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’Tribal
culture
lives on
in modern
times‘
This booklet and DVD will
give you a taster of our latest
research on youth culture. We
have pulled out the over arching
trends that emerged from our
study of young people across
the UK.
This is just a taster, there are
more detailed findings and
videos to follow. Sign up and
we will let you know when
they are available.
As well as the DVD at the back
of the booklet, there will be
five short videos arriving over
the coming months, each one
focussing on a different topic.
If you want to know more
about any of the topics, or hear
more about UK Tribes, please
contact Neil Taylor at
ntaylor@channel4.co.uk.
Sign up at
uktribes.com/videoblogs
01
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
02 _03
_ Metalhead
_ Male
_ 19
”I think exercise is
important and I
should probably
do more”
UK Tribes
Tribe Scribes
Created by Channel 4 and
Crowd DNA six years ago,
UK Tribes is a long-standing
study of British youth culture.
Tribe Scribes is the video
blogging component of UK
Tribes and is this year’s primary
research tool.
Looking for something more
innovative and authentic
than a socio-demographic
segmentation model for youth,
our goal was to study the youth
market in a way that reflected
how they actually arrange
themselves in our society.
Tribal culture lives on in
modern times, and we’ve got
our neo-anthropological hats
on to take you to the heart of
young Britain.
Working with over 80,000
young people since the
project’s inception, the research
approach is fluid and flexible,
so each year the findings truly
reflect what’s happening now.
Absolutely no pigeon-holing or
retrofitting in sight. Just simple,
honest inputs we can use to
dizzying heights in our output.
The challenge is distilling the
barrage of information into
lucid insights for the marketing
community, but we’ve got it
down pat.
We asked 50 young people
across 23 different youth tribes
to talk to us via video diaries for
around six weeks.
Keeping it open yet relevant,
we chose five broad topics
to explore: identity; gaming;
leisure; hopes and fears; and
brands and purchase.
Over the following pages,
we’ve summarised some of the
broader themes that emerged
and explored the five topics
individually. At the back of the
booklet you’ll find details of the
methodology employed.
Read on…
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
A group so diverse and dynamic
as 16–24 year-old Brits
deserves a modern approach
to market segmentation.
Meet the Tribes
We stay close to them through a broad ethnographic focus
on their unifying and divisive activities and attitudes.
We then draw together a deeply insightful snapshot which
allows us to segment youth accurately, and brands
to reach them successfully. This time we identified
23 tribes interacting as part of five larger groups.
Mainstream
–Townies
–Chavs
–Sports Junkies
–Casuals
–Boy Racers
–Ravers
–Streets Rats
Alternative
–Skaters
–Metalheads
–Emos
–Young Alts
–Scene Kids
–Gamers
Urban
–Get Paid Crew
–Blingers
–Trackies
– DIYers
Aspirant
Mainstream
–Trendies
–Rahs
Leading Edge
– Geeks
– Indie Scenesters
– Hipsters
–Craft Kids
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
06 _ 07
_ Boy Racer
_ Male
_ 19
”Our generation is the
lost generation. The more
you watch the news the
more depressed you get
about everything”
Emerging
trends
Here we present some of the
common themes pushing
through across the whole
UK Tribes project, in light of
wider cultural trends.
Anxious youth
Anyone taking away power
and control is the source of
unwelcome anxiety, and hence
an enemy of youth.
They are now more activist
and unified, not least through
collective backlashes against
‘disengaged politicians’.
They also feel indignant in
suffering through the effects
of recession, when this is
supposed to be ‘the time of
their lives’.
Weary of opportunity
With so much talk of
opportunities, UK Youth are
feeling ‘achievement fatigue’.
Curating their own true
happiness is now a serious feat
of dedication and something
threaded through all parts of
their lives.
What they lack are relevant
mentors with can-do attitudes.
Friends are everything
In turbulent times, and
especially when living away
from home, friends are more
of a support network than
they might admit.
One big fear about the next
five years was loosening ties as
friends pursue their own goals
rather than shared interests of
the group.
Worries about scary life events
are immediately placated once
new mates are in tow.
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
08 _ 09
_ Rah
_ Female
_ 22
01
Hopes
and fears
One of our favourite topics.
We asked the tribes to talk to
us about the next five years
through their eyes – what would
stand in their way and what
would propel them forwards.
Very real excitement and heartwrenching worries poured out.
_ Now that drive and ambition
are almost normalised in
youth, the fear factor is that
dreams won’t be realised
and they will look like
passionate fools.
_ Across all tribes a lack of
control is a big hang up – and
they are aware of the strong
links that their own autonomy
has to happiness.
_ Ultimately they were worried
about losing their happy
persona – and the next period
of their lives feels like it’s
looming.
Full findings and more video
on this topic will follow in
May 2011.
“It’s not a matter
of skills, it’s the one
position for 30 people
applying that really
scares me”
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
10 _11
_ Townie
_ Female
_ 23
02
Identity
Everyone knows that growing up
is all about shifting and shaping
who you are.
_ There is now a strong sense
We wanted to understand
how UK youth are actively
doing this, with all the digital
tools available now for micromanagement.
_ Discontentment and strife
Especially important was
probing the role of nationality
and regionality in identity.
