ASD/AMD Marketplace - Summer 2008 - (Page 52) Feature: Gen Y Why ask Y? Meet the Millennials: Generation Why? By: laurel kennedy President, Age Lessons, LLC & kathy Mancini Director Consumer Insight, The nielsen Company M eet the Millennials , also known as Generation Y, Generation Next, Echo Boomers or the Digital Generation – one of the most confounding, connected, confident and collaborative age cohorts on the planet. Shaped by influences ranging from Columbine to cell phones, terrorism to text messaging, merged families to corporate mergers, they bring a buoyant outlook to life. To many, Millennials are reminiscent of the Baby Boomers—both generations notable for their enormous size and cultural influence. Gen Y is the beneficiary of being born in the most child-centric era in U.S. history, defined by “baby on board” signs and helicopter parents hovering over every soccer game and piano lesson. Their experience stands in stark contrast to Gen 52 Summer ‘08 X, the so-called latchkey kids left to their own devices after school, whose parents engaged at arm’s length, via phone. Life on demand Gen Y has one thing in common with Gen X—both have little use for hierarchies and authority. The world is literally their playground, and they are equally at ease gaming online with a counterpart in China as they are texting friends in the middle of High School Musical. With noticeably short attention spans, Gen Y is accustomed to “on demand” everything, conditioned by limitless choices in programming, media options and immersive, interactive experiences. For marketers and employers, the challenge will be keeping pace in the race to engage Gen Y consumers and employees. Roughly 70 million strong, Gen Y is the most ethnically diverse of any American generation. According to the 2006 American Community Survey, Gen Y comprises 60% White, 15% Black Non-Hispanic, 18% Hispanic and 4% Asian. Compare that to the Boomer cohort composition of 72% White, 11% Black Non-Hispanic, 10% Hispanic and 4% Asian. Web-wise shoppers The 2007 Nielsen Global Omnibus Survey looked at online shoppers around the world and found that approximately half of consumers under age 24 made an Internet purchase in the previous month, and 100% had made an online purchase over the six months preceding the survey. Top sellers included clothing/accessories, books, videos/DVDs/games,
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