Introducing Generational Notes from The Financial Brand Forum
Earlier this week, Monday through Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to attend The Financial Brand Conference in Las Vegas at The Las Vegas Cosmopolitan. (Yes, it felt important to be that specific.) I wrote a blog post with my early thoughts about the conference and marketing for banks in general. Give it a quick read when you have a minute. (Just right-click the link and click “Open link in new tab”.) Now I want to cover the topic of generation marketing.
One of my favorite sessions at the conference, and the one I want to focus on today, was a session by Jason Dorsey that he titled “Crossing the Generational Divide”. Jason (great name) was informative, funny, and gave us all quite a few takeaways when it comes to the generations we are target with our marketing. My notes from the session are below. I think you will enjoy what you find.
Quick Note About My Notes
These are notes people. They can all be expanded on, but that will have to wait for another day. I’m literally writing this on a Friday afternoon. Nobody wants to do anything on a Friday afternoon.
Let’s begin.
All Generations
- Parenting is the #1 driver for how people view money, banking, and spending.
- Technology – Everyone has a different relationship with technology.
- Generations are a powerful predictive class when it comes to behavior.
- Entitled behavior is learned and is independent of generation. It does not fit Millennials any more than it fits any other generation.
Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964)
Starting with Baby Boomers, I know, that sounds weird. Where are the folks from my grandparents’ generation? They have been called the Silent Generation. Maybe that’s why we aren’t hearing about them. Maybe it’s because there’s a big hole in our research. Anyway, let’s start with Baby Boomers.
We know that Baby Boomers are wonderful people. For one, my parents are Baby Boomers. This group was raised by the Silent Generation. This is the World War I and World War II generation. They are numerous, technology challenged, and they have big hearts. Baby Boomers want to get their hands on things. They are retiring, but they are not. Baby Boomers are living longer, so they are working longer. They are also in positions of authority they have achieved over a long and distinguished career.
Thank you Baby Boomers. Let’s move to the next generation.
Generation X (1965 – 1976)
Welcome to the generation of yours truly, Jason Barrett. Also know as the “Second Greatest Generation” behind Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation. What do we know about Generation X? Let me say that we know quite a bit, but the points below are the only items mentioned during the discussion. Repeating, these are the only items covered in this particular discussion.
- Parents can be the Silent Generation or Baby Boomers
- Naturally skeptical
- Want to see data and proof
- Use Amazon as search engine
Millennials (1977 – 1995)
Oh, Millennials. This is where the majority of the material was presented. So without further ado, let’s learn about you Millennials.
- Their parents are Baby Boomers.
- Older than most people assume.
- Average age is 30.
- Think that “real friends text.”
- #1 generation in the U.S. workforce.
- In 2017, Millennials outspent all other generations.
- Biggest hidden driver is tremendous college debt.
- College debt delays major life experience. Millennials have a lot of college debt. This causes a delayed entry into typical adulthood. Later to have get married, have children, buy a house, etc.
- Preferred method of communication (in order)
- Text
- Email (They only read the subject.)
- Social Media
- No mention of phone. 🙂
Generation Z (1996 – Present)
The newest generation in today’s time is Generation Z. My kids are part of this generation. This is what we know so far.
- Parents are Generation X.
- Key drivers
- Lower expectations in the workforce. Their stance is “just give me a chance.”
- Intentionally choosing to attend less expensive college and universities, so they will have the least amount of debt.
- They are more pragmatic with their money. Generation Z is looking for value and utility.
- They use YouTube as a search engine for everything. I have witnessed this firsthand on a daily basis.
- There is actually research that shows Generation Z believes YouTube is the most trustworthy source of advertising.
- Heavily swayed by online influencers.
That’s a Wrap
Finally, let’s wrap this thing up. We are all part of a generation of people. That’s easy. When we were born is only part of the equation. Things like where we were born, socioeconomic status, and historical events factor into our generational influences as well. It’s difficult to categorize people no matter how hard we try. Generational marketing simply provides us with one shortcut that can prove useful.
