Gen Y Ad- iPod/iTune

Having a look at this 30 second advertisement, it targets the Generation Y, market using minimal effort but has achieved to win the audience over.

The product is representing music and the iPod/iTunes product and service which is highly influential to generation Y. 

The song in the advertisement emphasises the idea of what Generation Y is and that is technology. To further develop this ad, the whole of the video such as dancing and image it presents to the public doesn't just apply to the late teens instead it also targets the early generation Y, their type of music but used a typical image of gen Y.

 The dancing isn't so demanding of targeting the younger audience  but it reflects the 1980s' generation not just the 1990's as they have used the colouring and style of the advertisement to the 1990-1992 kids style.

Overall it creates a balance to target the whole of Generation not just a small segmented of gen y.  

This is not just influenced by the gen y but by the way they act socially, trying to be independent and expressing their individuality. The whole ad is based music, which is apart of the Gen Y audience, they are so music and on-line orientated that they easily fits into their social and outgoing lifestyle. 

Primary Versus Secondary Research

Primary Research - A collection of experiments, investigations, or tests carried out to acquire data first hand,, fresh and new research rather than old and published sources. 

• Known as 'Field' research, working out to find answers, such as surveys, questionnaires and focus groups.
• The two basic types of primary research are qualitative and quantitative. 

Quantitative Research -collection and analysis of numerical data and statistics

• To gain an understanding of underlying reasons and motivations
• To provide insights into the setting of a problem, generating ideas and/or hypotheses for later quantitative research
• To uncover prevalent trends in thought and opinion

Qualitative Research -  relies less on numbers and statistics but more on interviews, observations, small numbers of questionnaires, focus groups, subjective reports and case studies. 

• To quantify data and generalize results from a sample to the population of interest
• To measure the incidence of various views and opinions in a chosen sample
• Sometimes followed by qualitative research which is used to explore some findings further

Secondary Research- A collection of 'ready-made' interprets and analyses primary research. (published information)

• Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them.
• Secondary research is a process of looking through published documents. ('Desk' research)  
• PUBLICATIONS: Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopaedias and journal, governmental publications.

To apply to Generation Y , the methods in which organisations (marketing department) use is to gather their own primary research such as questionnaires and focus through the use of technology. BUT it has to mentioned that the research varies due to age so for example gen y group of 18-30 are most likely to use online way to fill in primary research. 

From research it does discuss that media such as television and the internet are major methods to use with generation y.

Other methods include an offer to generation Y as they are more likely to purchase item if there are discounts, such as membership and loyalty cards, internet offers for mobile and other products. 

The Teen Market (Solomen 2010)

Generation marketing is the whole idea of marketing a specific product or brand, using certain images that willl attract that specific generations attention.

 

As the generations vary in personality traits so does the way in which marketers have to advertise a certain brand.

 

Therefore marketing Generation Y, the internet seems to be the most common method as Generation Y's useage of the internet is significantly higher than other generations.

 

With a spending capacity of more than 61 billion euros per year, the European youth market teens is powerful demographic and an important culture to understand intimately for businesses looking to grow and maintain revelancy in the future.

Teenagers activitly search for clues from their peers and from advertising for he right way to look and behave.

Advertising geared towards teenagers are typically action-oriented and decicpts a group of 'in' teenagers using the product.

Teenagers use products do express their identities, to explore the world and their new-found freedom in it.

Teenagers in every culture grapple wih fundemental developmental issues as they make the transition from childhood to adult. According to research by Saatchi & Saatchi, there are 4 themes of conflict common to all teens:

1) Autonomy vs Belonging
Teenagers need to aquire independence so they try to break away from their families.

2) Rebellion vs Comfortamity
Teenagers need to rebel agaisnt social standards of appearance and behaviour, yet they still need to fit in and be accepted by others.#

3) Idealism vs Pragmatism
Teenagers tend to view adults as hypocrites, while they see themselves being sincere.

4) Narcissism vs Intimacy
Teenagers can be obsessed with their appearance and needs but want to the desire to feel connected with others (meaningful level).

Throughout history insecurity, parental authority and peer pressure had to cope with this, but now there are many issues which at concern at the begining of the millenium such as environment, racism, AIDS and social problems.

