Y Gen Y

In April/Mays edition of Creative magazine there was an interesting article on Gen Y, their consumption of technology and the way technology consumes them. So here’s the abridged version, written by a Gen Yer.

Who are Gen Y?

Firstly, who are our gen Yers? There’s no set date but if you were born form 1980s- 2000s you’re in the ballpark. Your/their common traits that set us aside from our mamas and papas are confidence and tolerance with a healthy dose of entitlement. We are set aside by a common and favorable phrase: “Who gives a F*%k?”  But keep in mind this can be interpreted in two ways. First is the lazy careless sense, and secondly the rebellious, free, ‘abandon the status quo’ sense. Jack Mussett, the creative director of Motherbird sums it up perfectly…

“Gen Y are not mediocre, far from it. You are either useless or amazing.”

What makes us tick?

So how do you market to such different ends of the same stick? Carmela Netto Soares, the digital cerative director or MercerBell points out that it’s not an easy task. “they grew up watching TV and ads were a part of the show. They known good advertising and consume it with a critical eye.” So what do we like? Something that acknowledges our intelligence, humor and time; advertisements that are entertaining and rewarding to watch will be winners but if you tip the scale too much in the brands our fickle minds will pick it apart and you’ll have lost us forever. Challenge us with something and you’ll earn our respect, spoon feed it and we’ll get bored.

Pros and Cons:

Pro: If we like what you’ve done, we’ll share it. Gen Y loves creating and sharing content, we’ll participate rather than passively watch.

Con:  Creating relevant content is a challenge, everything changes quickly and it can be impossible to stay on top. Take YOLO for example, which lasted a meaty month before it was deemed old.

The bottom line for Gen Y – Be direct yet stimulating. “They expect honesty and transparency… with a twist of humor on a more cerebral layer” – Karon Stimson.

Ant Keogh, Gen Y: the Whole World in their hands, April/May Australian Creative, pg 13 – 19, Yaffa Publishing Group, NSW, 2013