About
NERDS Collective is a global youth marketing agency founded by Luke Hodson In 2013 as a specialist culture marketing collective that places brands at the frontline of culture through hyper-nuanced consumer insights, cultural strategy, and creative content.
History
NERDS Collective is a specialist collective that uses hyper-nuanced cultural intelligence to place brands at the heart of street culture whilst empowering its grassroots communities.
The culture marketing agency‘s vision is to spotlight and champion inner-city individuals and grassroots communities by finding ways corporate brands can play a more meaningful role in their world.
Government spending on youth initiatives and services has been cut by 70% since 2010. NERDS Collective believes brands have the resources and means to create a positive impact within the youth communities that need it most, especially as inner-city youth drive cultural equity and heat for most brands.
The Youth marketing agency’s mission is to help brands cultivate a purposeful connection with youth culture, focused on marginalised, unrepresented and under-resourced Gen Z. Their client roster includes Puma, Nike, Adidas, Chivas Regal, Havana Club, Budweiser, JBL, Beats By Dre, Levi’s Strauss, The North Face, Lacoste, Lynx, Barbour and Snipes.
NERDS Collective’s work is delivered using their proprietary research platform, Frontline. Frontline is an insight portal for understanding the Global, street-culture, high street consumer; 55% of all Gen Z, middle to lower socioeconomic status. Over 25,000 have participated to date, providing more than 7,500 hours of consumer opinions.
The culture marketing agency’s work involves applying cultural intelligence, big data and their youth expertise. NERDS focuses on delivering consumer-centric brand projects that aim to deliver cultural equity and a high return on investment. NERDS focuses on future-forward insights, accessed through hard-to-reach youth audiences, translated into authentic and engaging strategy and creative solutions. NERDS brand projects are co-created with the communities driving the culture.
NERDS Collective’s podcast series, Back2Skool, helps marketers understand youth and culture. Hosted by agency founder Luke Hodson, the series welcomed academics, industry leaders, cultural engineers and consumers to help unpack the motivations, mindsets and ideologies of Gen Z and associated sub-cultures.
Before officiating its role as a youth marketing agency in 2013, URBAN NERDS was created as a live music platform, founded in 2007 by James Benenson in London’s East End and evolved into a leading British club brand with partners James Rompani and Mark Hodson.
The original URBAN NERDS club night was hosted at 93 Feet East, Brick Lane, before becoming one of the first London events to host licensed warehouse raves across the city, championing grime, dubstep, rap and UK bass music. URBAN NERDS held a residency at Fabric nightclub in London, made regular festival appearances at major European events such as Snowbombing and Glastonbury Festival and hosted the official after-parties for the acclaimed DMC World DJ Championships.
The events showcased emerging British live talent such as Skepta, Katy B, Tinchy Strider, Roll Deep, Newham Generals, JME, Rudimental and Ms Dynamite, alongside hundreds of genre-defining DJs and producers such as: Goldie, DJ EZ, Zinc, Toddla T, David Rodigan, Geeneus, Mala, Coki, Loefah, Gorgon City, Jackmaster, Oneman, Redlight, Marcus Nasty, Breakage, Kode9, DJ Q, Plastician, Breach, True Tiger, The Heatwave and Leon Vynehall. Resident DJs Rattus Rattus and Klose One were celebrated performers in their own right, and Klose One continues to host a Rinse FM residency, producing music and DJing across the globe.