Marketing and product development for Boomers

Appliance makers GE and Whirlpool have been quick to recognised to economic power of the silver tsunami (or baby boomers over the age of 50!) and are making great strides in product development. The Wall Street Journal in it’s article Home Appliances to Soothe the Aches of Aging Boomers provides a few examples:

- Whirlpool now offers washing machines with large knobs that make louder-than-usual noise when they’re set. They also offer a pedestal beneath Whirlpool dryer reduces stooping when removing laundry.

- At GE’s consumer and industrial headquarters in Louisville, designers use “empathy sessions” where members of the product-development team tape their knuckles to simulate impaired dexterity. GE’s Engineers and designers have been very busy “boomerising” their products and now proudly offer:
- Ovens with easier-to-open doors and automatic shut-off burners.
- Stoves designed to prevent boil-overs.
- Stoves that you don’t have to reach far into – to prevent boomers from stooping awkwardly, losing their balance and burning themselves on the hot stove!
- Fridges with brighter LED lighting to improve visibility
- Dishwashers and washing machines that allow users to put in an entire bottle of detergent a few times a year rather than a smaller amount for every load. Supposedly the machines are designed to reduce confusion and make housework less of a chore, as GE neatly puts “particularly for older consumers”.

All of these new product designs are great for “old people” but try telling baby boomers that you are selling them a product that will remind them on a daily basis that they are OLD! I’d like to meet the marketer who is able put a positive spin on this marketing message because I don’t believe it exists.

Baby Boomers may be getting old but one of their core values is that of youth and vitality. Designing a product that reminds them they are old is not going to win you any points. Rather companies need to be developing products that enhance boomers lifestyles allow them to enjoy themselves and frees up their time to go skiing (spending their kids inheritance) GE may be taping up the fingers of their product designers but they are failing to use the “empathy sessions” to help get their designers into the heads of baby boomers so that they can understand what drives them and makes baby boomers tick.

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The Silver Tsunami – Baby boomers are responsible for more than 40 percent of retail spending, companies need to pay attention to this.

Boomers control over 75% of the personal net wealth in the UK and yet most marketers and companies choose to target families and young adults. Another problem is that companies treat people over the age of 50 as one globular market segment, and they have been using similar marketing messages for the past two decades. Those that fail to recognise how much this market is changing and why are in for a shock. The main reason for changes is that baby boomers have arrived in droves. Baby boomers are those people born after WW2 and 1964. They experienced the economic boom of the 60’s and the moon landings. They are very different from the Silent Generation, those people born before the boomers, between the great depression and 1944.

Booz & Co have written an article highlighting how many companies are missing huge opportunities by not recognising these differences. Authors Richard Rawlinson and Natasha Kuznetsova also believe that “For most companies confused about how to reach older consumers, a good place to start is a cultural shake-up of the marketing organization, which should include the addition of an entirely new set of skills…In short, more gray hairs are needed among brand managers and external collaborators such as agencies, re search firms, and media planning organizations.

Employing aging marketers is a good solution our research shows that boomers respond best to marketing campaign and products when they have been designed by boomers for boomers. Another way is to train younger marketing staff to have generational empathy and to see the world through the eyes of Baby Boomers. Our Mind the Gap presentation and workshops provide this very solution. By giving marketers insights into the values and driving attitudes of people from different generations we’ve achieved fantastic results. For one client we increased total company revenues by 300%, for another we increased sales of key product line by over 70%; and for a leading bank we doubled response rates for a direct mail campaign targeting a saturated market.

You can read more about generational values and generational marketing by following these links :

Detailed introduction to Generations: written by world renown generations expert Dr Graeme Codrington
Onions & Parfait – Why customer relationships no longer need to be a thing of fairytales and pirate stories by generational marketing expert Dean van Leeuwen
Generations in crisis by Dean and Graeme

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‘I am the President’ doesn’t mean what it used to

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Knowing What You Don’t Know is Important

Yes it’s true. I’m getting coached in ‘Social Media’. “About time” some might say but it’s not just about how to engage in the various kinds of social media available – it’s about learning how to, ‘connect the dots’. It is about understanding how to work with all the options in an integrated manner that makes professional and personal sense. I suspect many more of my ilk could do with some time with my Coach and the reality is that knowing this stuff simply isn’t optional – it’s an imperative.