Marketers have a difficult time defining the values of today's European teens due to the socially dynamic and demanding times.

500 YOUNG OPINION LEADERS AGED 14 -20

"Dont define us- we'll define ourselves" (Soloman 2010)

Black Box Model & Gen Y

Black Box Model
The Black Box Model (Kotler), the model suggests the factors external to the consumer will act as a stimulus for behavior, but that the consumer's personal characteristics and decision- making process will interact with the stimulus before a particular behavioral response is generated.

To apply to Gen Y, the stimuli are the external factors are the reason for a gen y consumer to method of gaining interest. From the marketing mix all 4 areas have a major affect to the gen y consumer, especially the product and promotion and price, the product is their interest, want or need but the promotion is likely to gain attention of the product leading to the Transformer part of the model instantly but other external factors such as lifestyle and social aspects have a bigger impact as they are likely to purchase a product that suits to their lifestyle, known as the social trend. Again the topic of technology places a huge part of Generation Y's lives, therefore Apple Brands products (iphone, ipod, ipad) and other brands representing the same idea such as samsung (tablet, smartphone) play a huge influence on Generation daily lives, it then means that they are the aspects which make the gen y consumer have that interest of the product. Looking at the Transformer part of the model, this is what gen y consumers are thinking such as their internal influnces of lifestyle,motivation and need and beliefs and values. For example a motivation for purchasing an ipod is due to listening to music, if they travel on long days or they like to listen to music when they train or workout which is apart of their lifestyle, this takes them to the decision making process, which allows them to figure out the problem solving of purchasing an ipod (listening to music for entertainment purposes, yet again gaining information of the product such as references from family and friends or the person selling the product. The decision making process also allows the consumer to have an idea of what the purchase can lead to such as the post purchase is what they think they will be doing once they have the product. Finally the responses is whether they have bought the product or not?

In regards of the purchase, they evaluate the product (ipod) , brand , the information, the payment method in which leads to the consumer satisfaction. If they do not buy the product then that is it yet they went through many process just to make a decision.

The Model below show that there are 4 aspects which lead the consumer to purchase a product or service, that is cultural, social, personal and psychological leading to be the BUYER!

Howard Sheth Model & Gen Y

The Howard sheth model explains the reason why gen Y buy products, in other words. The Howard-Sheth Model of consumer behaviors gives an understanding to analyse and understand behavior of consumers . as shown below, it explains the way in the model works but to apply it to the generation Y, it hits different aspects.

The inputs are the ways in which the consumer is aware of the product in 3 categories, that is significative , symbolic and social aspects. Depending what input they are interested in the product/service such as social reason from a reference group (friends and peers) then allows them to get into the the perceptual and learning constructs, this means that the decision is being made to what they heard for the variables in the input section (the social factor of friends and peers). The perceptual constructs the information they gather from peers and then from their own independent research.The Learning constructs deals with stages the from the buyers motives to his or her satisfactions in the buying situation. If the buyer gets to the stage of the learning constructs it will take them to the outputs of actually purchasing the product/service.

GEN Y Input

If we apply this to Generation Y, the inputs are mostly price and social factors (friends and family references), it can relate to sheep thinking, the idea to do what other people are doing, known as following the trend.

Gen Y Perceptual Constructs

If the product was a smart Phone (technology is what this generation grew up) they tend to hear what family, friends and peers references then if they are really interested they will complete some of their own research, via internet research and talking to people who have a higher knowledge in smart phones (Orange, 02, T-mobile).

Gen Y Learning Constructs

With that intention they go through the understanding, which increases their confidence and attitude to that particular product (an iphone 4), as the iphone 4 has a huge brand comprehension, therefore gen y consider that to be the biggest satisfaction factor leading to the purchase.

Gen Y Output

Once they have leaded themselves to the purchase (meaning they have achieved to the output part of the model below) once purchased the product they then automatically have a i want this attitude caused by the brand comprehension and attention of the product which leads to satisfaction of purchasing the product.

Gen Y Timeline

Gen Y Values and Groups

They value family, personal connection, and loyalty.

They seek out the genuine and are repulsed by phony.

They are famously optimistic and believe in the possibility of change.

They advocate for the environment and social justice.

They treasure tolerance and diversity, teamwork and balance.

They seek spirituality and are open to the possibility of the divine.

GENERATION Y Values ???

Is Gen Y a lost generation, do they continue to keep the values they have grown up in ?

It is also considered that Gen Y values are the way they are defined, their passion to have the ability to grow and achievedhigh lengths for the world is what they are.

With a  deep understanding of values is critical to creating desirable products and meaningful communication. Employers who take Millennials seriously will be more attractive to the best and brightest. Marketers who take Millennial values seriously are better positioned to win with the consumer of the future.

Values for Gen Y lead to:
Self-expression is more important than self-control
Marketing and branding self is important
Violence is an acceptable means of communication
Fear living poorly—this is related to lifestyle enjoyment, not wealth Respect must be earned; it is not freely granted based on age, authority or title

Generation Y are the most diverse group, known as the millinials they are the most technologically savvy, and the word “instant” is their understanding 24/7.

This is the group that wonders how the world functioned on dial-up or without cell phones or instant messaging.

They have a strong ability to relate to one another without face-to-face interaction.

In the workforce to recruit employees from this group, you must have technology and be incredibly flexible with their work schedules.

They fit into many catergories such as being:

Tech-Savvy: Generation Y grew up with technology and rely on it to perform their jobs better.

Family-Centric: The fast-track has lost much of its appeal for Generation Y who is willing to trade high pay for fewer billable hours, flexible schedules and a better work/life balance.

Achievement-Oriented: Nurtured and pampered by parents who did not want to make the mistakes of the previous generation, Generation Y is confident, ambitious and achievement-oriented.

Team-Oriented: As children, Generation Y participated in team sports, play groups and other group activities, they value teamwork.

Attention-Craving: Generation Y craves attention in the forms of feedback and guidance. They appreciate being kept in the loop and seek frequent praise and reassurance.

The IPod generation looks for honesty, not marketing spin (Warc Article 3)

In this article richard seed, had called generation Y as an ipod Generation, the article considers how marketing techniques are used to target generation Y as it has its' own toll.

He says "Generation Y are sharpe, cynical and not impressed by the spin of marketing and PR proffessionals", thus this leads to the argument of whether that statement is true or not.
The article was posted in 2010, so at the time he was able to say that in the 21st century, the consumer market had be revolutionised by Generration Y (which he refers to the ipod generation) but why is that??
"These are the highly educated and talented young men and women of diverse ethnic and national cultures who will make up a growing proportion of the affluent, high-spending consumers of the coming decades. How do they decide which goods and services to buy? What channels of selection do they use? How do they research what is available to them?" (Warc, 2010)

These are the Gen Y influences that allow them to
purchase a product!!!

Taken from the article again same points have been mentioned of what they as a group as are like, but the real question here is how are they marketed and through what influences???

He brings up that marketers already know how to target them and that is through the media! He points out how it is common to see these people automatically pause, record and fast forward ads when watching television. He refers to the idea that PDA's and laptops have taken over and how Gen Y lives are reliant on technology, talking and connecting through digital/online communities.

He even says how Gen Y are in control of what they do or buy, the idea of influencing them is not helpful as they rather expect to sort things out for themselves.

The author believes that marketing tehniques such as radio, televison, PR and internet marketing is hardly cutting the ice seeing as gen Y are more likely to purchase a product and service because of their own family and friends are reccommeding it, this is where honesty kicks in! they believe the words of their close ones to help encourage to buying the product or service.
"The iPod generation has little faith in marketing and PR professionals because of an assumption that they do not 'tell the truth' but only what their corporate clients want us to know." (Warc 2010)
This is indicates that generation y are in fact are more associated to hearing honesty and the truth of a product, meaning they are a hard generation to target.
He continues to end his article by explaining that marketing techniques must be changed to when dealing with this particular market, the author carries on to  say, "The only way to promote products, services and companies is for the spin to be consistent with the reality". Meaning to understand the market and how they like to be marketed towards, dishonesty is not the one to use when it comes to marketing especially as they are a very educated generation, the old ways of misleading the excellence of a particular product the business man/woman are selling are not the way to use when it comes to generation Y.

Demographic Generation Y (Warc Article 2)

DEMOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW

• Generation Y makes up approximately 20% of the workforce (Woodruffe, 2009).

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GENERATION

• Age group born between 1978 and 1992 (accounting for about one third of the US population) (Bielski, 2007)
• $170 billion market size in the United States in 2007 for financial services (Bielski, 2007)
• "technology-savvy, better educated and more ethnically diverse than any previous generation" (Allen, 2004)
• According to Syrett and Lammiman (2004), there are 5 distinct characteristics for Generation Y:
• Intimacy and devotion with which they handle their on-line relationships
• Loyalty to these on-line networks
• Awareness to news and social issues
• Work-Life-Balance
• Risk-assessment and openness to change
• First generation to grow up in the global village and with the internet, hence first generation to shape a global (youth) culture (PR Newswire, 2009)
• Generation Y is hyper-informed, concerned, influenced by 9/11, and thus cynical and skeptical (Walker, 2006)

CHARACTERISTICS AS CONSUMERS

• Generation Y represents the perfect customer: easy to target though social networking facilities, responsive, open to new technologies, needs & wants (Macsai, 2008)
• Demands personalized and technologically-advanced products (Bielski, 2007)
• Global early-adopter generation (according to field survey)(PR Newswire, 2009)
• "Whole-Foods-effect": customers are willing to spend their money on sustainable products such as organic food (Hein, 2008)
• Seek brands with authenticity and heritage (Hall, 2000)

MEDIA USE/CONSUMPTION

• Generally, consumers perceive television advertising to be most influential on their purchasing decision-making (online ads 2^nd in Germany, Japan and 3^rd in US, UK, Brazil) (PR Newswire, 2009)
• Youth is repulsing intrusive advertising, and sees print media as obsolete (Morgan Stanley, 2009)
• The GenWorld global teen study from 2005 shows, among others, the following three shifts:
• 30% of the global youth classify as "creatives", who have personalized websites; 70% of which are online every day
• Generation Y is regarded as the mainstream of "superconnectors", who abandon TV, and rather engage in on-line conversation (word-of-mouth) and networking
• The majority of generation Y feels as though there is too much advertising out there, and prefers brands, which correspond to their interests and concerns

Looking through this article it points out many aspects which

have been already been pointed out Generation Y are

 diverse, internet savvy, first generation to grow into the

 technology growth. They are represented as the ideal and

 perfect customer as a way to contact and target them

 through social sites. Leading to the argument are they

 actually really loyal to these network sites?? 

They are known for balancing, life/work or studies in one go

 and how they continue to work through these

 tough economic times. 

10 Trends on Generation Y (Warc article 1)

Generation Y also known as the millennium generation author Melanie Shreffler explains in her article (10 Trends on Generation Y) how technology is at their fingertips and yet still advancing, the habit & media trend of Generation Y will have a major impact on 2012 and the near future to come. 

Music - 

Students have adopted platforms like Pandora and Spotify, making the need to own music, even in digital format, less important. In the six months it has been available in the US, Spotify has made it possible for music fans to get access to artists' complete collections online, on their tablets and on their phones. It has now become a trend that generation Y have no problem to find their favorite music online to listen to in leisure but now they have expected to be able to do so.

Cable to Streaming 

TV networks, particularly the ones which are aimed at Millennials, are now finally embracing streaming services. The author discusses that during the final months of 2011, the channels CW, Disney and ABC Family partner with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon offer their content to subscribers with little by delay following the show's original airing. Tv networks then realise that Generation Y aren't  going to subscribe to expensive cable when they can instantly can get that on their TV online. As taken from the author article "What can cable companies offer that Millennials will value? Internet access. That's one cord Millennials will never sever."

Social TV Viewing

Generation Y are likely to watch TV more and more, they continue to make time to catch up with their favourite shows when they air, because they know that friends will be talking about the next day or on Facebook and Twitter. Therefore even if they have the biggest schedules, it doesn't let that stop them seeing as the ever expanding technology has led to watching them on online through laptops and apps on their smartphone, to avoid feeling left out of the conversations.  

