Turns out Gen Y is “greatly misunderstood, and for those looking to connect with them — whether a political campaign or a consumer brand – it is critical to understand that Gen Y cares deeply about the world around them, even if they have their own unique ways of expressing it,” according to Joe Kessler, President, The Intelligence Group, whose latest survey was just released.

“Generation Y: Slacktivism or Social Consciousness?” finds that Millennials are not only socially aware but also uniquely positioned, as digital natives, to meaningfully impact the world of today.Continue reading...

The Millennial generation is hugely important to the future of brands and culture. And many of the characteristics of this group — representing about 75 million people just in the U.S., ranging from 18 to 32 years old — have emerged pretty clearly.

"Generation Y" is fascinated by digital technology, but not so much by cars; it's by far the "greenest" age cohort in the United States; they value collaboration and informality above rugged individualism and corporate conformity; and — to marketers' chagrin — they're not exactly flush with cash, suffering more than any other generation from the Great Recession and the not-so-hot economic recovery following it.

That's why Newsweek has come up with a new handle for the generation that, the magazine argues, "have been screwed by their parents' fiscal profligacy and economic mismanagement." Hence the moniker, "Generation Screwed." And the best way to appeal to them? Humor. And money.Continue reading...

The Millennial generation, 16-34, is in the driver’s seat, 79 million strong compared with waning Boomer’s 76 million. They wield hundreds of billions of dollars annually as influencers of commerce, culture, business and brands – and their clout will only increase as they move into their peak spending years.

In order to better understand the Gen Y (or as some call them, "Generation Lost") cohort born in the 1980s and '90s, The Boston Consulting Group, along with Barkley, and Service Management Group, have collaborated on a new study, "The Millennial Consumer: Debunking Stereotypes."

The just-released research (download it here) surveys 4,000 Millennials and 1,000 non-Millennials (ages 35 to 74) in the U.S. to better define the differences between the two groups, and identify qualities inherent to the Millennials demographic and not just attributable to youthful age.

“Don't believe the hype that Millennials consume less than previous generations,” said Christine Barton, a partner at BCG. “Those companies that truly ‘get’ this generation will have an opportunity to differentiate themselves and forge profitable long-term relationships with Millennial consumers.”Continue reading...

It used to be that car owners tended to stick with one brand for an extended period of time. You bought Toyota in 1975, you buy Toyota in 1997. You bought Ford in 1982, you buy Ford in 2011.

But times have changed and a new study shows that automotive brand loyalty is on the decline, while consumers simultaneously show a new love for whatever the latest multimedia technology happens to be, according to FOX 59.

“Research firm GfK Automotive's Automotive Intentions and Purchases study, a monthly survey dating back to the early 1980s, found 48 percent of respondents in 2011 plan to buy the same brand of car as they currently own,” FOX reports. “That's down 7 percentage points over the past decade.”

The loyalty factor is lowest in those aged 15-45, according to Doug Scott, a senior vice president at GfK. Scott also pointed out another GfK study that showed that those in Gen Y “placed gadgets ahead of cars among must-have needs,” which is the "first time ever that the car came in second." (What's more, those gadget-obsessed youths are disengaged on the job, too.)Continue reading...

It’s no secret that how consumers spend their time on media varies with age, so it’s fascinating to look at two recent studies (US and UK) to get a bead on how the generational shift in media consumption is advancing.

According to the latest Generational Strategies study from Frank N. Magid Associates, during the 9-5 workday more consumers use Facebook than watch television. The sole exception is Boomers, who prefer TV to Facebook, although 26% of those surveyed use the social network during work hours.Continue reading...

It seems more redolent of some weird scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory than Nike's exploitation of workers at outrageous wages in unkempt Third World textile mills. Nonetheless, America's confectionery giant Hershey has got caught in the middle of a brand-singeing labor dispute with a workforce made up of foreign students.

Federal investigators have opened probes of job conditions at a plant operated by a chocolate-packing contractor for Hershey in Pennsylvania. Seems that many of the 400-odd international students working at the plant under a "cultural exchange" program for the summer have grown disgruntled. The students complained of being forced to lift heavy boxes of candy and work graveyard shifts where the action was too fast for them to keep up. Plus, the allegation goes, the not-for-profit agency that arranged for their employment on behalf of the U.S. State Department deducted too many expenses from their paychecks.

"We did not plan to become organizers in America," said Decebal Bilan, an economics student from Romania, quoted in a release by the U.S. labor group, National Guestworker Alliance. "But now it is our responsibility to bring Hershey's to justice - for ourselves, for future students, and for Pennsylvania."Continue reading...

Interest  in the Millennials — the generation born between the late ‘70s and the early ‘90s — is greater than ever among brand marketers. And as the youngest members of this large generation reach legal drinking age, Millennials, who will make up 40% of Americans age 21 and over within the next 10 years, are about to become even more compelling for alcohol brands.

According to Nielsen, one of the biggest differences between Millennials and previous generations is that they are much more open to trying new alcoholic beverages. While most of them still prefer beer, they buy more wine and liquor than previous generations did at the same age. Thus the typical pattern of maturing into buying more wine and spirits later in life may not apply to them.Continue reading...

College marketing is hotter than ever, as brands vie to be Big Brand on Campus this fall (case in point: KFC's sweatpant-logo campaign at right). Peer-to-peer student reps, hyperlocal promotions, and relevance to student lifestyles are now Marketing 101 for brands going to college.

Just ask Matt Britton. The CEO and founder of Mr. Youth is considered an expert in marketing to millennials, those socially savvy young consumers who typically eschew traditional media in favor of all things digital. 

“College marketing used to be block and tackle. Now, college students are immune to those tactics and expect something much more deeply intertwined in their lives,” comments Britton, whose agency’s tagline is: “Fresh ideas, grown-up thinking.” 

"College students are wary of old-school marketing," adds Paul Himmelfarb, managing director at Youth Marketing Connection.Continue reading...