Generation Why? Because it comes after X?

As I read the suggested articles, I realized that a lot of it, I found myself agreeing to, but at the same time, I found that some of the information was outdated. It was ironic, because the “Generation Y” article was talking about our generation as becoming of age, but I believe that time has already come. Born in 1986, I’m actually in the middle of that time span, and I’m soon to become a working professional who is already thinking about building up my credit to one day buy a house. A lot has changed in marketing since that article, mostly due to the advances in technology which they touch on. The Internet has drastically changed all that we know, and it’s weird for me to think that we are the only generation to remember growing up with and without Internet. Do you remember the first time when you accessed the Internet? Sent an email? Waited for a photo to load?

Time has changed and proved many of the “Generation Y” article’s thoughts to contain some truth. The myspace podcast and “Growing up Digital” website also affirmed some of those thoughts. Three major characteristics that I noticed in our generation is our diversity and acceptance of it, relied trust in word of mouth from friends and not companies, and addiction to the Internet. How can businesses market to our generation knowing this though? I’ll share my thoughts on that too!

Diversity. Our generation is much more racially diverse, and so much so that we don’t even notice it. We don’t remember a time when there was such a strong dislike for another race. (Although I will admit that as a child, I was occasionally made fun of because I was Asian.) However that is nothing compared to what the previous generations felt. I can best illustrate this thru my realization from professors, co-workers, and my own parents how historical this past presidential election was. To me, I saw just another candidate running for office. The baby boomer generation saw an African-American man running for president. As for marketers, I think that they should began thinking about the different needs of different races and cultures. (Example: Makeup for Asian skin tone) Also, is there segmentation based on race? Are there similarities within segments that you can market directly to? How does word of mouth play in these segments?

Word of Mouth. WOM. Our generation doesn’t trust the companies (or celebrities for that matter). We trust each other. The old days of marketing to a large homogeneous crowd through a simple TV ad are gone, because we are so different in our wants and needs, and of course, we are quite skeptical that the company will want us to buy their product. However, if we hear from one of our peers that has similar taste in clothes, music, or food as us, then we are much more likely to purchase a product that they recommend. The Internet and its many social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter) along with many new ways to communicate (AIM, Skype, Text Messaging) allows for much more communication to take place with more of our “friends.” Marketers need to take advantage of the technologies and use it to network with us, as well as use us to be “influencers,” “brand ambassadors,” whatever it is that they call it, when we spread the word about a product. (Example: Your blog on how amazing Twilight is, or was it your Facebook note?)

Internet Addiction. I’m not quite sure if I would describe it as being addicted to the Internet, but I’m sure that our generation spends countless hours on Facebook, Youtube, and the like. I started Facebook in 2005 when I entered college, and now 3 years later, my 31-year old sister and my 16-year old cousin both have Facebook. The phenomenon has spread to where almost every single person in Generation Y is sharing their profile, photos, and videos on Facebook. I find it to be one of biggest sources of communication as I often write on a friend’s wall if they are available for lunch. Events are made; no paper card invitations or countless phone calls, just an easy Facebook event. I check it every day, more often than my email. As I surf around on the Facebook website for quite a while, marketers have a great chance at serving some customized advertisements to me. I noticed that because I watch House and enjoy bowling, that I’m getting ads just for that. For marketers who want the Generation Y demographics, Facebook is a heaven-sent, and in my opinion is well worth paying for the advertisement space. However, I still suggest that marketers continue to look ahead of what may be the newest Facebook on the Internet (perhaps Twitter?), and innovate new ways to spread the message of their goods and services to an eager audience, who is willing to pass along the word to their Internet buddies.

Hi all!

I am Rachel Eng and currently a graduating senior at the University of Texas at Austin. Hook Em Horns! I haven’t blogged in quite a while, and I’ve never done so for a class before. However, this blog is for the MKT 372 class, Customer Insights with Professor Walls.

I'm also maintaining a separate blog for another class which may be of some interest to you. Marketers are looking towards new ways of reaching their audience, and my MIS 373 Social Networks class is also requiring me to blog. I welcome you to stop by! :) The link is: http://racheleng.mis373.com .