W. C. Howell is credited with the model with which most of us are familiar when it comes to acquiring a skill. The model moves from a level of ‘unconscious incompetence’ to ‘conscious incompetence’ to ‘conscious competence’ to ultimately, ‘unconscious competence’.  So what does this look like when applied to my development path in the area of social media education?

Unconscious incompetence: A what? ‘c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r. Don’t only major international companies and governments have access to this kind of thing?  I’m not sure I’ll need one, but thanks anyway. The future? Yes, yes…(late 1980’s – early 1990’s)

Conscious incompetence: Wow…how do you switch this thing on? It sure takes up a lot of desk space but looks important, even impressive…where did you say I turn it on? How come there is this blue screen…and what’s that noise? Show me how you did that…that’s really cool, I need to be able to do that stuff. Hold on, not so fast…I just need to make a note of that. (mid 1990’s – early 2000’s)

Conscious competence: Sure I’m on Facebook and I even know that ‘Twitter’ isn’t a term of insult nor is it some sort of birdcall heard only in the mating season. Sure I know how to access that information, open multiple windows and load useful software. How did I ever survive without email?  I know how to solve that problem…just reboot…there see, anything else I can help you with? With some concentration and focus I can link some of my technology gadgets and to really impress fellow travelers, even produce my iPod on flights whilst banging away on my laptop keyboard. Laptop? Apple of course.  Check out that cool little Apple logo that lights up on the lid! (mid – late 2000’s)

Unconscious competence: My tweet directs people to my latest blog which drives folk to the article and website resulting in conversations, connections and further helpful information, relationships and opportunities. There, dots connected and a seamless integration of knowing the why and how behind it all. By catching up I’ve actually been able to slow down and I feel an intricate part of an amazing reality that is unfolding all around me…connections, information and well, relevance. (the future)

Knowing what you don’t know is important. It is your learning pathway into Tomorrow, and it is a journey that shouldn’t be delayed. Let me know and I will put you onto a great social media Coach…

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Generations and Culture

Generational theory attempts to explain some of the differences between young and old people, and how they act, react and interact in different environments. Our value systems are shaped by factors such as culture, religion, gender, personality, class and socio-economics. But they are also shaped by the era in which we are born, and moulded by our peers and the world events that define our formative years. But can generational theory apply equally across different cultures and in different countries? Best selling author of “Mind the Gap” and an international, award winning presenter on the issue of the generation gap, Dr Graeme Codrington, provides his personal perspective….

It will probably be useful to you to know some of my credentials right at the start. My company, TomorrowToday is one of the world’s leading generational consultancies. An important part of our suite of services to clients is an understanding of the generation gap. Our approach is based on multiple sources of research and practical application, including access to the originators of generational theory, Neil Howe and William Strauss, who work out of the USA. We have also done our own extensive research, and have access to country-specific data for South Africa, New Zealand, Mauritius, England, Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Iran, Chile, Australia, China, Japan, the USA and an increasing number of other countries. Our application to different countries is constantly expanding as our team of experts is invited to present and consult around the world – in over 20 countries every year. We have presented in over 50 different countries, covering all the continents. … Continue Reading

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Talent is a Four Letter Word

The title of this post comes from a reply to a tweet I once posted:

Does anyone have a better word for ‘talent’? Does business really think it’s a big issue? Is there some other ‘thing’ we should be noticing?

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After Shock: the five trends disrupting business in the next 5 years

Download a copy of this article in PDF format – right click here. The contents of this article can be presented as a keynote or a workshop for your team. Contact our UK or South African offices to find out how.

As the world slowly emerges out of recession over the next few years, it will become increasingly clear that this was more than just an economic downturn. Disruptive forces are significantly reshaping the world of work. Some of these changes have been brewing for a decade or more – and now this recession has exacerbated their influence and speeded up their effects. Companies that have survived the downturn need to shift their focus to surviving the upturn. We are not ever going to “get back to normal” – a new normal is emerging for everyone, everywhere.

Understanding the forces that are driving this disruptive change will give an organisation the insights needed to adjust their systems, structures and methods and gain a significant competitive advantage in the next 3 to 5 years. It is therefore essential to provide not just senior leaders, but all staff throughout your company, with a framework of thinking about this “new normal”. You want them to work together to take advantage of the opportunities that will emerge.

There are at least five key drivers of disruptive change that every organisation in every industry needs to track. These are the T.I.D.E.S. of change. (It’s a corny acronym, I know, but hopefully it will help with both remembering the framework, as well as making it easy to use on a regular basis in team meetings and informal conversations throughout your organisation). Here then are the key drivers of disruptive change in the next 3 to 5 years, and some questions to ask yourself and your teams as you plan to respond to them:

… Continue Reading

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Don’t treat all the Boomers the same

I recently had a chance to have interact with Warren Evans, a top international speaker and futurist. Like our team at TomorrowToday, Warren tracks the trends that are shaping the world of work, and has an interest in demographics, technology and other key drivers of change.

Having heard Warren talk about demographics, I checked out the video snippet on his website. He makes a great point. Simply put, he is skeptical about generations. Actually, he is skeptical about how people use generational theory as a blunt instrument. They talk about “Boomers” or “Gen Y” as if everyone born in one twenty year period is identical. This is an abuse of the theory, of course, but is often how it is used. At very least, one has to take into account the cuspers (those born between the generations). But one should also consider that younger and older cohorts within a generation are often quite different too.

As Warren points out, treating the Boomers as a homogenous group is not only silly, it’s also dangerous. The pace of change in the 1950s and 60s was so fast that what may at first glance appear to be only one generation (“the Boomers”) is in fact three generations. If you were born in 1947, you had a very different growing up experience from someone born in 1966. The promise of demography is that we can predict what someone aged 64 will do (and that you will do the same things at age 64 that people who were 64 in 2001 or 1995 or 1975 did). Yet, younger Boomers and older Boomers had different starting points, different life experiences and now live in different life stages.

I think Warren is right about this. As Einstein is reported to have said, “The sign of a true genius is the ability to simplify complex information as much as possible. But not more so.” Generational theory has a compelling pop psychology appeal to it. But some people have simplified it too much.

We’re working on a new model that brings together the concept of younger and older cohorts, and integerates this with the concept of cuspers. Of course, we also have to consider other psychographic influences, such as religion, gender, culture, class and socioeconomics. So, segmentation models are tough to get right. But the value of doing them properly is enormous. It allows one to deliver on the promise of demographics by understanding how behaviour will change as new lifestages are reached.

That’s the kind of stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning! Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about this more: graeme@tomorrowtoday.uk.com

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1989 – a year that changed everything (everywhere)

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down.

In just a few weeks, we’ll also celebrate twenty years since the Velvet Revolution (Prague, 17 November), the execution of Nicolae Ceau?escu (Bucharest, 25 December), and the release of Nelson Mandela (Cape Town, 11 February, 1990). So far this year, we’ve seen twenty annivesaries for Tiananmen Square (Beijing, 5 June), Ayatollah Khomenei’s chaotic funeral (Tehran, 6 June) and the Baltic Way (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; 23 August) – all political revolutionary moments that changed their countries.

Add to that, the culture-defining events of Lockerbie, Hillsborough, the invention of the HTTP that forms the foundation of the Internet, the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, and the debut of The Simpsons, and you have quite a year! That was 1989 (and a few months on either side of it, for Lockerbie and Mandela).

In my studies of generational theory, it’s common to come across a variety of definitions of who fits into which generation. Different authors, desperate to prove their research credentials, define the start of “Generation Y” as anything from 1978 to 1996. Most go with 1984 – defined such because children born in 1984 or later graduated high school in the new millennium (hence the other name for this generation: “Millennial kids”). Yet, to me, 1989 is a much better cusp year.

The worlds before and after 1989 were very clearly different. That is why 1989 holds such an important place in my mind – it marks a real change in human history. It will be remembered forever. If you want to reminisce with me, you might like the following links:

• A detailed introduction to generational theory
• New Statesman magazine – 1989: The Year of the Crowd special edition
• Lead article from New Statesman 1989 special edition
• TIME magazine 1989 special edition
• A list of TIME magazine special edition articles – easier to access index
• Remembering 1989, The Times, UK

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The World of Tomorrow (If The Internet Disappeared Today)

This is a great read (look) at what the world would look like if the internet disappeared today. A photo contest by the readers of Cracked.com. Some really fun stuff to think about how much the world has changed : )

While there’s a lot that’s funny, there is a reality check and reminder at how much has changed in our lives in such a short time. How much we take for granted because of the internet, and how much we wouldn’t have in our world if it never existed. Certainly we could do without some of it, but also how much we can do, how many people we’re in touch with, how many connections we have (meaningful and meaningless) because of the networked world we now live in.

It’s probably too large to think about, so for now, take a look and smile for a little while : )

And to be honest I don’t get the winner? If you could help me with that I’d be grateful…..

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Office Technology, Boomers and Generation X & Y

For most Boomers (born 1950s and 60s), the office had the best technology – much better than they had at home. I started work at KPMG Johannesburg in the early 1990s, when they had just imported over 100 Apple System 7 “luggable” computers. This gave KPMG more computing power than the USA government had at the time (they needed special US Senate approval for the purchase)! I was a techie nerd as a kid (from my awesome first Atari 800SX, with green screen, to my AT computer in the early 1990s).

But I had nothing at home to match what I had available to me at work. And that’s not to mention the fax machine, the photocopier, the mainframe, the telex (OK, I’m not that old, but it’s the concept that’s important here), and other amazing technology available at the office. And the most up-to-date software too. I used to try and book an Apple out every weekend, and take it home with me to play on.

But now times have changed. Most of today’s young people come to work everyday, completely frustrated and irritated by the out-of-date technology available to them. Their office has worse technology than they have at home. And, even worse, restrictive IT policies mean that they can’t bring technology from home to the office, as they’d like to. IT requires them to use Excel and Word, when they’d prefer to use Google Docs. IT restricts their ability to load apps onto their machines – little programs that would help increase their productivity and efficiency. And, if they’re Apple fans, tough like if the company has chosen a PC platform. Standardisation trumps productivity and enjoyment!

This doesn’t make sense. If you can’t keep ahead (or even keep up) with current IT specs, then the least you should be doing is allowing staff to use their own technology. I know IT will faint and give 100 reasons not to do this (their starting point will be “security concerns”, I’ll bet). But IT should not have the final word here. There are other considerations, including the motivation and engagement of your staff, especially your top talent, productivity and efficiency, and the reduction of costs (why not let staff use their own technology and give them a small personal budget to get what they want for themselves).

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The Recession Generation

Each generation is defined by the economic experience of its youth. The generation now finishing university and entering a dire job market will be shaped by this experience forever. This generation is what we call the cusp between Generation X and Generation Y. This week’s Spectator magazine contains an excellent cover article that explains them wonderfully. Read it here, or a summary below:

The quiet agony of the recession generation
by Matthew Lynn
17 October 2009

Each generation is defined by the economic experience of its youth. And Britain is breeding angry, thrifty cynics who are beginning to wonder if they were mis-sold university education.

… Continue Reading

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Don’t miss the 7th annual Loyalty World conference

We’re very excited to announce that TomorrowToday has teamed up with the talented team at Terrapin and Dean van Leeuwen (Co-Founder of TomorrowToday UK) has been asked to present at the prestigious 7th Annual Loyalty World Conference in London on the 4th of November. Along with a number of other distinguished speakers and industry experts including Luke Johnson Chairman of Channel 4 and Risk Capital Partners, this is a unique conference designed to assist you in understanding all the complex elements that go into designing a successful loyalty strategy. The economic crisis is forcing a change in customer attitudes and priorities. The age of consumerism is all but over and people’s buying habits are changing.

Dean will be presenting Mind The Gap – focusing on how we can use people’s values to build stronger customer relationships and hence greater loyalty. He’ll also be showing the audience why it is we don’t always understand people older or younger than ourselves and why achieving customer loyalty often feels like trying to herd cats!

For more information and to register for the event please visit the Loyalty World website

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Entrepreneurial Edge – CNBC Africa

If you’re watching CNBC Africa this evening (15 October) at around 20:30, you can catch Entrepreneurial Edge (hosted by Chris Bishop), with at least one of it’s guests being me : )

The focus of the programme is future trends impacting entrepreneurs, and we chatted around education, skills development and Web 2.0. The two other guys in the interview were Dawie Olivier (CIO – Sasfin) and Devan Naiker (Dep CEO – Services SETA)

There was some nice stuff being thrown around in the short time we had. Thanks to Kate from SimonSays Communications for arranging and for being there to do my hair (really not necessary – I need a lot more than hair help)

CNBC Africa is on Channel 410 on DSTV.

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Social Networks and how we communicate

On Friday 2 October 2009, I was interviewed by Rueben Goldberg on Classic FM on his show, The Internet Economy.

I’d not met him before we recorded the show. He’s a good guy, fairly active on Twitter, and interesting and interested to talk to.

Our PR company, SimonSays Communications, assisted in getting the interview and I’m hoping this wont be the last chat to Reuben. Yeah, it won’t be.

If you’d like to listen to the PodCast (7 min) of my interview on his show, you can find links to it here.

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A happiness bank – connecting helpers with those who need help

I am doing some work in Estonia in a few days time, and so have been watching the wires for news reports from that country. One of these really jumped out at me.

“Estonians to lauch world’s first e-Bank of Happiness” – read the story here. The concept is simple: bring together those who are in need of help and those who can help. In the e-bank one can exchange information on needs, offer help and register good deeds. All for free. It’s basically elance.com for volunteers.

The idea is not only to help people out digitally and online, but for this to extend into Estonia, with people in physical need (e.g. elderly people need help to get to the shops, house sitting while on holiday, looking for a gym buddy, etc) can also use the system. “The Bank of Happiness is an initiative to change the way of thinking. It’s a bank for exchanging good deeds. The wish of the Bank is to make people think and act with their heart. The Bank is meant for all those who value good deeds and have the will to make good themselves.”

You can check out the simple user interface here: http://www.onnepank.ee/en.

I’ll watch it closely, and hope it succeeds. A nice idea, well executed. Let’s hope people support it.

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VWV Red Plug on Generation 2.0

VWV is an interesting company, that I still don’t know enough about. Take a visit to their web site to see some of the ‘interesting’ I encounter when I meet with their people (wherever they may be).

Tomorrow I’m spending the afternoon with them as part of their ‘Red Plug’. It’s an informal forum they pull together made up of clients, media, friends and other interesting people who don’t fall into those 3 particular categories.

I’ve got a slot at tomorrow’s Red Plug. Talking about Web 2.0 (whatever that is) and it’s impact on people and business. It’s a monster of a topic. I get to put my little bit forward. how I see it from this particular corner of the planet.

I’m going to test out the term ‘Generation 2.0′. I’ve borrow it from Gen X, who are often referred to as the ‘TV Generation’, simply because they were the first complete Generation to grow up with TV. Today’s younger set are the first complete generation to grow up being influenced by Web 2.0. I think it’s a fitting descriptor.

Of course you’d have to be at the Red Plug at VWV to hear some of my thoughts. Or perhaps another day over some coffee, a beer or a glass or two of red wine.

I’m looking forward to the afternoon. Fer sure!

[after the event] The session was tweeted by Bev from SimonSays Communications – click here for her tweets

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Graeme interviewed on Hard Court Lessons Radio

Graeme Codrington was recently interviewed by Audley Stephenson for an online radio show, Hard Court Lessons. You can listen to the unedited interview here. The final version will be available soon.

The interview talked about how to lead different generations in the workplace.

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TomorrowToday is getting a Billboard

TomorrowToday South Africa is getting a Billboard for 2 weeks in September. We did an exchange with INM Outdoor earlier this year. We did some work for them, and they’re doing some work for us. So a swap of sorts.

We’ve not had anything like this, and we’re looking forward to seeing what it does for business? We’re not even sure what we can expect? But we are excited, and it has been fun getting it all together.

It’s also been a great catalyst for us to get our international branding on the same page, and we’re starting this with look and feel driven largely by our websites. So by the time the billboard goes live we’ll have a new South African look and feel to our website, followed shortly afterwards by our UK office.

The billboard focusses on Talent and Leadership. In a business world with a changing worker (so called Talent) there has to be a rethink on how to lead. You can’t expect to lead a different group of people in same way. Can you? We don’t think so.

I’m sure we’ll post updates and results, if only to post our thoughts on the medium of outdoor advertising.

Watch this space…..

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Why Generation X has the right kind of leaders for today

I recently discovered an author and generational expert, Tammy Erickson. Her book, “Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work” (Buy it at Amazon or Kalahari) is really good, and she has a new one coming out at the end of this year. She does a lot more with generations than a lot of the pop psychologists who have picked up on the “Gen Y” trend recently.

She recently wrote a thought provoking article for the Harvard Business Review blog on why she believes Generation X has just the kind of leaders that the world needs today. Read her original article here, or my extract (and slight adaptation of it) below:

… Continue Reading

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Generations in Russia

I have just been alerted to a new blog site tracking research into generational theory in Russia – check it out at: http://rugenerationsfortheworld.wordpress.com/. The authors are Evgeniya Shamis and Evgeny Nikonov. I am not sure who they are, or how their research will proceed, but I am a big supporter of anyone doing proper research into generational theory in different countries around the world.

If you’re interested in generational research, or global values development, check out the site, and let them know we sent you.

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Mind the Gap in Fairlady magazine

Graeme Codrington was recently promoted in the South Africa Fairlady magazine, with an article focused on the generation gap. Read it online here, or below.

… Continue Reading

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88 years old and mayer for 30+ years

Today is Nelson Mandela’s birthday. An international icon.

But this is not about Madiba. He’s never been mayor. He has been President of South Africa, and leader of the African National Congress (ANC), but never Mayor.

This is a video interview worth watching about Hazel McCallion, who’s 88 years old and been mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada for 30+ years. She’s been re-elected 11 times in the 6th biggest city in Canada, and runs a city that’s debt free with cash reserves of $700 000 000.

It struck me while watching, that we’re a world that’s become so ‘young people focused’, that we so easily miss and don’t appreciate the value and contribution that ‘much’ older people do make, and can make in our private and public worlds.

So happy birthday Madiba and wow Mayor McCallion. Don’t stop teaching us. May we never stop learning from everyone we meet.

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Can I help you pack Sir?

An amazing article appeared in the Business Day on the 8th July 2009. It was a Business Day interview with the former Anglo American deputy chairman, Graham Boustred, 84. It was an interview at his request in order for him to share his views on the current state of Anglo American. What follows has one suspiciously looking for the candid camera equivalent of the print media! Boustred states that Xstrata’s proposed bid for Anglo American is simply a mechanism for getting rid of current Anglo CEO, Cynthia Caroll who he goes on to describe as “hopeless”and implies that she is sexually frustrated. The then illuminates why it is difficult to find a female CEO: “It is because most women are sexually frustrated. men are not, because they can fall back on call girls, go to erectile dysfunction clinics. If you have a CEO who is sexually frustrated she can’t act properly”.

Boustred talks about the possibility of having an exit strtaegy should the wheels come off in South Africa. His prefered safe haven? The Isle of Man. His reason being that on the Isle of Man “there are no Muslims, no blacks”. There were compelling other reasons such as a good health care system but these are all too sane to be taken seriously.

The tone of Boustred’s ranting as reported is self-centred, arrogant, dogmatic, bigited and plain insulting. He represents a perplexing case study in past leaders grown old and begs the question of just how much of the present characteristics and opinions were in evidence during his leadership reign? He is aptly described in the interview as an “old man of South African business” where his world is “an anachronism that is growing smaller all the time”.

Oh yes, and the answer to Anglo’s current “disaster”? Well, for Boustred to return of course! reading to full article will have you queing to help the pensioner pack.
 

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Generational research in Africa

If you’re interested in the generations, and how intergenerational issues might look in Africa, then here’s a conference you might be interested in. I am not involved, and don’t know the researchers personally, but this looks good.

HSRC Seminar Series in collaboration with the Capacity Development Division
The following seminar will be presented in Pretoria, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal (See Details below).

Is it time to renegotiate an intergenerational ‘contract’? The state of intergenerational relations in South Africa.
Presented by Dr Monde Makiwane Senior Research Specialist, CYFSD, and Ms Christine Jesseman Head: Research Depaertment, South African Human Rights Council.

Venues in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town: see below
Date: Tuesday 28 July 2009
Time: 14H15 for 14h30 – 15H30

… Continue Reading

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Brrr is kewl in South Africa

Thanks to my friend Bev from SimonSays Communications for this link.

The Sunday Times announced it’s ‘Times Generation Next’ cool brands survey results on 28 May 2009.

5000 tweens, teens and young adults between the ages of 8-22 were polled on their coolest brands, and Coke came out on tops with it’s Brrrr campaign.

Bizcommunity.com covered the results, and one interesting comment relating to the attitude of this segment and the economic downturn according to Jason Levin (MD of HDI Youth Marketeers) was,

“Young South Africans, unshaken by economic downturn, are as brand conscious as ever. Although there were some interesting shifts in the top rankers in some categories, we see growing similarity in votes by region, gender, race and sometimes even age around the coolest brands.”

For the rest of the results read the full article here. Nokia, Samsung, Nike, Puma, Sun City, Edgars, SAA, Mango, D&G, Levis and others all had a mention in achieving top spots or moving down the list from previous years.

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Millenials reversing the trend

It’s always difficult convincing an adult audience, that from a Generational perspective, the so-called ‘Millennials’ (Gen Y, Echo Boomers) are going to be more civic minded, more conservative (whilst being more aware), and focus on rebuilding the planet (amongst other things). Mostly because their example of a Millennial is often one of their own kids. And let’s be honest, what parent thinks their own kids are going to be some of those things? Their kids are teenagers, and generally speaking teens are going through a life stage in which pushing the boundaries and experimenting are part and parcel of what they have to do in order to develop into healthy contributing adults.

So it’s with a smile of satisfaction that I point you to some research coming out of Canada (Project Teen Canada headed up by Reginald Bibby, a University of Lethbridge sociologist) that shows that today’s Millennial Generation are reversing some trends that you probably wouldn’t expect them to. Sex, Drugs, Family Values, having children, smoking.

This reversing trend has been captured beautifully in a short video clip entitled ‘Lost Generation‘. If you’ve not seen it, it’s worth a trip to YouTube see get a first hand view.

There are some thoughts about the role parents are playing in the reversing of these trends, but the article is summed up like this:

In the end, the kids will likely follow their own instincts. While they might be taking silent cues from their parents—and might even seek help in times of crisis—they’ve little time for adult authorities who worry about their futures. Jesse Lupini, the 17-year-old from Victoria, summed up the sentiment in a recent guest column for his local paper. “Adults have generated a number of teen stereotypes,” he writes. “Teens are irresponsible, untrustworthy, rude, sexually obsessed, loud, inclined to drink to excess, take drugs, eat badly . . . ” But how about the adults who lie, drive drunk and do drugs, Lupini asks? What about the corporations run by adults that market junk food and sexualized clothing to youth? What about the parents who buy that stuff for their kids? “Frankly,” he concludes, having worked up a rather adult-sounding rant, “it’s a wonder we’re coping as well as we are.”

