ET BureauBy Devendra Chawla
Where are upgrades happening faster: in mobile technology with 2G, 3G and now 4G or in the classification of consumer types from Gen X to Gen Y and now Gen T (let’s call them Generation Technology). They are the youngest networked section of the human race, with a blurring thin line between their virtual and real worlds. Their time can be defined as A.T. (After Technology) and the all the epochs that preceded it as B.T. (Before Technology).
Earlier, it was easy hooking young customers by promoting cola as the Choice of the New Generation. That generation constitutes the parents of today’s Gen T, which in turn is opinionated, well informed, understand they are being marketed to and thus more open to peer influence than direct advertising. They are more tolerant of diversity because of the heterogeneity of interactions on social media.
A couple of decades back, an entire generation looked to the West, deriving influences from movie stars, musicians, brands — a pop culture smorgasbord of the so-called American dream. All that changed with this generation: more global and yet more desi. Globalisation is happening locally. This generation supports IPL stars from other countries against home players while cheering against them in national cricket tournaments with equal ease.
They are growing up seeing Indians like PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi, Google’s Sunder Pichai, actor Priyanka Chopra and composer AR Rahman play and win across the globe. There is no American dream anymore, there is just their dream and they want to win.
At the same time, Gen T is seemingly more aware of its culture, roots and heritage, connected with families kith and kin albeit many times virtually via Whatsapp, Instagram or Facebook. This is a unique situation — while their outlook is global, they are still very much aware of real surroundings. They wear a number of hats at any given time and exactly know when each of these comes on.
They extrapolate their virtual experiences in real life as virtual enters their life first in most cases. Parents are not untouched by these changes and are scaling down the ladder to relive childhood. The pressure of staying young is dictated by 60% of the population being below 30.
At the same time, kids are attaining mental maturity earlier than ever. Thus when the parent-child meet midway on the ladder the relationship is very democratic. The era of handing down — clothes, books, footwear, etc — is drawing to a close. Instead, today’s kids are more likely to say “Hold my hand, and I will guide you”. Gen T is involved in any purchase decision — be it a white good, automobile, home furniture or food.
Kids have become their parents’ private Google. With more families having dual income partners, children have to spend a considerable amount of time away from parents and hence become independent faster. Brands must be engaged with the youth of today in a way that allows them to share and contribute, rather than impose content on them. Gen T prefer a brand that acts as a catalyst to their way of life. A brand as a friend, so true just about a decade back, is an alien concept. Today’s youth marketing strategy must encompass a super charged antenna to listen to what they are saying and support what they intend doing.
In an era when parents are listening hard to kids, brands must listen even more intently. Brands, as well as their communication strategies, must be highly democratic. It should reflect the increased democratisation of the household decisions. Like it has happened across toys, food, drinks, pop music, etc — brands too must be ready for rapid transformation, literally and functionally. Remember, the highest grossing movie series in recent years is been Transformers and its sequels. Transformation of technology has played a significant role in shaping expectations.
From a flatscreen to tab to a smartphone to an Xbox — life is all about upgrades, updates in the form of versions 2.0, 3.1, etc. This generation has taken the meaning of customisation to a different level. They are non-conformists to standardisation and uniformity. They adapt design and fashion to suit highly individualised tastes and preferences.
Listening to their health and figure conscious parents and thanks to information available digitally, kids know more on health than brands think. My final advice: brands, don’t take them for a ride, unless of course you are ready to hand over the GPS. Our generation rebelled vicariously via songs like Papa Don’t Preach by Madonna since in our lives, we had no choice but to listen whenever anyone chose to preach. But preaching to Gen T? Forget about it!
(The author is group president, Food FMCG at Future Group and a father to two kids who typify Gen T. Views expressed are personal )
Where are upgrades happening faster: in mobile technology with 2G, 3G and now 4G or in the classification of consumer types from Gen X to Gen Y and now Gen T (let’s call them Generation Technology). They are the youngest networked section of the human race, with a blurring thin line between their virtual and real worlds. Their time can be defined as A.T. (After Technology) and the all the epochs that preceded it as B.T. (Before Technology).
Earlier, it was easy hooking young customers by promoting cola as the Choice of the New Generation. That generation constitutes the parents of today’s Gen T, which in turn is opinionated, well informed, understand they are being marketed to and thus more open to peer influence than direct advertising. They are more tolerant of diversity because of the heterogeneity of interactions on social media.
A couple of decades back, an entire generation looked to the West, deriving influences from movie stars, musicians, brands — a pop culture smorgasbord of the so-called American dream. All that changed with this generation: more global and yet more desi. Globalisation is happening locally. This generation supports IPL stars from other countries against home players while cheering against them in national cricket tournaments with equal ease.
They are growing up seeing Indians like PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi, Google’s Sunder Pichai, actor Priyanka Chopra and composer AR Rahman play and win across the globe. There is no American dream anymore, there is just their dream and they want to win.
At the same time, Gen T is seemingly more aware of its culture, roots and heritage, connected with families kith and kin albeit many times virtually via Whatsapp, Instagram or Facebook. This is a unique situation — while their outlook is global, they are still very much aware of real surroundings. They wear a number of hats at any given time and exactly know when each of these comes on.
They extrapolate their virtual experiences in real life as virtual enters their life first in most cases. Parents are not untouched by these changes and are scaling down the ladder to relive childhood. The pressure of staying young is dictated by 60% of the population being below 30.
At the same time, kids are attaining mental maturity earlier than ever. Thus when the parent-child meet midway on the ladder the relationship is very democratic. The era of handing down — clothes, books, footwear, etc — is drawing to a close. Instead, today’s kids are more likely to say “Hold my hand, and I will guide you”. Gen T is involved in any purchase decision — be it a white good, automobile, home furniture or food.
Kids have become their parents’ private Google. With more families having dual income partners, children have to spend a considerable amount of time away from parents and hence become independent faster. Brands must be engaged with the youth of today in a way that allows them to share and contribute, rather than impose content on them. Gen T prefer a brand that acts as a catalyst to their way of life. A brand as a friend, so true just about a decade back, is an alien concept. Today’s youth marketing strategy must encompass a super charged antenna to listen to what they are saying and support what they intend doing.
In an era when parents are listening hard to kids, brands must listen even more intently. Brands, as well as their communication strategies, must be highly democratic. It should reflect the increased democratisation of the household decisions. Like it has happened across toys, food, drinks, pop music, etc — brands too must be ready for rapid transformation, literally and functionally. Remember, the highest grossing movie series in recent years is been Transformers and its sequels. Transformation of technology has played a significant role in shaping expectations.
From a flatscreen to tab to a smartphone to an Xbox — life is all about upgrades, updates in the form of versions 2.0, 3.1, etc. This generation has taken the meaning of customisation to a different level. They are non-conformists to standardisation and uniformity. They adapt design and fashion to suit highly individualised tastes and preferences.
Listening to their health and figure conscious parents and thanks to information available digitally, kids know more on health than brands think. My final advice: brands, don’t take them for a ride, unless of course you are ready to hand over the GPS. Our generation rebelled vicariously via songs like Papa Don’t Preach by Madonna since in our lives, we had no choice but to listen whenever anyone chose to preach. But preaching to Gen T? Forget about it!
(The author is group president, Food FMCG at Future Group and a father to two kids who typify Gen T. Views expressed are personal )
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