TOP 10 TIPS FOR MARKETING TO MILLENNIALS IN 2011

Source: PBT Consulting

2010 comes to a close, I'm sure we'll all be inundated with predictions for 2011 and highlights of 2010. Marketing is no different. And when it comes to marketing to Millennials, there are definitely winners and losers. So what are the key tools for marketing to Millennials in 2011? I've compiled a list of my top 10.

1. Connect with Millennials. It doesn't matter how you do it, but you'd better find a way. Whether it's your deodorant brand sponsoring a cheerleading competition or your Internet start-up sponsoring a conference, human connection is still vitally important.
2. Brand, brand, brand. I say this every day a thousand times: brands matter. We hear that Millennials are fickle, and they're not brand loyal. Yes, this is true. But brands still matter. Would a Millennial man rather rock no name sneakers or Converse? My bet is on Converse. I'd raise that bet even higher for the hybrid that is Converse for Target.
3. Impact their lives. It's not enough to connect with Millennials via a platform they love or to create strong brands. How are you impacting their lives? Brands like Pepsi understand this. Instead of funneling millions into a traditional advertising campaign, it used its money to create an impact in local communities.
4. Understand what Millennials want. This is so much easier than it seems. Don't allow your director of research to be the keeper of all secrets. Spend a day immersed with Millennials. Take some time to see how they live, and figure out where your product fits in their lives.
5. Engage with Millennials. Millennials love marketing, and they certainly love brands. Allow them to participate in this process with you. We live in a world of buzz. Millennials who love your product are your biggest fans. Figure out how to engage with them.
6. Create products Millennials want. It seems so simple, but people create stupid, useless stuff everyday. The recession has forever changed this generation. Now, they want value and luxury for the same dollar. They don't have money to waste on a product they don't love.
7. Utilize every platform available to you. Please listen carefully: print is not dead. TV is not dead. All forms of media are alive. Millennials are bombarded with hundreds of messages before they even reach their first class of the day. Why would you ever cut your chances of communicating with them? They are everywhere, and your messaging should be everywhere as well.
8. Realize that you don't have all of the answers. As marketers, we think we do. We have research, we have resources, we have cool products to market. But a big ego is just the ingredient needed for an epic, major fail. I experienced this personally in 2010 when I helped a client launch a brand for teen girls. Needless to say, it didn't go well. Why? Because I spent the majority of my time trying to explain to my client that we didn't, in fact, know more than they did about what they wanted out of this particular product.
9. Solve problems. The ideas that are really making big money solve problems. Want to look great but not spend $100 on a party dress? Go to Forever 21. Want the ultimate skinny jean that won't break the bank? Head to Uniqlo. The brands that are rocking it through the recession are winning for a reason. They're really well-branded problem-solvers.
10. Have fun. There have been so many studies and articles published about Millennials lately. With so much doom and gloom out there, we forget that Millennials just want to have fun and enjoy life. They are attracted to brands that permeate the same message. You may think you're selling the world's most boring product, but we all need boring products, too. I don't know the last time I thought Tide was uber-sexy, but my washer needs it. I love those commercials, and I love how I feel watching them. It's like a washing party I wasn't invited to. At the end of the day, treat your product like the most exclusive VIP party that every Millennial should crave an invite to. The VIP host might cost a bit extra, though.

COMMENTARY:   Think mobile.  Think Facebook.  Think cool.  Use sensory marketing. Millennial's love to have their five senses stimulated.   Bombard them with outrageous sounds and special effects, powerful imagery, exciting video and film scenes, sleek products that are easy-to-use crammed with great features and textures, tantalizing flavors and aromas, the whole sensory sheebang.  

Millennial's are not tuned into marketing messages or brand hype.  This goes right over their heads like a speeding jet.  They don't connect with that.  The sensory stimulation IS the message.  Pick a great brand tagline: "Just do It".  A great tagline is the single-most powerful, condensed, compact expression of your brand that you can have.  Millennials connect with your brand tagline.  If you don't have one, get one.

