Hey Everybody,

But no catchy pun title here. Even though you are probably used to it from all the Generation Y stories out there.

Anyway I wrote this story for the Bozell’s Thinking newsletter. I know how futile it is to try to sum up a generation in about 750 words, but I tried to identify a few trends and changes in Gen Y (my generation by the way) that will change the way media, pr and business work.

I hope that you enjoy:

Meet the Millenials: 

We have been called lazy, greedy and over-coddled. We have been labeled fickle, self-focused and transient. And while it’s true that we will jump jobs more than any other generation, we will transform every work environment we visit.

We are the Millenials, the Echo Boomers, the Nexters or Generation Y. In the United States alone, we represent almost 80 million people and the second largest age demographic in the workplace next to retiring baby boomers.

Our personalities are as varied as those of any previous generation, but we do have a few common traits and experiences shaping our attitudes.

 Techies: 

We are the first generation to be plugged in from birth.  For most of us, Web crawling is as comfortable as home. Many of us grew up with digital cameras, high-speed internet connections, cell phones and iPods. As a result, our uptake time with technology is pretty fast. We tend to accept new technology and spread it faster than the older generations.

We are the first generation to voluntarily publicize our lives. We are comfortable giving away personal information, photos and video of ourselves to the world. From dancing on Youtube to dating on MySpace, we are the generation that lives in the ether. The once-desired goal of privacy has been transferred to the attainable goal of anonymity.

Our tech-influenced upbringing has also contributed to our ability to multitask. It is not uncommon for many of us to listen to music, work online and watch television at the same time. We are at home with challenging deadlines and fast-paced environments. We can juggle many projects at once. So, when you see the young Gen Yer at your office with an iPod on at his desk, that doesn’t mean he isn’t working or being disrespectful. In fact, it probably means that he or she is concentrating.

This is an important trend for marketers to keep in mind. As we are getting busier and multitasking increases, the less we are willing to acknowledge messages not catered to us. Millenials are also interested in creating mediums that cater to their attitude. For example, Facebook Creator Mark Zuckerberg, and Napster Creator Shawn Fanning are both millenials. One might have been looking for a more interactive way to keep up with his friends and one might have wanted an easier way to share music, but both new mediums prospered by relying on their users to create and share content. They turned their audience into stakeholders.

 Skeptics: 

We are a generation that has never known life without AIDS. We have grown up with recession, corporate scandal (Enron), global warming, rising health and education costs, and half a decade of unpopular war. We know not to count on Social Security or the company’s 401(k). We are a nation of young skeptics. And an over saturation of media channels and product messages have probably done little to ease that skepticism.

What that means to everyone else (marketers: listen up) is that we are not going to trust traditional advertising and corporate messaging. We want honesty and real conversation with real people. We want to be content creators and brand shapers. We will work to escape advertising that doesn’t include us. Can anyone say Tivo? If we dislike what a company is doing, then we will blog about it and let others know. There are more than 110 million blogs, so we have a strong community with which to voice our concerns.

This skepticism and truthfulness can also work to your company’s advantage. Involve us. Let us create videos for your online video channel or contest. Invite us to contribute to your company’s blog. Let us have a say in designing your new look. We can be your brand ambassadors and spread the word of your honesty and good deeds to others. Include us in your world and we will do the same.

We don’t want spam; we want opt-in and opt-out. We don’t want to thumb through a catalog; we want precise search terms and results. We don’t want you to sell us anything; we want you to recommend things that we like. We don’t want to be interrupted, we want to be engaged.

Like any other generation, we want to have a say in our own future. The difference is that we may just have the tools to demand our “say” at a young age.  

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon,

Will

Hey Everybody,

I just wanted to share one small success story that I wrote and did for a dog poop product. I wrote this story/case study for a magazine that the agency I work for puts out. It is called Thinking.

Enjoy:

Personalized Poo Pitching  

Reporters at major and regional news media outlets receive hundreds of news releases and e-pitches each day. The “Big Five” wire services – PR Newswire, Business Wire, MarketWire, PrimeNewswire and PRWeb – alone pump out more than 2,000 news releases per day, according to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).  And this number doesn’t begin to take into account the news releases sent by PR agencies, in-house public relations pros and groups representing this interest or that.

