MOJO Ad Team Shares Mindset of Those Ages 18-24 to Los Angeles Agencies
The State of the YAYA (Youth and Young Adult) Report Features Insights and Marketing Strategies
By Emilie Scott
Public Relations Account Executive
MOJO Ad
Columbia, Mo. (April 7, 2015) — A team of eight MOJO Ad students from the Missouri School of Journalism presented the 2015 State of the YAYA report to top agencies in Los Angeles during spring break.
The report about the Youth And Young Adult (YAYA) market features insights and data about those ages 18-24. MOJO Ad is the premier, student-staffed professional-services advertising agency in the U.S. specializing in the YAYA market.
Led by Assistant Professor Frank Corridori, who doubles as the co-creative director of MOJO Ad, the students spent two days visiting top agencies including 180LA, 72andSunny, FleishmanHillard, Huge Inc., Something Massive and Hello Design. The students also were welcomed at Santa Monica-based agency RPA, which was co-founded by Larry Postaer, BJ ’59.
“Some thoughts that crossed my mind during your presentation are that these are great insights from the actual source,” said Duco Muller, head of creative services at 180LA. “Not only marketers can benefit from the State of the YAYA report, but I do think that the data is of value to all kinds of fact-based, hungry industries, such as medical, government and financial.”
Students participated in a group brainstorm with FleishmanHillard for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, which will take place this summer.
The 2015 State of the YAYA report was developed through in-depth research using sources such as Mintel, Pew Research and eMarketer, plus an online nationwide survey of the YAYA market. More than 600 individuals completed the survey, which was used to formulate insights from ranging from fitness to social media to healthcare. For example, the Dr. Me M.D. insight analyzes how 18- to 24-year-olds handle illness and doctor appointments. The research showed that when YAYA consumers begin to feel sick, they prefer to Google their symptoms rather than wait to see a doctor. They want instant feedback and believe they can access expert opinions through online diagnostic tools on apps and websites like Web MD.
“It is really smart to start an agency at your university and sell the one USP [unique selling proposition] you have – being young and providing a straight line of intel to your potential clients,” Muller said.
The students gained an understanding about various types of agency specialties, including digital, public relations and studio production, during tours and networking conversations with industry professionals.
“I’ve been seriously considering moving to LA after graduation for some time now, and before this trip, I had been researching and applying to a handful of the agencies that we ended up visiting,” said Emily Pfitzinger, an account executive at MOJO Ad. “This trip gave me the opportunity to actually meet and chat with some of the people I had previously reached out to. Without this trip, I never would have gotten to do that.”
To download the 2015 State of the YAYA report, visit mojo-ad.com. Among the national companies that have hired MOJO Ad to create fully integrated campaigns are Hallmark, TGI Fridays, Famous Footwear, Purina, Walmart, Tostitos and Blue Diamond.
Updated: August 4, 2020