What I learned at #YMS17 in NYC

As CEO & Founder of UCA Jamaica , I have to be very strategic in leading my brand through the clutters of Jamaican Marketing. I had to gain insight from industry leaders within the Youth Marketing space but my problem was — no such leaders exist in Jamaica.

Solution? Research industry leaders, and to my surprise — VOXBURNER came up. I reached out to them via Instagram DM on their inspiration.

The team at VOXBURNER sent us a special Promotional code for discounted tickets and we surely used it!

But .. How did we get there?

• Corporate sponsorship — I want to thank JN BANK for actualization this dream with us.
• Investments — I want to thank INTUIT Concepts for being a strategic partner in the investment of wealth-creation and brand building.

Our first day in NYC, we had a meeting with Steve Bartlett from Social Chain ; see snippets of the interview on Youtube. Great advice, great insight and he agreed to mentor UCA Jamaica. Boom!

Steve Bartlett of Social Chain pouring business and personal development tips to Kristofferson Nuns & Alexia James of UCA Jamaica

Photo op with the new Mentor. Boom!

The overall experience at #YMS17 was jam-packed with youth-centric wealth, strategy, insights and more +++

ID Card for the conference

• GenZennials — Rare breed between Gen Z & Millennials. They are the17–25 yrs olds and exhibit the following characteristics:

1. Multi-taskers
2. Data-Natives
3. Do-Gooders
4. Diverse in culture

• The currency of attention with this demography: SPEEEEEEEED
• Curation = Content
• Market WITH the YOUTH and not TO them. Invite them to be part of the process and then you’ll have advocates for your brand. Global brand, Cheetos has exactly done that by inviting the general public to market with them on their CHEETOS MUSEUM campaign.

Kristofferson Nunes, CEO of UCA & Richard Jackson — General Manager of VOXBURNER. We spoke about partnerships for a possible YMS Jamaica. Interesting developments.

• Reward the demography with EXPERIENCES vs. Material possessions
• Marketing should be a delicate balance between ART & SCIENCE
• The Youth demography is DELIVERY-CENTRIC
• The Gig economy is rising in popularity among the youth market and matches exactly what UCA Jamaica delivers to students. Part time jobs.
• Status update > Status symbol. They do it for the Grams. They curate perfect IG moments.
• Know how to tap into the emotional sphere of the culture you’re playing in.
• Know the power of Distribution: Paid, Influencers or owned channels.
• Entrepreneurship wise: Learning how to increase output without moving too much input; scaling your services.
• A successful creative campaign include — Imagination, Differentiation, Amplification & validation of your campaign
• The market has an agile mindset with brands — Tailor-made, DIY and Personal experiences. (Pop up again, Yes!)
• The GEN Z market is of course different than any other age bracket and behavioral patterns. They exhibit the following:

1. Passion that pays. They want a job or gig that pays well.
2. They’re cynical. They’re not the hopeful generation.
3. Girls are equal to men, not Better. You may find that men/boys in this generation would be willing to offer help in the traditional feminine roles.

Business/Personal Development lessons learnt

1. Don’t be afraid to speak to strangers at the conference.
2. Have an action plan at the conference. What’s the end result you intend on having ?
3. Don’t forget your business cards — but also learn to follow each other on social media. Keep in contact there after.
4. Learn to share your experiences; Giving is important.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Overall, one of the best experiences in my professional and personal life. UCA Jamaica is poised for an evolution. Look out!

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