YES, Brands should engage with Millennial's, but marketer's should keep this in mind:  Millennial's do not engage with a non-persons a.k.a. your brand.   They engage with people.   There must be two-way engagement.  Make the engagement a personable, almost in-your-face and fun experience. The FREE jeans mobile promotion hit the Millennial cherry spot.  

Millennial's have some king size problems of their own, which marketer's need to understand.  As far as Millennial's having fun, I don't doubt this, but they are also having problems getting jobs, and I really doubt that many of them like moving back in with mom and dad. They are very optimistic about the future.  I find that hard to believe, but that's what researcher's say.  Let me set you strait. Here's are all my blog posts that gives you the real lowdown on Millennials a.k.a. Twenty Somethings or Gen-Y's, take your pick.      

If you are a Millennial, take the Pew Research Center's "How Millennial Are You"? quiz   

Courtesy of an article dated December 30, 2010 appearing in MediaPost PublicationsEngage:GenY

Inc's 30 Under 30: America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs

Source: Inc

A little piece of Perfection

"A pilgrim in Nepal
finds a true path through
artichokes and totems"

~an original piece of Senryu written by Jimmy Wilder

Senryu: a Japanese poetic form that focuses on a human subject in a humorous light. They try to be roughly the n length of a breath, maybe two

Spoken Word

The Rugby Poets Club Presents: "Chariot" by Joshua Bennett from Ralph Lauren on Vimeo.

Guilty Pleasure #4: NewsCast Mashups

It's a sad day in the news when the autotuned viral version of news reports get more actual hits than the news cast.

Note: This is in no way, shape or form an endorsement of the usage of autotune.

Beautiful Girls de la mar

‎"Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open." ~Rose Lane

The Perfect Storm

What a Brilliant piece!!! I promise you, if you listen to this during a thunderstorm, it will transform your entire world

I always fall in love with an open door
With a horizon on an endless sea
As I look around the ones who were standing
right in front of me

And then my mirror speaks with a reverence
Like a soldier I can’t command
It sees a child in the body of a full-grown man

~DEath cAB

Now Das Gangsta!

Your old, busted name was Monica Philosophergurl. We now dub yo ass:
Clowny Gat Slinga

i laughed so hard my eyes were literally stinging with tears

The Original Gangsta Name Generator | GangstaName.com

gangstaname.com

The original Gangsta Name Generator transforms your boring name into something gangsta!

When a woman should act like a man

By Eliza Ridgeway for CNN

April 5, 2011 9:08 a.m. EDT

  




For women, knowing when to display "male" behavior at work can impact their chances of getting a promotion, study says.

It's not that aggressive women need to scale it back and act like a lady -- in certain situations they need to call on those behaviors.
--Olivia O'Neill, George Mason University School of Management

(CNN) -- Tilia Wong worked in construction management before going to business school and got used to thinking of herself as a businesswoman who knew how to keep assertive behavior under wraps.
"I'm a 24-year-old Asian girl telling a 55-year-old white guy what to do. I had to tone it down," she said of her workplace experience.
Fast forward to this year, when Wong began an MBA at Stanford University and had to reassess herself because classmates told her she was actually on the aggressive end of the spectrum.
Research shows that salary bumps and promotions can depend on how you act on the job -- but as Wong has learned, nobody seems to know where, exactly, a businesswoman should fall on the spectrum between "acting like a lady" or asserting herself "like a man."
"For the women who are a little softer, a little gentler, everyone tells them, 'You have to be firmer, more aggressive,'" she told CNN.
 "And if you come on aggressive, they tell you, 'You have to tone it down, you have to be softer.' I haven't found someone about whom they say, 'You've got it exactly right.'"

But new research suggests that the frustrating balancing act Wong describes can actually be more effective than finding a sweet spot somewhere on the spectrum and sticking to it.

"Sometimes you need to be more extreme, depending on the situation. It's not that aggressive women need to scale it back and act like a lady -- in certain situations they need to call on those behaviors," said Olivia O'Neill.  

She's a professor at George Mason University's School of Management and author of a forthcoming study in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology that found that knowing when to display mannerisms often associated with men is more important than perfecting a one-size-fits-all persona.

