As a member of Generation Y and after reading these articles, I’m not sure if I’m being captured accurately. This may be because I’m a little different than the people described in the articles, but I also believe it is because the term “Generation Y” is too broad of a term. This generation spans many different age groups so I believe it is dangerous for marketers to segment the market just by using the group of people who are the offspring of the baby boomers. Within this Generation Y, there are kids just entering high school to adults that are a lot older than me. Thus, the interests of this generation vary immensely. The freshmen in high school still love the Jonas Brothers and there purchases are probably still guided by their parents. However, my age group is interested in a much larger section of music. This is because my age group is more independent and in the stage where they are trying to be different. Some love rap and hip hop, some love the pop princesses, while others love discovering new independent bands. And then there are people like me who love a little of each. Another part of the Generation Y included people older than me that are starting out in the working world. This section is very different than my own because they are all making their own money and thus will probably be less frivolous in their spending. Their purchases will probably be more thought out and of higher quality. Also, even if marketers divided Generation Y into these three groups—high school, college, and new professions—they would have trouble making wide assumptions about each group. Each of these segments has their own individual segments that depend on socioeconomic status, geographic location, and perhaps even ethic background. For example, I some high school girls view Coach and Dooney and Burke bags as the ultimate designer bag, while I have seen other high school girls spending an arm and leg on Chloe bags. Thus, I believe marketers need to take care in making sure they segment Generation Y correctly.
Although I do believe there are some threads that carry across all segments within Generation Y. For example, I believe our generation is a lot more tech savvy than any other. We have grown up with computers and have evolved with all the changing technology. In psychology I learned that the part of the brain that controls finger coordination is far more developed in kids of in middle school than they are in adults. They hypothesize this due to all the texting kids do at a young age. Marketers can take advantage of this and reach us in new ways. I also believe that our generation is more concerned with labels instead of finding the best deal. I think this is due to the fact that our generation has been exposed to far more advertising than the generations before us, making us brand focused. Also, our generation is more independent from our parents. Every generation of the past century has a rebellious crew (flappers, hippies, disco divas, ect), however, our generation you can be different from the norm and still not viewed as a juvenile delinquent. There are Goths, emos, faux-hippies, rapper impersonators, and many other groups that try to be different. Also, Generation Y is always wanting to buy the latest trend because things go out of fashion fast. The younger crowd waits in anticipation for the newest gaming box. While the older group has gone through a craze for Razrs, then Blackberrys, and now iPhones.
I believe marketers should really focus on utilizing technology as this generation is so used to it. When I see a product I like on TV or in a magazine, I expect to be able to Google it, find the website for the product, and learn how to buy it. If there is a product without a website or with a website merely displaying the logo and some pictures, I don’t move any further in trying to purchase it. Also, marketers should focus on convenient. There are so many products now that companies need to differentiate themselves so now they can focus on convenience like online ordering, helpful employees, and a lenient return policy.