Marketing to a generation that doesn't follow orders, hates ads and throws a wrench in your strategy.
Read Write Web recently fielded a great article that caused interesting debate within our viral marketing company, and I thought it would be worth sharing. The article focused on how Generation Y (born between 1982-1997) is going to "change the web" and what makes a Gen Y-er different from the previous generations. Some of the notable (debatable?) facts about Gen Y when viewed from a social media marketing perspective:
- TV Isn't King
- They Don't Care About Your Ad, They Care What Their Friends Think
- Marketing Has to Change
I agree so strongly with these three notes in particular that I formed this business based on them! But the discussion that followed the article brought up some points that I thought worth getting blogosphere feedback on.
- If TV isn't king what is? Stats show that TV quality content is still extremely popular (might we say king?) online. If this isn't King, what does something need to do to be 'King'? My main feeling is that TV as a medium is dying due to one main factor: Interruption marketing. What is the first thing a DVR/TiVo owner does? Skip all commercials. One of my colleagues asked "why?" when this point was brought up. I think the better question is "now that the possibility for freedom is there, why does anyone EVER WATCH TV commercials?"
- Gen-Y (and many older folks) are supposedly of the opinion that "your ad doesn't matter". I would have further refined this point to be "your poorly-targeted, uninteresting ad doesn't matter". Look at the viral success of some interesting, funny or amazing online ads. Are they THAT hard to understand? Are they random, unrepeatable anomalies? I say no. They all engage the consumer in a way that the consumer WANTS to be engaged. Putting a TV commercial online and then complaining that viral marketing is failing is like putting a Mustang in the ocean and telling Ford their cars don't work! I think ReadWriteWeb had it slightly wrong. Gen Y-ers like relevant, engaging ads. They watch the Superbowl for the ads, they forward amazing online ads. Gen Y is responsible for the huge success of some viral campaigns. It's the overwhelming failure on the part of the ads to understand the medium and earn attention that Gen-Y disagrees with, not advertising in general.
- "Marketing has to change" is about as timely and insightful an observation as someone showing up to the D-day beaches on June 10th, 1944 and proclaiming "something big just went down". Maybe they were being "simple" for simplicity's sake, but think comments like that reassure marketers in a terrible way. With that comment, we're askin g people to ignore and delay the inevitable. "It's OK, other people who 'get it' are just beginning to understand this new wave of marketing. I can spend five more years of marketing budget before I turn my brain on." So much content is available online now (print, radio AND Television content) that advertisers who aren't wising up don't have much more time as the space is rapidly being conquered by the forward thinking outfits who are willing to "brave" the lands where consumers are in control of what they spend their time on.
I would say I think very much like a Gen Y-er. I can't stand being interrupted online and I hate irrelevant ads, but I LOVE good viral videos and I love targeted ads. I realize that TV isn't king anymore (or more specifically, for much longer). I realize that in an increasingly on-demand world, marketers can't demand attention of Gen Y, they can only earn it.
If you're a marketer seeking Generation Y's dollars, ask yourself if you've honestly considered the changing landscape and changed your actions accordingly. It's like they say, repeating the same action over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. How will you change your approach today to win Gen Y dollars tomorrow?
Link to original post