Generational marketing...

As we all know, it is not that easy to target people in certain age. Our buying habits not depend on how old are we, but how old we feel that we are. As a result, marketing specialist are using way called Generational Marketing. It is a method which divide people not according to age, but according to generation when they were born. Mankind was divided by marketers into a few basic and important for them generations:

- Children between 0 – 8 years old

- Tweens between 8-13 years old

- Teens older than 13

- Generation Y

- Generation X is the generation born between approximately 1965 to 1979, and connected to the pop culture of the 1980s and 1990s they grew up in.

- Generation Jones was the heretofore lost generation between the Boomers and GenXers, which has emerged now as a bona fide distinct generation. (1955-1964)

- Baby Boomers (Boom Generation) were the generation born just after World War II, a time that included a 14-year increase in birthrate worldwide.

- Silent Generation was the generation born between the two World Wars, who were too young to join the service when World War II started. Many had fathers who served in World War I. (1925-1945)

According to Solomon, every single generation has different needs and wants. Imagine a product which is suitable for teenager and his grandma. There are no such products, maybe except food.

This lecture was slightly different than any others. It was based on our own work. We worked in teams of three to do a presentation about lifestyle, favourite brands, basic values etc. of chosen generation. My group (consisted of Sallie, Gemma, Sean and Me) had chosen Generation-Y. These are the results of hard and over hour long work.

Characteristic of Gen-Y:

Generation Y includes those born between the second half of the 1970s and the first half of the 1990s. They are also called: Echo Boomers, Millenium Generation, iGeneration, Einstein Generation and Google Generation.

Time line for Gen-Y

• Berlin Wall
• fall of the Soviet Union
• First Gulf War
• 9/11 terrorist attacks
• the death of Princess Diana
• the return of Hong Kong to China
• the Monica Lewinsky scandal
• the SARS epidemic and the avian flu

Accordnig to website (click):

Generation Y has never known a world without:

• Faxes, telephone answering machines and mobile phones, TVs, VCRS, Laptops, ATMs, CDs, and AIDS.
• Rap music and Madonna
• Nikes and Nintendos
• Terror attacks, crack and kids killing kids.
  

American author Eric Chester suggests 12 words to define this generation:

Impatient, desensitized, disengaged, skeptical, disrespectful, bluntly expressive, adaptable, innovative, efficient, resilient, tolerant and committed.

There are also a few sentences (found in many sources) which perfectly describe Generation Y.

1. They value connectedness and a sense of team spirit much more than they do individualism and competition.
2. Members of the Y generation seem to be confident beyond their years, nothing appears to scare or intimidate them.
3. hey do not believe that anyone or any institution can hold all the answers.
4. This generation does not believe that there is a right or wrong that can be universally applied. They are a generation that lacks boundaries, stable anchors and a clear morality.
5. They have grown up with fast food, pre-prepared meals, instant inter-net access, bullet trains and super-jets. They are not accustomed to waiting and expect everything to happen with minimal effort and lighting speed
6. They are full of contradictions

Extraordinary clip found by Sallie:

Additional knowledge (The Challenges of Generation Y Employees and Customer Service):

http://www.sideroad.com/Customer_Service/generation-y.html.

Groups...

Talking about group influence on our purchases is impossible without explanation of the term. According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary group is:

• two or more figures forming a complete unit in a composition
• number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationships, sharing

  

  a set of norms
• A number of individuals who join together to achieve a goal.

Everyone of us belongs to many groups for example I feel a part of a groups such as:

- family

- friends

- high school mates

- students

- teenagers(?)

- Polish nationality

- emigrants

- singles

- workers

- Chalfont Campus residents

- women

- chocolate lovers

- book maniacs

- rock and soul listeners

- Tesco buyers

etc…..

It is also obvious that there are many different types of groups. These called ascribed have an impact on our values, peer and acquired – on behaviour, and what is most important, groups called aspirational, associative and reference decide which brand and products we buy.

Second, very important type of group is called aspirational. It is a club where we really want to join. It is something desirable and unattainable. Marketing and advertising specialists want to make our dreams come true through ads like this:

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is unexpectedly strongly related to our buying decisions. American researcher worked out a theory of human’s needs. It is shown on a diagram done in order of importance. Third, most important is “need of belonging”.

Being a part of a groups help us to feel safe, because, as Maslow said “Man is a social animal”. Advertisers can use “belonging” as a main message in campaigns. They are aware that our buying decision might be affected by surroundings.

For example:

When we talk about groups, we should not forget about Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954). It is the idea that there is a drive within individuals to look to outside images in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. As it is commonly known, people do not want to be different. We behave in the sameway as others. As it was said in Solomon’s book, when we are in a group, there are no bad or good answers for a question. Good answer is the most popular one. Even if somebody knows that whole group is wrong, he/she may not be enough confident to say about it.