Rocket Fuel: Youth Marketing

Adnan Ebrahim is the founder and CEO of Car Throttle, a motoring brand that distributes content online. Dubbed “Top Gear for the Facebook generation,” Adnan founded Car Throttle a decade ago, when he was still a student living with his parents. Since then, the brand has gone on to work with the likes of McLaren, Nisan, Mercedes and Red Bull, and has recently been acquired by Dennis Publishing. Having built websites and online communities from just 15-years-old - selling his first website before his 18th birthday - we explore how Adnan’s ingenuity and precocity paved the way for Car Throttle’s success. Throughout this episode, we discuss: brand focus, “switching off,” demographics and competitors, and why you should be like Nike and Just Do It. This is Adnan Ebrahim’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Follow Rocket @WeAreRocketHQ (twitter.com/wearerockethq) Follow Rocket on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/thebigshot) wearerocket.co.uk/ Follow Adnan Ebrahim @adnanebrahim (twitter.com/adnanebrahim) Follow Adnan on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/adnanebrahim) Follow Adnan on Instagram @adnanr35 (instagram.com/adnanr35) carthrottle.com

James O’Malley is a technology and politics freelance journalist. “The problem with being a technology journalist is, these days, you’re basically an everything journalist.” Technology has become so ubiquitous throughout modern society that it now pervades every nook and cranny of our lives. Of course it has afforded us amazing benefits, but luxuries are not without their costs; we use technology, but it, in turn, uses us. As such, James O’Malley has made it his mission to report and document on how technology catalyses change in the world. Having been the editor for Gizmodo UK for two years, as well as having written for publications such as WIRED and The Spectator, James has become an expert at discussing technology and culture. He has reported on how TfL breaches privacy, the horrors of China’s social credit system, and even coded a free-to-use Trump notification bot. Our discussion includes: how technology and politics affect our society, the importance of data, healthy skepticism, and TikTok confusion. This is James O’Malley’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Follow Rocket @WeAreRocketHQ (twitter.com/wearerockethq) Follow Rocket on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/thebigshot) wearerocket.co.uk/ Follow James O'Malley @psythor (twitter.com/Psythor) Follow James on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/james-o-malley-5a83164) http://jamesomalley.co.uk/

Brandon Relph is a youth specialist, speaker and consultant. At just 13-years-old, Brandon founded a company that used the video-game Minecraft to generate content for marketing and educational purposes. And though “the computer had to be off by nine,” he expanded his enterprise to a team consisting of forty employees spanning multiple countries. Now, six years later, Brandon routinely provides data-driven consultancy for advertising agencies, as well as companies working in technology, fashion, and culture. Throughout this episode, we discuss: the necessity for innovation, presenting a TED Talk, generational differences, and how brands talk to audiences, This is Brandon Relph's Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow Rocket @WeAreRocketHQ (twitter.com/wearerockethq) Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Follow Brandon Relph @brandonrelph (twitter.com/BrandonRelph) Follow Brandon on LinkedIn (uk.linkedin.com/in/brandonrelph) brandonrelph.com/

Matt Deegan is the creative director of Folder Media and the station manager at Fun Kids Radio. Since starting in student radio at the Royal Holloway, University of London, Matt’s expertise have grown exponentially; now living a double life managing presenters and staff at Fun Kids Radio, whilst pioneering content for Folder Media. Fun Kids is the UK’s biggest children’s radio station, and Folder Media is an audio and radio content creation agency. Most notably, Folder pioneered the Love Island podcast for ITV, but have also worked with the BBC, DTS and Bauer Media. Topics include: Matt’s beginnings, what he looks for in a team, product development, and young people’s media landscape. This is Matt Deegan’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow Rocket @WeAreRocketHQ (twitter.com/wearerockethq) Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Follow Matt Deegan @matt (twitter.com/matt) Follow Matt on LinkedIn (uk.linkedin.com/in/mattdeegan) mattdeegan.com

Alison Jackson is an artist known for her subversive political art. Having shied away from higher education until age 30, Alison began taking night classes for art after realising her life as a receptionist wasn’t fulfilling her. With her passion for art ignited, she later enrolled in BA and MA university programmes, and even produced a BAFTA award-winning television series for the BBC, all whilst being a student. Since then, she has gone on to collaborate with the likes of Channel 4 and Coca-Cola, and continues to host art exhibitions all around the world. Throughout this episode, we discuss: Alison’s journey as an artist, fake news, the spectacle of celebrity, social media, and youth. This is Alison Jackson’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow Rocket @WeAreRocketHQ (twitter.com/wearerockethq) Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Alison Jackson @alisonjackson (twitter.com/alisonjackson) Alison Jackson @alisonjacksonartist (instagram.com/alisonjacksonartist) Website: alison-jackson.co.uk

