Social Media: Why Twitter Matters to Marketers

One of my Twitter buddies, Stuart Robertson (aka 'designmeme'), tweeted me this bit of wisdom yesterday:

@carol_phillips Facebook is the backyard BBQ, Twitter is the Convention, MySpace is the NightClub, LinkedIN is the Job Finding Club. :)

I promptly 'retweeted' his idea to my 179 'followers'. That ended an exchange that started like this yesterday morning:

designmeme: How To Turn Twitter Followers Into Friends http://tr.im/gQmg

carol_phillips: @designmeme Not sure I want followers as 'friends'. That's what I have Facebook for. Twitter brings me acquaintances with common interests.

This exchange illustrates what I have discovered to be Twitter's primary attraction, which is to have "conversations" with people you would otherwise never meet. designmeme is on the faculty and web manager for University of Guelph-Humber. We are unlikely to have met anywhere other than cyberspace. We don't care about what each of us had for lunch or even want to know any details of each other's lives. I didn't even know or care what his real name was until I started writing this post. But I like what Stuart has to say, and I must have said something that caught his attention, as well. And this is precisely the reason I think Twitter will be more important than Facebook: Twitter is not about friends, it's about strangers.

The first lesson I learned about Twitter is to refrain from answering the prompt,what you are doing? No one, outside of those who love you, cares two tweets about what you are doing. But acquaintances and your larger network just might care about what you are reading, thinking and talking about. And that's where Twitter comes in. Twitter is about ideas; you don't need to be 'friends' to want to share ideas. In that sense, designmeme is right, Twitter is a convention, a virtual watercooler where interesting conversations are happening day and night. The conversations are easy to find and make little demands. You can just listen, or you can chime in.

In contrast, Facebook is the backyard BBQ. You can't stand silent on Facebook you have to participate; Facebook is where you connect with people you know and like, aka, your friends. The in-house sociologist at Facebook, Cameron Marlow, revealed that most users actually communicate with a relatively small circle of friends. While many people have hundreds friends on Facebook, they still only actively communicate with a few.

The average male Facebook user with 120 friends: Leaves comments on 7 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 4 friends

The average female Facebook user with 120 friends: Leaves comments on 10 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 6 friends

The average male Facebook user with 500 friends: Leaves comments on 17 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 10 friends

The average female Facebook user with 500 friends: Leaves comments on 26 friends’ photos, status updates, or wall Messages or chats with 16 friends

I prefer Twitter to Facebook because I have other ways to connect with friends.

Most Millennials I know have yet to use Twitter. They prefer to talk to their friends online and Facebook is perfectly designed to do just that.It therefore comes as no surprise that the average Twitter user (Twitterer?) is older than the average Facebook user.

Which brings me to my point (yes, I have one): While they are lumped together as 'social media', LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are fundamentally different in ways that will be increasingly important for marketers to understand.

Because Facebook is intimate, it is inherently unfriendly to commercialization and marketers will continue to struggle to find a way to leverage it effectively. (The exception will be 'events, such as Starbucks 'Red' event in December. Advertising a specific event (party) on a specific day makes perfect sense.) Because Twitter is about anonymity and connecting with people you don't know very well, it is inherently much more friendly to breaking news, self-promotional messages, causes and ideas. I predict Twitter will surpass Facebook fairly quickly as a marketing medium.

Marketers: Start your tweeters.

Dentyne's 'Face Time' Campaign a Winner with Millennials

I love Dentyne's contrarian "Face Time" campaign. It leverages the current obsession with Facebook and virtual friending to make a point about the importance of face-to-face encounters. First launched in October, the campaign includes TV, a web site and remarkably, no NO Facebook group or application I could find! In fact the web site only gives you 3 minutes to find what you want and get out.

Last night, a new 'Face Time' commercial on The Colbert Report caught my attention. It features a charming couple who can't stop kissing. Adorable. And it makes the point: kissing is fun, do it more often (with Dentyne)! (I can't find the new spot on YouTube or I would have inserted it here).

I was pleased to see Millennials, not just boomers like me, enjoy this campaign. Adrienne Waldo, creator of the blog AskAMillennial, says she likes it for being 'genuine' and 'happy' (how Millennial of her!):

"I am absolutely crazy about the most recent Dentyne campaign.It is fun, warm, unique and targets Millennials without being patronizing. I think the essential goodness of this campaign comes from its genuine nature. ..The commercial ties in well with the print. The song selection, "Summer Day" by Coconut Records, comes across pleasantly quirky, the setting is beautiful, and the whole thing leaves me feeling happy."

Tough Sells: Anti-Tobacco and Responsible Drinking

Good news for Millennial marketers! Advertising works! A slew of new studies document both these statements are true:

1) Tobacco advertising and promotion cause young people to smoke

2) Mass media campaigns are effective at reducing smoking among young people, especially when combined with other tobacco control strategies.

Two new studies in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine (Feb 9, 2009), conclude that the National Truth Campaign to Prevent Youth Smoking has been highly effective cost efficient in reducing initiation of smoking among teens. One study found that truth(R) was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years, while a second study found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved between $1.9 billion and $5.4 billion in health care costs. Impressive.

Unfortunately, there is equally impressive evidence that the better-funded efforts of tobacco marketers are even more effective and cost efficient. New research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Feb 13, 2009) found the three most heavily advertised cigarette brands - Marlboro, Newport and Camel - were preferred by 78.2 percent of middle school smokers and 86.5 percent of high school smokers. Marlboro is preferred by more high school smokers, 52.3 percent, than all other brands combined.

What's true of tobacco also appears to apply to underage drinking. Despite clever drink responsibly campaigns (I especially like the Captain Morgan pizza delivery ad), better funded youth-oriented alcohol advertising may be contributing to an epidemic of binge drinking on college campuses. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that 1,700 college students between ages 18 and 24 die of alcohol-related causes each year, while about 600,000 suffer from alcohol-related injuries. Nearly 25 percent of all college students report academic consequences of drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers and receiving lower grades overall. (Colleges Crack Down on Binge Drinking).

There is plenty of evidence that college culture on many campuses now celebrates drinking to get drunk. The "official" Motown/Asher Roth "I Love College" music video on YouTube has over half a million views without counting the many unofficial versions. On Sunday night, 60 Minutes interviewed college students about drinking games and attitudes toward drinking. This short clip captures the matter of fact way students accept that drinking to get drunk = social life on campus today. (More 60 Minutes clips and transcript.)

The moral for Millennial marketers? Advertise responsibly!

Being A Millennial: It's Not That Easy

Found on the Blog: The Perennial Millennial, by Blake Sunshine. I like how Blake reminds us of the danger of stereotypes... not all Millennials are hip or on Twitter, or even want to be!

I know what you are thinking as you read this post’s title: WAH WAHHH being a millennial is sooooo hard. But, what you may not know is that being a part the youngest, smartest and most influential generation comes with heaps of responsibility. Mostly, as a millennial, especially in the work place, you are expected to be perfect. So in order to live up to our name here is some advice for others on what it takes to be a good millennial:

1. You have to know everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. You have to read newspapers, watch tv and follow every blog. You also have to offer business insight with each new article you read and share it with all of the other folks you work with. You have to know old, you have to know new, you have to know it all.

2. You have to be hip. Besides being on the cutting edge of almost every trend in your business area, your coworkers also expect you to be hip. They want to ask you about new songs, celebrities and what Zac Effron was wearing at the Oscars. You have to be hip, even if in your real life you aren’t really hip at all.

3. You have to be online. It’s a pretty safe assumption that as a millennial you know way more about being online than your colleagues. But the real truth is that most millennials could care less about any social networking tool but Facebook. So when people want me to teach them about Twitter or other new online tools I am usually learning about it right before I teach them.

4. You have to pretend it all comes naturally. In addition to the above mentioned difficulties, the hardest part of being a millennial is pretending like it’s easy! And it’s not, trust me.

So next time you see a millennial take it easy on them. Being perfect 24/7 is hard work!

Actually, Blake, you do make it look easy. I did find your blog via Twitter. And who is Zac Effron anyway? But I understand your point. Thanks for sharing.

Career Advice for Millennials from Daniel Pink

Career Advice '08

View more presentations from garr. (tags: career advice)

Here is a great example of how to talk to Millennials. This presentation, while long, can be viewed in 5 minutes or less and speaks right to the anxieties we hear among Millennials about their career paths. Namely, the fear that there is no path. This presentation, created by Garr Reynolds, provides some solid advice in an entertaining, Millennial-friendly way. The content is based on Daniel Pink's new book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, 'with some other stuff thrown in'. (FYI, the book itself is written in Manga.) Bravo.

Millennials Seek Government Jobs

My 15-year old son recently informed me he is considering becoming a diplomat. He is right on trend. When times are tough, the government may be the job of first, rather than last, resort.

Last year, every single branch of the U.S. armed forces from Marines to National Guard hit or exceeded its recruiting goals. Now Yahoo reports that the hottest recruiting sessions at MBA schools are those sponsored by the government (MBA's: Uncle Sam Wants You , 2.18.09).

Career services directors predict that government and nonprofit hiring will increase this year, though it's too early to say by how much. According to recently released data from the Career Services Council, 35% of schools reported an increase in recruiting activity for government and 12% reported an increase in the nonprofit sector, even as overall recruiting activity was level or down at 75% of schools.

The Federal job site, USAjobs.gov lists 39,500 jobs. A search for 'marketing chicago' yielded nearly 468 results, many of which pay $67K or more. While government and non-profit jobs may lack glamour or high salaries, they offer two things of value to Millennials: steady employment and the opportunity to make a difference. The yearning to make a difference in their job, not just volunteer work is a theme we hear repeatedly in our focus groups with young working Millennials. In an ideal world they would forgo the money for the chance to make an impact. Here's a sample exchange from a group last summer:

Moderator: What is your IDEAL career?

Mike G: I want to be a Fireman, but I can't benchpress enough.

Mary A: I would want a career where i made a real difference in someones life. Working for non profit maybe The barrier for me is experience in that area and a degree in non profit.

Mike G: Kidding.

Katie H: haha mike.. eventually i want to go non-profit but I want to get good business experience now to make the most of that job.

Mike G: The truth is almost just as silly. I work professionally as an actor, but it's very difficult to devote myself full-time to it because I've got to eat and pay rent. In an ideal world, I'd perform and not have to worry about money.

Moderator: Do you all think a nonprofit is the best way to make a difference? or can you see yourself making a difference in the world through a corporation?

Katie H: i don't think its the only way but its the way I want to do it

John C: The barrier to obtaining it is the need for a large income to provide for a family.

Katie H: there are many corporations that do a lot to make a difference.

Mike G: The last company I worked for went down to New Orleans to help with the Katrina clean-up effort.I know people really enjoyed that.

Katie H: the company i work for now does a lot with Habitat Moderator Carolyn: do you see a trade off between making a difference in the world and making a lot of money?

John C: Yes. Plenty of non-for-profits that would be fun to work for that make a difference but you can't earn the same there.

Mary A: I lead the company in a fund raiser for a battered women's shelter, something small but makes a difference.

