Tina Wells - Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right: How Your Business Can Profit by Tapping Todays Most Powerful Trendsetters and Tastemakers

Contents

Copyright 2011 by Maricia Christina Wells. All rights reserved.

buzzSpotters is a registered trademark of Buzz Marketing Group 2006.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Wells, Tina, 1980

Chasing youth culture and getting it right : how your business can profit by tapping into todays most powerful trendsetters and tastemakers / Tina Wells.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-118-00405-0 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-118-06155-8 (ebk)

ISBN 978-1-118-06156-5 (ebk)

ISBN 978-1-118-06166-4 (ebk)

1. Young consumersUnited StatesAttitudes. 2. Generation YUnited StatesAttitudes. 3. Marketing. I. Title.

HF5415.332.Y66W45 2011

658.8342dc22

2010050403

Preface

I started my career almost 15 years ago, at the age of 16. I will admit it was a total and complete accident. At the time, I was working as a writer for a newspaper for girls out of New York City, The New Girl Times . The publisher of the paper, Miriam Hipsh, really gave meand other young writersan amazing opportunity. I really understood the power of my voice. What started out as a gig writing product reviews turned into a company I founded called The Buzz. The Buzz transformed into Buzzteen.com , which eventually became Buzz Marketing Group.

Ive spent my entire career focusing on this concept of chasing youth culture and getting it right. From a very young age, Ive had the privilege of working with brands like Verizon Wireless, Candies, Maidenform, American Eagle Outfitters, PBS, and a host of others. Ive been able to learn from the things they did right and also major blunders theyve made in their efforts to satisfy the Millennial consumer.

We live in a world that is completely obsessed with staying young and understanding young people. This book isnt just for the marketers who are trying so hard to capture the youth dollar, its for the Millennials teachers, parents, the mediaanyone who wants to understand how to talk to and understand todays young people.

I hope that, through this book, I will be able to finally put an end to a few Millennial myths (e.g., that theyre apathetic, that they dont care about anything) and also enlighten you on how they behave and how they want to be communicated with (tribes are important, and you have to speak their language).

In this book youll learn about mind-set marketing, and how you have to market to Millennials based on their tribal needs. Millennials want you to talk to them in a distinct way, and understanding what their needs are will make this communication that much easier. Ill also discuss the importance of technology and how its changing the way Millennials think and feel about the future. It greatly impacts the way marketers communicate with them. Finally, Ill introduce the concept of global mobiles my new name for Millennials. The world has truly become their oyster, and there are no technological limits when it comes to consuming the goods they really want.

I hope that you enjoy this book, and I hope that it serves as a guide to you on your journey to better understand Millennials. This book is full of advice that I give my clients every day. I believe that marketers truly want to understand Millennialsactually, we all doand this book is my attempt to start what I hope is a very engaging and ongoing conversation. Let the conversation begin.

Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been a dream of mine for quite some time. Putting together a book like thisfull of independent researchrequires much more time and effort than I could have put forth on my own. For all of their help and guidance, I am eternally grateful to my team: Becky Cabaza, Sam Wilson, Adrianne Washington, and Marcus Wells.

My editor at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Dan Ambrosio, through his insight and perception, made this book better than I had ever hoped it could be. Working with him inspired me every day.

I also have to thank my brilliant and long-suffering agent Kate Lee. She worked tirelessly and diligently to find me the right partner for this book. At one point, it truly became a labor of love. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

I am truly blessed to have fantastic clients. Every day, they inspire me with their thought-provoking ideas and innovations. I have been a part of their creative process for most of the past 15 years, and without those insights, this book would not have been possible.

Starting a company at 16 is not an easy feat, and I owe many thanks to a host of people for numerous kindnesses, whether it was an encouraging word, an idea, or an opportunity: Kathy Todaro-Hawn, Najma Nasir, Keith McCoy, Scott Cianci, Carol Elwell, Marianna Clark, Dr. Anita Jose, Dr. Kathy Lanegran, Dr. Courtney Carter, Dean Olivia White, Dr. Ronald J. Volpe, Professor Lawrence Gelburd, Frank Slattery, Andre Des Rochers, John Cunningham III, Dennis Wint, Mollie Slattery, Ross Martin, Dave Knox, Maria Dolgetta, Tonya Millard Stevenson, Rachel Williams and Ed Willis. You have all contributed so much to my professional and personal life, and for that Im very grateful.

Above all, Im grateful to the most loving and supportive family anyone could have. Your love and perseverance throughout my entire lifenot only my careerhas meant the most to me. No child could ever ask for more loving parents, no more loyal, loving, supportive siblings. Mom, Dad, Adrianne, Erica, Marcus, Lisa, and William, I love you so much, and this book is possible because of all of you.