#21 Mini Series – how to influence Generation C “1″
October 30, 2009 by Jake Pearce
After a wee delay, I’m back. I’ve been overseas and then got sick, so I’m very sorry I haven’t been blogging regularly – however it’s back to normal now!
So, today I begin a ‘mini series’ of VLOGS talking about Digital Influencers.
Why? Well, Generation C is a psychographic, ageless generation which is typified by a love of the digital media (whether that is full on internet involvement or just texting) and a desire for control in the digital environment. And to discover how to engage Generation C, digital natives, we must understand how to identify Digital Influencers to help achieve that engagement.
To begin this exploration I sum up Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point’ which showed that you don’t need many people to grow a movement/influence lots of people.
Check out the video - less than 4 minutes…
In summary there are 3 types of people necessary to spread the word on any particular matter per Malcolm Gladwell:
- Mavens: these people know loads of stuff about areas they are interested in and really enjoy passing on information e.g. where to find the cheapest deal on a car, whether the new release from Microsoft is any good. Then Mavens pass on information to…
- Connectors: they are people who are socially very networked and can be famous, and/or thought leaders and/or just very well connected in a wide range of spheres. And Connectors know…
- Sales people: these are very persuasive people who are great at passing on information in a highly engaging way that ignites action in the people they tell.
While this is a very powerful overview of how the few engage the many, it misses something vital which we will be exploring.
Namely, that Connectors have huge networks and usually don’t see/connect with all those people in their huge networks regularly. So how do we get the word out to people more regularly that Connectors can? Who do we need to influence Generation C – digital natives more immediately/immediately?
We’ll start to look at that next week J
Do you have a system to find Maven’s, Connectors and Sales people? If not, why not? What tools do you need and do you want some help 
#20 More on marketing to Generation C
September 21, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Here’s video 2 of of Abe Dew talking about Generation C – more thought provoking stuff.
To repeat a key quote from Abe:
“We in advertising love things in boxes…it’s incredibly dangerous with Gen C it’s the fringes that are important…you see wave after wave of new ideas coming forward and it scares people witless… Marketing will move to be more like jazz and less like precise orchestral piece.”
Abe’s 2 videos are real thought twisterd and really makes you think, here are some key points.
Here’s the key points from Video 2 of 2:
- Community is the content – all technology is an extension of the human mind – community is the need behind technology.
- People are more complex than ‘boxed stereotypes’ – we need to engage community to ‘get people’ properly again.
- Academic studies show that the more collective a culture is the less they go online – so social media’s explosion is a function of less happy societies!
- If Generation C want control we need to surrender it!
- Apple get this. Apple’s new apps – only 5% survive – they rely on open source creativity to provide new apps and the street to weed them out – in other words they let go of control.
Do you think you’re brave enough to let go of control when marketing to Generation C?
#19 Think outside the box to market to Generation C
September 11, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Sorry folks – been overseas and my blog plan melted badly!
So – I’ve been meaning to share this video of Abe Dew on Generation C – there are some great thoughts here.
“We in advertising love things in boxes…it’s incredibly dangerous with Gen C it’s the fringes that are important…you see wave after wave of new ideas coming forward and it scares people witless… Marketing will move to be more like jazz and less like precise orchestral piece.”
Abe’s 2 videos are real thought twisterd and really makes you think, here are some key points.
Here’s the key points from Video 1 of 2:
- Déjà-vu now vu-jade – representing existing things You Tube really aggregated things that were all there.
- David Shrigley – Glaswegian cartoonist shows a cartoon with a bit missing. People don’t know what they want all the time – the gaps are where the new futures are: http://www.davidshrigley.com/thingstobuy/thingstobuy.html
- Don’t pretend to know all the answers – brands need to move from being a ‘fixed’ idea to a narrative – like a book it’s the ‘unsaid’ that say a lot. The same is true of brands.
- Marketing will move to be more like jazz and less like precise orchestral piece.
How do you think we should market effectively to Generation C?
#13 What does the “C” stand for in Generation C
June 26, 2009 by Jake Pearce
It’s time to clear up the confusion about what the “C” in Generation C stands for:
Some very learned people from Digital Hive, Saatchi and Saatchi and more have come up with their thoughts on defining the “C”.