Stephen Green is the EVP for ITV Kids, and is responsible for the maintenance of the Thunderbirds brand. Joining the entertainment industry during the turn of the millennium, Stephen has since experienced an eclectic career in brand management. Beginning with licensing for Hasbro, Stephen has since worked with brands such as Pokémon and Mr. Men, and even became the CEO of a Chinese content creation company. Now, he oversees and maintains the brand of 'Thunderbirds Are Go,' an animated TV series produced by ITV. Throughout this episode, we discuss: how to re-energise a brand, how audiences are segregated, the immediacy of media, and what defines young audiences. This is Stephen Green’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow Rocket https://www.wearerocket.co.uk/ Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Follow Stephen Green: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stephen-green-8334948

Sonja Graham is the Managing Partner for the environmental charity Global Action Plan. Once an employee for one of the biggest oil companies in the world, Sonja is now a pioneer for environmental change at GAP. Her trajectory was catalysed during her time at the University of Edinburgh, where she became increasingly aware of how human activity harms the planet. Global Action Plan is a charity dedicated to encouraging people to live sustainably; for the betterment of the planet, humanity, and its generations to come. Though small, they are an effective, data-powered charity that launches educational campaigns, such as Clean Air Day; an annual initiative seeking to raise awareness of air pollution. Topics include: climate change, the environment, parenthood and young people. This is Sonja Graham’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow Rocket @WeAreRocketHQ (twitter.com/wearerockethq) Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) Follow Sonja Graham @Sonja_tweets (twitter.com/Sonja_tweets) Follow @OneYoungWorld (twitter.com/OneYoungWorld)

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, a columnist for the Spectator Magazine, and author of the Alchemy series. In ’88, Rory was but another graduate looking to work for any ad agency that would have him. Which, unbeknownst to him at the time, was none of them. Except one: Ogilvy & Mather Direct. Fortunately, Rory's circumstance of limitation birthed his best possible outcome as a visionary, even if some of his peers at the time joked that he was ‘the worst graduate they ever hired.’ Since then, Rory has made a name for himself by disrupting ideas generated by “normal thinking.” Coming from a behavioural psychology background, Rory deliberately dispenses with the idea that humans are innately rational, but rather that we are subject and vulnerable to our needs and desires as biological creatures. Topics include: technology and the future of flexible work, the limitations of marketing and research, young audiences, and the state of UK politics. This is Rory Sutherland’s Rocket Fuel. ——————— Follow Rocket https://www.wearerocket.co.uk/ Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine) ——————— 00 01 35 — Rory’s Beginnings 00 04 35 — What Rory Looks For in a Team + Applied Behavioural Science 00 07 40 — Have More Than One Job 00 11 45 — The Future of Flexible Work 00 19 10 — Non-Conventional Marketing + Human Psychology 00 29 40 — The Limitations of Market Research and Marketing 00 50 20 — Young Audiences + Status Goods 00 59 35 — Youth and Pro Urban Propaganda 01 02 30 — Politics and Brexit

Rocket is hosting a panel on the 28th of November at Soho House, and we would love to see you there! You can register at eventbrite.co.uk/e/speaking-the-language-of-youth-the-trouble-with-teens-tickets-72952267195?aff=ebdssbdestsearch The panel is based around marketing and communicating effectively with young people aged between 13-18. Guests include: the Chief Strategy Officer of a leading student network, a Tik Tok creator, the editor of a leading youth publication and an agency campaign manager spearheading a number of universities social and content strategies.

Ed Couchman, the UK General Manager for Snap Inc, joins us to talk about Snapchat, Spectacles and the future of augmented reality. Having made his first splash in the world of B2B magazines, Ed Couchman now lives in the world of the digital; having worked at Facebook for half a decade, to recently become the “the face of the business” at Snap. He explains that, not only is Snapchat not dying: it is thriving, and in a way that is entirely unique from other platforms. This, as Ed explains, is because Snapchat is not a social network. It forgoes the algorithmic for the hand-crafted; trades tenuous online connections for real ones; and erases your digital footprint leaving you with privacy. Snapchat never died; it transformed. Throughout this episode, Ed also talks about: Snap’s venture into augmented reality through Spectacles, the importance of giving back, and why the future is now. This is Ed Couchman’s Rocket Fuel. -------------------------- Follow Rocket @BigShotTweet (twitter.com/bigshottweet) Follow James @JamesErskine (twitter.com/jameserskine)