies launching viral campaigns. Even Smartphones have jumped on the proverbial bandwagon where the phone’s camera is the lens through which the real world is seen and as objects are recognised, the phone automatically fills the screen with relevant information. The built-in GPS tells the phone where you’re standing and information is sent wirelessly to servers that host augmented reality apps. Examples include WorkSnug, which helps you locate the nearest Wi-Fi spot for your laptop, or CarFinder which is perfect for the ditzy women of the world who manage to lose their car in a crowded lot.

While Youth Media might not be in the business of augmented reality, it is certainly a leading innovator in the world of technology in education, specialising in the provision of communication solutions both for the institutions and commercial brands looking to target the youth market. Our You[th]Wire platform is strategically placed on the desktop of PCs in areas of study, providing students with access to a range of relevant content in the form of interactive desktop apps, similar to those you’d find on a Smartphone. Why not take advantage of the most innovative technology on the market and have your own commercially led branded app designed? We specialise in creating the initiative that drives engagement and the intense popularity of apps on the market tends to speak for itself.