Generations X, Y, & Z

Generations X and Y are savvy and skeptical consumers. I know this as a fellow Xer and as the CEO of a generational marketing company. We are an elusive market and advertisers struggle desperately to reach us.

Nevertheless, there are a few key tactics to keep in mind when selling a product or service to Xers and Ys: keep it real, be relevant, be creative, and tap into messages or ways to benefit us personally, professionally, and also benefit our communities.

Here are a few examples of dos and don'ts when it comes to advertising to X and Y:

DON’T use fiction
Nostalgia marketing often works with Generation X because it reminds us of our childhood and a brand we trust. But when American Family Insurance recently tried to convince me that my family was just like The Brady Bunch, I was not convinced.

The Brady Bunch was a television show! Yes, it entertained us as children (and the ad is entertaining, too). But trying to convince us that selling insurance to the Brady family is the same as selling insurance to our families really misses the mark.

Seriously -- how many Xer families have six children, a cat and a dog, and can afford a full-time maid on an architect’s salary? And let’s not forget that the actor who played Mr. Brady later died of AIDS.

Xers are skeptical, critical consumers. Comparing our families to the families we watched on television is a serious mistake.

Here’s a better idea: Use actual families we can relate to--not fictitious characters.


DO use a message we want to hear
Heineken Premium Light’s "Share the Good" commercial begins with a hipster walking across the desert to deliver a beer to a couple in a hot tub. Next, the couple is giving a beer to a young woman, who traipses through the snow to give the beer to a bearded cabin dweller with an excellent laugh, who then goes on to an Indian celebration, and so on.

The commercial has been compared to the ‘I'd like to buy the world a Coke’ commercial and the ‘We Are The World’ initiative that Xers remember from their childhoods.

While it may not be the most original idea, and the beer may not be considered the best-tasting, the ad itself has received a lot of positive buzz from young consumers who were looking for a refreshing break from the standard American beer commercial.

In this example, marketers used nostalgia to reach a younger audience, but they updated it so it was relevant and meaningful to the Xers as grown-ups.


DO give something to consumers
As attention and media channels become more fragmented, consumer attention becomes harder to get and therefore more valuable. The old tricks just aren't cutting it anymore. People are too aware of what their time is worth and can change the channel until the commercial break is over, or record a show and fast-forward through the unwanted content.

Advertisers are beginning to find better ways to get our attention, realizing that consumers are more apt to listen to and welcome an advertiser’s message when they give them something of equal value in exchange.

Jones Soda is giving social networking communities something they find worthy of their attention. Jones is giving well-designed customizable pages to MySpace users. With an entire generation consumed by social networking, what could be more useful than the ability to have an exceptional user profile? It's that kind of thinking that sets a brand up for success in a world of finicky and fickle Gen Y consumers.

Likewise, companies are setting up and sponsoring groups on Facebook (which doesn't allow companies to brand their own web pages) and providing worthwhile benefits for membership.

Apple Computer, for example, sponsors the Apple Students group, which offers deals on Apple products and has more than 471,000 members. Chase Bank promotes its credit cards on the Chase +1 group, a loyalty program for college students. Members of the group are offered chances to meet celebrities or win concert tickets and VIP passes.


Advertising is no longer a spectator sport. Generations X and Y will respond to advertising that goes above and beyond entertainment and offers relevance and meaning. Don't overlook their market share and do advertise with their values and worldview in mind. That's the only way your company will win their attention--and their purchases.

Labels: advertising to Generations X and Y, American Family Insurance, Apple Computer, Chase Bank, Heineken Premium Light, Jones Soda

I was interviewed for a story on National Public Radio's Marketplace about nostalgia marketing and entertainment last week. Click on the link above to listen to the story, or read it below:

KAI RYSSDAL: When we were younger, my brother was the first kid in our neighborhood who could solve a Rubik's Cube. That kind of dates me, I guess, because the thing first got really popular back in the late '70s, early '80s. But look around the next time you're in a toy store. Because Rubik's Cubes are back, as are a whole bunch of pop items from the past. Marketplace's Caitlan Carroll reports on the comeback economy.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: [MUSIC] "Hang tough...."

CAITLAN CARROLL: For those fans who have hung tough since that album went platinum in 1988, today is a big day. The '80s boy-turned-man band New Kids on the Block performed for the first time in 15 years. Fans outside of NBC studios stood 20-deep, craning their necks to catch a glimpse.

President of the New Kids fan club Katrina Walker flew from L.A. to New York to see the New Kids comeback first-hand. It's the kick-off of a multimillion-dollar national tour.

