
Guess Who's Coming
(December 12, 2002) - Consumers
in their early teens through their mid 30's are on the leading edge of a
demographic wave that will wash over the world during the next two decades,
transforming the culture and economy. This group
was molded by the social revolutions of the past two decades and is far
different from the post-World War II generations of the Baby Boom and the Baby
Bust. At
the same time it is hard to capture their attention and most companies are using
the same tired methods and failing miserably at their tasks. The key
to marketing to this generation is to build brand awareness
while understanding that brand relationships require constant revitalization.
While the idea of Employment Branding has begun
to take a modest foothold, it will become powerfully important as the members of
Generation Y (don't ever call them that) begin to take their place in the
workforce. Although they represent a very large group of people, there are not
enough of them to fill the seats in the workforce (as their elders retire and
die). Competition for their attention and loyalty will make the efforts
associated with bulk baby boom marketing seem trivial by comparison. This group
will force HCM into a proactive market driven stance.
Here are a few resources to help you understand
the group and its dynamics. We'll tell you right off that the information is
primitive and far too general. We understand little about how this "baby
bulge" will impact the next five to ten years. The one thing that is
certain is that they are in short supply.
- Visit LiquidGeneration
(May not pass some corporate filters) Ask yourself, "Have you ever seen
a job board that appeals to this crowd?"
- Born
To Snack an executive summary for a larger report,
useful for the depth of categorization and interesting trend projections.
- Good General
Bullet Points On Gen Y from a presentation called "Tested
Strategies for Reaching the Headphone-Wearing, Itchy Mouse-Fingered, and
Frequently Paged"
- The Sociology
Section of The Word Spy contains key definitions of demographics
notions like huppie (Hispanic Urban Professionals), Generation D (the
all-digital group) and cablinasian (The word Tiger Woods uses to describe
his mixed ancestry, which includes Caucasian, black, American Indian,
and Asian)
- Gen
Y spending habits, values
and composition.
Meet
Gen Y
- Alvin Toffler, Future
Shock II "Our education system is a second-rate, factory-style
organization pumping out obsolete information in obsolete ways. And it's not
just that they haven't gotten the science books updated. They are simply not
connected to the future of the kids they're responsible for."
- The
impact of demographic shifts on Training
- Gen Y doesn't
read the newspaper
- 21st
Century Diversity "As for recruiting on
campus, many companies are recognizing the increasingly diverse student
population and implementing specific initiatives to take advantage of this
broader applicant base by attending career fairs and developing specific
recruitment campaigns."
- Marketing
to Gen Y. The same issues apply in Recruiting and Retention
- The Generation
Gap "Our generation gap is a generational war, a war between
cultures, in the same way that Muslims and Christians war. It is the
friction between people who do not understand each other, the same friction
and frustration felt by businessmen and tourists traveling to completely
different cultures."
- Tips
About American Generations for Indian Companies
an international perspective
- Can
We Achieve Equity When Generation Y Goes to College? is a 112 page
report from the Educational Testing Service that includes detailed
statistics on the composition of college populations over the next 10 years.
It may be the foundation of an assessment of the total college labor pool.
- An older article on marketing
challenges in Gen Y
- Harris Poll On Top
Brands "the reputation of, and what you know about, the company
that makes that product or service" is "very important."
- Managing
Gen Y
- There are an astonishing number of sites
devoted to the question of Gen
Y and worship. The churches have a tougher
problem than the newspapers.
- Gen Y tastes
in Home design (the first real spending as adults)
- Growing
Up Digital, a website based on Don Tapscott's book
- Gen Y Retention
Strategies
- The Deputy Secretary of Defense on Gen Y Recruiting
and Retention initiatives.
- Finding the right
perspective for communicating with Gen Y. Guidance for newspaper
editors.
- Federal Opportunities from
the Gen Y perspective. ""The best thing is probably that sense
of community where we are all working, regardless of our job titles or what
specific tasks or duties we are doing, we are doing something good for this
country."
- Suck on Generational
Warfare
- A Japanese firm sends 23
Million Email Messages a month to young cell phone users.