It’s the social media age. All young people are tweeting, texting and using Facebook to let everyone know who they are dating, when, where they are going, etc. It does seem like this generation is not into privacy. That thought is somewhat upheld in the rate of STDs and HIV in the 18-25 crowd.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that STD rates are rising in the US for the first time since 2006. The 18 year olds would have been eight back then and probably didn’t pay attention to the news reports about safe sex. They may not even have known what sex was.
Condom manufacturer, Durex, went a step further and polled people 18-25 about their sexual practices. It is not surprising that the majority felt like HIV would never happen to them. It attacks other people. Even the boomers can remember back to their teens when they felt nothing could hurt them and they were immortal. Realization hits as one ages and becomes wiser.
Durex discovered that 80% of this demographic felt more secure using emojis to talk about their feelings and 84% of this group felt more comfortable using emojis to talk about sex. You must remember this is the computer screen generation. They communicate with their thumbs texting and spend hours in front of a computer screen rather than in one-on-one personal conversations or even within a group. This is just the way it is. What is really scary is that more than 33% of this group said they didn’t care about safe sex. That is mind boggling.
Durex has come up with a way to reach this demographic group with condom emojis. There are many different emojis that can represent sex, so why not an emoji regarding condoms and safe sex?
Those who understand marketing and customer retention should see what a wonderful idea this is. Durex is coming down to the 18-25 level of comprehension. They will attract new customers who will purchase the Durex brand. Since the customer is so young, they will have a customer buying their brand for life, perhaps.
It pays to think outside the box. The 18-25 group will soon be leaders in their governments and industries. We all would like to see them make it to their golden years.