KATRINA WALKER: Some of us were like, Oh my god. We kind of reverted back to being 15. That excitement again about the group -- it's something, it doesn't go away.

Marketers count on that kind of reaction. They're always waiting for the tipping point when pop icons can become cool and profitable again. Marketing expert Sarah Sladek says 20 years is the magic number when it comes to nostalgia -- and that time's arrived for Generation X.

SARAH SLADEK: Generation X, which is now ages 26 to 44, have moved into parenting roles. They've moved into purchasing power, and they're driving the market.

But their moving in so many directions that marketers are having trouble keeping up with them. Sladek says teenyboppers who once rocked out to New Kids' "Hanging Tough" album aren't willing to latch on to every trend that comes along.

SLADEK: They grew up in dual-parent working households. They are very self-sufficient. They are not going to be persuaded by sales schemes.

But as they move into quarter- and mid-life crises they can be persuaded by memories. At least that's what the entertainment industry's banking on. To get back dwindling and distracted audiences, the new fall TV lineup has a strangely old feel to it.

The CW network is remaking "Beverly Hills 90210." Kitt, the talking car, will drive its way back into living rooms in new episodes of "Knight Rider." And "American Gladiator" continues to smash its way to top ratings.
The CW network's Thom Sherman says a show like "90210" could strike advertising gold.

THOM SHERMAN: This could be the perfect vehicle for us to capture a young audience of teens and also 18-34s who might have been fans of the show in the past.

And when Gen X-ers sit down to watch TV with their kids or go with them to a New Kids concert, audiences can double or triple. Bigger audiences make for bigger payoffs.

USC marketing professor Ken Wilbur says that's why companies are increasingly placing bets on known quantities.

KEN WILBUR: As we fracture more and more and it gets tougher to justify the investment that a new TV series or a new band costs to produce then I think you'll see more and more applications of old formulas.
Wilbur says "Married with Children," the "Real World" reunion, grunge, maybe even "The Cosby Show" could be the next throwback to comeback.

WILBUR: Yeah, these can't be too far behind. Bill Cosby is sitting by a phone somewhere in Philadelphia right now.

And while Bill waits, the TV and music industries pine for the good old days too. The days when cell phones, iPods and the Internet didn't steal their audiences and their profits.

In Los Angeles, I'm Caitlan Carroll for Marketplace.

Labels: Gen X nostalgia, Marketplace, National Public Radio, nostalgia marketing adn entertainment

Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com recently published an article featuring my advice and quotes for recruiting Gen Y volunteers. Check it out to find out who twenty-somethings trust, why communicating on-line is a must, and why a nonprofit's relationship to young volunteers should never end.

First-time parents continue to be a growth opportunity for businesses as we experience a baby boom in America.

Gen X parents, ages 26 to 44, waited until later in life to have children and are now producing twins and triplets thanks to fertility treatments and the fact that multiples are more common in older women.

The oldest Gen Ys were making decisions about parenthood at an early age. Surveys conducted a few years ago revealed that Gen Ys would be even more family-focused than the Xers, which were dubbed the Family First generation by USA Today. Ys expressed an interest in co-parenting and co-working, splitting the child-rearing and paycheck-earning tasks equally among moms and dads.

The Y’s passion for parenting, combined with being the largest generation to ever walk this Earth, makes them a hot target for family-focused businesses.

Furthermore, the nation's Latino population grew 62% from births in 2007. That’s 868,000 new U.S. Latino babies! Indeed, the Pew Hispanic Center reports that the fertility rate of Latinas is one-third higher than that of non-Latinas.

Anyway you look at it, today’s baby boom spells opportunity for brands to make and maintain a family-centered connection and nurture a new generation of consumers (Generation Z). Here are just a few of the new baby businesses out there:

• At-Home UltraSound parties
  Young families are throwing baby showers that feature live ultrasound images of baby, in utero. At least three local businesses have popped up in Tampa, Florida offering at-home, non-diagnostic ultrasounds along with a full menu of additional services. Ultra Babies offers DVD photo discs set to music, belly casts, massage and henna tattoos. Look Who's Kickin' and Storksview offer their own facilities with humongous flat-screens in private viewing rooms and Internet accessibility, allowing faraway friends and family to join the party and enjoy the view.

• Momsclusive Clubs
  New moms can experience me-time with a membership at two recently opened momsclusive clubs in London. Cupcake Spa and Members Club offers seminars, fitness training (with and without baby) and a café, and a kids-free floor houses the spa where moms and moms-to-be enjoy specialized treatments catered to their pregnancy stage. At Maggie & Rose, members can host fabulous parties with organic kids’ foods, take cooking classes, enjoy a movie night with other families, or power up in the WiFi café. Both clubs offer childcare.

