Gen Z and the i-pad

Why does the i-pad have it so right?

Now I have to say that I have become suddenly obsessed with wanting an i-pad, mainly due to my dreams of lazing with the kids on summer days, writing the many books that I have in my head. Whether I get one has yet to be seen. But what I have noticed in my children and their friends is their different thoughts and approaches to the I-pad, which I thought was very interesting.

My 13-year-old and her friends said, “What’s all the fuss about, it’s just a big i-phone!” They recognised the coolness of it, but that was it. Meanwhile, the little Gen Z, my 9-year-old, had a different take entirely.

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Gen Y like customisation

Marketing to Youth

We all know that Gen Y like to customise and, as their buying power grows, it looks like some companies are catching up and changing their offerings. Chocri is a great example and will no doubt appeal to youth on many levels (minus the price).

Firstly, it has a social cause element. Clearly shown on their website is current donations, although reading it I think that Gen Y may demand more.

DIV-Kinder (which stands for Deutsch-Ivorische-Verein and means German-Ivory Association) is a Christian organization that cares for the needs of homeless and orphaned children of the Ivory Coast. Their primary interest is to provide the children with shelter and supervision. The organization’s employees work directly in these countries and make sure that donations and supplies from Germany are transferred to the homes for children.

1% of every chocolate bar purchased goes directly to the children of the Ivory Coast. So far, the first major donation project we financed was very successful and you are welcome to read more about this project and future ones on our blog.

They also tick the boxes on blogging and offering free bars but this is all a bit old hat, right?

Where they really excell is in their customisations, allowing customers to make their own bar. You pick what choclate it is made from, what you put in it, from which the range is huge, and then you get to name it. Now, while on the surface this may not appear huge, to me it shows that we are getting our youth more and more and are willing to make changes.

Pepsi Max Ad gets youth all fired up.

Marketing to Youth- How could Pepsi get it so wrong?

The latest Pepsi Max advert has caused a lot of debate among the youth and has brought up some interesting questions for me.

Is the tide turning when it comes to using sex in adverts?
Has the message of respect for women finally got through?
Are youth demanding a new way of thinking from advertising?

My answer to all these is yes.

This Pepsi Max advert sees a man trick a women into having sex with him by making her think that the world is about to end. As a 40-something-year-old I have to say that I watched the advert, chuckled a bit and thought nothing of it, but it appears that the youth saw it another way, calling it a little bit rapey. Wow, was I so used to seeing this sort of thing on TV and adverts that I did not even bat a eyelid? Or perhaps, my police background knows that this would never stand as a rape charge. Whatever it was, it did not affect me as it did the female youth who were up in arms about it. As I started to think about it, I saw that although I have been conditioned by years and years of mistreatment of women in the media, which intially made me see the funny side, it is not really funny at all. These young females are right; it is unacceptable and it has made me so thankful that the conditioning is finally changing and these topics are been openly discussed. Well done…..

Here are some of the comments of a thread of over 140 about the advert.

I am not lacking a sense of humour. I am not known for political correctness. But hello? If you make a woman think she is about to die in order to have sex with her, that is a bit rapey. Would she have had sex with you otherwise? No – we clearly see her turn the guy down. Was she under extreme emotional duress? Yes – she thinks she and everyone she loves are about to die horribly. Does this make me want to buy Pepsi Max? No, it makes me want to pretend to kidnap the children of the ad execs who came up with this ad in order to get them to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do (like show some semblance of intelligence). Disclaimer: it makes me want to do it, but I wouldn’t, because I am not a jerk, unlike the Pepsi Max-drinking jerk in the ad.

ETA: @mjrobbins on Twitter just pointed out the dance they do at the end, which we have now dubbed the pack hunt Dance of Rape.
Pepsi Max – when you’re too gentlemanly to threaten her with a weapon
Pepsi Max, the drink of men who are you to trick you in to having sex with them. Nice strategy there guys, well done

Also take a look at Pepsi Advert – “A Little Bit Rapey” and Pepsi Max – A Bit Rapey

Or make your own mind up and see the advert for yourself.

Marketing to youth

Why you need to use social media

I love this video I found on http://www.yumu42.com/

A Youth approach to marketing

Gods, Gays and Girls

Lisa of Fink cards and I have recently taken on some Gen Y Buzz Agents to help us hit the ground running (basically young people who will help us get the message out). We wanted innovative ways to get our products out to the people and figured that we needed youth and energy and that we need to butt out and leave them to it. Obviously, they have some guidelines, but that is it. Now they are not marketers, nor do they have any special powers, they are two amazing young adults who love what we do and have drive and determination. We wanted it like this.

So as Lisa and I talked about adult stuff, namely product development, they excitedly planned their strategy, which did to us seem chaotic but we left them to it and tried so hard not to listen.

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Gen Y, Gen Z and Coke Happiness

Youth and Viral Video

A lot had been written about the new Coke viral video and the happiness machine. It is a great video and there is no doubt about it, Gen Y love this video, just as the amazing Carol Phillips wrote about on her blog. But I think this campaign is even cleaver than that and coke could be gearing up for Gen Z with this video.

It is obvious why Gen Y like this video. It appeals to their something-for-nothing mentality (please note that I am not saying that this is a bad thing). It also appeals to their optimistic nature and view of the world. They want things bright and shiny and, on the surface, this feeds that. It was only when I showed it to my two children and their friends, one a late Gen Y and one a Gen Z, that I realised the difference.

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