‘True Gen wants a believable storyline, not advertising’

At e4m Screenage Conference 2022, Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India, shared interesting insights as part of an address on ‘Meet The Screenagers’

by Team PITCH
Published - November 25, 2022
2 minute To Read
‘True Gen wants a believable storyline, not advertising’

Who are the Screenagers? What are their values and lifestyle? What are their aspirations? What is their relationship with the screens? Answering these questions was Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India took the stage at the 5th edition of e4m Screenage. He was delivering an address on ‘Meet The SCREENAGERS’.

The young digital audience in India represents more than 173 million users aged between 18-25 who are spending an average of approximately 7 hours online. “True Gen as a term is a more appropriate description of this audience rather than screenagers. What makes these youngsters ‘True Gen’ is that they have on their hand the power of the internet, and that access to information is what really transforms how these young kids behave and interact with the world around them,” Khanoria said.


Talking about this generation of consumers born into the digital age, he explained, “There are 5 distinct features of how this generation behaves - they are hyper-cognitive, they are identity nomads, they are a woke generation with a powerful point of view that they aren’t shy of expressing. It is also uniquely a generation that is self-immersed and self-obsessive and they are also extremely anxious as the former 4 characteristics put a lot of pressure on them.”


Today, one of the big challenges is that brands lean heavily on digital platforms and media, and there is a sense of frustration amongst the youngsters on how these platforms behave. According to a MTV Aatmanirmbhar study last year, there is a decline in trust when it comes to digital platforms, especially with the younger generation.

“This kind of translates into the fact that they want authenticity from brands, they want a believable storyline and not an advertisement but for brands to live what they say. As the role of media evolves, it is important for us to evolve in the way we as brands relate to the True Gen. The marketing imperative for this generation is to draw them in and stop annoying them with content that they don’t want to see. Collaboration with like-minded influencers, brands and initiatives will be helpful. The third will be to tap into their passion - the oldest formula in the marketing playbook. And, finally, be authentic to your brand and your audience,” Khanoria said while signing off.

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