This video is 3 mins 30 secs long and deals with:
- Various views on what the “C” stands for
- The impact of defining a generation based on what they do rather than what motivates them
- What I believe the “C” stands for and why
What do you think the “C” stands for?
#11 How savvy marketeers work with Generation C – V Republic
June 15, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Aisha Dajipunga works for Frucor owned by Suntory, a large Japanese food and beverages company with brands ranging from Haagen Daz ice cream, V energy drinks to Suntory Oolong Tea.
This video is a great example of how Generation C’s desire for control presents internal political and cultural challenges for corporates as much as external ones.
You will see that Aisha overcomes some of these challenges very skilfully. Yet the key issue that Frucor and many other organisations haven’t fully addressed is Generation C’s requirement for involvement which demands companies engage directly with their customers rather than using more traditional methods of ’push’ comms like traditional advertising. This creates a key question – who should ‘own’ the relationship with the customer – the company, an agency or a social platform?
Generation C demand authenticity and direct engagement. Corporates simply aren’t equipped anymore to do that – they don’t have a ‘brand engagement department’. As a result many corporates think that ‘engagement’ means – doing a good film competition once a year, allowing people to post pictures and asking market research question of their database. This isn’t enough.
Frucor has taken bold steps re. engagement – and this video shows how hard it is for corporates to come to terms with this ‘new world.’
So – youth marketing is facing the same difficulty as any other sector wanting to appeal to Generation C – the struggle of letting go of control.
Key messages from the video are:
- It’s critical that organisations find authentic ways to engage with customers
- The republic of V – was the foundation for V to find a new way to engage
- The republic of V – is an example of how corporates need to have the courage to ‘experiment’ to ‘find their feet’ in relation to new media
- TV ads are still important as they serve as a way for the ‘mainstream’ to remain aware of the brand
- Senior Management need to take the time to understand the world of Generation C or – they risk making decisions that are comfortable for the corporate but not the market they serve.
Check out V Republic now.
So – what’s the smartest marketing strategies you have seen that work for Generation C? Let us know!
#10 EMI shows the last 10% is so important for Generation C
May 7, 2009 by Jake Pearce
And that 10% is articulated by Matt Headland, CEO of EMI NZ, a company that is looking at a new way of engaging with its ‘people’…..
I was reading a Seth Godin epistle, called “Meat Ball Sunday” and he made another of his excellent insights.
He explains that one of the most frustrating things about marketing is that the concepts are so easy to explain but are so hard to do. His book in essence says that most companies are using the new ‘tools’ of marketing in an old way.
So what does that mean? Have a look at Matt’s video and then read on….
The Music industry has been railed against for being slow to adapt to a changing digital world. In general I agree but…. let’s face it, so are most of us. What’s really interesting is this – 90 % of what they did was ‘right’ according to the laws of ‘modern marketing’….these are some of the things that Matt Headland talks about:
- constant innovation (new artists, new music content)
- risk taking
- market research is a state of being for this industry as they are surrounded by ‘their market’
- album launches are always with fans
- building relationships with your fan base
- the industry sponsors loads of events where their ‘consumers’ meet
If you look at this list – that’s an awful lot of the key points that most new marketing gurus bang on about.
So if the music industry got it 90% right -why is it struggling and how can you learn from their mistakes?
I believe that they failed where most companies are struggling in this area:
- they didn’t listen to the early adopters who said change is coming
- they didn’t treat those early adopters as ‘team players’ ie engage them in a way that made them receptive (see – www.thevillagesq.com)
- they tried (a little) to use their old distribution in a new way – Godin’s point ( in a few record stores they tried burning CDs to provide customised content to order e.g. Virgin)
- ultimately they wanted to produce product for sale
- as opposed to working with their customers to create new products that are better than the company, itself could do (NB Research for NPD is usually – testing ‘our’ ie the companies new ideas
Are you treating Generation C as part of your team – or are they your consumers?
It’s so easy to point at other industries and see things clearly and it’s much harder when it’s your own – but I dare you to do it.
It’s all about this – to engage Generation C you need to learn to give up some control – you need to give Generation C a sense of choice.
Globally people are increasingly growing ‘younger’ ie they have access to the same ‘young’ material without trying that hard. So in a real sense this is a challenge that is relevant to all demographics and all Western markets.
