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Generation Y: More powerful than Baby Boomers

March 28, 2009 Thanks to recent articles about the purchasing power of the Generation Y market, a few questions beg to be asked; namely:  Who are these people, why should I care about marketing to them, and how will they affect my business in the long run? 

Something to think about:

• There are varying reports as to the specific year Gen Y began, but most say 1980 - 2000 and lasted through 2000.  This means at the high end, their about to reach the age of 30 and at the low end they're almost 10 years old.
• This is the first generation to grow up with computers. Most can type faster than they can talk, and in the younger side of Gen Y, they use text messaging instead of email.  If you're not using email marketing yet, you've already lost them.
• They're not brand loyalists like their grandparents (the Baby Boomer generation) and their parents (Generation X/Baby Boomers depending on their age), unless they've had a great experience with them.  A good experience various from person to person.
• They're skeptical about advertising because they've been bombarded with hundreds of millions of ads since they were born.  They can recite many of the ads they see, but that doesn't mean they will buy because of it.
• They are the children of divorced parents who work.  Subsequently, they care more about stable relationships than the Gen Xers.
• They are having sex and love is not associated with it.  They start as young as 12 and it isn't saved for love like the Baby Boomer generation and the early part of Generation X. If you sell anything that is remotely attached to attractiveness (clothing, make-up, personal accessories, etc.), this generation equates it to sex.   This is exactly like every generation before, but nobody talked about it.
• They are racially diverse and multi-cultured, more so than any other generation in history.  Not including diversity in your messaging alienates them.  Adding it in to try to look diverse alienates them.  Being diverse is what wins them over.
• They are super media savvy and they find their information online.  They are the first to question what they see on TV and the first to discuss it online.  The huge media conglomerates reach their parents and their grandparents, but have almost completely lost this generation.  Many have said this is no different from the 60s and the decades thereafter, but think about it this way:  the last Presidential election was won a full 9 months before the polls were open.  Just ask anybody who lives online.
• This generation is the same size as the Baby Boomer generation (approximately 71 million) and 4 times the size of Generation X.  Their grandparents are dying and their parents are stressed out and indifferent at the moment.
• They are not content to allow companies to sell to them.  They make the rules, dictate how they want to be reached and will boycott you (and ultimately bankrupt you) if you talk at them instead of with them.  Social media is more popular than porn for a reason.

Or think about it this way:
Gen Y:  Ages 22 - 29
Since Generation Y was born between 1980 and 2000, on the high end they're reaching the age of 29 and have bought their first house, possibly gotten married and are embarking on parenthood.  They're buyers of transition goods - the reason IKEA is rivaling Wal-mart in popularity - and are just now understanding the first phase of their tastes. What they like now will definitely not be what they like in 10 years, so they'll be redecorating later.  With real estate being so affordable, many are rushing to first home-buying or condo buying in the depressed economy and are getting roommates to off-set costs.

They're also just about to hit their stride in their careers, after some changes and moves, and desire to be seen as "grown-ups".  They also do almost all their research for big ticket items online.  Researching furniture and real estate this way is a given. 

Gen Y:  Ages 18 - 21
This group is heading to college, or moving out of mom and dads and into their first place.  These are the futon, parents' hand-me-down beds, or sleeping on couch crowd with multiple roommates and unlimited freedom.  They have yet to create an identity for themselves and will change brands repeatedly.  To reach them, you have to have an angle that engages them or they'll leave you.  If you sound too much like their parents, they'll start talk over your head and ditching you online.

Gen Y:  Ages 10 - 17
They're into retro cool at the moment, or goth / vampires, and their parents direction.  When it comes to electronic decisions, they rival the knowledge of the older groups in this Gen Y generation.  They have the ability to consume information rapidly and to spit it back in another language.  This group is the true representation of what the Baby Boomers and Generation X created.  Watch them closely.

Social media more popular than porn
Marketing to Gen Y (Businessweek.com)

Posted by Suze Bragg on March 28, 2009 | Comments (5)