Mike G: In fairness, taking time out to do some good -- while great -- is a lot different than being in a career where each and every day you're supporting a cause or a purpose you believe in.

Justin D: Making a ton of money should not go hand in hand with making a difference, most of the time.

With the choice increasingly between a job that makes a difference and no job, it's not a surprise that Millennials may be turning their attention to what they perceive as 'worthy' pursuits.

Millennial Target: Ford Fiesta

Ford just announced it is seeding 100 German-built Fiestas with hand-selected Millennial 'agents'. In exchange for this largesse, the agents will be expected to Twitter, Facebook, Blog and Flickr their experience to their friends. According to the press release, the cars are rolling off the line today. Starting this spring, the agents will perform monthly 'missions' and report on them to their friends and to Ford for six months via social media.

Ford is the only one of the big three U.S. car-makers who is not looking to the government for bail out loans, which appears to be a good business decision. According to today's Wall Street Journal (Ford Benefits as GM Chrysler Tumble), they are also the only U.S. car-maker who has grown share in the past four months.

The car is designed to appeal to younger, Ecologically Conscious and Economically Challenged drivers. The giveaway effort is intended to both build buzz as well as provide Ford with feedback prior to the 2010 official launch. Ford claims to have already received 1500 applications on its www.fiestamovement.com web site. The application asks applicants to submit a two to five minute video explaining why they want the opportunity to become part of the Fiesta Movement. Applications will be accepted through March 13, 2009.

We’re looking for an elite crop of drivers to take the wheel: people with a strong presence on the web, an ability to craft a compelling story through video, and a hunger for adventure. As a driver, you’ll receive monthly secret assignments from Ford Mission Control that will take you to places you’ve never been, to meet people you’ve never met, and to experiences you’ll never forget. And you’ll bring your friends and followers along for the ride. We’ll hand you the keys to your own Fiesta for a six month period, and we’ll even handle the gas and insurance for you, too.

Is this move into 'social media marketing' a smart move? A lot depends on execution, but the strategy seems sound. There are no guarantees that Ford will pick the right Millennials, that the missions will be of interest to other Millennials, and that they will even like the car. But, assuming $10,000 per car (a guess) the effort probably costs about what it would cost to make a commercial -- in other words, a pretty good deal and worth the risk.

Resume for Millennial Strategist Position

Scott Kelly wanted to apply for the Millennial Strategist position at IBM. here is the position desscription:

Millennial Strategist description:

This position is to increase the number of IT professionals from the millennial generation actively using developerWorks as their primary source for technical information, community, and learning. This position requires first hand knowledge of the millennial generation, their learning patterns and behaviors, and community preferences as well as an academic background in statistical analysis and marketing to consume market intelligence, combine it with first hand knowledge, and develop marketing plans to recruit and engage this generation of IT professionals in developWorks and get them using IBM technology in their jobs.

Scott created this video in response. Here is his cover letter:

Hello PK, After seeing the Millennial Strategist position, the following question came to mind, "How would a true Millennial Strategist apply for this position?" In answer to that question I have created a Blog entry seeking comments, YouTube video, Tweet on Twitter, LinkedIn Group, and Facebook group. While those channels are powerful in getting my message to you (and the world), the real power is in the public's ability to respond. So in that spirit I invite those who have worked with me to comment on my ability to add value as a Millennial Strategist. I appreciate your feedback.

I think he should get the job, don't you, PK?

Millennials Asked to Consider Marriage

In first century Rome, a lex julia de maritandis ordinibus aimed to addressed the low birthrate in the upper classes. The legislation set penalities for bachelors and childless couples, mainly limiting their right to inheritance under wills. After divorce or widowhood, women were expected to remarry within a fixed time. A father of one child was allowed to stand for public office one year earlier than the stipulated age. Siring children exempted a man from certain legal duties. Whether or not these measures were effective or not is unknown, but the combination of carrot and stick may have done the trick. The Roman empire didn't die out for lack of citizens, at least not for many centuries.

In an eerie, two-Millennia historical echo, USA Today reported yesterday that the U.S. Federal government is funding a 4-year, $5 million dollar, multi-media and social networking campaign aimed at encouraging marriage among Millennials. While this effort doesn't include penalties for remaining single, it does attempt to point out the benefits of marriage to a generation that lacks good marital role models and is delaying marriage.

"The average age at first marriage is now almost 26 for women and 28 for men. And a growing percentage of Americans aren't marrying at all. Provisional federal statistics released Tuesday report 7.1 marriages per 1,000 people in 2008, down from 10 per 1,000 in 1986...."We're not telling people 'Get married' but 'Don't underestimate the benefits of marriage,' " says Paul Amato, a Pennsylvania State University sociologist and adviser to the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center, which is spearheading the campaign. The resource center, a federally funded virtual clearinghouse, works under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families."

The drop in marriage rates may be a reflection of Millennial attitudes. Research by the youth research company, TRU, was commissioned prior to developing the campaign. They found just 22% of those 18-30 have a strong view of marriage. At the other end of the spectrum 14% express strong sentiments against it. Those in the middle have mostly a 'practical' view of marriage and plan to either wait a while or live with someone before committing.

The campaign will feature a web site (TwoOfUs.org) as well as ads on social networking sites Facebook and MySpace, videos on YouTube, spots on radio talk shows, ads in magazines and public transportation. The goal is to start a national conversation about marriage.

Will it work? Without the carrot and stick of the Roman ordinance, I am not so sure the independent minded-Millennials will listen or care. A quick look at the TwoOfUs.org web site didn't reveal anything you couldn't find about relationships that isn't easily available in any women's magazine. The tone is definitely not hip or cool, a serious handicap to starting a social media conversation. It also is strictly heterosexual, which may be a turnoff to many Millennials who take a broader view of 'marriage'.

However, the Federal effort may get an assist from the First Couple. Andrew Romano wrote a Valentine's Day cover article for Newsweek explaining that his Millennial friends think the Obama's are 'one of the swooniest couples around', akin to what the Twilight couple is to tweens. (Our Model Marriage The Obamas have the kind of relationship millennials aspire to.) According to Romano, Michelle and Barack are the dream couple to Millennials starved for appropriate marital role models.

"My hunch is that millennials are going gaga over Barack and Michelle because they want to be Barack and Michelle. It's not that other generations can't admire the Obamas' bond; their marriage -- a union of self-sufficient equals -- embodies the post-'60s ideal. But unlike their elders, most millennials have yet to experience marriage firsthand, and what they've experienced by proxy hasn't been particularly encouraging: a 50 percent divorce rate, a steep rise in single parenthood, a culture captivated by cheap celebrity hookups. Even America's most visible household hasn't offered much hope, veering from '50s-era subservience (the Reagans) to boomer dysfunction (the Clintons). But now the Obamas – two independent individuals who also appear to be (surprise!) in love – have filled the void. For young people who have rejected the tired "wife in the kitchen" template but resolved not to follow their parents to divorce court, it's a relief to see that the sort of marriage they hope to have – equal and devoted – can actually exist."

Jello & Betty Crocker Get iPhone Apps: Who's Next?

Yes it's true, America's most loved cookbook has gone mobile. A free Betty Crocker iPhone application offers meal suggestions based on what's in your pantry. An even bigger surprise is that the $.99 iFood Assistant from Kraft is one of the 100most popular paid iphone applications. With 19th century brands leading the way, mobile marketing may finally be making some headway.

Mobile marketing is getting a big assist from the iPhone. It's hard to believe but the iPhone won't even celebrate its 2-year birthday until June. That's right, only 18 months old.

On June 30, 2007 Apple sold Apple sold 270,000 iPhones in the first thirty hours, and has gone on to sell another 17 million globally through the end of 2008, helped by rapid introductions of faster speeds, lower prices and new app's. And there's no end in sight. While iPhone accounts for just 30% of the 'smart phone' category, it has left competitors like RIM in the dust. When we talk about apps for 'smart phones', we all know what we're talking about.

Another amazing statistic: Over half a billion iphone app's have been sold since their introduction in July 2008. I did a little digging on what are the most popular. No one will be surprised to learn that among the premium (paid) app's games rule. (Will GameBoys be the next victim of convergence?) Among the free iphone applications, Apple's list released in December includes many games, but also two social networking apps--Facebook and AOL's AIM. It also includes two travel apps, Google Earth and Urbanspoon. The list also features a pair of entertainment apps, Apple's Remote and The MacBox's Lightsaber, along with two music apps, Pandora Radio and Shazam. Time magazine published its list of top 10 most useful app's. These include Around Me, which tells travellers what is of interest nearby, including stores & restaurants, AP's News on Demand, Wikipanion, and Ocarina (turns your phone into a wind instrument).Notable shopping related app's are Save Benji's which provides comparison prices and Yelp, consumer reviews.

For marketers wishing to reach mobile Millennials (is there any other kind?), iPhone app's are a dream come true. iphone app's are:

1) as targeted as search

2) potentially as close-to-the-sale as in-store

3) as trackable as email

4) as interactive as a web site

According to a recent slide share presentation by Marta Kagan of Viximo, iphone users have higher than average discretionary income and iphone app's enjoy a higher than average response rate. Put all that together and branded app's may be the killer app of all time.

The key for marketers is making a branded app that Millennials will use and will also benefit the brand, which is not as easy as it may sound.

I had trouble finding success stories in this space. Zippo's Virtual Lighter is interesting as a novelty but doesn't really offer any functionality or buzz value. Audi's Driving Challenge didn't get good reviews, even in 2.0. Maybe Millennial marketers need to look at those 19th century brands a little closer? Feel free to send me examples of successful BRANDED mobile app's.

Millennial Childhoods: The Why's of Gen Y

Millenials

View more presentations from Steve_Mellor. (tags: boomers baby)

There are a lot of presentations that do a great job of describing Gen Y. This presentation By Steve Mellor and Cathy O'Donnell of Harris Interactive is the best I've seen of at explaining why they are the way they are. Definitely worth a read, it provides cultural context for understanding Millennial values and the pressures that shaped them. (My only criticism is that Millennials should have two 'n's').

Twitter & Bourbon: What do they have in common?

Multiple choice question: Who is Evan Williams?

a) the name of Twitter's CEO

b) the name of a fast-growing 120-year old bourbon brand

c) inventor of the term 'blog'

d) all of the above.

Answer: d.

Let's start with bourbon. According to Mintel (2005), overall incidence of bourbon drinking is 11%, but it peaks among 21-24 year olds (16%). Evan Williams is the 5th most popular brand of bourbon among 21-24 year olds. By far the most popular is Jack Daniels (87% incidence among 21-24 year olds),87%). While whiskey overall has barely grown since 2001, bourbon is growing fast. Maker's Mark was up 8% in 2007, and Wild Turkey and Evan Williams each grew 5%. (USA Today, “Bourbon Producers see Amber Colored Future”, July 3, 2008) Unlike most distilled spirits, bourbon is more than twice as likely to be drunk by guys, so it's a fair assumption that young men are driving the trend. Why bourbon? I have no idea, really, but it may have to do with overall shift to more sophisticated tastes among Millennials. Beer is down, wine is up.

