Marketers, Meet 'Generation V'

Below is a recent piece from Marketing Charts, introducing us to a new generation of consumers - one that is not bound by age or social class - but it strictly behaviorally based.

‘Generation V’ Defies Traditional Demographics

The online behavior, attitudes and interests of people from all walks of life are blending together online, cutting across generations and traditional demographics and giving rise to a new online group called “Generation Virtual” (Generation V), according to research by Gartner, which coined the term.

Unlike previous generations, Generation V is not defined by age, gender, social class or geography. Instead, it is based on achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights.

Marketers will ultimately need a separate marketing strategy to reach this generation, according to Gartner.

Within the Generation V community, Gartner defines four levels of engagement - creators, contributors, opportunists, and lurkers - related to the extent to which customers engage with other customers and the level of engagement that businesses and other organizations must have to enable them:

Findings about these Generation V segments:

• Up to 3% will be creators, providing original content. They can be advocates that promote products and services.
  
• Between 3% and 10% will be contributors who add to the conversation, but don’t initiate it. They can recommend products and services as customers move through a buying process, looking for purchasing advice.
• Between 10% and 20% will be opportunists, who can further contributions regarding purchasing decisions. Opportunists can add value to a conversation that’s taking place while walking through a considered purchase.
  
• Approximately 80% will be lurkers, essentially spectators, who reap the rewards of online community input but absorb only what is being communicated. They can still implicitly contribute and indirectly validate value from the rest of the community. All users start out as lurkers.

To address the different needs of these groups, Gartner recommends that marketing organizations segment and support all four engagement levels in the community with appropriate technology and establish goals with plans for determining return on investment (ROI).

“Companies should plan to segment all four levels in the community - each has significant business value,” said Adam Sarner, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Differentiation exists between sectors and industries. Marketers with strong brands attract more creators. Certain industries, such as insurance, draw more lurkers.”

via Marketing Charts

Godin Reminds Marketers to be Innovative and Ever-Present

Seth Godin wrote a thought-provoking piece on the dilemma of a dentist -

My tooth doesn't hurt, says Godin. That's not something you think about very often, is it? (Not my tooth, your tooth).When you have a toothache, on the other hand, it's all you think about.

Point being, for many businesses that may be need-based, it can be challenging to remain top-of-mind, and even more difficult to draw people to your business in the meantime.

The solution? Don't worry, Godin provides it:

• Build your brand by finding a cost-effective way to gently be in [the consumers] face so that when a toothache shows up (in whatever form that takes) you're the obvious choice.
• Create new products and services that build engagement and possibly revenue among members of the population that aren't in pain. That, of course, is why teeth whitening services are so smart. You can sell to people who didn't know they had a problem until they met you.
  

Ironically, this challenge to marketers also reminds me of a challenge many of us with a PR focus face every day - when your company is in crisis, you are the first place they turn (there's that toothache again!). However, when things are going well, the PR department is often the on the top of the list for budget cuts, due to the struggle to tie your powers of influence back to the bottom line.

Read the full post here.

TiVo Says Viewers Still Tune In for 'Relevant Ads'

TiVo's first report from data collected by it's second-by-second analysis tool, PowerWatch, reveal that viewers aren't skipping through all the ads with the handy fast-forward feature - apparently consumers are still giving a moment of their precious time to ads they see relevant to their own lives.

I don't know about you, but on my DVR, I stop for nothing.

Results show that everyone is time shifting, regardless of demographic segment - with 66% of ads being skipped during prime time viewing. Aggregate data for all networks and all time slots concludes that about half of ads are skipped, overall.

The PowerWatch report also shows that all TiVo users skip about the same number of ads - regardless of how long they've been using the service. Though everyone is moving at about the same pace, the type of content skipped varies greatly by demographic - and it trends much in the way that you'd expect. For example, homes with children under 12 viewed 22% more toy and game ads than other groups and adults over 50 viewed 15% more political ads.

"If you have an ad that is relevant, you are more likely to pay attention," said Todd Juenger, vp, gm, audience research and measurement, TiVo. "Commercial skipping is not as random as some people think and there are clear differences by demographic group."

All of this amounts to some good news for advertisers - even though the likelihood of someone viewing you ad has been cut in half, chances are the people who ARE pausing to take in your creative genius are precisely the audience you'd handpick if given the opportunity.

Unfortunately for you, you're still paying the cost for all those indifferent eyes. Perhaps TiVo should begin reimbursing you for decreased reach.

