Vice Media Group’s New Culture Report

Vice Media Group released an expansive report Monday morning called the Vice Media Guide to Culture, an 81-page document that distills a blend of data and qualitative expertise into 10 codes, with the aim of using the insights to bolster its reputation amongst marketers as the arbiter of all things youth. The report, available here, was produced by the Vice Media Group Insights team, a 10-person operation within Vice Media Group that creates, including both private and public studies, more than one hundred pieces of intelligence a year, according to Julie Arbit, global svp of insights. The Vice Media Guide to Culture (VGTC) differs from other research the group produces in two key ways. First, it is more expansive than traditional reports, broadly analyzing culture rather than focusing on a single subject, such as parenting or health and wellness. And second, this year marks the inaugural release of the report, but it will become an annual fixture going forward, said Nadja Bellan-White, chief marketing officer at Vice Media Group. “We want to help our brand partners better achieve their goals,” Bellan-White said. “We put out the Vice Guide to Culture because it enables our clients to stay at the center of culture, and that helps brands drive return on investment.” Vice Media Group Names Agency Veteran as Global CMO Vice Media Group, which flirted with going public via the special purpose acquisition company route last year, has long touted its unique ability to tap into the youth zeitgeist. The VGTC provides the media company a recurring opportunity to remind marketers of the value of that capability. As younger generations eclipse millennials as the torch-bearers of youth culture, publishers that can credibly claim to understand the generation stand to tap into its $140 billion spending power. A variety of research Rather than rely on a specific piece of data collection, the VGTC incorporates a variety of research, outreach efforts and audience insights to arrive at its conclusions. It groups these sources into three main buckets: community, consumer and content, Arbit said, which distinguish between information gathered from tastemakers, research and reader signals. The Insights team synthesizes this information into 10 categories, which it calls culture codes: prototype the future; know thyself; creativity is power; radical intimacy; life lessons; a symphony of senses; local seeds; design for disfluency; surreal escape; and spaces for nuance. The subjects divide into three broad categories: self-expression, interacting with others and engaging with the world, according to Arbit. Gen Z is not waiting to go back to normal: They are coming of age in the pandemic.—Julie Arbit, global svp of insights, Vice Media Group The report is future-facing, making informed predictions about how young people will behave and how marketers should respond. Rather than trumpet body positivity, for example, the VGTC suggests that young people resonate more with the concept of body neutrality. In another section, radical intimacy, the report finds that hooking up is no longer as important as opening up, citing changes in interpersonal dynamics spurred by the pandemic. “Gen Z is not waiting to go back to normal: They are coming of age in the pandemic,” Arbit said. “What we are experiencing now is their normal. So brands, to be relevant, need to think about what culture looks like today and tomorrow.” Each section draws on a number of internal data to validate its assertions, lending the otherwise pithy maxims an air of objectivity. For instance, the third culture code, creativity is power, references a number of internal reports to reinforce its claims, including a study on the future of experiential, a consumer trust report and a survey on youth in the pandemic. Reaffirming its reputation as a youth culture arbiter Brands want to know how to reach younger audiences, and packages like VGTC help Vice Media Group convince marketers that they understand the generation, Bellan-White said. The reports will be used to build relationships with existing clients through workshops and other presentations, and aim to bring in new clients through events and business-to-business marketing outreach. Nine in 10 brand and marketing professionals who are aware of Vice Media Group see it as the go-to destination for emerging culture, and eight in 10 say it is good or excellent at providing valuable insights on culture, according to a brand equity study the publisher conducted in Q3 2021. Vice Media Group will use the findings from the report internally to inform its clients’ marketing campaigns, a tactic that it hopes will generate new business, increase client retention and boost deal size. “We hope the Vice Guide to Culture will be a revenue driver for our brands and for our publishing side,” Bellan-White said. “It helps us start a conversation that centers around content and how brands want to partner with us.” Vice Media Group Expands Creative Offering With Acquisition of Pltfrmr

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Vice Media Group’s Culture Report Aims to Keep Brands Tapped Into the Zeitgeist

Staying at the center of culture helps brands drive return on investment

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg