J: Does your product resonate across all generations? Is it targeted towards millennials, generation x, the iPhone generation? Do you know what matters to them? Do you know how to reach them? On today’s Straight Shot marketing podcast, we discuss Generation Marketing. We’ve taken some time to gather some of our employees from the agency that represents different generations, and I held an impromptu focus group with them to discuss the differences between the generations.

 

INTRO TO FOCUS GROUP 1:28

 

J: This is our impromptu panel. They represent the younger generations in our office. I’m of what they call a Xennial (the generation between X & Y) and Zachary, you are?

 

Z: I’m Generation X.

 

J: So let’s take a look at the different generations and what they are called. Now you’ll find different sources for various dates and additional names for each of the generations, but for today’s show, we’ll just say: GI Generation are those born in the early 1900s and experienced WWI & the Great Depression. Silent Generation are those born after WWI and experienced WWII, the 50s and into the early 60s. Baby Boomers are born after WWII and experienced the 60s hippy movement, Vietnam, the Civil Rights movement, and the 70s disco and America muscle cars. Generation X are born in the later 60s into the mid 70s and experienced the 80s, the cold war, the birth of home video gaming, home movies, home computing, cable TV, and into the 90s. Xennials is a NEW label for people who feel too old to relate to selfie-obsessed millennials but too young to fit in with Gen X. Typically born between 1977 and 1983, we have experienced the 90s, the birth of the internet, fax machines, dial-up, and cell phones. We remember a childhood of dial-up internet and brick-like mobile phones. Generation Y, also known as Millennials, are born in the mid 80s through the 90s and have experienced wide acceptance of divorce in American families, majority homes with two incomes, and have never known a world without internet. Generation Z, also known as the iGeneration, are born late 90s to 2010s and have never known a world without smart phones and modern social media. So, Zachary – how does the focus group that we gathered relate to marketing?

 

Z: Well, today, we are going to talk about how the Generations impacts marketing - which is necessary when targeting your consumer audience. The experiences that each generation has grown up with is different. The lives that we all lead are different. So, as businesses, we have to speak to people in ways that are specific to our audience, which is of course different.

 

J: That brings up a necessity that we always talk about on this show and to our clients at the agency, which is KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE, right?

 

Z: Without a doubt, you have to know your audience, what speaks to them, what they recognize, what they know and don’t know. So, let’s join the focus group again to better illustrate what we are talking about and how simply understanding of things like, vocabulary, and popular music differs from generation to generation.

 

FOCUS GROUP -

Generational Understanding 23:25

 

J: It really is different, isn’t it? So what this tells us is that you have to know your audience(s) so that you can make the right cultural references and call backs, speak the right lingo, and connect with them where they are at.

 

Z: Yes, and doing so, makes your marketing stand out as being witty, creative and memorable. And it allows us to really make an emotional connection with our audience saying that we really understand them and where they are coming from.

 

J: Not only that, but we as businesses, have to adjust our advertising habits as times change.

Older businesses may be used to running ads in the Yellow Pages or the Newspaper. Depending on the generation of your audience, this has likely changed. Newer generations don’t use the yellow pages and not read a printed newspaper. Some older generations still do, but they are getting more and more scarce. We asked our focus group panel about their media habits.

 

FOCUS GROUP -

Changing Media Habits 39:30

 

J: What about you, Zachary, what are your media habits?

 

Z: I actually get my news from you. Generally, what’s going on in society's news. Because you stay pretty up to date and are always sharing with me. Also, from TV when watching shows and movies or keeping up to date during some major event, like the tornado scare we had not too long ago. For that, I took the family into our safe space and kept up to date via the local news channel’s website on my iPhone. But I also keep up with marketing industry news and video equipment, things relative to the marketing agency industry – and I keep up to date on those online as well. I think most people have moved to online because that there has been a shift in society. What about you?

 

J: I’m more online now than I’ve ever been in my life. I used to get my news from Facebook, but I realized I was getting a biased news strand. So now, I go to Google News because they compile trending news from all over, so now I get stuff from CNN and Fox News as well as some entertainment magazines and sites I like.

 

Z: What about shopping?

 

J: I purchase quite a few things from Facebook ads and Amazon. Grocery shopping online is a luxury that our grandparents will never know. I definitely recommend it.

 

Z: So knowing people’s media habits are important because they shift depending on who you are trying to reach.

 

J: Yes, my parents don’t do the internet very well. So they still utilize the television, radio, and even newspaper.

 

Z: So we need to be using the right media, where they are and what they are used to. The advertising offerings from media have also changed with society’s habits. When I started in advertising, Radio spots and TV Spots were 60 to 90 seconds. Now they are 15 secs, 30 seconds. Partially because of those media getting more inventory, but also because people’s attention spans have changed, instant gratification is becoming more and more common. No more cassette tapes where you have to wait through songs to get to your favorite. No more CDs where you have to change discs to get to your favorite artist. No waiting on the radio to play your favorite song. Habits are changing.

 

J: And the way people interact with advertising is different now. Before you could make claims as an advertiser and people believed them because it was on TV or the radio or in the paper. Now we have access to the internet where we research things to see if they are true. Before, advertising was one-sided, the company said it in their campaign, and that was it. Now people can make comments and have a two-sided conversation on your social media ad.

 

Z: And how people treat certain media is different from generation to generation. For Generation X, YouTube is a resource for information. For the younger generation it is an activity for entertainment – YouTubeing. That’s why we now have YouTube stars. And the media know their audience as well. Facebook went from being targeted towards college kids. Then when they grew up, now it’s an older demographic, so they have certain requirements accordingly. Best illustrated when we compare it with Instagram and Snapchat, which are younger generation focused, the ad requirements there are much shorter, much more “instant gratification” oriented – 15 second clips for Instagram stories, etc.

 

MARKETING TOWARDS A SPECIFIC GENERATION 52:46

 

Z: Kids marketing- reaching kids is most notable by watching kids programming on TV. You’ll notice voices are higher. Words are sillier. Colors are brighter. Sounds and music are more playful. Teen marketing- reaching teens is relative to their lifestyle and what teens go through during these years. Rebellion is a positive thing. Parents just don’t understand. Colors get darker and moodier or edgier. Adult marketing- with adults it’s a little different because adults are the ones with income. So it’s get broken down further according to lifestyle, occupation, etc. Business marketing (B2B)- This depends on the demographics of the contact at the individual businesses.

 

J: There is one more really important take away from the Panel that we want to share today. Let’s roll that clip.

 

TARGETED ADVERTISING 57:20

 

Z: Even with modern technology, Social Media, as the newest, current, best way to reach people in 2019, we need to remember that the content, regardless of the media, has to be targeted. We have to speak about what matters to them, what influences them, and how we can influence their purchasing decisions.

 

J: So it really is important to KNOW your consumer audience, there is no blanket answer to how to market.

 

Z: Cannot be overstated - you really need to do your homework and develop targeted consumer profiles to communicate your business in the most efficient and effective ways possible. Know what works and then plan out your strategic marketing plan accordingly.

 

THE STRAIGHT SHOT 59:44

 

J: So that’s really the Straight Shot isn’t it?

 

Z: I will tell you this, there are ways to target based on generation - a little less specific and more generally - but using generation specific elements. We went to a tavern while on vacation called Gen X Tavern. Everything about it was designed to appeal to Generation X and Xennials (the misfit generation). They had early video games, movie posters and memorabilia, specialized food and drink offerings, everything that would connect with their patrons. Great idea. You also need to know how to target the CURRENT generation. Now, this can be an episode all by itself and involves knowing your target, etc. Matter of fact, I’m going to save some elements from this focus group panel to use in a different episode that centers around the use of “Influencers” and how that particular strategy has changed from generation to generation. But today, I want to show a few examples of how current generation marketing has been done in different generations before, to kind of fit in with today’s theme. At the Reformation Productions, we talk a lot about learning from the traditions in business and the lessons of marketing in our history. So here is an ad from the 40s. We were coming out of the great depression in the US. Survivors were now parent aged. Here is a toy commercial for their children.

 

ADS FROM THE 40s 1:02:01

 

MR POTATO HEAD

Z: In 1949, George Lerner developed this low-cost toy. Pins that plugged into a potato, so children could make their own dolls.

 

DOCTORS SMOKING

Z: In the 40s, everyone smoked. There was no concern about health risks. As a matter of fact, smoking was seen as a way to relax. Cigarettes were the prescription for less stress. In the ad, they used the doctor connection, whom the public trusted, to showcase this thought process.

 

ADS FROM THE 70s  1:07:53

 

SALVO CLIP

Z: This shows the difference between two generations. The mom, who expects the wife to stay at home. And the modern woman who has joined the work force.

 

SHAKE AND BAKE CLIP

Z: This one is not so obvious as the salvo spot. But you can see that the woman appears to be dressed as if she is coming home from work and this product is a way to make dinner quicker since she’s coming home from work.  Again, tying into the woman, their target, of the day.

 

DISCO CLIP

Z: If you know the 70s, you know disco. You can see Serta using young adults, their target audience, dancing, where night club outfits to represent what they enjoy and selling their mattress.

 

Z: So a bit of some history in today’s study of the generations and how they impact marketing as an industry and as a task in business. Now let’s take a quick jump to current day. Right now, there is a favorability for what is called “retro” and you could see it in how some of our panelist got excited when talking about the 80s. Here is an ad that capitalizes on that. It uses the Stranger Things actor that plays Steve and has him run through the ending scenes of Ferris Bueller. Here is a side to side comparison of the two videos.

 

ADS FROM CURRENT DAY

DOMINO'S CLIP

Z: Well played, Domino’s, well played. That relates to me as Gen X, Jen as a Xennial, and the new generations as being “retro.”

 

J: So that will wrap up our episode today. I hope we were able to provide a little insight into things today. If you get anything out of our efforts here at Straight Shot, please subscribe to us on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, or iHeart radio. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay connected. Make sure you click the bell on YouTube to get notifications or you can text reformation on your cell phone to 90210 to receive notice when we post new content - whatever the choice is for your generation. So, until next time, have a great rest of your week.