PBR: The Anti-Establishment Icon Sleeping with 'The Man'

Check out this piece in Atlanta's Creative Loafing, discussing the irony of PBR's backhanded (albeit successful) branding strategy.

The Trouble with Tweens: MTV Struggles to Reach Elusive Audience

Today's teens and tweens (ages 8-12) are constantly on-the-go. Between cell phones, YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, video games and iPhones, it's increasingly hard for marketers to know where to turn to target tomorrow's core customers. This group of sophisticated spenders is not going to be reached with the Toys "R" Us catalogs and Saturday morning cartoons their predecessors thrived on.

While earlier groups of teens were known as the 'MTV Generation,' referring to their lack of attention span and attraction to flashy, fast-paced content, this generation seems to be rebelling against traditional teen-magnet MTV. What used to be a sure-fire way to reach young minds is now losing ground, according to Wired's analysis of Viacom's Q2 earnings reports.

To help combat this problem, MarketingVox has put together a collection of tips on seeking out and reeling in the tween audience. According to their piece, 33.3 million teens were in the US in 2003, with discretionary spending power (allowances, gifts, earnings from odd jobs) totaling $42.3 billion and was projected to increase by 1.7 percent year over year.

Top motivating factors for tweens?

• The need to belong
• The desire for power
• More freedom from parents (but not too much. That parents approve of their choices is still important to them)
• The desire to have fun — sensory stimulation is crucial to a product's success

Check out the rest of the MarekitngVox How-To for more tips on targeting tweens.

Image: National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign

Retailers Rely on Star Power for Fall

Companies have been using celebrity faces to sell products since the early 1900s', when cigarette packets were bought just as often for the famous baseball cards as for the product inside. Today, you can't sit through a commercial break without seeing familiar famous faces appear, often more than once.

With celebrities acting both as representatives for products and as owners of their own lines, capitalizing on another's success is an everyday occurrence for big brands like Pepsi, Neutrogena and others. This fall, expect popular retailers to increase their focus on celebrity sellers, hoping to bring in the back-to-school spenders.

Advertising Age provides a run-down of some of the bigger players, expanded here:

KOHL'S - Avril Lavigne is will be partnering with Kohl's this year, joining Daisy Fuentes, Vera Wang, Tony Hawk, Lenny Kravitz, Hayden Panettiere, Vanessa Carlton, the Plain White T's and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

SEARS - Welcomes LL Cool J to launch of his apparel line for juniors, young men and children. Sears also features Ty Pennington's furniture collection and High School Musical star, Vanessa Hudgens, will star in their back-to-school ad campaign.

WAL-MART - Father-son team Master P and Romeo join sisters Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, continuing the tradition of family lines at Wal-Mart. P. Miller Designs is set to launch its P. Miller and Miller Peaches lines, featuring cheap-and-chic clothing. Country star Taylor Swift is present in the Wal-Mart aisles this fall, showing off LEI Jeans.

JC PENNEY - Reality-TV star Kimora Lee Simmons is introducing Fabulosity, a line of urban sportswear for juniors. It will be part of Penney's "Breakfast Club" back-to-school campaign, which launches July 18. She joins designers Chris Madden and Nicole Miller.

BELK - Kristin Davis has announced a partnership with Belk, proving SJP isn't the only "Sex and the City" star with fashion sense. The "flirty and "feminine" line will retail for $38-$240 this fall.

MACY'S - Tommy Hilfiger will join the star-studded case of Macy's commercials this year, which in the past have featured Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Jessica Simpson and Usher. Beginning this fall, the designer men's and women's sportswear collections will be carried exclusively at Macy's. The store will also carry DKNY's new 'Edie Rose' line, designed by starlet Rachel Bilson.

More celebrity lines and partnerships for Fall:

• Jessica Simpson will add dresses to her growing collection.
• Eve will re-launch Fetish at select retailers.
• Reality-star Heidi Montag will continue her partnership with west coast retailer Anchor Blue.
• Lindsay Lohan is selling her new leggings line exclusively at Intuition.
• Paris Hilton has designed a line for Dollhouse clothing.

Know Your Roots: Mad Men Season 2 Premieres Tonight

Mad Men, the dramatic AMC series chronicling the life and times of an advertising agency in the golden age of ads - the 1960's - returns tonight for a second season. 

Tune in to see agency partner Don Draper woo his clients with the finesse we all wish we had. 

AdRants was lucky enough to score an interview with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, who reflected on the evolution of ad agencies since the 60's. Read it here.