_ Shared identity is gained
What are the fast tracks for
identification within our young
people, who find it increasingly
difficult to distinguish
themselves?
of society, community and
solidarity among UK youth.
over government cuts and
student fees have affected
the majority and brought
them together.
increasingly from flexible
youth tribes and faceted
identities as opposed to
one dimensional tribes.
Full findings and more video
on this topic will follow in
June 2011.
”My roots are spread
all over the globe so
I don’t really feel like I can
get a realistic idea of who
I am, but London, if I’m
honest, is where I identify
my home as”
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
12 _13
03
Brands and
purchase
We wanted to find out about our
participants’ attitudes to money
and spending… We gave them a
theoretical £250 and asked how
they would use it.
The answers illuminated how
fluctuations between steadfast
sensibility and flippant cautionto-the-wind are a big factor in
their lives.
We also asked them to give us
their take on five major brands.
_ Brands do matter, but
not as much as we’d all
like to think.
_ They know about using
products as representations
of themselves, and by
extension they care
when brands are honest,
philanthropic and transparent.
_ Money is about
responsibilities (bah)
and experiences (yesss).
Full findings and more video
on this topic will follow in
July 2011.
_ Geek
_ Male
_ 19
“I’d put it in my wallet…
I’d just use it to put into the
pot of money I already
spend on living”
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
14_15
04
Gaming
With the proliferation of
smartphones and exciting
developments such as
3D, gaming has exploded
in popularity in UK youth
culture – or has it?
We wanted to find out if it
was all hype. We quizzed youth
on their ideas about the current
role and the future of gaming
– as well as their preferred
channels of play.
_ Gaming is as much about
affinity for ‘vintage’ and
nostalgia for childhood as
it is about free entertainment
on the move.
_ Consoles are still king but
3D isn’t a winner yet – it
still feels gimmicky.
_ Online games are picking
up but youth are cautious
about going down the ‘too
much gaming road’,
simple mobile games
still produce smiles.
Full findings and more video
on this topic will follow in
August 2011.
_ Scene Kid
_ Female
_16
”There are a lot of people
our age who would rather
go on the Xbox rather
than go outside”
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
16 _17
05
Leisure
This topic allowed us to get
a feel for how today’s young
people are choosing to spend
their time.
Are they really fingers-in-allpies, making money with side
hustles, as well as A-levels and
partying like Skins?
We asked them to map out their
ideal weekend and fill us in on
all the juicy details. We also
wanted to know about keeping
fit – whether it matters or not.
_ Humble, cheap jaunts in
the park stand their ground
against extravagant city
breaks – there’s room for all
in the ideal weekend – it just
depends how spontaneous
they’re feeling.
_ Being lazy is a required
indulgence, but the peerfuelled drive to go out and
‘experience, post, reflect’
keeps them energised.
_ Though routines provide
necessary solidarity, for
most the epitome of cool
is spontaneity.
Full findings and more video
on this topic will follow in
September 2011.
_ Trackie
_ Male
_18
“My perfect weekend
would involve a big night
out – it’s been a long
week, so you’ve just got
to enjoy yourself and have
a bit of a mash up”
_ Introduction
_ Meet the tribes
_ Emerging trends
_ The five topics
_ Methodology
18 _19
_ Chav
_ Male
_19
”It’s always nice to
know that you’ve
got good friends that
have got your back
no matter what”
Methodology
Video blogging research and
analysis through January and
February 2011.
48
Number of young
participants
External experts interviewed
for this study:
480
Total number
of videos received
200
4mins
280
32hrs
Number of group videos
we received
Number of individual
interviews received
Approximate average
length of each video
Total amount of video content.
Approximately 1,920 minutes
or around 32 hours
Steve Boxer
Journalist
A long-time games journalist,
currently writing for The
Guardian; Steve has previously
worked with The Daily
Telegraph, MCV, Three Speech,
MSN, Gamespot and more.
Dr Mike Shiner
Senior Lecturer, Social Policy
Mike’s research interests
include young people and
their transition into adulthood;
drugs and drugs policy; social
exclusion; crime and crime
prevention; ‘race’ and ethnicity;
and the role of the community
in social policy.
Grace Ladoja
Youth culture consultant
Working with brands such as
Nike, Adidas and Levis; Grace is
also part of the successful nail
salon Wah Nails, a regular haunt
among the trendy East London
crowd.
Charlotte Gerada
LSE General Secretary
Primary representative of
LSE students to the School,
the media, and the outside
world; Charlotte sits on the most
important committees, and
works across the Executive to
make sure every officer is able
to campaign on the issues they
are passionate about – and that
the School is listening to its
students.
If you want to know more
about any of the topics, or hear
more about UK Tribes, please
contact Neil Taylor at
ntaylor@channel4.co.uk
This is just a taster, there are
more detailed findings and
videos to follow:
May . . . . . . . . . . . . Hopes and fears
June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Identity
July . . . . . . . Brands and purchase
August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gaming
September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leisure
Sign up and we will let you know
when they are available.
Sign up at
uktribes.com/videoblogs
Crowd DNA, Unit 6.03, The Tea Building
56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ
Crowd DNA is a company partner of the
Market Research Society and a council
member of Word of Mouth UK
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