Shopping tools?

Half the population have smartphones, meaning marketers have jumped hoops to assist and persuade consumers making more purchases, from QR codes and reality app, facebook pages, text alerts is what 2011 saw. Now in 2012  Gen Y know what actually works, they are the tech savvy millennial's they can be stymied by QR codes rather than straight forward marketing messages. The author discussed that new media is what fails to market gen y but to explain that marketers need to learn how to use each media more effectively to target the target market. Social media is all about connecting but the idea of using facebook and twitter as their marketing wall, students find it rather off putting.

Instantly looking at the first 3 paragraphs it just means that technology is generation Y LIVES!! it is  apart of who they are, they grew into technology and still are yet to gain more from it. 

Brands good or bad?

Melanie (author) had brought to the table that young shoppers are no longer interested in brands that put their logos on ever product they make. They like more generic looking items, want quality clothing and due to several years of economic recession they don't want to broadcast the brands they wear. They would rather fit in then be a trendsetter or brand billboards. 

My understanding believed that trends is what generation Y are all about but due to this response is that highly true?

Students & tablets

Students wont have an ipad but they hope to own one, seeing as the price tag is too high, author Melanie explains that the hand me down from parents are likely to gain one. Instead they are more proud to say they own a Kindle Fire or Nook tablet, which offer the same functionality. 

"We expect many students have unwrapped these hybrid tablet/readers as gifts during the holidays, significantly increasing the number of Android platform users. They may be unhappy at first that they aren't the owners of an iPad, but that feeling will likely fade as they get to know their tablets."

Technology extensions

As touch-screen technology becomes ubiquitous, traditional brands are finding ways to use these devices to their advantage. For example, Disney worked with Apple to design toys for its Cars franchise that interact with an app on the iPad; Duo has a few products that turn the iPad into board games; and Atari has a plug-in that turns the device into an old-school arcade. Millennials are using mobile devices to help their lives, from keeping track of their health to finding entertainment to supporting learning. There are many opportunities for tech and non-tech brands alike to make the most of this trend.

From this paragraph it explains that technology has hit opportunities for non tech brands to become the trend as in an app which is used in the latest smartphones.

Twitter takes over

While Facebook is still the leader in social media, young people are increasingly using Twitter as a sort of social media filter. Millennials have been on Facebook for the majority of their young lives, friending just about everyone, from acquaintances to parents to brands. They don't want to unfriend anyone (that's not nice), so they're turning to Twitter as a means to follow just the people and brands they actually care to hear from on a regular basis. Although the Twitter network is more open, it feels more private because they've managed their connections better than they did on Facebook. While this trend is starting small, it will gain steam as more Gen Yers join the network to be where their closest friends are. Twitter won't replace Facebook, but young people will spend more time with it because it fills a particular niche.

Twiiter is a social site, it wont replace facebook but be a competitor, generation Y have grown up using facebook just about liking and adding friends, pages and groups. Yes Twitter cannot replace facebook but it has unique selling point because it provides a particular niche. 

Nostalgia returns

Millennials may seem too young to already long for a simpler era, but they do. As they graduate from high school and college and try to make their way in the world, they're facing tough times. They're returning from university to live with their parents to save money (even when they've found a job). That's also allowing them to return to their childhood years for comfort. They watch cartoons, play video games, and listen to old albums that take them back to a time when everything was possible, gaining the courage to go back out into the 'real world' and forge their own path. Nostalgic media and brands can reap the rewards of this trend.

 Home multimedia hubs

Now that we're fully in the era of digital media, Millennials are embracing multimedia hubs, singular devices that connect them to their music, TV shows, movies, games and more. The early adopters of this trend embraced Roku and Boxee boxes plugged in to their TV sets, but now Microsoft's recently upgraded Xbox Live platform and Apple's future iTV are both meant to serve as home media hubs. They're perfectly engineered for stream-happy Millennials, with built-in apps to manage their Hulu, Netflix and iTunes accounts, while also allowing them to rent shows and movies that aren't on their subscription platforms. Perhaps more appealing, is the seamless integration of social media that enables simultaneous viewing and game play. And there's voice control operation that pushes these devices into the realm of super-cool.