When I took the ACT in high school, I anxiously awaited my test results along with the rest of the nation's juniors. When I finally got my scores, I knew I could do better, but I was happy with it--I had scored in the 99th percentile nation-wide. Immediately after the scores came in, my friends and I all compared scores, and each of us scored 98th or higher. We all congratulated each other and complained about how Spencer could have gotten a 33 when he was so lacking in common sense. But after a while, we started wondering how in the world we could all be a part of this "upper eschelon"--who would be in the 50th percentile? 25th? 5th? It came as a shock to many of us to realize that our reality was not the reality of many of our peers in other states, in other communities, in other schools. Ultimately, we only knew the people we knew, never being aware of the rest of what was out there.
In my time as a young planner, I've been approached a number of times for help on speaking and selling to my age demographic. My peers and I are considered experts on our demographic, and while I see the truth to the statements, its like my friends and I celebrating our ACT scores--we only know the people we know, and that can be a very limiting sample. I STILL don't know anything about Friendster, because thats not where my friends are--we're on Facebook. But Friendster still has 90 million registered users, none of which I'm connecting with. Much like my older counterparts, I have to study my own generation. And all of it can get a bit overwhelming...
Enter generational theories. They boil down a nation's worth of teenagers or baby boomers or gen x'ers into easy to digest, easy to support profiles. At the speed of business, the safety of an understood title like "millennials" can be a huge relief, not to mention a money and time saver.
But are we getting enough out of these titles? How much trust can we put into these profiles? Are they working? Is there a better way to learn?
I say we need more than these profiles to guide our communication. Of course they can help start us down the right path for our own research, but it seems generational theories are increasingly taking the place of primary research, and in my opinion, compromising our results.
In trying to differentiate your brand, in trying to create innovative communication, I urge you to keep this in mind:
Think on it. More discussion to come.
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1 comment:
these generational theories work great if you're a CMO presenting to a group of dealers, franchisees, or whatever constituents they have to please at the annual sales mtgs. these generalizations about generations, allow them to sound smart, plugged-in, and non-confrontational. it's the cheap way out in trying to understand their brand loyalists. and as a result they get me-too communications, just like everyone else.
peel back the layers and you'll get to the really good stuff. kinda like a steamed artichoke. ;)
i like your mention of the city guide. in my travels, i was always more delighted by the recommendations from friends/family/locals vs lonely planet recos. go figure? maybe brands should be more like those friends/family/locals?
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