Interest in generation Y has been actively exploited recently by the media, covering this topic either in the context of marketing and branding, or in the context of sociology, psychology and HR. And thanks to the mass media, many have formed a kind of chaotic idea about these people.
Genius and stupidity, egocentrism and love for one's neighbor, entrepreneurial abilities and infantilism as characteristic features of the “Yagreks” are sometimes condemned, sometimes encouraged, but always cause a lively reaction - after all, in the descriptions someone will definitely recognize themselves, their friend or colleague.
We decided to sort everything out: clarify controversial issues and tell how the theory of generations helps build your work on social networks.
Fathers and sons: another look at the problem of generations
One of the main points on which there are discrepancies not only in the media, but even in the materials of significant researchers is the boundaries of generation Y. Some consider people born from 1980 to the early 1990s to be “Yers”. And those who were born in the late 90s are already considered representatives of generation Z. Others shift the boundaries to 1985-2005. In search of truth, let's turn to the source.
The boundaries of generations are clearly defined and justified by the so-called theory of generations, developed in the early 90s of the last century by the Americans Neil Howe and William Strauss. Later this theory was adapted to other countries.
According to the theory, the “duration” of one generation is 20-22 years. Every 20 years, a new generation of people appears whose values are fundamentally different from the values of their parents and grandparents.
It is curious that the change of generations occurs only four times, forming a single 80-year cycle. Four generations within a cycle change like the seasons and repeat again. This has been happening for hundreds of years. The study by Howe and Strauss describes this pattern from the late 16th century—the birth of the United States—but the researchers argue that the pattern was true long before that.
The 80-year cycle is represented by four generational archetypes: “Artists”, “Idealists”, “Nomads” and “Heroes”.
The personality of the “Artists” is formed in an era of reaction and strict authoritarian control from external forces, be it the government or parents. “Idealists” grow up in an era of economic growth and stability. “Nomads” - at a time when the winds of change begin to blow and old values are crumbling. The “hero” appears in a crisis in order to create a new world on the ruins of the “old life”. As Franklin Roosevelt said, much is given to some generations, much is expected from others.
And what archetype do the “I-Greeks” belong to?
Gamification is a natural process
The main economically active generation now is Millennials, so it is not surprising that it is their needs that need to be focused on. Board game companies illustrate this perfectly: they are created by millennials, cater to the needs of millennials, and do it spectacularly.
Of course, techniques that initially contain an element of play work well on “games”:
- When the item indicates the status of the owner, and buying in the front row is a daunting task. The reward in this case is the fact of purchase - “made”, “bought”, “achieved”, “hero”. This is a typical gaming scenario that Millennials pick up very well.
- Buying quest: the process of choosing furniture is a fascinating walk with the opportunity to find many fun and necessary things, and the reward is that the purchased chaotic set of elements, after a couple of hours of persistent assembly, turns into something stylish and functional!
- Titles and “achievements”: for example, an information site filled by the users themselves, whose activity is stimulated by “titles” and “ratings”. In this case, a game scenario is implemented in which it is initially necessary to pass a barrier, after which the fact of publication is an achievement, and then “pumped up” by gaining ratings with publications.
Heroes of our time
The “Hero” archetype was embodied in two different generations in the 20th century. This is the so-called "Greatest Generation" - people born from the 1900s to the 1920s.
“Heroes” in the truest sense of the word, who defended, changed, and built a new world. Born in an unstable era of changes in power, revolution, and global upheaval, representatives of the “Greatest Generation” went through at least one war.
80 years later the cycle repeated itself. The heroes of our time are the Yers, or millennials. Coworking space, smoothies, startups, beards, cats, that's all.
But no, not everything.
The “Hero” archetype, of course, manifests itself differently than it did 80 years ago. The heroism of the “Igreks” lies in the denial of authority. In believing in yourself and your capabilities. Unprepared to spend decades in a boring job. In dynamism, a thirst to know the world. In the predominance of spiritual values over material ones. In an entrepreneurial spirit.
The Greeks grew up during a period of epochal changes: perestroika, the collapse of the USSR, liberalization and transition to a market economy, globalization, the rapid development of digital technologies, the rapid spread of the Internet and the global financial crisis.
Hence, millennials’ readiness for change, disbelief in long-term prospects, and rejection of authority. Cynicism, self-confidence, infantilism and optimism: the “Greeks” found a period of relatively prosperous 2000s.
The information revolution makes young people free and self-confident. Technology allows one person to compete with large organizations: hackers against corporations, bloggers against newspapers, terrorists against states, YouTubers against film studios, app makers against entire industries.
The “Igreks” are immune to advertising; traditional marketing tools work ineffectively with them. “Greeks” don’t watch TV, hardly listen to the radio, don’t dream of working in a bank, and don’t believe propaganda.
Five years will pass, and the “Igreks” will find themselves at the most economically active age. They will produce the lion's share of GDP, spend money on quality clothing, travel, invest in children's education and get mortgages.
A business that does not learn to communicate with them cannot be successful.
Generation theory is the key to creating an ideal workplace
Companies can benefit from age diversity in the workplace. Employees from different generations can offer unique perspectives and bring different benefits.
- Problem Solving: Because each generation has a different approach to problem solving, having employees from multiple generations can be very helpful when it comes to identifying opportunities for innovation and new ways to solve everyday problems.
- Understanding different audiences: Each generation is unique, which is a great advantage for the company. By using people from each generation, you can better understand your different target audiences.
- Learning Opportunities: Generational diversity at work provides learning opportunities for all employees. Colleagues can teach each other new approaches and more efficient ways of doing business. For example, worker Z, who is more technologically advanced, can suggest how X can get through a tedious job faster.
- Mentoring: A multi-generational workforce is an ideal environment for mentoring. Many organizations run mentoring and internal training programs to give employees the opportunity to train each other. This not only helps employees gain new skills and information, but also improves their collaboration.
By understanding the characteristics of each generation, you can not only create a comfortable workplace for everyone, but also benefit from it. Working effectively together, three generations can lead the company to outstanding results.
Various "Greeks"
The situation is complicated by the fact that there are many “Igreks” and they are different. Millennials are considered the most diverse generation in history. Hence the contradictions in the characterization of the “Igreks”, which we mentioned at the very beginning. Today there are 30 million “Igreks” in Russia. It is obvious that, in addition to the general features inherent in the generation as a whole, it is possible to identify certain features by which it can be segmented.
In 2012, The Boston Consulting Group conducted a study called 'The Millennial Consumer'. Four thousand “Igreks” aged from 16 to 34 years old, as well as representatives of older generations, took part in it.
Not surprisingly, the answers varied among Yers of different ages, social status, income and gender: their attitudes towards technology, communication, media consumption, marketing and outlook on life differ. The result of the study was the identification of 6 types of “Igreks”. The distinctive features of social behavior formed the basis for the conventional names of these types:
- "Aware" (Hip-ennial);
- “Advanced” (Gadget Guru);
- “Green and Fluffy” (Clean and Green);
- "Conservatives" (Oldschool);
- Millenial-Mom;
- "Anti-Millenial".
We at the April agency were perhaps one of the first in the entire digital community of the RuNet to seriously delve into working with the audience based on the theory of generations. Our approach is of greatest interest to companies seeking to establish a dialogue with their audience, instead of “shooting sparrows from a cannon,” increasing media pressure and, possibly, draining the budget.
The right approach to millennials will allow you to “rock up” the community on social networks, find or grow your own brand advocates.
Each of the above types of “Greeks” has its own characteristics of network behavior. Let's go in order and find out how, with whom and what is better to talk about.
Attitude to money
Most millennials live for today, but think about old age and retirement.
Financial literacy is higher than that of Generation X. They do not get into large debts, avoid mortgages (what are they?) and car loans, and rely on the money they have at the moment.
Young people aged 20-30 do not like to carry wallets with cash, preferring to pay with credit cards, smartphones or smart watches.
Hip-Ennial or "Aware"
The global insight of this audience sounds like “I can change this world.” However, they talk much more than they do. Among the “Aware”, girls predominate. They are very active on social networks, but they would rather “like”, “share” and comment than write their own thoughtful (or not so thoughtful) texts.
“Aware” is a very fertile ground for the spread of all kinds of viral activities. For example, from charitable organizations. Remember who most often reposts calls for help for dogs, grandmothers and children among your friends, and you will find a prominent representative of the “Aware”.
Gadget Guru or "Advanced"
“It’s great to be me!” - immodest, but they really think so. These guys, and mostly they are guys, strive to be independent, earn good money and buy advanced gadgets with this money. It seems that a considerable part of the vc.ru audience will recognize themselves in “Advanced”, but can you answer what interests you in Digital?
That’s right, the main thing is not to be led, but to lead yourself. You create the most content to highlight your success and trend-following. And you will be especially pleased if the brand shows a special personal touch, listens to your advice and communicates with you.
And it’s even better if among your friends (completely by chance, yeah), an “evangelist” of the brand is found and, in great confidence, tells you about the most secret new products and shares a promotional code.
Millennial Mom or “Millennial Moms”
“I love playing sports, traveling and spoiling my child.” “Igreki Moms” are very active. For them, a child is not only not a reason to stop taking care of themselves, but, on the contrary, a driver of personal growth and development. When it comes to behavior on social media, they find enough time to produce tons of content.
However, the topics that interest them are limited to a completely understandable range: travel, health, family, education. Politics and economics are not of interest to “Moms” until some events begin to affect them directly.