Harried by deadlines and bombarded by content, reporters typically toss or delete all but the most relevant – or intriguing – releases or pitches. It’s no wonder that sometimes a great story misses the news completely. So, how does a company make sure that its message gets through to the news media – and ultimately to its target audience?  While there’s no magic bullet, at Bozell we find that ingenuity (and an intern in a homemade superhero costume) can go a long way toward conquering apathy in the news room.

Case in point: The Doody Dangler.

Recently, the Doody Dangler came into our lives, a small pet product without a home. The Dangler attaches a dog’s “doody” bag to its leash. In essence, this product ensures that the dog’s owner won’t get stuck holding the bag. When we began promoting the Doody Dangler in December 2006, holding the bag wasn’t the only problem. The Dangler had virtually $0 in sales and no exposure.

 Who Gets to Meet The Dangler? 

Pet accessories typically can’t compete in a news cycle filled with political scandal, Hollywood hype or the rollout of such mega products as the iPhone. So, we knew going in that we would need to take a different approach. Instead of mass mailing a news release, we carefully picked one reporter from each major newspaper in the eight markets that the product would premier in. To attract product distributors and retailers, we also targeted key reporters at pet industry publications. Then we studied them. We researched these reporters’ past stories and learned about their writing styles. We found out what they thought was cool. We later used this information to make relaxed and personal pitch calls. Instead of the usual cold sell, these calls more closely resembled chats with an old friend.

 Dangler Style 

Because the Dangler’s selling points aren’t as titillating as Scarlett Johanssen or as scandalous as Michael Vick, we knew that what we sent the reporters needed to be extremely eye-catching in other ways. If sexy and scandalous were out, our next best bet was humor. Scooping poop is no joke, but what if we had a hero who did just that? What if this hero embodied all that is good (not to mention neighborly) about the Doody Dangler? A Bozell artist created the retro-looking cartoon hero, The Dangler, and the PR Team took the joke one step further by having an intern dress up and pose as a come-to-life action figure. Our product pitch kit featured the Dangler’s tongue-in-cheek adventures and included the following pieces, all laced with the Dangler’s flare for fun:

-personalized pitch letters
-personalized press releases
-fake dog doody
-sample Doody Dangler product
-traditional blue dog doody bag
-Polaroid of “The Dangler”
-a comic strip that humorously illustrated the use of the product

 Do they Love Him? Yes they Do! 

Right away, we knew that The Dangler was doing something special. Every reporter we contacted knew about the product, had seen the package and had forwarded it on to at least one colleague. At least they laughed, right? We noticed that reporters wanted to speak with us. Since we knew something about each reporter from our research, conversations came easily. This was extraordinary! The Dangler received media hits on National Public Radio, Pet Product News, Tails, The Chicago Tribune and more. Maybe even more important than the initial exposure was the way The Dangler’s comic heroics seemed to stick in the minds of reporters. Our PR team would speak with reporters weeks after the packages went out and they still remembered the Doody Dangler.

 The Road to Riches is Paved with What? 

The Doody Dangler is now sold at independent pet stores across the country. It has increased distribution through Internet sales on several pet product sites: www.petmountain.com, www.ihome.com, www.abelpetsupply.com, www.pethintz.com,  www.dailykibble.com, www.strictlypetsupplies.com and more. Out of the first shipment of 10,000 Doody Danglers, less than 2,500 remain. A second order is planned for 25,000-50,000 units.

 In a news world where a small, online pet product has to compete with the escapades of Nicole Ritchie, the Doody Dangler’s success can be an inspiration to us all. It’s just one example of how a more personal touch can make all the difference. Around our office the Dangler has become a symbol of how creative ideas and thoughtful research can change the fate of a product – not to mention the intern who is now a new hire. Our public relations team constantly strives to find ways to keep our clients out of the clutter and on top of the media inbox. And if we can have a little fun in the process, well, that’s what Bozell is all about.       

To see the Doody Dangler in action, visit www.doodydangler.com (also developed by Bozell).

Hope you liked it and took away the most important message. That message is to really get to know your media audience and you will succeed beyond your expectations. 

Thanks for reading.

Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.

William Flavell