Now for the man. Evan Williams, 36, is CEO of Twitter and, according to Wikipedia, coined the word 'blogging'. In fact, he invented Blogger and sold it to Google. (His profile says Evan has been on blogger since August 1999 and has had more than 226,000 views.) He describes himself as 'an American entrepreneur, originally a farm boy from Nebraska, who's been very lucky in business.'

In addition to rapid growth rates and the uncanny coincidence of the name 'Evan Williams', Twitter and bourbon may have even more in common..

As bourbon is dwarfed by beer, wine and vodka, Twitter remains tiny relative to Facebook. Hubspot puts Twitter usage at 4-5 million users, about 30% of which are 'new or unengaged'. For perspective, Facebook has over 140 million users, and a very high level of engagement. As bourbon is unlikely to approach the popularity of beer, Twitter is probably never going to catch up to Facebook as a social medium. Twitter sees between five and ten thousand new accounts opened each day, far below Facebook's 600k daily registrations and 140 million active users. "If Facebook stopped growing right now and Twitter's numbers were at the upper end of Hubspot's estimates (10k per day) - it would take 36 years for Twitter to catch up."

I confess I prefer beer to bourbon. I also prefer Facebook to Twitter. I find Twitter hard to understand, it has its own rules, syntax and rhythms. It's hard to dabble, with much of its power coming from frequency. I also find it a challenge to find something I think my 100 or so followers, mostly strangers, would find interesting to read. In contrast, my Facebook page is not as demanding and I know my friends on Facebook really are interested in what I'm doing. I also haven't seen Millennials embrace Twitter, at least not yet. Like bourbon, Twitter may prove to be a 'step up' taste.

Hearing Millennial Voices: Gen Y Marketing Bloggers

I have been meaning to post a list of marketing blogs by Gen Y authors for some time now. But I get so absorbed reading the blogs, that I get sidetracked and write about something else. So here are some of the more interesting Millennial voices I follow, in no particular order:

1. NakedGen Mapping: Heledd Straker and Christopher Lomas, founders Naked Generations, London. Sample: 'Jon Favreu: BoY GENius':

In the struggle to cut costs and grab what little resources are still available, many businesses are tightening their belts and changing their management strategy, from a ‘looser’ style, as preferred by Generation Y, to a more ‘authoritarian’ approach - thereby exerting maximum control relieving the feelings of fear of wasting precious time and money. Jobs have also suddenly dried up for Generation Y: 40% of the predicted three million unemployed at the end of 2009 will be under 25[1]. Does this mean that Gen Y needs to both ‘pipe’ and ‘knuckle down’, at least until the storm has blown over?

2. The Marketing Student: David Fallarme, Student, Ontario Canada. David is a master of clever titles ('Not Part of Geny Y? You're Paying Too Much'). The entries live up to the titles. Sample: 'Gen Y Prefers Crowd Wisdom Over Experts':

The recent news about Bike Hero being fake reminds me that Gen Y has extremely fine-tuned BS detectors — it seems that we think something is even remotely fake, it probably is. It’s almost disillusioning and insulting to think that agencies are continually trying to camouflage adverts. Why pretend to be something? The magic is always lost when you discover something to be a lie, even if it’s just a YouTube video or a funny blog. It’s a very fine line between corporatizing something natural versus being a contributing participant. For brands trying to infiltrate Gen Y and its media, the key factor is, and has always been, sincerity.

3. Ask A Millennial: Adrienne Waldo, 22, New York marketing professional. Sample: 'Dentyne's "Make Face Time" Campaign'.

I am absolutely crazy about the most recent Dentyne campaign.It is fun, warm, unique and targets Millennials without being patronizing. I think the essential goodness of this campaign comes from its genuine nature. It doesn't seem to ostracize any one specific group, which tends to happen more often than not when a campaign is online-themed (I'm thinking of ads that use cyberspeak - of which I am not fluent). I imagine it will resonate equally with two completely opposite groups of people - those who spend a lot of time online, and those who hardly use the web at all. But don't get me wrong, the rest of us love it too. The commercial ties in well with the print. The song selection, "Summer Day" by Coconut Records, comes across pleasantly quirky, the setting is beautiful, and the whole thing leaves me feeling happy (in stark contrast to the Pepsi commercial from yesterday's post). On top of all that, Dentyne designed their web site so that it shuts down after three minutes. It would be a risky move, except they were smart enough to freeze the timer on the product page.Altogether a fantastic campaign.

I also love Adrienne's comments on the Pepsi / Arnell logo flap: 'Breathtaking? I Think Not'

The marketing world is all abuzz about the 27-page document supposedly composed by the designer of the Pepsi logo. Here's what I think: it's among the most ridiculous documents I've ever seen. If it's real (although I'm registered with the "It's Clearly a Fake" party), then Pepsi should have taken the most extreme precautions to be sure it never got leaked to the public. If it's fake, then someone has way to much time on their hands and I feel sorry for them.

Fair warning: These are my picks today. There would have been three or four others, but they seem to have stopped blogging? So catch these voices while you can.

Millennials: The New Gender Equality?

Women's basketball's biggest star, 22-year old Candace Parker, made a surprise announcement last month: she and her basketball star husband, Shelden Williams, are expecting. Parker was the 2008 league MVP and Rookie of the Year for the Los Angeles Sparks. Why would she have a baby now of all times? Her reply: I want my children to have the benefit of young parents.

This may be a sign of another gender revolution quietly underway. The revolution is a function of Millennial values, and may be amplified by the economic crisis.

Let's start with values. Millennials do not see themselves tied to anyone else's timetable. Many younger women are opting to have children now, before their careers are established. It may be a reaction to watching their own mothers struggle to balance an established career with motherhood. Or perhaps it's just a sign of the confidence these young women feel in their own abilities? Nevertheless, as I have noted before, birthrates are up and young mothers (20-24) are largely responsible for the surge.

A recent comment in response to my July 21 post, "What the Cool Kids Want: A Baby?", provides extra evidence that this emphasis on family may be relatively new, and influenced by cultural icons having babies and making it look attractive. Here's what 'Anonymous' has to say:

"I'm a first-wave millennial, a newlywed, 24 years old, so child-bearing has been on my mind the past year or so. This blog is really interesting because I've noticed a 'change in the wind' with women my age. Whereas growing up as a preteen and high schooler it seemed like having a kid was a curse, along with the whole 'domestic' lifestyle. Shows like FRIENDS, and Seinfeld showed that it was clearly stupid to waste your life being married and having babies. For first-wave Millennials like myself however, we were coming of age just as all the characters on FRIENDS were starting to settle down and even have babies. I think girls my age thought "Why am I going to waste a decade trying to find myself, when in the end what I'm looking for is a family?" Also- I think the number of unmarried women having babies (ages 25-29) are the 'inbetween' generation from Gen X to Millennial. It seems like they are less wary of taking on the single-mom life, and opt for abortions less and less. I think there is still a bit of a cynical attitude towards marriage in that age group however. I think people in their early 20s are starting to warm up to the idea of marriage (influenced partly by TV romances like Pam & Jim on NBC's The Office). I think people are starting to realize that maybe marriage can be a good thing- an idea Millennials didn't grow up with."

Why do I say the trend may be accelerated by the economic crisis? In the past, economic woes led to smaller families. However, this crisis may be different, due to its unequal impact on men and women. According to Lionel Tiger, a Rutgers anthropologist, fully 82% job losers are men ("From Liberation to Obligation" Wall Street Journal, Feb 7). Tiger's prediction is that the economic crisis will put a heavier burden on women. I disagree. It's possible more men will opt to stay home and watch children, freeing moms rather than encumbering them. If more young men do stay home, it may become more socially acceptable, 'liberating' women to work without the usual juggling. Of course, it could the opposite way, with men opting out of family life altogether (Tiger's thesis).

While a 'heavier burden on women' may be true of Gen X and older groups, I don't think it will be the case with Millennials who have already shown their willingness to decouple identity from work. If I'm right, Gen Y may finally bring the kind of gender equality feminists in the 60's only dreamed of.

Marketers have been slow to catch on to men as a target for CPG products traditionally marketed to women, but that may be changing. Advertising Age today exhorts marketers to embrace and possibly facilitate the change. ("Why Package Goods Companies Should Market to Men", Ad Age, Feb 9)

Marketing to men and portraying them as caretakers of and shoppers for the family can attract additional consumers to a brand while encouraging men to become greater participants in the maintenance of their families and homes. And the more men are accepted and accept themselves in that role, the more they'll be interested in brands that solve the needs or enhance the enjoyment of home and family care. And, of course, the more they'll shop for those products.

Basing strategies for tomorrow on current marketing data, sensible as it may seem, is shortsighted, even dangerous. ...Reaching out to a seemingly less lucrative, smaller target market such as men isn't quixotic but rather a strategy to attract more consumers, encourage greater innovation, and even affect the roles men and women shape for themselves, now and in the future. Instead of emulating those Detroit execs who ignored or resisted change, why don't we embrace, guide and, ultimately, benefit from it?

Move Over Facebook? Here Comes Zumeo

What happens when you combine Facebook with job search? Zumeo is about to find out.

In past posts, I have speculated Millennials may be fickle about Facebook if they find something better. I am not saying Zumeo is necessarily better, but it fills a need -- jobs and internships -- that Facebook will never be able to address. Most of the Millennials we talk to would never want a prospective employer to see their Facebook page. Many older Gen Y's talk about deleting, or planning to delete, their profiles when the time comes to get serious about their careers.

Unlike Linked IN, Zumeo is all about jobs and it is focused on college students and recent graduates. It takes a social networking approach to creating and posting 'live' resume that can be updated and shared with recruiters, friends or colleagues or even shared with other social networks like Facebook and MySpace. The process includes a self-assessment that matches your resume to prospective employers. The voice and tone of the site is completely Gen Y, describing the frustrations of traditional job search sites and the advantages of Zumeo (discover your strengths, relevant matches) in simple relevant language and videos. There's also a nifty video of CEO Jared explaining the concept.

Unlike Facebook, Zumeo comes with a revenue model. The service is free to users, but recruiters are charged $9 per post and $19 per month for unlimited posts. There is also a free test drive. According to Tech Crunch where I first learned about Zumeo, there are only 500 users so far, but the company has $100 million in venture funding. I expect we'll be hearing more about Zumeo.

College Choice: Millennials Under Pressure

College application deadlines are now behind us, and final choices still lie ahead for this year's crop of high school seniors. That makes now a good time to look at, what is for most Millennial's, the most-important-decision-of-their-lives-so-far. It is not only the most important, it is also the most expensive. The Education Department says there is an outstanding $556 billion in Federal education loans, with private outstanding loans adding another $130 billion. (Hey! That's about the same as the stimulus bill, now there's an idea we haven't heard yet.....)

Despite the extended and agonizing decision-making, a survey of 2000 freshman by collegeclicktv.com says most freshman regret their choice. 56% replied 'no' to the question, "Are you happy with the college you chose?", In an interesting footnote, 81% of those who like their choice say their school has a winning football team. (Maybe all those coach firings make sense after all?) Fortunately, my own daughter is deliriously happy with her choice, but she reports many of her peers are not, and not just because the football team had a disappointing season. Many find that the college they picked is simply not what they expected it to be, while others are facing the usual adjustment issues of too many late nights and difficulties with time management.

While not the whole picture, finances may be playing a role in freshman unhappiness. A Eduventures survey of the parents of 7000 freshman found one-third say they are having trouble paying for college this year. Little wonder transfer applications are up, as are applications for 2-year community colleges (WSJ, 1.27.09).

Looking ahead to this year, finances are likely to play even greater role in the decision than in the past. The WSJ, (1.15.09) reports the college-advisory business is booming. Test-prep classes have become the norm, and more parents are hiring educational consultants to help students qualify for financial aid at top schools, not just get in. According to the Journal, the biggest audience for these services are families with middle incomes - $75K-$100K.

With Millennials under pressure, college marketers will have to work even harder to make the case for their schools. With freshman unhappiness running high, perhaps the place to start is by retaining the students they already have?

A Millennial Picks Best Superbowl Spots

by Marty Predd, 27, guest blogger

Yesterday, the losers. Now for the Super Bowl commercials that actually hit the mark. In no particular order:

1. Doritos: ‘Snow Globe’

If Pepsuber is on the silly side of the silly/cool line, the Doritos Snow Globe spot is surely on the cool side. Perhaps it’s the setting – an office – which in an age of sitcoms like ‘The Office’ seems ripe for the type of ‘this is not my life’ humor to which a Millennial workforce an so easily relate. The crystal ball wielding character is exaggerated, of course, but if you’ve ever worked in an office, you’ve known ‘that’ guy. Much like the Walker Texas Ranger humor discussed in yesterday’s post, this succeeds because crazy as ‘that’ guy actually is, he appears sincere in his own mind. Add a dash of slapstick humor (the coworker throwing the snow globe at his boss below the belt) and you’ve got a relevant and humorous, if unrefined, spot. The icing on the cake is that this ad was crated by a group of Millennials who entered a contest and won $1 million when the spot was named most popular by USA Today’s AdMeter.

2. Monster.com: ‘Moose’

Doritos wasn’t the only one to tap into the well of office-inspired humor. I love this spot for three reasons. First, it’s completely relevant. Office humor would be a winner in any economic climate, but this ad goes beyond slapstick to actually strike a chord of empathy with a workforce that feels particularly overworked and underappreciated. And it manages to do so without coming across as patronizing or insincere. Second, the metaphor of the Moose is golden. In an age where stories of corporate excess in the form of posh spa retreats and global hunting trips abound, what could be a better symbol than a ridiculous stuffed moose? The fact that the cubicle worker is literally left to deal with the unpleasant backside of the situation further underscores the unspoken reality that many workers face daily. Finally, it does this without a spoken word! Timing here is everything; at the very moment the viewer realizes where this commercial is headed and why it’s funny, it’s over. This apt delivery of a visual punch line leaves the viewer chuckling well into the next spot.

3. Denny’s: ‘Diner’

Although I think this ad (or a similar one) aired in the days before the Super Bowl, I enjoyed it just as much on the fifth and six viewings as the first. It’s brilliant because like with Monster’s Moose, neither the punch line nor the sponsor is apparent until just before the spot has ended. Even if you’ve seen it before, you’re likely to be caught off-guard by the apparently serious topic being portrayed. “Did I accidentally switch the channel to The Sopranos”, you wonder? This ‘gotcha’ way of engaging the viewer, combined with the entirely unexpected entrance of the whipped cream dispenser makes this spot a winner, especially for guys.

4. Cheetos: ‘Gossip Girl’

This one made my top five list because it’s one of the more risky attempts I saw on Sunday, and it actually succeeds. I say it’s risky because at first blush, it seems strange for a snack food company to be purposefully relating its product (humorously or otherwise) to bird food. Yet, I think it not only works, but in fact completely fits the personality of a brand like Cheetos, whose animated Cheetah spokesman is known to be as irreverent as the scenario this commercial portrays. Again the humor emerges from a (not-so) exaggerated character that we have all encountered at least in our mind’s eye. The Paris Hilton-esque diva featured in this spot serves essentially the same purpose as Monster’s garish CEO: They’re both painfully out of touch with the average Cheeto-eating American…the kind of person who would dream of, but likely never enact the kind of revenge playing out on the screen. If only for a moment, that revenge becomes a reality, with Cheetos as the vehicle of choice.

5. Hulu: Alec Baldwin

Kudos to Hulu (I still don’t know exactly what they do, but I’m going to go to their site after finishing this entry) for using celebrity talent in a way that actually works. Far too often you see a random celebrity haphazardly inserted into an ad as if they constitute meaningful messages in themselves (see yesterday’s critique of Overstock’s Carlos Boozer ad). Here Hulu has managed to take Alec Baldwin, no stranger to the screen, and actually use his unique brand of wry humor to generate serious buzz about a new product. If not Baldwin, who else could deliver a message PROMOTING a product like Hulu via a mad genius diatribe on how the product is ‘evil’? It’s a pleasure to watch Baldwin work he antics on screen, all the while knowing he’s being so genuinely insincere. It’s this clever, almost profound approach to advertising that makes Hulu.com the next destination of my Web browser.

A Millennial View of Superbowl Ads

by Marty Predd, 28, guest blogger

At first, the thought of guest blogging about this year's Super Bowl commercials seemed like a good idea. As a Millennial, football lover and a market researcher what more could I ask for in a topic?

Sad to say, after five hours in front of the TV and far more smokey links than any one person should have in a day, I was disappointed. Although there were a few notable exceptions (more on those tomorrow), the ads I saw yesterday ranged from uninspired to gimmicky to frankly bizarre. So rather than give any one of these lackluster attempts at advertising genius the honor of its very own extended critique, let me offer instead three descriptions of the TYPES of ads I saw yesterday, and why, for me, they fall short.

1. The Not-So-New SuperBowl Spot

e-Trade

What could be better than a toddler in a high chair talking like a frat boy at a night club? For the folks at , apparently the answer was 'two'. This is the classic example of a modestly clever idea played well beyond its useful (ahem, interesting) life. A toddler speaking like an adult is a tad creepy, so you have to wonder who thought it would be a smart idea to wow an audience expecting the newest and most creative in advertising with....the same ad concept you ran LAST SuperBowl?

PriceLine - Shatner the Negotiator

Given the fact that PriceLine has put most, if not all, of its advertising eggs in Shatner's basket, I'm not sure what I'd recommend for them as far a new and exciting Super Bowl ads are concerned. While there may be some wisdom in their 'if it's not broken, don't fix it' approach, it's not going to win them any awards for creativity or excitement, at least not in my book.

Coke Zero

New? No. But this Coke Zero spot is probably the best in the category of not-so-new SuperBowl ads. Unlike its peers, it succeeds by at least changing up the format a bit. It's not immediately apparent that the outraged Coke executives will be making a showing, and this lends an element of surprise (and therefore newness) to an otherwise same-old spot.

2. All Bells and Whistles

Sobe: "Dancers"

I like new technology as much as the next guy (and maybe more so), but the flashiest new animation techniques and 3D wizardry, are not a substitute for a relevant message. Sobe's "Dancers" spot is the epitome of this form-no-function approach to the SuperBowl ad. With absolutely no sarcasm at all (really), I can say that I was impressed by the frolicking athletes, amorphous dancing blob, and the strange menagerie of other creatures used in this spot, but I was left clueless as to the intended message: If you want to know where to find great animators using the best technology, call Sobe? Perhaps if I had dug through my treasure chest of childhood memories for that pair of 3D glasses, the message would have been apparent to me? I somehow doubt it, but even if it were....Unless you're selling light sabers, it's probably not the best idea to limit your sphere of relevance to an audience of techies and nine-year-old boys.

Coke: 'Picnic'

Coke seems to have made a tradition out of making elaborate ads in which nature and a Coke bottle unite. The animation is amazing, and I'm even occasionally left with the same kind of warm-fuzzies that might come from watching a scene in Lord of the Rings or some other animated fantasyland. Yet, no matter how artsy or metaphorical I try to think about it, it always seems like a giant stretch to me, one that only a mega-brand like Coke could pull off. That doesn't mean they should.

Doritos 'Bus'

Eat Doritos, and money will spew out of ATM machines, gorgeous women's clothes will magically blow off...and you'll get hit by a bus, but survive. Visually impressive? Perhaps. Relevant? Not so much.

3. Silly Masquerading as Cool

Pepsi: "Pepsuber"

Much as there is a fine line between genius and insanity, there's a fine line between cool and plain silly. Pepsi's 'Pepsuber' is decidedly on the silly side of the line. In what appears to be a MavGyver parody, hero MacGruber fails to disarm a ticking bomb by wasting too much time shamelessly promoting his sponsor, Pepsi. The spot ends with a long shot of the bomb (and the ship upon which it resides) blowing up. I'm tempted to try to interpret what this catastrophic ending says about Pepsi, but doing so would presume that there was meaning there to be discerned in the first place. To be fair, Pepsi wasn't completely off base in trying to reach out to Millennials using what you might call 'ironic' humor - the same humor that makes Conan O'Brien's 'Walker Texas Ranger' segments so popular. Yet Pepsi appears to have missed a fundamental component to this humor equation: MacGuyver and Walker Texas Ranger are funny because they were originally created to be SERIOUS; it's only in retrospect that their sincere cheesiness is funny. Pepsuber plainly lacks this sincerity and consequently seems a bit like a little brother trying way too hard to be cool by mimicking his older siblings.

Overstock.com: 'Carlos Boozer'

This spot started with real promise, but fell painfully flat. The idea of kids learning to 'surf' (the Web) with a professional basketball player is clever and could be actually be funny, if a bit cutesy. But then the commercial switches to an almost sentimental tone revolving around Boozer's gold medal, leaving the appetite for a punch line severely disappointed.

H&R Block: 'Grim Reaper'

The humor is completely one-note: the Grim Reaper isn't happy with how his accountant did his taxes. It's a funny hypothetical scenario, but there is so little in the way of a story line here (even for a 30-sec spot), that the laughter about the premise ends long before the commercial does.

Tomorrow: Commercials that actually hit the mark.

Marty Predd is 28-year-old marketing researcher living in Portland, OR who specializes in technology and Millennial marketing.

Marketing to Millennials Presentation

Marketing To Millennials

View more presentations from Engauge . (tags: ideas transformational)

I've written a few presentations on Millennial marketing and I've read many more. This is among the best I've seen. Kudos to digital agency, Engauge (previously Spinlogic) for creating a a data-based yet readable look at marketing to Millennials. It draws on a variety of sources, many of which I have also used for this blog (Pew, Outlaw Consulting, BIGresearch). So if you looking for a place to start or just a great summary, this presentation has it all nicely organized.

What Is Generational marketing?

Who THEY Are

Why THEY Became Important

How Much THEY Changed Media Consumption

The Workforce Culture Clash

Examples of Millennial Marketing (many good examples, some of which I had not seen before)

The Affect of the Financial Crisis