X and Y Tech Differences Simplified

It's not as if X'ers are not into technology but as Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research explained in Business Week magazine, "the key distinction between Generation X and Y is that Generation X uses technology when it supports a "lifestyle need" whereas tech is "embedded into everything Gen Yers do" making them the first "native online population".

Among Millennials there is a strong chance that tech usage will continue to edge higher given the DNA of the group. Here are a few current stats:

• More than 80%: mobile phone usage
• Online time: more hours than it spends watching TV
• Text messaging: 72% by mobile phone owners
• About 20% access the mobile Internet at least monthly

Forrester Research's Golvin also said "Generation Y is the audience companies are most struggling to understand—a key issue due to their importance for future revenue growth". Clearly a huge challenge facing all industries, not just radio and media.

Let me suggest that applying shades of gray changes to how we program our content--on-air, on-line, and mobile will most likely not yield the results we are hoping for. Simply transferring the same old-same old to mobile apps will not only disappoint the end users but will disappoint those who care about the revenue figures.

The hit's will still be the hits. How they are presented is what needs to change. It is my opinion that we as an industry need to lose the "more music-less talk" mantra. If we have any hope of capturing the hearts and minds of Millennials we are going to have to employ people who can effectively TALK with and to this very influential group.

Oh, and You Can Stop Calling Everything "Viral" - That's Lame

Think you've got a handle of what's happening with Gen Y's? Not so fast--unless you happen to be a GenY'er. A thought provoking article in Read Write Web rightfully claims Gen Y is taking over.

Their attitudes about everything from social issues to work, to even the web is different than previous generations. I don't think it's a rebellious movement like has been seen in the past--just different. In fact, it seems that Gen Y's tend to have closer relationships with their parents and seem to be quite comfortable with that arrangement.

I have written many times over the past few months how critical it is that we educate ourselves on the significant differences between Gen Y's and all other generations. The writer of the article concludes the same thing:

Ignoring the voices of Gen Y is something you should do at your own peril, especially if you're a business looking to hire, a company selling a product, or an advertising firm trying to reach them.

Please read that sentence at least 3 times. It's that important.

In the radio business, we have two subsets of Gen Y's we have to be concerned about...employees and listeners. Expectations, aspirations, and goals have changed.

How we develop our on-air product, create our websites and how we help our clients reach consumers will be changing:

Marketing Has To Change: Because Gen Y is media savvy and conscious of being marketed to, brands that succeed in the future will be those that open a dialog with their customers, admit their mistakes, and essentially become more transparent (save one notable exception, apparently). Companies' web sites that want to attract GenY'ers will become more like today's Web 2.0 sites. Social networking will be just a feature. Blogs will be standard ways for companies to reach their customers. Customer service won't just be a phone call away, it will be available via non-traditional means, too. Today, savvy companies might be using Twitter, but that could change at any time if Gen Y moves on. Companies will have to keep up with Gen Y and not get too comfortable using any one format. (Oh, and you can stop calling everything "viral" - that's lame.)

Thinking of hiring a new employee? That too requires a new understanding.

Work Tools Need to Mirror Web Tools: Gen Y will drive adoption of "Enterprise 2.0" products and services. Gen Y in the workplace will not just want, but expect their company to provide them with tools that mirror those they use in their personal lives. If socializing on Facebook helps them get a sale, then they're not going to understand why they can't use it at work. For more buckled down companies, if workers aren't provided with the tools they want, they're going to be savvy enough to go around I.T.'s back and get their own.

Work Isn't Their Whole World: Sure, they're going to go to work, but it had better be fun. For Gen Y, work isn't their identity. It's just a place. Gen Y sees no reason why a company can't be more accommodating, offering benefits like the ability to work from anywhere, flex-time, a culture that supports team communication, and a "fun" work environment. They're also not going to blindly follow orders just because you're the boss. Sometimes dubbed "Generation Why?" they need to "buy in" as to why something is being done. Old school bosses may find their questioning insubordinate behavior, but they would be best to just change their management techniques and adapt. Gen Y hasn't known much unemployment and they're not going to put up with being treated poorly just for sake of a paycheck. (Bosses, your survival guide is here).

The future of radio hinges on Gen Y's discovering something connected to radio they can be passionate about. Passionate is a very strong word and might be unattainable. Let's try this: The future of radio hinges on Gen Y's discovering something connected to radio they can be interested in.

It won't be easy.

A Sign of The Times

None. (read on and you will understand)

If you were at your local mall and you (as an adult) were looking for the teen and young adult clothing and accessories store Hollister you might be hard pressed to find it. This very popular store features no sign over the doorway, has no windows looking in and it is nearly as dark as a movie theater.

Found this story about the Hollister stores at the Marketing Student website. The post included this photo peaking inside. (keep reading, I promise there's a radio angle to this story)

Here's the complete post:

"There’s nothing like the feeling of knowing that you don’t belong somewhere. I am reminded of this whenever I step inside a Hollister retail store, which is so teen it hurts.

No brand name over the front doors, no glass windows to see inside, and two Tiger Beat model types to greet you on the way in. The inside is so dark, ladies might feel the instinct to grasp the pepper spray inside their purses. An overbearing perfume/cologne mix hangs in the air. It’s almost as if they’ve designed the store to repel you, but their success clearly shows that Gen Y is responding.

Above is a peek inside one such store, which almost seems to go against every ergonomic and design rule conceived in the last 50 years. But perhaps that’s precisely why it’s so successful. Teens are always going to want to rebel against their elders, and this is just the latest iteration.

