The Next Great Generation

1
The Next Great Generation

• Who are the Millennials?
• Presented by
• Becky Tarbell, Project Manager
• Katherine Bruno, Senior Project Manager
• 13 August 2002

2
Defining a Generation

• An average span of 20 years
• There is a perceived membership
• They share
• Beliefs and behaviors
• Cultural or social characteristics and attitudes
  
  
• A common location in history

3
Naming a Generation

• Baby Boomers
• At the time, the largest generation in American
  history with the boom of children born after the
  war.
  
• Generation X
• This term came from a book by Douglas Coupland
  who wrote about characters who were
  underemployed, over educated, intensely private
  and unpredictable.
• The media found these characteristics compatible
  with the youth of the day and the name stuck.
  
• This new generation
• Very self-aware, know they are being examined as
  a generational group
  
• They want to have input, theyd rather label
  themselves than be labeled

4
Whats in a Name?

• Generation Y
• Generation i
• Millennials
• Echo Boomers
• Generation.com
• Boomer Babies
• Generation XX
• Boomlets
• Generation Tech

Millennials will definitely not want to be known
as Gen Y. Gen A plus, thoughthat maybe a differ
ent story
-Age 16
5
Whats in a Name?

• Instead of giving us our own name, someone,
  probably someone who doesnt know much about
  usjust said, Hmm, well this is Generation X, so
  why dont we call the next one Generation Y? Or,
  Well theyre the children of the Boomers, so we
  can just call them Echo Boom. Neither one these
  names say anything unique about our generation.
  They say who we follow, but nothing at all about
  who we are. Thats why those names are upsetting
  and why nobody I know wants to use them. -Age 17

6
Generation 9/11?

• Newsweek coined the phrase in November 2002
• The name was inevitable, but does it fit?
• It is natural that a defining moment leaves an
  indelible mark on a generation but isnt who we
  are. Age 19
  
• I dont like being defined by a terrorist act.
  Age 18
  
• This is something Ill learn and grow from but I
  dont think it defines who my generation is.
  Age 18

Until Sept. 11, young Americans were considered
the generation that had it all.
-John Denton
7
The Millenials

• Who, What,
• When Where

8
Who Are The Millenials?

• They were born roughly from 1976 to 1994
• They are the most ethnically diverse generation
  to date
  
• Many of them come from split families
• They are green (environmentally friendly)
• They are the most wired and technologically savvy
  generation yet

My parents say to me You know, we didnt even
have computers when we were your age.
-Anna, 8
9
The Next Great Generation

• They exceed 100 million
• A third more than the Baby Boomers
• More than twice Gen X
• They comprise 30 of the population
• They are the largest, healthiest, and most
  cared-for generation in American history

10
What They Are

• 95 are idealistic
• 50 volunteer
• 79 are patriotic
• 87 want to go to college

11
What They Are

• Cooperative team players
• Accept authority
• Follow rules
• Smart
• Optimistic
• Confident
• Multi taskers

12
What They Are

• Our generation isnt all about sex, drugs ands
  violence. Its about technology, discovery and
  coming together as a nation. Age 17
  
• They have values reminiscent of past
  generations. They appreciate country, family and
  the planet. -Alf Nucifora, marketing consultant

13
What Theyre Not

• Millennials are not a carbon copy of Gen X.
• Personalities of Gen X and Millennials could not
  be more distinct or different -Alf Nucifora
  
• Gen X are the throwaway generation whose
  problems older adults ignored while the
  Millennials have always felt themselves to be the
  focus of public attention. Millenials Rising
• This generation, even as children, are more
  politically active then Gen X.
  

14
What Theyre Not

• As a group, todays teens are fused with an
  optimism not seen among kids in decades. It
  doesnt hurt that they have grown up in a time of
  relative peace and have the longest economic
  expansion in history. -Newsweek
• If Gen Xers go way over the edge with their
  pessimism, that will make us go way over the edge
  with our optimism. -Age 17
  
• Are we cynical? No, why should we be? -Age 17

15
The World They Live In

• They are beneficiaries of a backlash against
  hands-off parenting and a cultural elevation of
  stay-at-home moms
  
• In 1993, 90 percent of fathers attended the
  births of their children, versus only 10 percent
  in 1975
  
• Todays children cost their parents about twice
  as much as they cost their own parents (adjusted
  for inflation) -American Demographics

16
The World They Live In

• They are the first generation that have computers
  at home
  
• 60 of all households have a home computer
• More than 80 of teens have internet access
  whether at home, school work, or the library
  
• By 2004, the number of youths aged 17 to 24 who
  have cell phones will reach 43 million.
  

