I was recently at a happy hour with some clients, and somehow the topic of pizza came up, which led to “isn’t it ok to have a little food on our time…it is our time, yours and everyone else’s” which led to Jeff Spicoli. As one of the most senior (in terms of job title and age) people in the room, I was delighted to hear that name again. But my enthusiasm soon faded as I noticed the blank stares around me. Mr. Hand? Vans? Phoebe Cates on the diving board (well known to every Gen X male)? And this once again reminded me of the differences we in the world of marketing face: Boomers and Generation Xers creating product, marketing and ideas for Gen Y (also known as Millennials and a host of other creative names).
A more relevant story. Doing some focus groups with a bank client, the entire team was in awe as to how many of their consumers still like to use the phone. They couldn’t possibly understand how anyone would prefer the “old-schoolness “ of the phone to the “new schoolness” of the computer. Which led the most junior person (25 years old, a Millennial in her prime!) in the room to say: “Guys, the computer is on its way out. It’s all about the phone again”.
Silence.
It’s not that we as Boomers or Xers aren’t aware of the mobile revolution, it’s just that our frame of context is different.
Millennials are a huge audience, and cannot be ignored. And generational differences are real. (Ask any company who employs a large number of Millennials – they’ll have a lot to say about it).
Advice for all of us Boomers and Xers: be sure get to know the generic “soundbites” around this audience (“they are entitled,” “they are the CTO of the household”) but then really get to know them by looking at the world from their point-of-view, from their world context. Spend time with them outside of 6 focus groups, away from your home environment, beyond the latest Mintel report or episodes of Jersey Shore. It’ll be surprising and inspiring to see the world through their lens.
And ps. As an Xer, it really hurts that everyone knows Snooki, but not Spicoli.
Sara Schor, EVP, Strategy
