This week’s membership spotlight lands on Tony McRoberts of Mr Youth, an agency founded as “the antidote for traditional media burnout.” With a private office in our Union Square location, Tony represents the San Francisco branch of this New York based agency. Tony is usually the first to arrive in the morning and always appears to be extremely focused. Whether he’s playing Tetris or actually working is yet to be determined. He can be found hunched over his keyboard, typing away Schroeder-style.
Q: What is Mr Youth all about and why do you love working there?
Tony: Mr Youth is an incredible agency that has really been pushing the
innovation envelope in the marketing industry for many years. It’s part
software company and part marketing agency, leveraging technology
to help brands solve business challenges and better connect with their
customers. This is really why I love being part of Mr Youth - Innovation is
part of our DNA and San Francisco is such a logical place for the agency
to grow as it continues to be at the forefront of digital and social marketing.
Q: What’s your main role as the head-honcho of the San Francisco
office?
Tony: I’m part of the Brand Development team, which focuses on developing new
relationships with prospective clients and also seeking out and managing
new opportunities with current clients.
Q: How has having an office a coworking space been helpful?
Tony: It definitely brings more energy to the workday. Being part of a creative
and innovative work community helps me feel like I have an office culture,
even without the “office.”
Q: Mr Youth just released a much talked about report about the Social
Class of 2015. What do brands need to know about marketing to this
generation?
Tony: This is such an important consumer segment, as Millennials will be the
largest population generation in 5-years. When they go away to college,
they’re getting their first taste of being the ‘head of the household’ and
making purchase decisions. Brands that can establish themselves now
could create lifetime loyalty with these Millennials.
What the study does is illustrates the key differences between the Class of
2015 vs. other Millennials and identifies 5 vital rules for brands looking to
connect with these savvy teens:
1. Help them express their personal brand
2. Integrate organically into their world
3. Get in good with their friends
4. Become an on-demand brand
5. Get to know them and don’t assume
For a deeper dive, the Class of 2015 report can be downloaded from the
link below:
You can also read more about it here.
Q: Wasn’t there a good mayo example?
Tony: Yes, of course…Miracle Whip! We frequently highlight brands that are
connecting with the Class of 2015 well and Miracle Whip’s Love or Hate
campaign is a great example of ‘Getting to know’ this audience. It’s no
secret that Millennials and this segment in particular heavily use social
media (over 40% check FB over 10x per day), so giving them a forum to
express their opinion on Facebook, good or bad, tells them that your brand
took the time to get to know their habits. They respect transparency and
understand a brand or product can’t be everything for everyone. Miracle
Whip created an irreverent, sharable campaign that teens loved to engage
with and express their deep love or extreme distaste for the brand – And
either way, Miracle Whip is reaping the benefits of social chatter about the
brand.
Q: What’s next for the Mr Youth San Francisco office?
Tony: Growth. The plan is to grow the San Francisco office to more self-
sustaining. This will take some time and we’re definitely taking a
methodical approach. Our New York headquarters is packed with some of
the best talent in the industry, so we want to tap into that resource as often
as possible, but we’ll slowly add new pieces in San Francisco.
—
We look forward to that growth. Thanks, Tony!