TomorrowToday has been researching, exploring and communicating Generational Theory through our edutaining presentation ‘Mind the Gap‘ for 7 years now. We’re still as convinced as ever that it’s a framework every organisation needs to include in the multiple frameworks it uses to understand people dynamics and interactions.

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Harvey Nichols- fab ad campaign

I’ve just come across this print advert campaign by Harvey Nichols, the high end clothing retailer. It’s a cracker and one of the best print campaigns I’ve seen in a long time. The first time I looked at it I don’t get it, but the vivid colours and imagery drew me in, further capturing my attention and making me think. The symbolisms that can be interpreted from the association between the dress and the “rockets” is subtle but brilliant… the advert rockets with innuendos… On further investigation I discovered that there is a complete range of 8 different adverts using the same creative concept. This is an awesome advert for the Generation X and Y generations… Look at the rest of the campaign and consider the symbolism behind each advert… Great ad campaign

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Top tips for mentoring the next generation of talent

In tough times, people matter. Ensuring your staff are passionate and focused is a critical leadership task right now. One of the most effective techniques for motivating your younger staff in particular is to provide ongoing development for them, especially providing access to senior leaders and mentoring. Here are some tips to help you make the most of such mentoring relationships.

• • Mentoring takes time. Today’s “I want it now” young people need to understand that it takes the time it takes to do properly. Make sure you do some expectation management right upfront about how often you can meet, what you think is achievable, and what you’d like to offer.
• • Be clear about the purpose and boundaries of your mentor relationship.
• • Today’s young people don’t open up immediately. They need to get to know you, and they need to know they can trust you. Persevere with them and don’t give up too easily if they make it tough for you – they’re actually just checking you’re willing to go the distance with them.
• • Consider digital mentoring as a component of the relationship. Be prepared to answer emails and text messages, and initiate some of this contact yourself. But don’t let them go totally digital – face to face time is vital for good mentoring.
• • Mentor the whole person, not just for the job description. Do some of the mentoring away from the office environment. Spend some of your time focusing on non-work related issues. Show an interest in their hobbies and non-work activities.
• • Try and include some on the job, practical content, ensuring your mentoring is not all theoretical.
• • Don’t forget to “reverse mentor” too. Young people have grown up helping their parents work out how to use the remote controls, and sorting out the household technology. Let them mentor their bosses on technology use in the office.
• • Get them to mentor each other – make sure they have a “buddy”, and not just at their own company. They have to be taught how to network effectively – it doesn’t come naturally to them.
• • Keep mentoring them, even when they leave your company. This sounds a powerful message to the remaining staff that you really care about them as people, not just as workers.
• • Never assume that the mind you’re talking to is closed. Just because young people dress or act differently from you doesn’t mean they’re not taking in what you’ve said.
• • Explain WHY. Don’t just tell them what to do, and how to do it. Tell them why it works. Knowing why makes all the difference for today’s young people.
• • Have fun.
• • Keep at it! Not every attempt to connect with young people will have immediate results.

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Mind the Gap when it comes to Social Networking Technologies

It has recently incurred to me that the fundamental difference between Boomers and Gen Xers when it comes to social networking technologies is a fundamental difference in interpretation. Boomers see such technologies as bringing them a flood of information that needs to be managed. “Why would you want to know that?”; “What will you do with that information?”; “Who cares?” are the standard responses that reveal such a stance.

However, Gen X sees this ‘information’ as the means to ‘relationship’. The filtering and processing that occurs as a result of this fundamental difference is pronounced. YouTube, FaceBook, Twittering and the like do not provide information, they are the portals to relationship.

Therein lies the difference…and it is significant as it is applied to the why, what and how of these social networking technologies.

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