“Millennial Moms” are a very interesting audience who spend money with an X2 coefficient on themselves and their children. If you want to reach them, try setting up communication through bloggers and celebrity moms who are influential in their circle. You can communicate with them directly, but it will take effort to earn trust.
Clean and Green or “Green and Fluffy”
“I care not only about myself, but also about the world that surrounds me” - they crowd around vegan trailers and bring in lamps and batteries. We called them “Green”, which is absolutely true, and “Fluffy”, which sometimes is not entirely true. Because sometimes they can be quite belligerent.
Once it touches a nerve, they are ready to catch the wave and boldly get involved in a scandal on Facebook pages. The Greens won't trust you until you can prove that you've actually reduced your emissions. Hello Volkswagen.
In Russia, the topic of “greening” advertising communications is not yet sufficiently developed, however, we see the most successful cases in the medium-sized business segment.
If you want to consolidate the Green audience, give them the opportunity to work for you for free. Let them bring batteries, come up with a recipe for a new dish, or tell your friends how great you are.
What's next?
- Gamification technologies will actively develop over the next 10-15 years, until the next generation of people is formed. Then all this will have to transform into something new - something that will attract that same generation Z.
- Most of the techniques developed to date will be replaced by less explicit, more personalized ones, but based on the same basic principles and qualities.
- Entire industries will be forced to reinvent themselves to remain efficient.
- Millennials will increasingly change the world: their values will become decisive.
- Those who decide to start their own business will be faced with the fact that most of the developed technologies and techniques will quickly lose their effectiveness, so they will have to constantly improve and look for something new.
- The number of companies created by Millennials will increase. And we at MEGA Accelerator will actively contribute to this: where they ask, we will help, where they want, we will teach, and where they need, we will stimulate.
Old-School Millennial or "Conservatives"
“Communication on social networks is too impersonal, but let’s better meet and drink coffee!” - these are “Xers” who simply pretend to be “Yers”. Well, they love live communication, well, they don’t feel comfortable on social networks, well, they don’t understand how to call a taxi through the application.
Perhaps some of them even have a home phone. And TV. If “Anti-Millennials” fall out of the classification, then “Conservatives” are at the other pole in relation to “Advanced”.
If your target audience is “Conservatives,” try to use more classic media - the UN, TV, newspapers, magazines - otherwise there is a risk that you simply won’t get them.
As you can see, six groups of millennials or “Yers” quite succinctly describe the main types of those who are now between 14 and 33 years old. The theory of generations is most useful in two cases: firstly, when you are looking for consumer insight of your target audience, and secondly, when you want to set up a dialogue with your audience through social networks.
Just describe your target customer as accurately and without illusions as possible and find the definition that they fall under. Many answers will come by themselves.
Shopping is also a quest
Modern shopping centers are not just a collection of stores, but single complexes that become points of attraction: numerous cafes where you can have a snack and socialize, a variety of shops (from anchor tenants to small ones opened by Millennials themselves), gaming areas, cinemas.
The purchase becomes just an addition to communication. And here, too, a game that is so close to the hearts of representatives of generation Y is involved, which will help to attract and interest them even more. The most obvious technique that can be found in shopping malls is the use of familiar images and game moments in marketing campaigns. Due to the fact that a large number of stores use it, a common visual background is formed, which is positively perceived by Millennials.
An example is the Pokemon Go game held at MEGA centers last year, where customers had to look for special tags in stores, galleries and food courts, and by scanning them they would get a chance to win gift cards from MEGA or a super prize - shopping worth 100,000 rubles. in the company of TV presenter Regina Todorenko.
The sheer number of stores, constant promotions and events create dynamics similar to those of computer games. If you imagine the buyer as a character who has mana (money) and health (fatigue): the shopping center acts as the location where the raid unfolds, and the shops act as potential sources of loot.
When several stores simultaneously announced discounts
The search for beautiful and unusual things creates sensations similar to those from playing games. This is how a boring shopping trip takes on features familiar and loved by Millennials. The layout and distribution of stores in shopping centers is almost completely identical to the construction of locations in computer games:
- first weak mobs (small shops at the entrances),
- identical mobs are collected in groups (in shopping malls a similar method of grouping stores is used),
- different mobs in the group (large stores attract customers for smaller ones, and proximity to luxury brands is beneficial for budget ones),
- there are bosses, but the path to them lies through many simple mobs (popular shops are usually located in the depths),
- locations should be complex (navigation in a shopping center is deliberately complicated in order to delay the buyer).
The main thing is to reach the checkpoint, where you can sit, drink coffee and relax. As for high technology, everything is still much more interesting. We partially covered this topic in our previous post about high-tech shopping. And this is just the beginning.