"The key is to have an expanded repertoire or a tool box of traits that you can call on in professional situations," she said. "People get the mistaken impression that there's something desirable about being consistent in all contexts."

O'Neill isn't making any claims about which qualities are, or should be, innate to men or women -- she studies the cultural expectations associated with gender, and how those conflict with the demands of a corporate job.

To read more on this topic, please click here.

Guilty Pleasures #3: Retro Gaming Parodies

"A useless life is an early death."
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[Haha, I'm thoroughly convinced Goethe was a gamer]

Pac Man Cemetery

"Few people have the imagination for reality."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Cute Roulette

If you enjoyed this video, you can see this and many others at CuteRoulette.com.  Click on this link for more video options.

Lose Yourself?

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away."  

~Raymond Hull

Vintage Chomsky

"Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media."
~Noam Chomsky

Creation Stories: Design Project

After

Before

This piece represents how emerging civilizations created rituals and creation stories in order to justify the paying of taxes to the tribal governments and civilizations which controlled the food supply.  It also serves as a reminder of how these stories have been distorted over time as they are passed along through oral traditions.  I hand carved balsa foam with the small stick used in the piece and painted with gesso and acrylic.  The headress was added with hot glue.  

Oh Dear!

Laughter really IS the best medicine

Haha, so it appears that while Laughter really IS the best medicine it also makes for a very creepy preventative workout.

[Disclaimer: Not to be done simultaneously with the chocolate milk recovery program unless you like milk shooting out of your nose.]

Life As We Know It: The skinny on Chocolate Milk

"Just because you accept help from someone, doesn't mean you have failed. It just means you're not in it alone." ~Eric, from the film "Life As We Know It" 2010

Rapid workout recovery drink–Chocolate milk!

Posted by Kelley Schall at 1:01 AM

Source: Athletic Foodie

Chocolate milk clearly isn’t just a favorite among the elementary school crowd anymore. Recently, it has received quite a bit of attention for its effectiveness in promoting recovery after exercise (references below). Current research supports these claims. One study compared the benefits of chocolate milk as a recovery drink with two popular sports drinks. Chocolate milk was found to improve recovery after exhaustive exercise by increasing performance in future workouts in a group of cyclists.

Carbs and Protein: Chocolate Milk

The effectiveness of chocolate milk is due to its unique nutrient composition. Research indicates that a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein is beneficial during recovery. The proportion of carbohydrates to protein in chocolate milk is consistent with these recommendations. The carbohydrates in chocolate milk are simple sugars that are quickly absorbed to replace energy stores. These sugars include lactose, which occurs naturally in cow’s milk, and added sugars.

Non-dairy milks are free of lactose and contain added sugars as the primary source of carbohydrates. While unsweetened varieties are available, they do not contain the carbohydrates your body needs to refuel after exercise. If you prefer nondairy milk, opt for chocolate soymilk after a workout. It contains a similar amount of protein as cow’s milk. Be aware that rice and almond milk may contain as little as 1 -2 grams of protein per serving and may not be as beneficial during recovery.

There are a few other points to consider when purchasing chocolate milk. First, look for fat free or low fat (1%) varieties. Many brands are made with whole milk that contains higher amounts of saturated fat. Next, be aware of what type of sweetener is used. Avoid varieties that contain high fructose corn syrup if possible. Try Horizonor Silk brands, which are made with natural ingredients. They even come in convenient single-serving containers that are perfect on-the-go.

Trying to avoid added sugars? This easy chocolate shake recipe is naturally sweetened with ripe banana. It contains the same amount of protein as an 8 ounce serving of chocolate milk, plus complex carbohydrates and fiber. Potassium from the banana and sodium from the milk help replace electrolytes lost with sweat during exercise.

Chocolatey Banana Recovery Shake Recipe:

1 cup milk of your choice

1 medium banana, frozen

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. For an extra boost of protein, try adding 2 tablespoons of almond butter or a scoop of your favorite protein powder. Enjoy!

Always make sure to drink your chocolate milk within thirty minutes of your workout, and hydrate with plenty of water!

