South African youths will have their voices heard when the winners of the 2019 Sunday Times Generation Next Youth survey are announced on 13 June – ahead of Youth Day celebrations – at the perennially vibrant event in Sandton. The top 5 finalists in the celebrity, entertainment and sports personality categories of the highly anticipated Awards have been announced.
Now its 15th year, the Sunday Times Generation Next Youth survey is presented in association with HDI Youth Consultancy. The survey polls more than seven thousand youth from around the country, across more than seventy categories, and is considered the leading barometer of what SA’s kids, teens and young adults find on-trend and aspirational.
Reardon Sanderson, GM group sales and marketing at Tiso Blackstar says: “The Sunday Times Generation Next survey gives SA’s children and young people an opportunity to share their thoughts and preferences as consumers across numerous categories.
Celebrities play an incredibly formative role in guiding the opinions of today’s youth and being able to acknowledge their impact at the Awards is essential. Similarly, the importance of personal branding also needs to be celebrated.”
In a new category for 2019, the country’s Coolest Online Influencers also receive recognition.
Bongani Chinkanda, CEO of HDI Youth Consultancy says:
With 63% of marketers said to increase their influencer budget in 2019, we at HDI thought it was right to include this category in this year’s survey. Influencer marketing as a channel is here to stay. However, the form is changing, in that youth are wanting more authentic engagements, hence the growth in micro and nano influencers. With 60% of internet users in Africa, whose digital purchases are said to have been influenced by social media, this a category to watch in the future.The 2019 celebrity finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
Amanda Black; Babes Wodumo; Lady Zamar; Minnie Dlamini; Pearl Thusi – (2018 winner: Babes Wodumo)
AKA; Casper Nyovest; Kwesta; Nasty C; Trevor Noah – (2018 winner: Trevor Noah)
Black Coffee; DJ Fresh; DJ Maphonso; Prince Kaybee; DJ Tira – (2018 winner: Black Coffee)
AB de Villers; Caster Semenya; Percy Tau; Siphiwe Tshabalala; Thuso Phala – (2018 winner: Siphiwe Tshabalala)
5FM; East Coast Radio; Highveld (94.7FM); Metro FM; Ukhozi FM – (2018 winner: Metro FM)
7de Laan; Empire; Skeem Saam; The Queen; Uzalo – (2018 winner: Uzalo)
Bonang Matheba; Kefilwe Mabote; Kim Kardashian; Lasizwe; Somizi
The Sunday Times Generation Next Youth Marketing Conference takes place on 13 June from 9h00 to 14h00 at the Sandton Convention Centre. Tickets can be purchased at R1,300 ex. VAT at www.sundaytimesgennext.co.za. For the complete agenda and list of speakers and panellists visit www.sundaytimesgennext.co.za.
The conference will be followed by an Interactive Showcase in the afternoon.
The highly anticipated Sunday Times Generation Next Awards extravaganza starts at 17h00, with tickets available at R299 ex. VAT.