I’m not saying lose all control – though some companies do that very successfully around the co-creation of products and services e.g. www.fiskars.com or www.fiskateers.com
But ask yourself honestly, what are you doing to give up some control? Anything? Or are you still being controlling while using new found marketing toys in an old way, as Godin says?
I dare you to loosen up a bit – just have a glass of wine with your ‘people’ (consumers) face to face and let me know what happens!
#9 Will ‘independent’ Generation C be as entrepreneurial when they have ‘grown up’?
April 27, 2009 by Jake Pearce
True or False?
Will ‘independent’ Generation C be as entrepreneurial when they have ‘grown up’?
The key question that generational researchers get wrong is extrapolation. For example – if you took the Woodstock generation in the 1960’s, then the world would have been a music loving, sharing, free spirited paradise long ago.
So what happened? Did the Woodstock generation, better known as the ‘Boomers’ sell out completely? Did their values change or did their values remain the same?
This is a key issues for generational predictions.
Ben Young is what we would call ‘born Gen C’. In his video, Ben makes these key points:
• On average IQ increases each generation
• As a result Generations are genuinely different – it’s not a case of the young are the young or the old are the old
• It is more ‘normative’ or usual for Generation C to be expected to self help in relation to life in general
• In relation to business – Generation C like solving their own problems
• As a result Ben says to corporate – make what GenC want or they will do it for themselves.
This great talk heated up a lot of discussion.
Here are some comments made by people attending the conference – Ben’s talk was thought provoking and polarising for the audience:
• All young people go through a phase of being entrepreneurial – it’s a right of passage – Gen C are no different
• All ‘young’ generations see themselves as special as they get older they see they are more alike than different
• DIY is what Gen C is all about – Ben has hit it on the head when he says Gen C will sort things out themselves
• Every generation has stand out stars – to generalise from a few is not realistic
• It’s not Gen C that are into DIY – it’s just the tools are there (the internet to make it easy) to allow people to do things themselves.
For next week:
In my view the issue is about being normative. Not everyone in the 60’s was musical and into drugs – yet the stand out icons for Boomers – like Bob Dylan reflected those iconic values. In the same way – stand out icons for Generation C are born Generation C doing things for themselves.
Much of marketing is all about the person you’d like to be – the person you aspire to be. With this in mind, we need to explore further how Generation C’s aspirations will evolve.
#8 Video – Gen C talk more than they type – Digital Conference
April 9, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Gen C talk more than they type.
This is one of 3 myths I bust about Gen C during this video (7 mins 50 seconds long) of my chairing a panel at a Digital Conference in March 09. The panel explored Generation C: Who are they and what do they need?
Enjoy and I look forward to your comments!
#7 Generation C steals share from other Generations – but they still talk more than they type…
April 6, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Generation C is a growth Generation stealing share from Generation X, Y, Z and Boomers.
Why?
Well that’s because more and more people use a range of digital media and become ‘adopted GenC’. The Pew research shows that effectively a wide range of demographic generations are ‘converting’ and debunks the myths that Generation C is all about the ‘young’. For example….
• Gen X – are most likely to bank, shop on line
• Boomers are most likely to book travel on line
• Silent Generation (64-72 years old) are up there with Gen Y on e-mail
• The biggest increase in internet use since 2005 is in the 70-75 age group
Check out Pew Research on generations online – it’s great info.
In effect – Generation C started out being those who were really into matters digital and were young but that’s rapidly changing. For example Mitch Olson co-founder of
Small Worlds – told us the average age of those in Second Life is 35. The net result is that those who were the digital influencers are becoming cross generational influencers – and ironically influencers used to be hard to find and now are often openly accessible on digital mediums like twitter.
So what are the implications? Well I feel one will come – a digital backlash because of the demographic blurring inherent in Generation C. One key point that seems to be forgotten is that 80% of all ‘Word-of-Mouth’ comes from the gob not the keyboard.
In short the importance of ‘matters digital’ for marketing people is growing but right now may be overhyped. Generation C talk more than they type and that’s a fact that has been lost on many people.
Watch this space for video footage exploring this fascinating ‘non-demographic’ generation.
#6 Gen C and the future of music – podcast
March 31, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Simon Young and I discuss Generation C and how this group of influential people will impact that notoriously changeable arena – the music industry.
Enjoy