CRM - November 2008 - (Page 27)

Generation Y which had been popular with younger viewers but hard to monetize with advertisers. When the network decided in April to forgo online streaming of the season’s final episodes in an attempt to funnel those viewers toward their televisions, the decision backfired, constraining—some might say choking—the show’s already dwindling audience. The lesson? Limiting Gen Y’s options flies directly in the face of how this generation functions. Even ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy—one of the top-rated shows, with an average of more than 20 million viewers per episode—was accessible via DVDs from Netflix and streamed episodes on ABC.com. It comes as no surprise, then, that The CW’s move was met with protest. Gossip Girl viewers enjoyed the show, but their schedules couldn’t conform to a single timeslot—forcing many to stop watching the show altogether. Three months later, with no noticeable improvement in ratings, The CW brought the show back online. CONSCIOUS OF YOUR CONSCIENCE? “Because of technology, [Gen Yers] are used to having a voice,” Subramanyam says. More so than talking to a brand, they like talking about a brand with each other. A survey by consultancy Deloitte & Touche shows that this group has a clear lead when it comes to interacting with user-generated content. The opinion of someone-like-me couldn’t be more valuable to any other group. Even a companysponsored blog is viewed with skepticism. “I can’t see any reason to trust that blog,” said Justin de Graaf, Unilever’s assistant brand-development manager, at the Association of National Advertisers’ 2008 Brand Innovation Conference. This “Google Generation,” as Wells calls them, has the “truth” at their fingertips and they’re not afraid to use it. If your company is involved in a scandal, Gen Yers are going to ask questions—and they want answers you may be unwilling to provide. Abiding by fair and humane business practices is probably this generation’s most critical stipulation. Any time they log onto a Web site, headlines—about the war, the recession, the environment, the www.destinationCRM.com fight for human rights abroad—are hard to avoid and it’s hard for them not to care. “The older generations have left them with a lot of problems,” Subramanyam says. According to James White, a 23-yearold and author of My First Million, the problem with Gen Yers is that they’ve been raised to value a materialistic lifestyle. “There are too many toys that entice people,” he says. “We’ve never gone through a hard time until now.” The interesting thing is that this is perhaps the only generation that has successfully created a balance between materialism and altruism. Wanting money, Subramanyam says, used to mean you were greedy.“This generation has really reconciled the two.” They’re inspired by the rare Boomer: Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates have massive bank accounts, but they’re committed to using those funds to help others. “Generation Y could be the first gen- What worked for you and how do you view marketing? Obama’s campaign was successful by giving away free buttons and stickers via Facebook. Marketing isn’t especially successful in pitching new items to me. My information is almost exclusively Internetbased, and so it’s fairly easy to ignore the ads on a conscious level. Sarah Pedersen, 21, Albany, N.Y. eration in the world to leave the earth a better place than they found it,” writes Kenneth Gronbach in his book, The Age Curve. (See Required Reading, page 20, for more with Gronbach.) Although environmental-awareness campaigns have popped up in the past, experts don’t see this wave going away any time soon. Consumer demand has driven companies to shift to ecofriendly initiatives, from fuel-efficient cars to carbon offsets. Change takes time, and a good-faith effort may be enough to make an impact. But companies can’t just put out an EcoShape water bottle and call it a day. Gen Y needs convincing. “It’s never completely altruistic,” de Graaf told attendees at the ANA show, but Gen Y rewards companies that aim higher than “increased margins.” Gen Y is also the most ethnically diverse population to date, according to the 2006 American Community Survey: 60 percent are white, 18 percent Hispanic, 15 percent black non-Hispanic, and 4 percent Asian. “I have a child who is half white, half Asian. What box is she going to check?” Subramanyam asks. “I look at her assortment of friends and many of them aren’t a single race.” Marketing campaigns have no choice but to reflect that diversity. Having a white protagonist simply won’t do anymore, especially when there’s $1 trillion to be earned from the multicultural market. (See “The Markets Within the Masses,” March 2008, for more on multicultural marketing.) THE Y EMPLOYEE Today’s younger consumer cannot be accurately characterized as the angsty individual who rebels against authority. Studies indicate that these young men and women are distinct from those of past generations in one big way: They’re still close to their folks. A survey by New York–based Applied Research & Consulting found that 90 percent of teenagers enjoy a close relationship with their parents, compared to 40 percent of Baby Boomers who said, when surveyed in 1974, that they’d be better off without the ’rents. The same mentality extends to Gen Y’s entrance into the workforce.“They’re far 27 Online ads and viral online videos created for the sole purpose of marketing a product [work for me] (e.g. Kobe’s stunts for Nike’s Hyperdunk shoes). Marketing does a good job when it is able to appeal to a target audience through the use of shock value or humor. Daniel Tith, 23, Los Angeles Gossip Girl ads have totally worked for me with their use of parental advisories. It’s like a guilty pleasure and the marketing admits that it’s OK. Today’s marketing is tailored for its target audience more than ever. Emily Hue, 22, Brooklyn, N.Y. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | NOVEMBER 2008 Generational Spending http://www.ABC.com http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crmmedia/crm0308/index.php?startid=24 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crmmedia/crm0308/index.php?startid=24 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crmmedia/crm0308/index.php?startid=24 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - November 2008

CRM - November 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Working with the Years CRM on Twitter Virtual Spenders Contact Centers Chatting to Success The Complexity Chasm Required Reading Generational Spending: A Special Report Who, What, Where, When, Y The Slackers’ X-cellent Adventure The Boomer Boom The Matures Endure Boosting Productivity North of the Border Changing the Channel Invicta’s Thrill of Victory Secret of My Success Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - November 2008

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