• Sleep Training Nannies
  While sleep training is more popular in the UK, its slowly making its way to the U.S. Hush-a-bye Baby based in Chicago offers night-nannies and sleep-trainers to give tired parents a much-needed rest.
  

• Baby Fashion
  From vintage punk t-shirts to onesies with phrases like ‘Got Milk?’, trendy baby fashions are all the rage. Check out the What’s Hot for Tots blog and designer brands at Tutti Bella or the latest in Generation Green organic baby clothing at Obli Organics.
  

Labels: baby fashion, first-time parents, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, momclusive clubs, parenthood, sleep training nannies

I was honored to receive the National Association of Women Business Owners of Minnesota’s 2008 Innovative Business Award last week. NAWBO even asked me to keynote the awards gala, which was especially flattering.

As CEO of one of the only generational marketing companies in the United States specializing in Generations X, Y, and Z my business is indeed innovative, and at 35 I am a young entrepreneur.

But being a young and innovative entrepreneur is rapidly becoming more common than ever before.

Nearly 465,000 people create new businesses, on average, per month in the United States. Today, the vast majority of those businesses are started by Generations X and Y–individuals between the ages of 14 and 44.

In fact, Xers and Ys are spending an average of 20 months on the job before job hopping or starting their own company, which is a mixed blessing for America’s economy.

Here’s the good news: The influx of small businesses in America has spurred a wealth of innovation in the form of new products and services.

For example, BusinessWeek just named its list of Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech. The list of millionaires under the age of 30 includes the founders of FriendFeed, which lets subscribers monitor more than 30 social networking sites on a single site, and Mint.com, which is considered an easier way for businesses to categorize expenses and flag problem spending in comparison to using Intuit and Microsoft software.

Here’s the bad news: Most industries, with the exception of technology, are struggling to maintain a workforce.

Dare I say all industries, with the exception of technology, are struggling to maintain a workforce.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a shortfall of 10 million workers within the next 10 years, which means two employees will be leaving for every new hire entering.

What most business leaders fail to realize is that the looming talent gap is largely due to the generation gap. My fellow Gen Xers aren’t content working for corporate America, and neither are the Ys, so they’re doing exactly what I have done. They are leaving to start their own businesses.

We are using all that pent up frustration with working nine to five and our fear of downsizing, mergers, layoffs, and big business scandals and forging new ways of working.

So while innovation may be hot within small business start ups, big businesses are struggling to survive.

The fact is, if we fail to focus on the next generations now, we fail our businesses, families, economy, and country. Whether you are an employer or an employee, whether you are a Boomer or Gen Xer or a Y—as a citizen of America, this threat to our nation’s economy will affect each and every one of us.

Employers stand a chance in bridging the talent gap if they simply rethink the way they motivate their young workforce. This is where innovation in business is needed most right now.

In crafting the perfect pitch these days, employers need to put something far more valuable on the table than retirement benefits and 14 days of paid vacation. Generations X and Y are looking for meaningful work; work that makes a positive difference in their lives personally and professionally, and also benefits their communities.

• Personal
  Generation X and Y are renowned for being high achievers and dedicated employees, but they want the freedom to work when they want, where they want.
  
  These generations are not opposed to working in the evenings or on week-ends, if it means being able to see their children’s soccer games in the afternoons.
  
  Also known as work-life balance, Generations X and Y measure their work time in terms of quality, not quantity. In other words, they want to enjoy their work and they don’t want work to interfere with their personal time.
  
  In fact, employees under the age of 35 often consider work-life balance as the single most important consideration when deciding whether to join or remain with an employer.
  
  Work-life balance benefits include flexible schedules, the opportunity to work from home, parental benefits, increasing vacation time, and customized medical plans.
  
  
• Professional
  To recruit both Gen X and Y, appeal to their desire to learn. It’s ironic, but younger workers value learning a variety of skills to become as marketable as possible. We want to be prepared to take on more responsibility and we work in fear of being laid off or downsized, which is why we are cautious about committing to one employer.
  
  The irony is this: The more marketable you make us; the more likely we are to stay. Eighty percent of employees say that job training is key to keeping them as employees.
  
  Engage Xers and Ys in the company’s growth strategies and help them understand how they affect the bottom line. They want to not only understand what is expected in their present capacity, but even more importantly, what skills they will need to obtain to move into the next opportunity.
  
  
• Community
  These generations are attracted to companies that are supportive of community causes. So whether your company is giving employees paid time off to work with nonprofits, or organizing company-wide service projects or fundraisers, that connection to community is critical to recruiting and retaining younger talent.
  

