Morgan Stanley Revelation
Well it seems to take a 15 year old boy to tell the corporate world the blinking obvious. Matthew Robson a 15 year old school boy had a work experience stint at Morgan Stanley. As part of his spell there he was asked to write a research paper on teens media consumption.
Now this isn’t a dig at Matthew Robson, or particularly at Morgan Stanley, but does it demonstrate a distinct lack of awareness at large corporations about online and other emerging media channels. Matthew probably didn’t expect to become when he wrote a summary of what he and his mates thought. Yet it seems his work hit the tables of analysts, investors and CEOs.
So what inspiration did Matthew afford to his six-figure salaried friends? Well here are a few items:
Teens prefer streaming sites (e.g. Napster and Spotify) to regular Radio – as, wait for it, they don’t like adverts
Teens prefer Facebook to Twitter as it is seen as a better way to stay in touch – (apparently Stephen Fry isn’t cool for teens)
Teens also watch TV (a lot) but via internet rather than TV, so they can watch what they want when they want on channels such as iPlayer
Teens don’t buy newspapers, or indeed don’t buy CDs
Teens also find online advertising pointless
Well as I said, this is not against Matthew, I just think the stating of the blooming obvious really illustrates a lack of corporate understanding. This lack of understanding is both lack of education of online and also most are so far out of touch with ‘youth’ the obvious becomes a breakthrough. I just hope Matthew’s efforts opens the eyes of some corporations.
I have thought of some other bright ideas that Morgan Stanley can get excited about:
Top 5 ideas
1. School boys like football and can often be found to wear replica football shirts
2. Very young children struggle to eat solid food, they prefer liquidised food which is easier to swallow
3. Kids enjoy sending text messages on their mobile phones
4. Children play games on their consoles
5. Girls and boys are different, as a result they should be treated differently when targetting products at them
Matthew is also quoted as saying that he is now considering a career in investment banking. Matthew, I am not surprised, good luck.
Rich Clark Marketing 