We’re All In This Together
Gen Y Believes in Community
Gen Y is also commonly referred to as the WE Generation. WE want it all, WE deserve it all, and some of us believe WE are taking over the world together (one social networking group at a time). If you didn't already know, WE were raised by the Baby Boomer generation, which interestingly enough, is also known as Generation ME. Gen Y has bought into and lives the motto 'all for one, one for all'. We find that we can get more done through community efforts rather than doing it ourselves. Plus, it's more fun, interactive and social. We see the power in numbers and have grown up with the social resources that service our need for peer unity: Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to state the obvious ones for you.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was invited to join a Facebook Fan Page opposing a change to my alma mater and to electronically sign a petition. I went to Northeastern University in Boston, where one of the biggest draws is the five-year co-op program. Recently, Northeastern's President has decided to make the four-year program the standard, which would result in less co-op opportunities. Many people believe this will hinder Northeastern appeal amongst the many other schools in the city. Within two weeks the Fight for Five fan page had almost 6,000 fans and over 3,000 signatures. If that doesn't give you a great example of social networks working for peer unity at it's finest then I'm not sure anything will.
Gen Y wants to serve a role in your branding efforts. Remember, my generation believes in the power of WE. We're all-inclusive and expect the brands targeting us to be as well. Whether it's helping you craft the proper messaging or helping in the design of a car - we want in. The beauty of my generation is we're hyper-connected. So if we are helping you to design a product, once that product launches, we will do the marketing for you...in fact, probably better than you - and oh, for a fraction of the cost.
Think about it, we stay up til 2 or 3 a.m. growing our personal brands using social media tools. We are married to mass media, including the fact that our cell phones are an extension of our hands and that we go online more than any other generation. Every month, the average Gen Y'er spends an average of 33 hours on social networks, 31 hours on email, and sends over 700 texts. Every time we send out a text message to fifty of our friends or update our status on Facebook to a few thousand friends, we're marketing ourselves to the world and it doesn't stop there - our networks spread our messages to an even greater audience in just minutes.
If you look up 'friending' in the dictionary it reads: "A social network service focused on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others." But if you ask Gen Y to define friending, we'll tell you that it has everything to do with building communities but nothing to do with 'shared interests'...it's based entirely on popularity and building social currency. Many Gen Y'ers feel that the more friends they have, the better it is for their social status and many have never met half of their friends. I couldn't even tel you the number of friend requests I receive from people I have never met before - in some cases I have no idea how they even came across my name! It's constant reinforcement that says "yes, I have friends", and "yes, I have social value". We are the first generation that can actually measure our popularity.
In addition to Facebook friends, we have many other marketing lists we're building online, such as Twitter followers, YouTube channel subscribers, and as recently as last week, Google Buzz followers who were automatically given to anyone who uses Gmail. They are assets that will be useful today and in years to come for your company's brand. Companies that we work for can get the word out for free using our networks. There isn't a tool we don't touch. Aside from the phone and in-person meetings, Gen Y embraces instant messaging, Skype, social networks, blogging, podcasts and more. By using these tools, we deliver messages faster and in different forms, so we can deliver your message and build your brand in a shorter period of time. Don't forget, this can backfire as well, if your brand does not play by Gen Y's rules when it comes to brand inclusion. We can just as easily and quickly spread a negative impression of your brand. So the key is to listen, create great products and be authentic to your audience in everything you do.
So marketers, keep in mind, Generation WE is here to do the marketing for you, without even being asked, and we have the power to make or break your brand or product with one simple Facebook status. Go get online and get this generation participating in your cause and see your brand grow.
The "Y Award"
Each week the Premise team will be giving out our coveted (hey, we think it's pretty cool) "Y Award" to a brand that has successfully captured the attention of these youngsters. This week's award goes to:
Check out Coke's Facebook Page. After Barak Obama's, Coca-Cola's Facebook fan page is the second most popular on the social network - 33 million friends. The interesting thing is that the page was not even created by Coke - but by two fans of the brand/product. Coke realized that they couldn't control the brand. The customers own the brand, not the brand-makers. Coke still allows those two fans to run the page - Coke just provides them with tools to keep the community engaged and active.
Some other ways Coke is engaging Gen Y and Z:
- Aggressively promotes their brand on America Idol using traditional product placement
- Advertise everywhere from vending machines, Times Square video boards, and video game placements
- Coca-Cola Virtual Community Center
- In 2008 Coke launched a "Summer Huggin" campaign where a brightly colored bus traveled to Westfield malls, giving consumers a chance to listen to summer music, drink a mini Coke and hug one of their Summer Hug Heroes
- In 2009 Coke launched a text-based marketing campaign, MyCokeRewards - consumers can text codes on the inside of caps of beverages for a chance to win instant prizes. On average this program has a 9% participation rate - think about all of the people that buy Coca-Cola every day - that's a lot!
- In late 2009 Coke said that they would be adding more mobile marketing to its promotional strategies across the world
- Although not changed to appeal to a younger demographic, in 2009 Coke dropped "Classic" and added "Open Happiness" which does actually appeal to a younger demographic
- In 2010 Coca-Cola's new Sprite 'The Spark' enables teens worldwide to create mini-movies using digital video content and remix music from hip-hop star Drake
Links:
Visit Coca-Cola's Virtual Community Center
MyCokeRewards
Make life easy and bookmark this page - so you can follow along for all 10 weeks!
The ABC's of Y and Z
-Jocelyn Fielding, Account Coordinator/Gen Y Contributor
Lunch Today: Carne Asada Quesadilla from Pokez...mmmm so good!
Comments
| Rob Wolfe
April 23, 2010 |
Interesting article. I believe that regardless of social media, your customers own your brand. It’s the (prospective) clients’/customers’ perception of the core values, personality, and positioning of your product/service/company that defines the brand. In integrated marketing, you must control your brand, and brand consistency and focus are critical to the brand’s success. But the people own your brand. I recently posted an article on brand ownership, touching on the effects of social media. If you’re interested: Rob Wolfe |
| Jocelyn
May 12, 2010 |
Thanks Rob. I read your article “Your Clients Own Your Brand” and thought you definitely provided some interesting insights. Thank you for sharing that with us. Jocelyn |
