Where Is the Edge of Culture and How to Not Fall Off?
Claire Hyland, head of The Youth Lab at youth marketing company THINKHOUSE has had one persistent problem ever since she was in school. As the chemistry teacher told her mother, “Claire’s biggest issue is that she wants to know everything!”
It was this innate curiosity rooted in understanding people and what drives them to be as they are that ultimately pushed Claire to pursue a career in creativity. Growing up in the west of Ireland, Claire was far from the bulk of the ‘industry’s’ ad houses and creative agencies, but in her words, her father “worked hard to open up Ireland to foreign investment.” So, her curiosities began leaning towards business, but, specifically, “the human dynamics of business.”
So, Claire pursued a degree in business and German, majoring in marketing, and started her first job for the Irish pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany. On the first weekend of her job, she met a designer who owned a graphic design agency in London, and “the rest is history.” “I was hooked on the bigger world of creativity that existed outside of the typical corporate culture,” she says.
Today as head of The Youth Lab and somebody who has historically always wanted to be closest to where “change happens”, Claire oversees a team of strategists who investigate, decode and translate youth culture (18-35 year olds), to inspire business and category leaders and their teams to make responsible decisions that benefit the next generation.
The Youth Lab’s work includes attitudinal and behavioural insight and strategy work that underpin business and brand propositions; the establishment of immersive educational programming; and the development of future-consumer communications strategies, designed to help businesses be relevant, innovative and lead the change in a time of climate and biodiversity crisis.
LBB> You worked across New York, London and Dublin and you say you were on the edge of ‘what next’. What was that experience like and what did it mean to you to constantly anticipate what will come?
Claire> William Gibson is reported to have said, “The future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed yet.” I’m naturally drawn to the edges where the future already lurks, but is still invisible to many. I’m intrigued by what might first appear as a small and nuanced change, but could, in time, become a much bigger behavioural change or societal shift. Being on the edge means actively having your eyes open to signals of change, identifying patterns, and developing a ‘change narrative’. When in New York, I wrote a blog as well as worked for The Future Laboratory as a ‘trendspotter’. My material was always in front of my eyes - just walking the streets of New York, observing what people were eating, drinking, wearing, what they were shopping for (or not), how they were socialising and working, what the hot topics of conversation were.
One of my most memorable experiences was participating in a ‘dumpster dive’ (salvaging items dumped by owners in trash cans and dumpsters) in Brooklyn. At the time, it was most certainly at the edge of culture, but gave a signal to what we now call the circular economy and the idea of reusing to reduce consumption. I was, and still am, extremely interested in connecting the dots, unlocking insights of value, and more importantly, working with governments, organisations, and brands to apply those insights to solve problems and drive growth in the right way. Anticipating what will come is never an exact science - you don’t know for certain what lies ahead, but as someone who likes to plan ahead, I feel a certain level of comfort and confidence in being able to see around corners and have an informed sense of what to expect.
LBB> And today, what does your role at THINKHOUSE entail?
Claire> As head of The Youth Lab, I continue to lead projects that deliver on our clients’ objectives in terms of showing up relevantly in youth culture and helping brands, businesses and organisations future-proof. In addition to this insight-led transformational work, I work increasingly within the PLANET services of the business, advising and supporting clients on imagining and delivering on sustainability visions and helping to craft narratives that deliver for their business, while also meeting relevant legislation and citizen understanding. As a board member, I help steer the direction of the business, leading cross-functional, company wide-initiatives that drive our performance, and our reputation in the marketplace. Finally, and very importantly, a large part of my role is representing the company at events and in the media.
LBB> What does heading up The Youth Lab mean to you and how do you keep on top of youth culture?
Claire> Firstly, to speak credibly on youth culture and represent the outlook, needs and aspirations of young people, you have to genuinely care about young people. Each year we produce a body of work - ‘Youth Culture Uncovered’ - that explores what it is like to be young. What I’m most proud of is the response that we get time and time again from young people, who tell us that our insights and our raw portrayal of life through the eyes of 16-35-year-olds is truly representative of their lives; they feel seen, they feel heard. As such, we take our jobs seriously, sharing the insights with CEOs, CMOs and leadership teams who want to understand the next generation and need guidance around how to build relevant products and services, engage employees effectively and communicate with impact.