Reference:

Ivy, J. L., P. T. Res, R. C. Sprague and M. O. Widzer.  Effect of a carbohydrate-protein supplement on endurance performance during exercise of varying intensity.  Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 13:388-401, 2003.

Thomas, K., P. Morris, and E. Stevenson. Improved endurance capacity following chocolate milk consumption compared with 2 commercially available sport drinks.Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 34(1):78-82, 2009.

Sufjan: All Good Naysayers

"Do not wait for your ship to come in - swim out to it."
- Author Unknown

Beauty in the Beast

Winner of the Best-Looking Endangered Species contest! (^_^")

Source: Treehugger

Click the link to see a gallery of nominees

Chinese Maglev Wind Turbines Enter Mass Production

by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY

Source: Treehugger

Construction has begun on the world's largest production base for magnetic levitation (maglev) wind power generators. According to Xinhua, the base will produce a series of small-scale maglev wind power generators with capacities ranging from 400 to 5,000 watts in the first half of 2008.

So, what the heck is a maglev generator? It improves efficiency by using magnets to reduce friction, meaning that turbines could turn with winds as low as 1.5 meters per second (m/s), and cut-in, or energy-producing, speeds of 3 m/s. The chief developer says this could cut the operational costs of wind farms by up to half, with an overall cost under 0.4 yuan ($US 5 cents) per killowatt hour. Earlier this year, an Arizona based company touted a large-scale maglev turbine, but such technology on that scale has yet to be proved.

For developing countries like China, the technology could be crucial to bringing wind power to places where it is currently un-utilized and perhaps too costly to build. For the developed world too, it could make wind power much cheaper, and wind turbines at home a more realistic option.

The company has also said it could even provide roadside lighting along highways by utilizing the airflow generated from passing vehicles (see this idea here).

If licensed to other companies (rather than illegally copied), the technology could help boost China's desperate-to-grow wind power manufacturing industry, which so far has relied on significant cooperation with foreign partners like GE, and has been somewhat stymied by the government's pricing schemes.

But wind is booming in China. It has the world's fifth greatest installed capacity, and is set to reach the government's first major wind goal -- 5 gigawatts by 2010 -- this year.

Though magnets have been used before in pumps and turbines to cut down on the friction of ball bearings, they have typically been electromagnets, which require additional power. The technology behind the generators has not been specified -- obvious concerns about intellectual property in China abound -- but the company has indicated the system relies on a permanent magnet system, which needs no external power, and without which compact DVD and disk drives would not exist.

Many have speculated they use something called Halbach arrays, which help to control the magnetic field. As Jeremy at Worldchanging noted last year, "any permanent magnet system would doubtless need lots of Neodymium ("rare earth") magnets, which may have questionable sustainability when mined in large amounts, but as it happens China is rich in that element." Indeed, China controls 90% of the world market for rare earth elements.

The company notes that the generator's efficiency is 20% better than "traditional" wind turbines. Worldchanging goes on to explain that

The inefficiency of a normal windmill's drive train (which includes the gears, shafts, and bearings, everything that moves except the motor and the turbine blades) is not so terribly big at moderate and high wind speeds. According to a paper by California Wind Energy Collaborative at UC Davis, the average wind turbine's drive train is 87-89% efficient from peak wind speeds down to less than half peak wind speed. However, below roughly a third of peak wind speed, things go rapidly downhill, and by about a quarter of peak wind speed, efficiencies are wallowing sadly in the 30-40% range. The Dutch windmill manufacturer Harakosan advertises a wind turbine that has 93 - 94% drive train efficiency all the way from peak wind speed down to a quarter of peak speed.

Either way, for China's growing wind power industry, the maglev is a huge step, and one made even bigger by the current rush to take advantage of China's potential wind power, estimated around 700-1,200 gigawatts. According to the recently releasedChina Wind Power Report 2007, installed capacity in China could reach 50 GW by 2020, accounting for about 4 percent of total power generation.
Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology Co Ltd invested 400 million yuan in the construction and expects annual revenue of 1.6 billion yuan.
Clearly, this is only a start. But the technology sounds promising, and might make wind for the home even more attractive. And, with further investment -- and, ahem, better intellectual property protection -- we might see it develop, get scaled up, and transform the economics of wind power.