Or…maybe I’m just getting older. Next thing you know I’m yelling at kids to get off my lawn…"

Think about what you just read and consider how very different it is from every other store in the mall. Think about how different Gen Y's are compared to GenXer's. Think about how different we are going to need to program radio stations to even have a chance to connect with Gen Y. Some have argued it's a lost cause. I am of the mind that if we build it ("it" being very good, interactive, and compelling) they will come.

Forget about your quarter hour maintenance, forget about your laser-zap-swishes, forget about running your :07 second stopwatch on your jocks--forget it all.

Look, I am not saying set structure and all of the other radio basics are unimportant; but what I am saying is perfect execution of these tactics are not going to automatically make you a winner with Gen Y's.

Communication structures have changed. A recent study estimated that more than 70% of 15-34 year olds are members of social networks. Content expectations have changed. The hits are a dime-a-dozen. Free really. [Go to You Tube and within a couple of minutes you can search and build a playlist of the top 10 songs and be listening and watching them as quickly as turning on a radio and searching for a station that's playing a song you like.]

Yes, music can be a central theme. But we have to develop content and connections around the music that evoke similar feelings and emotions that those Hollister clothing and accessories stores do. Cool, different, hot, and most of all a place not for my parents!

***Addendum***

Occasionally the good folks at Radio-Info will post a story in the "guest mic" section and this Gen Y story is one of those stories. Executive Editor Dana Hall checked in with these comments. Thanks Dana!!

I’ve been in Hollister with my boyfriend’s 16 –year old daughter. The music was so loud that I had to leave several times to get away—and I love my music loud!

It was cool how they had a place ( a display) to actually look at all the CDs they played—like a juke box—that customers could pick to hear something (for free—it didn’t cost anything). That’s what really intrigued me. And it was all kind of underground, alternative rock stuff—but not really anything that I recall hearing on the radio.

Less Talk...More Music

It sounded good at the time when that "nifty" phrase began making its way to stations around the country all those years ago. Most of the time, it simply was bluster intended to cover up increasing spotloads and other time-eating clutter.

Monday morning NAB President/CEO David Rehr delivered his opening address at the NAB convention in Las Vegas and said this:

"For years, we've been saying local, local, local. And that's true, but we have a new wrinkle. We also learned from these consumers that being local, in and of itself, is not what defines radio's value. It's the accessibility and the connection with radio personalities. And it's being everywhere and available to everyone. A radio is not a jukebox.

"If you're listening to radio, you want to hear a human voice sharing that same moment in time that you are. There is power in that personal bond. A CD doesn't have that connection. An iPod doesn't have it. No, our model is not broken."

He got it right--radio is not a jukebox. But turn the radio on outside of morning drive you wouldn't know it. One could argue that's what it needs to be in the face of, well, the proliferation of the jukebox...errrr iPod.

Today the more music strategy is still "working" and in the short term it will continue to do so. What is not visible right now is what lurks right around the corner. The gradual aging in of the the Gen Y's that begins in 3 short years--that's when the first of the millennials turn 25. That magic age when one becomes much more important to our industry and its advertisers.

As we all know this is the first generation of consumers that's always had computers, cell phones, and 100+ channels of TV. We also know that this generation's mantra is "give it to me now...on-demand". Couple that with this groups dramatic decline in passion and perception of radio and one must believe these factors indicate the future radio climate will be stormy at best.

What can we do? A cynic would say we can't do anything to reverse this trend. I believe we can. It is going to require game changing strategies and "more music" won't be one of its tactics.

A new generation of talent will begin to emerge as radio is FORCED to reassess what it sends down the transmission line. If you are an echo boomer (maybe Gen-X) or older think about what lead you to a career in radio. If you hadn't been captivated, inspired, or mesmerized with what came out of the speakers I suggest we might all be bankers, plumbers, or health care providers today.

You know how hard it is to attract under 25's to choose radio as a career today. I say build it and they will come. Some courageous broadcasters will step up and begin developing this new brand of radio--one that does not depend on music alone for its success. Once that process begins and IF it's relevant and compelling something magical might begin to happen--new people will want be in radio.

I refuse to seed radio's future to the cynics. I believe new coalitions will be identified, talent will come from new and different places once we start looking for it, and the role of music in this new world will be quite different than what we know today.

Who's ready to join me in the future today?

Gen Y's Are Changing Everything

Those born between the years of 1986–2000 (some demographers offer slightly different years) are changing everything...as they should.

Millennials see life differently than Gen X, Jones, and Boomers because their experiences have been different in large part due to technology. Or maybe better put, what technology has enabled them to do.

There was an excellent story on The Fox Report with anchor Sheppard Smith Friday evening about the dramatic increase in Gen Y's interest in this election cycle. Consider that these teens/early 20's are coming of age at a time when all they have known is their country at war and their first political memory was the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

There was much more to this report than politics. Some of the key points:

• They crave authenticity
• BS detector high for in-authenticity
• Keep it real, no made-for-TV moments
• Email is slow
• Many without TV's
• If it's not on the internet it doesn't exist
  

If having a TV has become less important imagine how Gen Y must feel about radio (let alone a HD radio). In a few short years the first members of this group will be crossing into that all important 25-54 demo. We all must continue our march to be all things virtual and mobile but most critically we must provide content that provides high entertainment values.

Watch the video right here: