FEATURE: Youth marketing in Mongolia

With 70 per cent of Mongolia's 2.5 million citizens under the age of 35, marketers have long understood the need to appeal to the country's youth market. And, even politicians have re-designed their campaigns to target young voters. Nobody understands this dynamic better than new Prime Minister Nambariin Enkhbayar, the leader of the former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, who enlisted the help of Lipstick - "the Spice Girls of the Steppes" - to jazz up his image in the recent multi-party election campaign. Mongolia's only all girl pop group, Lipstick, signed an exclusive contract to play at Party rallies with Enkhbayar, the self styled "Tony Blair of the Steppes". Indeed, his campaign (run by a foreign consultancy) borrowed wholesale not only from politics, but also from the style of social democrats such as Blair and Germany's Gerhard Schroeder. The Lipstick girls are part of a young, very cosmopolitan generation that has emerged in Mongolia since early 1990, when the country ended decades of reliance on the former Soviet Union. Since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Mongolia has adopted a democratic system and is embracing full market economy reforms, opening its doors to the outside world. In today's Ulan Bator, the typical cosmopolitan youth hangs out in discos and frequents Internet cafes. "All my children want to do is watch MTV from the Philippines ... even when the reception is really bad," says Ms Suvdaa, mother of two teenagers. As for Ms Suvdaa, who is an English teacher, other satellite channels have more appeal for her. "I myself prefer Russian TV, while my husband really likes National Geographic Channel." But, although politicians and parents are now discovering what appeals to young people, corporate and product brand managers are fuelling the passions of Mongolia's youthful consumers. Heineken, for example, has recently sponsored the latest video by leading female pop star Sarantuya (Saraa), a project that fully tested the beer's taste for supporting Mongolian creativity. The video was shot following an eight-hour drive into the Gobi. With props, including a horse and carriage, the production was transported to the location in Russian vans with big Heineken logos on the side. While it caused great excitement among the region's nomads, it also revealed the true power of satellite communications. Not only does everyone in Mongolia know Saraa, the Vanchigs, a desert nomad family that appears in the video, have a portable satellite dish standing next to their Ger (traditional Mongolian felt tent). With a wind propeller generating electricity for the receiver and the TV set inside, Mr Vanchig watches news from Ulan Bator and channels from China, Hong Kong and Russia. But as Saraa explains, music is the programming choice for the younger people who make up the majority of viewers. "Young people really like Western music and they can watch it all the time on MTV," she says. "But," she points out, "if they can listen to Mongolian music, then they prefer that." Although well known, being a musician in Mongolia is not easy. In addition to the limited size of the market, piracy from across the border in China makes it hard for artists to survive on record sales alone, resulting in many seeking sponsorship from political parties and commercial enterprises. "I don't like to sell myself to one company," says Saraa, "so I have several companies sponsoring me. Heineken is now making a documentary about my career. We will be sitting around the fire drinking Heineken beer. But, I also have Korean Cass Beer sponsoring my new album". Such deals could confuse naive consumers, but supporting political parties is even harder and can result in public anger. Despite its new found political voice, Mongolia's small and scattered population makes for a limited consumer base to attract advertisers. However, adspend is increasing and Mongolians are learning to appreciate and criticise individual products and campaigns. One thing is clear: Mongolia's young people are catching on quickly. As Saraa, who has lived in Germany and Singapore, sums up, "we are a country with a small population and a small consumer market, but Mongolia is changing and I will stay here."

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