Why I Love Teaching Marketing to Millennials

People sometimes ask how I came to be so interested in Millennial Marketing. It wasn't a conscious thing, I started teaching Marketing at University of Notre Dame in 2003 and was struck by how different the students were from my generation. I didn't even know they were called Millennials, I just knew I couldn't teach them the way I was taught. In 2007, I wrote about my experience for Ad Age, "Clued In or Clueless: What Marketing Students Don't Know About Marketing" and "Get the Best Out of Millennials by Tweaking Habits". After nearly 200 Millennial Marketing blog posts , I am still learning and writing new things about Millennials every day. (For links to pdf versions of the articles, visit brandamplitude.com/whitepapers

An article, titled 'How Tweet It is To Teach at Notre Dame', appeared today in ND Today, an internal magazine for Notre Dame employees. I am printing it in entirety for those who might be interested in my reflections on what a privelege it is to teach Millennials marketing:

If you want to talk to this generation of young people, you’ve got to speak their language. That’s why Carol Phillips, a marketing instructor in the undergraduate and MBA programs in the Mendoza College of Business, blogs, tweets and texts like a 20-something.

“The Millennials are a passion of mine,” says Phillips, referring to the term that has replaced “Generation Y” to describe the offspring of Baby Boomers. “This generation is so different. They’re very civic-minded. Their values are not like ours; they are very team-oriented, social and cause-oriented. They are about making a difference and giving back. It is so admirable.”

They also, of course, are quite tech-savvy, which is why Phillips stays almost constantly plugged in to social media via her own blog, Twitter (@Carol_Phillips for those who tweet), Facebook and other new media as an avenue to reach the younger set.

How she came to teach millennials at Notre Dame was “a total accident,” says Phillips, who has also kept her “day job” as president and owner of the Michigan-based brand strategy consulting firm Brand Amplitude, LLC. Her teaching career was launched in 2003 after she was asked by longtime Mendoza faculty member Jack Kennedy to serve as a judge for a project in one of his courses. The two struck up a friendship and Kennedy suggested that she and Notre Dame might benefit from having her on the faculty.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Phillips says of her work in the classroom, admitting that in the beginning she, the teacher, had a lot to learn. “I thought we were going to interact the way we interact in business.”

Not so, especially, as she first found out, when it comes to the dress code. “I learned very quickly that it’s different. I was going to require business attire,” she laughs. “That went by the wayside in the first class.”

Phillips teaches two courses, an introduction to marketing for sophomores, and brand strategy for MBA students. She enjoys both, but for different reasons. “With the MBAs, most of them have some work experience, so they give back to me in the sense of ideas and an exchange,” she says of the graduate students. “With the sophomores, it’s more the reward of watching them get it. Most of them aren’t going to be marketing majors, but every semester a couple of them go, ‘Wow, I had no idea; I thought marketing was just advertising,’ and that’s exciting.”

For Phillips, teaching has very much been a two-way street. Her students benefit from her expertise as a businesswoman, as well as her connections. She’s brought in such classroom speakers as the chief operating officers of Blockbuster and Orbitz, as well as higher-ups from such success stories as Facebook, thanks to her outside working relationships. In return, she has access to her own focus groups in the form of these Notre Dame Millennials. “I gain a line of sight into young people,” she explains, “which is very beneficial in my work.”

Acknowledging that Notre Dame students are somewhat uniquely talented and ambitious among young people, what she’s learned here in the classroom gives her cause for optimism about this generation. “I think it’s going to just be fascinating to watch them,” she says. “And I wouldn’t have known any of this without teaching. It’s a privilege to be here.”

For those who might be interested, you can still see the class blog my MBA Brand Strategy class created last semester.

Go Irish!

Millennial Businesses: Doing Well by Doing Good

Harvard Publishing calls Better World Books the 'real deal' in terms of a triple bottom line - people, planet and profits. They call themselves 'The Online Bookstore with a Soul'. Founded five years ago by three University of Notre Dame graduates (had to mention that right away, so proud), Better World Books is Amazon with a soul. They collect unwanted books from 1800 campuses and 1400 libraries, rescuing them from landfills. They sell what they can, returning a portion of the proceeds to the donating library and a portion to literacy programs. The unsold books go to literacy programs around the world. Books are shipped USPS for $3.97 using Carbonfund.com offsets.

This deceptively simply idea has grown to a $21 million operation with 200 full-time full-benefit employees that has done a tremendous amount of good. From the spring of 2003 through June 2008, Better World Books has collected more than 16 million books, raising more than $5.2 million for over 80 literacy and education non-profit organizations, sending over a million books to partner programs & saving over 8,000 tons of books from landfills. They have also set aside 5% of their stock option pool for their core literacy partners and purchased 2,400 tons of carbon offsets - and growing the company to $21 million in revenue. Now that's a triple play.

Success does not seem to have made the three founders any less idealistic. I quote from their web site:

"We believe that literacy gives people water to drink, imparts knowledge to eliminate disease, and develops self-esteem that enables people to make their mark on the world. Our story has taken us to places we had never seen. Our dream is to continue to work for those whom we have never met." The BWB Cofounders (from left to right): Xavier Helgesen, Jeff Kurtzman & Chris "Kreece" Fuchs

Meet Two Millennials: Sarah and Mike

This week, Ad Age launched a new blogging feature called "GenNext". I am thrilled to report that two of my favorite former Notre Dame MBA students (now grads) are featured bloggers. Sarah Ewing and Michael Girts were both standout students, and are now about to be stars in the blogosphere. Since I nominated them for this gig, I am confident you will find their musings of interest. Here are some excerpts from each of their initial blog entries. I've included links to their Ad Age bios as well. BTW, Both Sarah and Mike are currently in the hunt for marketing jobs.

