How Do We Reach The Youth? HOW???

Today’s guest is, I’m just going to say it outright, the President of Complex. Yes, THAT Complex.

25M+ followers on socials, billions of views each month, and 9 figures in revenue, meet Moksha Fitzgibbons.

Moksha is the brains behind one of the largest media brands in the world and is an EXPERT when it comes to staying in the know with the youth.

I was stoked to have him on the pod and he shared all of his habits he’s built in order to captivate and market to the youth, so that you, YES YOU, can apply this within your company.

Here’s what he had to say in his own liiiiightly edited words.

1. You’re approaching video wrong:

“If you think about the way video is distributed today, it’s very different than it was 10 years ago, where longer form video was driving most of the value.

In 2024, the consumer has shifted to a lot of video consumption with reels, TikTok, and shorts in a vertical video format specifically. 

But long form youtube-style videos STILL ARE RELEVANT. So you’re having to look at what can be a hero long form piece of content in the traditional YouTube ecosystem, but designing that content in a way to have memeable and viral vertical video moments that can extend from that.

For example, in one of our shows, 360 with Speedy Mormom, they’re all long form videos fit for traditional YouTube, but in every episode he asks the celebrity guest if their net worth on Google is accurate.

Which makes this uncomfortable, awkward moment where the celebrity is left defending themselves or saying they’re way richer than that (srsly you should watch these, they’re hilarious). 

And this almost ALWAYS creates memeable vertical video viral moments. 

But you have to take it a step further than that, what people respond to on reels is very different than what they respond to on TikTok or on shorts.

Many Marketers think you can just publish the same vertical video across all 3 (you can, but you won’t get the same response rate). 

You really need to be bespoke and tailor the content to those various platforms, where some are feed driven, others more algorithmic and primed for viral organic short form content. It’s that one-two punch.

2. How to tap into the youth:

Almost all Marketing professionals are sort of aging out of the demo (I feel called out LOL).

So it’s exceptionally important that we become experts from a research perspective to really understand what’s going on in youth culture.

Study what 16 year olds are listening to, watch how they’re communicating, and then as the stewards of our brand, figure out ways we can interact with them and grow in credibility and authenticity with them. (My go-to is just chatting with my cousins and Aidan LOL, they’re so Gen Z.)

For Complex, it’s a very concerted effort to make sure we are a discovery platform for new artists, designers, musicians, athletes, and being the place you go to discover what’s new.

If you’re at a more traditional business that can be tough so focus on making a conscious effort to lean into discovery. 

For example, younger demos are super engaged with Snapchat, but then they hit a certain age and graduate into TikTok or Instagram. It’s super important to keep tabs on where these different demographics are hanging out so that you know where and how to reach them.

The worst thing you can do is get lazy and rest on the fact that you’ve built an audience on one platform. As your audience ages, their consumption behavior will change and where you interact with them will have to change.

3. The matrix:

I empathize with a lot of brand Marketers who are working in big organizations that are incredibly risk averse when it comes to their Marketing. 

There’s a common theme within each of these orgs that I find interesting and it’s that they say they prioritize a strong, consistent relationship with youth (and strive to be credible in the eyes of the youth) but then their efforts are very sporadic or they change every year.

If you think about great brands like Complex, GQ, or The Wall Street Journal, those brands have the same relationship today, yesterday, 10 years ago, 10 years in the future, with the consumer.

Complex will always be a blend of lifestyle and culture. The Wall Street Journal will always be the best in financial business. Now the way they deliver content will change, but that consistency, voice, approach will never really change.

And that DOES NOT happen at many other big orgs afraid of taking risks. 

They have staff rotations. The way they incentivize people is by asking them what effect they can have on the business in the short term, so they change things quite frequently and don’t have that level of consistency. 

For brands to have connection to youth culture and be present with them in an organic and authentic way, it would pay off for them if they had a higher level of consistency in what their brand is known for.

You have to play in culture if you want to be associated with it (LOVE). 

And to do that I would encourage these brands to partner with a Complex or The Wall Street Journal, whoever it is that makes sense for your brand  and integrate your brand into their content. 

As part of a social connectivity strategy, explore the brands in youth culture that are doing social really well. 

And ideate on how you can do content partnerships with them that don’t feel forced, don’t feel like a three minute commercial, but actually are integrations that make sense for both brands and help you deliver on your business goals (GENIUS).

4. Avoid this:

A stance that I would take incredibly firmly, and would risk getting fired over is doing everything in my power not to damage the relationship between the company and current customer.

Here’s what I mean…

It’s so hard in general to win consumers, for them to be loyal to you, for them to be advocates for you, that risking losing them is a risk NOT WORTH TAKING (even if there are short term financial benefits).

In an age of highly shareable content, you’re relying on your audience to become advocates for you. And if you’re doing anything that turns them off or alienates them that’s a risk not worth taking, 

For example if Complex (we’re rooted in style, music, pop culture), all of a sudden we wanted to start talking about pet insurance, that’s not going to feel right. (This applies to any brand partnerships you run as well!)

But then if we launched “Complex Home” and it’s all about how to curate a stylish home as Millennials get a bit older, there’s a lane there. It’s all still within style and becomes an extension of our brand. Versus jumping the ship and telling people the best places to get pet insurance. 

EVEN IF that move would prove fruitful in the short term financially, it is not worth risking losing your current audience for it.

It comes back to knowing your brand and how and where you can expand.”