Keeping on top of youth culture means constantly looking and listening, and staying connected with cultural change-makers. At THINKHOUSE, youth culture is in our blood - the agency was first established as a ‘youth expert’ agency so it’s important that we maintain that strength.
Each week we have a series of internal meetings where everyone in the business shares observations and insights around what they are seeing in youth culture and how this could translate into client work (in other words, a live ‘insights and ideas’ stream). We also produce a weekly email newsletter called ‘52INSIGHTS’ that explores youth culture in a relevant, real-time way - for example this week we are sharing a perspective on esports as the ‘League of Legends’ World Championship is happening in Korea at the moment. Formulating a weekly perspective across broad subject matters keeps us close to youth culture, but the biggest ‘insight stream’ is staying close to young people - whether that’s following young content creators online, being part of youth communities, collaborating with young people as part of our client work, or just listening to chats on the way home on the bus (I can’t help myself!).
LBB> The Youth Lab also ‘investigates’ youth culture - how does this happen?
Claire> Investigation has at its heart a desire to go deep - to wade through the noise to unlock penetrating insights that can really deliver in solving a client’s problem.
We see ourselves as investigators in the sense that we always approach each project with an open mind - intuitively we will have a gut instinct as to where an opportunity will lie, but it’s only in listening to young people and immersing ourselves in their worlds that we can really claim to understand the world through their eyes.
While we love showing up physically in their worlds (their homes, universities, places of work/study and socialising spaces) we also recognise how comfortable young people are in opening up and sharing personal thoughts through a screen interface, so we regularly engage in online chats or commission Instagram-type diaries, where there is no face-to-face engagement.
We undertake our own digital netnography - really going deep into the places and spaces to unlock culturally relevant insights that give us a broader perspective of young peoples’ worlds. We’re also really curious about the broader sphere of young people - the influencers in their lives. This can mean engaging with parents, teachers, principals, employers, and expert youth voices who have a broader view on the lives of young people and how the attitudes and behaviours of young people have changed over time. We have a suite of technology that enables us to deliver all of this; as well as a database built over 20 years - all part of The Love Network, which is a product we have created for our clients to grow brand love through networks of creators, influencers and change makers.
LBB> Can you make some predictions about the coming couple of years in terms of how brands should act to capture attention? Or is this changing by the second?
Claire> Absolutely! That’s the secret sauce of THINKHOUSE and The Youth Lab. We’re really proud to work with brands and organisations for a very long time, and they recognise the longitudinal, transformational impact we’ve made. This is often by making predictions (based on insights and a strong cultural intuition) and having the creative communications skills to capture attention and land the brand in culture in a credible and effective way.
Culture changes minute by minute when we consider internet culture - what’s trending one day, is old news the following day. So, for our social and digital innovation team, it’s important to unlock these real-time insights to show up in real time with relevance. However, when it comes to bigger brand positioning work, the insight is usually rooted in a human truth that has built-in longevity. Brands need to show up relevantly for the near future (three to five years) through a solid positioning and proposition, but how they communicate and show up will change relative to cultural trends.
LBB> Naturally we should ask - what are some trends that brands should not overlook currently when it comes to youth culture?
Claire> A key finding this year in our Youth Culture Uncovered was the yearning young people have for community participation and the value placed on the sense of belonging and a shared connectedness to others. For brands and businesses looking to engage with young people, this means thinking community-first, and exploring ways in which they can facilitate and foster community. This doesn’t mean building out your own community per se, instead it can be about facilitating community through other avenues.
Showing up directly or indirectly (via content creators) on TikTok is a no-brainer for brands. How you show up will of course continue to change given the ongoing changing cultural dynamics that play out. We’re also seeing the nature of communications change - from polished, perfected brand comms to more authentic, real storytelling - this honesty and authenticity in communications is something I think we’re going to see more of.
Another big shift in general, post-pandemic behaviour is young peoples’ desire to get out of their comfort zone, make new friends and enjoy new experiences. The very notion of ‘friendship’ has become more prized, given the closing in of friend circles during the pandemic. So, we see young people hungry to make new friends, or create special rituals around friendship groups. Often these experiences can be rooted in the need to ‘escape’ from the realities of life today, whether that’s escaping into virtual worlds or communities, or into elevated, in-person experiences that bring fresh perspectives and new memories.
LBB> The holidays are coming! What do you expect to see in young people's behaviour and attitudes towards holiday shopping and brand engagement?
Claire> I think we are collectively locked into a consumption culture - one which I hope, through our communications, we can use to inspire a new definition of what ‘a good life’ is. So, I’m curious to see how young peoples’ behaviours around consumption and shopping will change this decade.
In the short-term though, I expect a lot of savvy behaviour around Black Friday deals, with gen z audiences in particular nabbing online deals. I think the brands that show up with appealing offers, and brand storytelling that positions them as relevant in the lives of young people are on to a winning formula. Typically, Christmas brand storytelling is rooted in ‘joyful narratives’, so those that surprise and delight with more offbeat, fun and cheeky narratives hold greater appeal. I also predict the biggest Q4 investment in the creator economy from brands yet, recognising how young people find out about news (and brand offers) through peers and voices of influence online.
LBB> Thinkhouse is now B-Corp certified - tell me about how this ties in with your role and why was this such an important step both for the company and your career?
Claire> Yes! We are delighted to be part of the global B-Corp community, united by a shared goal of using business as a force for good and driving a more inclusive, equitable, regenerative economy. As a business, we reorganised ourselves in 2018 to offer three core services - transformation, planet and fame. The transformative insight work is so connected to sustainable impact, so my role naturally started to evolve from just understanding the youth outlook and applying it to marketing to understanding where the business needs to go and how our thinking and creative work can drive culture and business forward. As we started to advise more clients on their actions, impacts and communication, it felt right to validate and legitimise our own actions and impacts as a business, so B-Corp certification was identified as the right fit as it’s holistic to a business, and not one particular element of the business.
Together with a small team of senior colleagues in the business, we led the internal process of assessment, and in addition I went back to university (at night) to study business sustainability leadership. From a career perspective, I am more informed and educated from a broad sustainability perspective, so I feel confident in bringing my knowledge to client projects and business-decision making. It’s all about impact (not talk), and as a B Corp we’re legally obliged to make decisions that consider all stakeholders, so I will be ensuring that in working with our clients we will be considering their needs as much as the needs of communities and the planet. B Corp certification is helping us future-proof our business, but more importantly it’s helping us better help our clients future-proof and change the economic system we all operate within.
LBB> Do you see an attitude and mindset change in the wider industry similar to that of THINKHOUSE?
Claire> Within the advertising and marketing sector, there are more people recognising the agency they have as individuals, and the power we have as a collective to influence culture in a positive way. There are multiple reports and research studies that highlight the skill of creativity and the power of imagination to help drive the transformation that is needed across all aspects of society. We have that in abundance in our community.
If we were successful in the ;’50s, creating desire around the idea of success and happiness linked to ‘stuff’, we can equally be successful in reimagining what a good life is for the 2020s and beyond. So, here’s to all the people, collectives and groups - from the purpose disruptors to ad net zero to creatives for climate to B-Corps who are coming together to drive positive social change and reduce environmental impacts. If we can change the attitudes and behaviours of citizens around the world towards low-carbon, nature positive, socially inclusive lifestyles, how proud will we be of our industry?
LBB> And what do you want to see change?
Claire> Change starts with a mindset shift - this often involves a personal journey rooted in reflection, and mired in moments of optimism and outrage. It’s so important that employers provide those spaces and moments for reflection, and then listen to employees, providing opportunities for people-led change, rather than process-led change.
Assuming these mindset shifts happen, I then want to see action at speed - measurable outcomes driven by a sense of urgency. These changes are rooted in all of us in the advertising and communications sector taking responsibility for the communications we create, and the direct and indirect impact of those communications. We have the power to use our skills and talents to drive a circular economy rooted in rethinking, reusing, recycling and reducing.
Finally, I’d advise everyone to take a deep breath to get through this transitional period and think and act for the long-run, even when it feels like it is one hurdle after another. As we like to say in THINKHOUSE, "If you want to change the world, you gotta throw a bigger party." Change can be fun. So let’s make this fun.