Sarah Ewing Ad Age Blogger Bio

Top talent seeks a long-term relationship and will partner with companies whose manners reflect a soulmate, like online retailer Zappos.com. In my interview experience with them, the only prices discussed were potential media buys. Our date included an all-expenses paid trip to Vegas, a trip to the "Soul Doctor" (Zappos' personal onsite psychologist and career therapist) and a Polaroid for my personal scrapbook. In the end, I didn't get the job because they were looking for someone with more experience, but had things worked out, I could easily see myself growing old(er) with them (as can other swooning potential employees). To attract top talent, I recommend these behaviors: 1. Don't make me go Dutch. Please pay for interview travel. It indicates financial stability and employee value. 2. Don't speed date. This is a courtship. Get to know me beyond a rote questionnaire. 3. Break up via phone, not silence. Quickly tell me that we are through rather than dragging it out in ambiguity. 4. Value me for me. As an MBA, I know what I'm worth. Although advertising agencies are notorious for paying under industry average, please do not immediately lowball my desired salary. Treat me like a potential partner. Partners require negotiation. Remember: Any company can find employees. But a charming company who uses these manners will almost always get the most striking partners in the employment pool—and keep them, too. Which do you want to be?

Michael Girts Ad Age Blogger Bio

As I write this, I'm 12 weeks into the 10-week internship [with Leo Burnett]. In other words, they've asked me to stick around. I'm thrilled about it. I've worked hard all summer long. I like the people I'm working with, and I'm interested in the work I'm doing. Early in my internship, I asked my supervisor if I could take a shot at writing a case study for an upcoming new business pitch. Rather than wait for someone to teach me the best way to write a case, I asked if I could try it myself and schedule time with her the next day to review and improve the case--or scrap it if need be. Well, I did it well enough that we used the case, and she asked me to write another. And another. And another and eventually, I was the go-to-guy for new case studies. I was meeting one of the business-development team's real needs. And before the internship was over, I had put myself in a position where it was much easier to keep me on, rather than find some new way to replace me. The interns that are still around are the same interns that seemed happiest all summer long. For all the talk about the perks and the freebies, it seems that what people really want out of their internship is real responsibility and legitimate work experience. Those people who sought the opportunity for real work--and subsequently seized that opportunity--are the ones who enjoyed their internships the most. They're also the ones who are still here.

Taco Bell Rings the Bell with Millennials

Taco Bell announced this week it is extending its "Feed the Beat" Indie Rock Band promotion for its late night "Fourth Meal" for a third year. My thoughts on why this is a smart promotion were mentioned in Ad Age today. Why do I think it's smart? Well, it's reasonable to assume after two years, they must have a pretty good idea that the promo works. How could it not? This seems to hit multiple Millennial sweet spots all at once:

1. Simple and Undemanding. The rules are simple: register for $500 worth of late night coupons and a chance to a chance to be promoted by a record producer next spring, no strings whatsoever.

2. Immediate gratification. Winners will be announced in October.

3. Social. Bands have fans. Fans like to eat, too. Winners will be selected via online vote, which will encourage the bands to activate their networks.

4. Indie Rock Bands. Music is a top passion for Millennials, as blogger Charlie Moran points out in the Ad Age article.

5. Late Night. Millennials live 24/7 lives, as the time stamping on most papers they turn into me for class attests. A "Fourth Meal" makes sense to them. As I mentioned to Emily York, the Ad Age reporter who contacted me, "it's particularly savvy because members of that generation have round-the-clock opportunities we didn't dream of at their age."

Taco Bell's marketing investment in this promotion is modest: 100 bands X $500 in late night coupons ($50K), URL for registration and voting, placement on sauce packets, PR. The return is potentially great, if only in registered band member names and voters! The PR potential is big and very well-targeted. It all seems to point to a potentially huge ROI, as well as some terrific potential for brand-differentiation. I predict we'll see this promotion extended a fourth year.

What Do Millennials Want? To Make a Difference.

Wendy Kopp is 40 years old, but she may be the ultimate Millennial. As founder of Teach for America, she understands the deep need of Millennials to make a difference in the world and has given them a way to do it. Each year, Teach for America selects about 3,700 college graduates to work in low-income public schools.

At Notre Dame, where I teach Marketing, 10% of seniors in each of the last three class years planned to join a service program upon graduation rather than accept employment or pursue a higher degree. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Fighting Irish are not unique: there has been a surge in applications at Teach for America and the Peace Corps. Teach for America saw applications jump 36% to 24,718 for its limited spots, spots that offer salaries of just $25,000-$44,000 but offer rich psychic rewards. The Peace Corps is expecting a 16% increase in applications, and is experiencing volumes last seen in the 70's. While some of the increase is no doubt dimmer job prospects, the Journal says it is something deeper - a generational desire to give back.

According to researchers, Millennials are among the most civic minded cohort in four generations. Our own recent focus group research among new hires at major marketing companies provides confirmation: many feel conflicted about their inability to "give back" in their current job. Here's how one responded to the question of how he feels about opportunities to give back at work:

"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.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." "I lead the company in a fund raiser for a battered womens shelter,something small but makes a difference."

While some respondents were able to rationalize their work as doing good (or at least no harm), others are overt about seeing their current job as simply a stepping stone to a job that will provide more opportunities to give back. Most think that means a job at a non-profit, and lower pay. Moderator: Do you see a tradeoff between making a difference in the world and making a lot of money? Millennial: (There are) plenty of non-for-profits that would be fun to work for that make a difference but you can't earn the same there.

Marketers take heed, this may be a group that is motivated less by self-interest than the common interest. How refreshing. How Millennial.