Guilty Pleasures #4: All things Jane Austen

Jane Austen's Dating Do's and Don'ts

English novelist Jane Austen may have lived in a bygone era, but the love lessons she wrote into her books are timeless. What dating rules would her character Emma Woodhouse follow today? How about Anne Elliott? In her book Jane Austen's Guide to Dating, author Lauren Henderson breaks down the do's and don'ts ‑- and offers up some tips on recognizing if you're with the right guy.

Friends Don't Always Give the Best Advice

DO

Listen to your own inner voice. If a man looks great on paper, but there's simply something about him that doesn't work for you, don't force yourself against your instincts into dating him. It will never work out.

Learn to trust yourself. If a man seems too good to be true, he probably is. Don't be so swayed by compliments or courtship that you deliberately blind yourself to faults of his that may mean the relationship has no future.

Keep yourself grounded. What really happens when someone sweeps you off your feet? You lose your balance and he's still standing up. Is that what you want to happen at the start of a relationship? 

DON'T

Be overpersuaded by your friends. You're the one who has to date him, not them. Of course, your friends will be right if they try to put you off an addict, cheater or axe murderer. But don't be pushed into a relationship you don't feel is right for you just because your friends are keen on the person ‑- and don't break up with someone you like and who treats you well because he doesn't immediately jell with your friends.

Be self-destructive. Don't be so desperate for a relationship that you go against the healthy self-protective instincts that we all possess. Learn to listen to and be guided by them.

Be fooled by flattery. Be wary of someone who tries to overwhelm you with compliments. How did he get to be so good at that? By doing the same with a lot of other people. You'll end up just another mark on his well notched bedpost. 

Spotting a Man Who's Not Looking for Long-Term Love

He will keep you off balance by being unreliable ‑- not calling when he says he will, canceling dates without much notice.

He won't introduce you to his friends ‑- he doesn't want you to feel the security of being part of his life.

He will talk about things you can do together in the future that, however, somehow never materialize ‑- if you bring them up, he will have an excuse as to why they're not possible right now.

He will try to rush you into bed with him before you're ready ‑- he may ask to come into your apartment every chance he gets, using an excuse like wanting a cup of coffee or to use your bathroom, hoping that he can seduce you once he gets you alone.

He will try to make you feel that you have a special bond with him very quickly, when realistically you know that you haven't dated him long enough for one to have formed.

Pick a Guy Who's a Good Influence on You

DO

Keep your own values.

 If someone doesn't have the same fundamental value system as you ‑- and, worse, if they try to sway you from what you know to be right ‑- you are not in a good relationship.

Choose someone who brings out the best in you.

 Your boyfriend should help you to strengthen your positive qualities and suppress the negative ones.

Support him as much as he supports you.

 It's a two-way street. If you're both helping each other to reach your goals in life and be nicer, happier people, you have a much greater chance of maintaining a successful, strong relationship.

DON'T

Try to change your boyfriend in major ways.

 Either decide you can put up with his annoying quirks, or leave him. If you start trying to change him, you will turn into a nag, and you will end up hating yourself.

Be influenced by his bad behavior.

 Don't get sucked into doing things that you feel aren't good for you. Don't stay around someone who wants to drag you down.

Put all the blame on him.

 You chose him, after all. If he's not good for you, why did you pick him in the first place? Instead of blaming him, spend your time more usefully by figuring out why you made that mistake so you won't repeat it in the future.Does He Bring Out the Worst in You? How to Tell

You're stuck in a rut of criticizing each other, without the situation ever improving.

You feel irritable most of the time you spend with him, without being able to put your finger on exactly why.

You change your outfit or your hair five times before going out on a date with him, never sure whether you've picked the image of yourself that will please him.

You disagree with a lot of his core values

, but you tell yourself that it doesn't matter, because they have nothing to do with your relationship.

You find yourself doing things when out with him that you would never normally do ‑- things you don't mention to your friends because you know they would disapprove.

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die

Haha, Steve Jobs genuinely gives the best commencement speeches. Check out this Ted Talk about "Hipster" Jobs.