Hire Early Adopters 

As a Next Gen Insight and Co-Creation Platform, we are only as good as our network. That’s why we have a collective of thousands of Next Gen early adopters across the globe. We know better than anyone that youth culture is far from monolithic, so it’s important that we have as diverse a range as possible of these early adopters, tastemakers and culture vultures. We consider it an immense strength of the platform that we have built that we are able to get an insight on queer culture from one collective member, then a moment later turn to another Collective member to get a hot take on whether Harry Kane should leave Tottenham or not.

With such a diverse range of opinions, it may appear as if it is unclear what connects all of these early adopters. But therein lies the answer: opinions. While the content of the particular opinions can be worlds apart, the SELFHOOD early adopters giving those opinions are united under a banner of openness, free thought and self expression. And levels of expertise can vary hugely too. We’re lucky enough to have access to some early adopters who are experts in particular aspects or areas of culture, but a key point of what makes SELFHOOD what it is is that this is not some exclusive club. We want to hear from the experts, but the main thing we want is passion on a topic. Or in the absence of passion, a reason for the lack thereof.

The open nature of SELFHOOD is part of the appeal. While we are looking for early adopters and tastemakers, that shouldn’t just mean super cool, artsy kids who live in Dalston - as this simply won’t be all that helpful to our brand partners. Talking of early adopters can conjure up these kinds of images, and part of the point of SELFHOOD is to break these misconceptions. We’ve found that all sorts of people, from all sorts of walks of life have a story to tell and an opinion to share. This is critical to giving our brand partners a holistic view of their brand, and an opportunity to differentiate between those early adopters who do support their brand and those early adopters who do not. And, more importantly, why they do or do not.

Having such a range of opinions also allows us to zero in on particular groups when that’s what a brand requires, which is what our cells model is based off of. While it may be interesting what someone in Ottawa thinks, it might not be relevant to a particular brand. In these cases, we are able to centralise our focus on whatever group our brand partner wants to hear from. With that being said, the advantage that SELFHOOD offers is that it’s very easy to go beyond this core group and hear from peripheral cohorts who are somewhat interested in your brand, as well as those who simply are not but where there is a genuine growth opportunity.

The point of all this, though, is that with our vast collective of Next Gen early adopters, we understand all facets of youth culture better than any other insight platform. We dig deeper and access the brand truths and unfiltered insights that can only be accessed with a genuine understanding of the very people who make up our platform.

If you want to take your insights to the next level and access the Next Gen, get in touch: hello@thisisselfhood.com.