UK Tribes – Key Points

Tribal alliances are less hard and fast than they once were. The exchange of ideas is more fluid; the social glues that unite people more varied - you might disagree on which band is best, but you could still share a loyalty for Topshop, Sony PlayStation or Channel 4. Thus, understanding the dynamics of tribal UK is essential for brands who wish to engage and, vitally, become part of the conversation.

UK Tribes was born in 2005, when Channel 4 commissioned Crowd DNA (then called Ramp Industry) to run a project called TV Glue, which looked to measure how TV could remain a unifying force in the midst of media fragmentation.

One small aspect of this project looked at youth culture and offered a tribal breakdown based on the social glues (music, sport, fashion, technology etc) around which young people gather.

whereas once it was about monolithic youth tribes that stomped on all before them (punk, rock ‘n’ roll, acid house etc) now it’s more about fluidity, a menu of options

UK Tribes’ primary aim is to promote Channel 4 as the key place to come if you want to communicate with young people.

Pick out key points from these quotations taken from the UK Tribes website.

What do these statements say about young people and collective identity?