Generation Y...Who are we?

Last Sunday at a barbeque with some friends, we began reminiscing about the good ‘ole days…the 90’s. As we looked back upon the decade in which many Gen Yers were just starting to make their mark, I couldn’t help but realize that we are coming of age as a generation and are fixing to have a phenomenal impact on what exactly defines this decade and many more to come. I then began to think about how our generation was shaping up the 2000s and what trends, styles, etc. would come to make up us as a generation. Our parents had The Beatles, bell-bottoms and T-Birds, but how in the world do you possibly define the tastes of the Gen Yers? Truly, if VH1 tried to create “I Love the 2000s,” what in the world would they use to back up such a title. As a marketing major, it occurred to me that the influence that many of our parents had during the revolutionary 60s will now be ours in the early 2000s, but what are we doing with it, and how can we truly be defined as a market? Additionally, it is beyond imperative that businesses begin to take our generation a little more seriously, realizing that we’re not going anywhere for a while and our numbers rival those of the Baby Boomers. We are quickly becoming the newest era in purchasing power, and we’re going to demand that companies tailor themselves to our needs and wants. That being said, I began to panic. Are we such a disjointed generation that marketers will never be able to effectively reach us, or are we too flighty to ever have our attentions captured for any true amount of time? And will we ever succeed at creating a generation riveted with the creation of classics popular and respected long into the future?

To begin with, the “Generation Y” article intrigued me in many ways, and although it was written quite a while back, I saw many important insights expressed in it. I couldn’t agree more that Gen Yers are more practical than our predecessors have been. We don’t tend to have a happy-go-lucky version of the world, and it affects our views of the world, aka perceptions. Any knowledgeable marketer know that in the end, what matters most is perception, and so Gen Yers differing perception of the world will greatly affect how we respond to marketing efforts. As was said, we don’t respond well to overly done advertisements with annoying tag lines that fail to get to the point. We are the busiest young adults to ever walk this planet, and we just want for you to get to the point. I recently saw a Diet Coke commercial that said, “Just for the taste of it,” and I thought “brilliant.” Informative, catchy, brief. Additionally our practicalities also make us a bit more skeptical, and we are not very likely to trust your campaigns stating that you’ve got the “world’s best product” if you can’t back it up with hardcore facts. You also can’t pull one on us, especially when it comes to fake “free goodies.” I’m always comparing my reactions to infomercials to those of my mom’s. My mom simply cannot pass up the word “free,” and so all those wonderful infomercials that promise you free goodies so long as you order within “x” amount of time get the best of her. I and my friends however are skeptical and were brought up in the era that truly recognizes that there’s “no such thing as a free lunch.” We are quality conscious, and we expect to pay for what were going to get. This leads into the reasoning for why we are the most brand conscious generation ever, and we present an opportunity to marketers to truly focus on this up-coming idea of “total quality.” We’re willing to pay the price for goods and services that we consider well worth it.

However, that being said, I did find some alarming assumptions and ideas presented in this particular idea. To begin with, it seemed to me that the writer was far too willing to simply say that successful companies of the past are just that…companies of the past. The quick dismissal of such brands as Nike and Converse through me off. Admittedly, both brands did semi-disappear for a while, but for the very reason articulated in the article. Businesses have long suffered from the problem of failing to see Gen Yers as more than just children. A lot of us are all grown up or growing up and want fashions and items that reflect this. That being said, I think that both Nike and Converse have recently managed to realize this and come back as top brands among my generation. Whoever said Nike is out has obviously not come across a sorority girl recently (Hello? Nike athletic shorts anyone?). Also, Target has recently begun caring a large line of Converse shoes and fashions. So I think that’s important to realize that Gen Yers haven’t phased out brands of the past just because their old but because they have failed to recognize the force we are as a nation and the mature beings that we are coming to be.

Secondly, after listening the “MySpace Generation” podcast, I was once again struck by the opinions and information expressed. No one will contest that social networking sites have become the telephone of our generation. Such sites have almost become a necessity in keeping up with friends (near and far), planning activities and events and keeping up with what’s going on in and around your community. As a college student, we all simply assume that everyone has a Facebook, and even companies are now jumping on to such networks to reach Gen Yers (a smart move in my opinion). However, I disagree that social networks will serve as a replacement for actual physical human contact and meetings. I think that virtual worlds will never be able to create the same type of deep relationships fostered through actual interaction with people on a day-to-day basis. In fact, I know many Gen Yers that are actually seemingly revolting to the notion of a purely technological future. I have some friends who have recently deleted their Facebook accounts or chosen not to subscribe to one because they are sick of such sites substiting for the real thing when it comes to relationships. I myself refused to ever start up a MySpace page, and I hardly ever get on Facebook anymore because I’d much rather meet up for coffee then have a virtual IM-fest.

With all of the above in mind, I began to revert back to my initial frustrations and confusions over what sort of mark this generation will leave. I began to again worry that we would never produce or catch on to something more substantial than the Spice Girls to be remembered for (like, oh I don’t know…The Beatles!). And if we can’t produce icons, trends, etc. that last, then how in the world are marketers supposed to reach us. And then it hit me. Perhaps we will be the most exciting target market of all time. We are a most diverse market of all time and can’t all be grouped together easily. We have very vast desires, and we demand that they all be filled. Customization is the order of the day, and it will continue to be. It’s this very diversity that is opening the door to marketers for endless possibilities. Who knows what means will be used to capture our attentions or how marketing programs will become truly revolutionized. That will be for the marketers of this day and age to discover. Going back to my intro and reminiscing of the 90’s, I now think I understand why it’s so hard to define what makes up this generation and our experiences. We value of differences and turn away from trends almost as soon as they pop up and not because we’re flighty but because we want to be defined as something more than atypical. Perhaps we may never have a VH1 episode of “I Love the 2000s” because just one episode would never suffice to capture just all of what makes this generation who we are. That will be every marketers greatest task.