Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube & the Future of American Politics

by Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais, 2008

I heard the authors interviewed prior to the 2008 American presidential election and picked up the book to see what their research had concluded about the future of American politics. What I found, was a valuable resource for looking at how markets are shifting and changing. In this book summary, I will not get into the political implications of these changes, rather focusing on the business and marketing ramifications of the emerging technologies.

The Millennial Generation encompasses those born between 1982 and 2003. They are coming of age in unprecedented numbers and they have always known computing and communication technologies. Like all generations, the Millennials are making a clear statement about how and why they are unlike previous generations. This generation is larger and more diverse than any before it and more positive both about the present and future state of their own lives and America. (Page 2)
This generation is your future market, whatever your business focus may be. Even geriatric services will be largely decided by the Millennials.
"There are now twice as many Millennials as Gen-Xers and already a million
more Millennials alive than Baby Boomers–a gap that will only increase over the next several decades as the Baby Boomers age and die." (Page 67)

And, the Millennials are accomplished, positive, upbeat and optimistic...their standardized test scores are higher than the scores of the Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers. (Page 81) Two-thirds of them rate their own lives as "excellent" or "pretty good". (Page 82) The use of gloom, doom and scare tactics to sell to this market will miss the mark; they do not naturally resonate with those messages.

The Millennial Generation has grown up expressing their thoughts and opinions openly and they expect to be heard. If you want to know what they think or what motivates them, you will have to ask rather than assume. Even if you have assumed correctly what they want and need, the gesture of asking is important. They seek input from both peers and adults in making decisions. And, they express their opinions on blogs, discussion boards, rating websites and other online media. If they hate your product or think you are not treating customers fairly, don't be surprised to find your name all over the Internet with Millennials weighing in on the merits or demerits of your company or product. For many business people, this prospect is particularly frightening–uncontrolled and uncensored consumer feedback.

The global nature of today's economy is truly the only model the Millennials have ever known. While they describe themselves as largely patriotic, they are at the same time attuned to the worldwide connection of nations and see the "world becoming more connected through greater economic trade and faster communications." (Page 103) (Pew Research Center 2004) As buyers, they have seen goods and services crossing national boundaries all of their lives and they naturally expect competition from outside the United States. They do not necessarily see value in supporting local business or American industries.

"The wave of change is washing over the social and political landscape of America, threatening to sweep away businesses, power structure, and institutions that were built on the beliefs and technologies of a previous era." (Page 140) The fundamental architecture of the new communication networks places power in the hands of the user. "Worldwide, about 55% of all Internet traffic is P2P [peer-to-peer]-oriented and 61 percent of the traffic is in video files..." (Page 150) Now the viewer chooses the time and place for viewing and their range of choices far exceeds that of network and cable television or the local movie theater. Millennials expect this fluid access to the media of their choice.

This emerging market is highly mobile and the challenge for business is to find economical ways to reach and persuade them. (Page 164) Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook make it possible, if somewhat less controlled than the older media formats. "About two-thirds of all Millennials consider their friends the most important source of information on what's cool. Web sites on the Net come in second (with magazines, cable TV, and parents rounding out the top five)." (Page 170) What does that tell you about approaching this market?

Technology for the sake of technology—or to be cool—is not an economically effective approach. The technology must mesh with the overall strategy of the business. The business must seek the point where the message and the media flow seamlessly to reach the market.

Here are a few questions for you to consider as you seek to tap into the largest generation America has ever seen:

• How will the diversity of this generation impact my company and my product?
• How will I benefit from asking for input from the Millennials I wish to reach through my business?
• What opportunity exists for me to utilize social networks to reach large numbers of Millennials economically?
• What technology aligns with my business strategy?