Employers also need to understand that the rules of engagement have changed. The X and Y workforce isn’t going to pay their dues and patiently climb a corporate ladder.

You can blame technology and credit cards for creating a workforce that expects instant gratification. You can blame parents for using time-outs with their toddlers and allowing their college grads to move back home for creating a workforce that expects nurturing relationships. You can even blame Starbucks for creating a workforce that expects customization and catering to their wants and needs.

In any case, giving Xers and Ys menial tasks and minimal responsibility puts them on a fast track to the exit sign. Instead, give them access to career pathing, training opportunities, recognition for exceptional work, a paid day on their birthdays, access to CEO meetings, child care services, home office equipment, fitness memberships, and social opportunities.

Above all, Xers and Ys want to be surrounded by positive relationships at work. Lack of positive relationships with bosses and co-workers is the number one reason why X and Y employees leave a job.

Treat your talent well, and they will outperform time and again. (And don’t be surprised when they show up on the first day of work with ideas on how to improve your company!)

Innovation in business is admirable and often necessary. Entrepreneurs are getting younger and more successful all the time. There’s even a book out there right now teaching parents how to help their children become successful business owners.

Generations X and Y (and soon Z) have created new ways to work because what’s worked in the past isn’t working for them. Their contributions have been positive, but the fallout of the under-40 workforce could leave our economy exposed and vulnerable to serious setbacks.

We must find a happy medium. Innovation needs to be at work in small business and big business alike to create workplaces that are rewarding and fulfilling to the careers of young Americans.

Whatever career path they choose, there needs to be a place for younger generations to succeed and prosper.

That is the American dream after all, isn’t it?

Labels: American dream, Generation X, Generation Y, innovation at work, talent gap

The job market was grim during the mid-1990s when I graduated from college. At my first job, I was barely making minimum wage working as a newspaper reporter. But after pounding the pavement for three months following graduation, I was extremely thankful just to have a job--especially a job in my field of interest.

For the first time in a very long time there’s no shortage of jobs for today’s graduates, and there isn’t going to be one in the foreseeable future. There will be 77 million Boomers retiring over the course of the next two decades. Granted, there are 48 million Xers in the workforce, and 80 million Ys who will continue to enter the workforce over the course of the next decade. But that doesn’t mean there will be a job shortage.

The problem is, most Xers and Ys aren’t interested in pursuing jobs that require a lot of travel, advanced degrees, or long hours; are redundant or don’t offer new challenges and learning opportunities on a regular basis; or don’t utilize technology. Xers and Ys are also the most entrepreneurial generations, claiming the highest number of start-ups in the United States.

Therefore, young talent will continue to be in high demand, which means most of today’s U.S. graduates won’t have to scrape by on minimum wage and they will have their choice of employers.

The aging of the Boomers has created a substantial shift in the workforce in more ways than one. Here are a few statistics to shed some light on just how significant these changes will be during the next decade.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a shortfall of ten million workers, as 40 percent of the workforce will be eligible to retire.
  
  
• Census data suggest two employees will be leaving for every new hire entering, and new college grads will be an ever-increasing precious commodity.
  
  
• According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the number of entry-level job seekers receiving multiple offers has been on the rise, and the competition is driving salary offers up.
  

If your company isn’t aggressively pursuing student outreach, it’s probably time to start. We are facing a talent shortage of unprecedented proportions, and introducing students to your place of work will foster positive relationships with them, teach them about your industry, and may provide you with a future workforce.

There are a number of ways to forge relationships with students: mentoring programs, internships, job shadowing, career fairs, volunteering to give presentations, and summer employment.

Take a lesson from STEP-UP, a summer employment program for diverse, skilled, and motivated youth. STEP-UP is operated by Achieve! Minneapolis in partnership with the City of Minneapolis and is the second largest program of its kind in the nation.

STEP-UP recruits, trains and places youth, ages 16–21, in paid summer jobs with local employers. Last summer, 131 employers hired 632 Minneapolis youth.

A meaningful summer job inspires youth to pursue their education and career dreams, and it’s an investment in a city’s vitality and future workforce.

Check out how two national associations are reaching out to students in an effort to save their industries for a devastating workforce shortage. The National Association of Manufacturers launched the ‘Dream It Do It’ campaign, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants created the ‘Start Here. Go Places.’ initiative.

Undoubtedly, there is no better time to start preparing for your company’s future than right now. Are you ready?

Today's students are growing up fast. If you wait to reach out to your future workforce, it just might be too late.

Labels: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, college graduates, Generation Y, National Association of Manufacturers, STEP-UP, talent shortage