Teens are as comfortable with the digital media
as their parents were with the television and the
telephone.
17
Their Place in Time

• Atari, 8 tracks, vinyl records, and cassette
  audiotapes predate them
  
• Their world has always included AIDS
• They have no collective memory of life without
  the Pill, abortion, and equality in the
  workplace
  
• They are first generation to grow up with the
  Internet

18
Their Place in Time

• They dont remember the cold war
• The expression sounds like a broken record is
  meaningless to them
  
• There is no such thing as a busy signal or no
  answer
  
• They have no memory of a time before MTV
• They have no meaningful recollection of the
  Reagan era
  

19
Marketing to Millenials

• Being cool enough for them to buy it

20
Spending Power

• There are more of them than any other generation
• They mean money spent in the future
• They have a huge amount of discretionary income
• They spend family money (groceries and clothes)
• They influence parents spending

21
Spending Power

• Their projected 2002 discretionary income is over
  140 billion dollars
  
• In 2000
• They spent 100 billion dollars
• They influenced parents to spend an additional
  50 billion dollars
  
• They spent an average of 565 a year on-line
• They went to the mall 56 times a year, for about
  90 minutes, and spend on average 40 per visit.

22
Where does the money come from?

• Allowances have risen 76 between 1991 and 1997
• Weekly allowances equal 9 billion a year
• 49 have part-time jobs
• 39 of 18- to 19-year-olds have their own credit
  card.

Eleven percent of 12- to 17-year-olds own stock.
23
Conventional Wisdom

• Brand Loyalty
• Kids start to develop brand loyalty at age 10.
• Loyalty becomes fixed at age 15.
• Critical time to set brand preferences is ages 15
  and 25.
  
• It is important to get them early because
  theyre already starting to form their own
  opinions -Melissa Wofson president Brains,
  Beauty and BOB

24
Theyre On To Us!

• Theyve been advertised to since birth
• They are not easily swayed or fooled
• Rational approach doesnt work
• Theyve grown up with slick ad campaigns and
  are turned off by brands that they feel are
  trying too hard to be cool. JB Research
  Company
• Teenagers switch brands as often as TV
  channels. -Brandweek
  

Theres a real concern that their entire culture
is this commercial laboratory.
-Robert McChesney
25
Media Savvy Teens

• They are a complex target to reach
• Daily they have access to the Internet, an
  average of 62 TV channels, video games, PDAs,
  cell phones, etc.
  
• The media they pay attention to
• Cable TV 54
• Magazines 53
• Radio 50
• Movie ads 48
• Broadcast TV 35
• Mail 20

26
Whats a Marketer to Do?

• Build brands with them, rather than for them
• They especially want to feel that they
  discovered the brand on their own, and not
  through marketing. JB Research
  
• They cite word of mouth as a big influencer in
  brand choice
  
• They want to feel that their consumer choices
  matter
  
• Listen to them, dont talk down to them, and
  dont underestimate their intelligence
  
• Capture their trust and respect them

27
Whats a Marketer to Do?

• Tell the truth
• They value authenticity They have no problem
  being marketed to as long as the product is
  personally relevant and you tell the truth
  
• They feel empowered by the Web A disgruntled
  consumer can instantly take their story to
  thousands via Internet chat rooms and bulletin
  boards. -JB Research

They actually have to make it sound like it is
worth buying.
-Age 16
28
Whats a Marketer To Do?

• Build campaigns that appeal to their specific
  attitudes and preferences
  
• Use advertising that is full of irony, sarcasm,
  and ultimately makes them laugh
  
• Know current trends
• Listen to them and find out what is cool and be
  certain that you brand is part of them
  

Todays young people are generally unresponsive
to traditional brand marketing. They respond to
what is cool.
-PBS Merchants of Cool
29
Cool Hunting

• How do you know what cool is if cool keeps
  changing?
  
• Cool hunting companies assemble paid teams of
  young people to go into malls, skate parks,
  clubswherever teens hang outand find out about
  everything from fashion to finance.
• It is an ongoing process. It changes daily,
  weekly, monthly. To market to teens effectively
  you need talk to themall the time.

30
Summary

• The Millenials are a unique, self-aware,
  economically powerful, and technologically
  empowered force.
  
• They dont mind being marketed to as long as its
  truthful, relevant, and spoken in their
  language.
  
• Dont underestimate them and, above all, be cool.

31

• And when its all said and done, we cannot
  forget that they are still kids irrational,
  passionate, and hormonal to boot! Alf Nucifora