I apologize, upon reflection I do not feel comfortable making claims about effective marketing strategies without proper context or expertise.

1. AFTCN Conference
Seattle 2010

2. About TargetX and Jeff

3. Manage Expectations & Disclaimers
Educate about American generations
(members and students)
Open your mind about other generations
Inspire you to educate members
Encourage you to learn more
Have fun!
Generations and Generalizations
Howe & Strauss

5. “In America, each
generation is a
new people.”
Alec de Tocqueville, 1830

9. Contestant #1

10. Contestant #2

11. Contestant #3

12. Each round has questions worth
5, 10, or 15 points. Speed Round
questions are worth 5 points each.

13. ROUND 1
Here we are

14. Q:
A generation is a cohort-group
whose length approximates the
span of a phase of life and
whose boundaries are fixed
by a peer _______.
5 points

15. 5 points
A:
by a peer personality.

16. Q:
American generations
average how many
birth years?
18.9
23.4
28.7
5 points

17. 5 points
A:
23.4

18. Q:
Between 1701 and 2000
there have been ___
“American” generations.
5 points

19. A: 14
“American” generations.
5 points

20. THE REVOLUTIONARY CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Awakening 1701-1723
Liberty 1724-1741
Republican 1742-1766
Compromise 1767-1791

21. THE CIVIL WAR CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Transcendental 1792-1821
Gilded 1822-1842
Progressive 1843-1859

22. THE GREAT POWER CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Missionary 1860-1882
Lost 1883-1900
G.I. 1901-1924
Silent 1925-1942

23. Q:
THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
1943-1960
10 points

24. A:
THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Baby Boomer 1943-1960
10 points

25. Q:
THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Baby Boomer 1943-1960
1961-1981
10 points

26. A:
THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Baby Boomer 1943-1960
Generation-X 1961-1981
10 points

27. Q:
THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Baby Boomer 1943-1960
Generation-X 1961-1981
1982-200?
10 points

28. A:
THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Birth Years
Baby Boomer 1943-1960
Generation-X 1961-1981
Millennial 1982-200?
10 points

29. Q:
Boomers were raised to be inner directed.
They and Generation X were taught with a
curriculum and in an atmosphere centered
around the individual. In actuality, this was a
tactic to win the ____ War.
15 points

30. 15 points
A:
In actuality, this was a
tactic to win the Cold War.

31. Q:
Generation X was raised on
Sesame Street, which taught
children about their differences.
First-cohort Millennials were raised
on what TV character that taught
how children are alike?
15 points

32. A:
Barney (and Friends)
15 points

33. Q:
Millennials and their parents often
refer to each other as best friends.
What is another popular term for
15 points
“Attached Parenting”?

34. A:
Helicopter Parents
15 points

35. Q:
Speed Round
Tell us whether the
generation described is
Boomer, X-er, or Millennial
5 points each

36. Q:
They’re the largest, most
ethnically diverse, and least
caucasian generation
in American history.
5 points

37. A:
Millennials
Average annual birthrate – 3.6 million
Highest birth year – 1992 (4.2 million)
1 in 5 has at least one immigrant parent
1 in 10 has at least one non-citizen parent
5 points

38. Q:
Movies playing in theaters
during this generation’s birth
years include Rosemary’s Baby,
The Exorcist, and The Omen.
5 points

39. 5 points
A:
X-ers

40. Q:
Movies playing in theaters
during this generation’s birth
years include Baby Boom,
Three Men & a Baby, and Mr. Mom.
5 points

41. 5 points
A:
Millennials

42. Q:
A mixture of high self-esteem and
selective self-indulgence that has repelled
and fascinated other generations, gives this
generation a reputation for grating arrogance –
and for transcendent cultural wisdom.
5 points

43. 5 points
A:
Boomers

44. Q:
Parents of this generation have
paid up to $50,000 to purchase
an ovum from an attractive,
high IQ student from a
top university.
5 points

45. 5 points
A:
Millennials

46. Q:
Social moments including the
sexual revolution, consciousness
movement, women’s movement,
gay rights movement, and a high
divorce rate peppered this
generation’s childhood.
5 points

47. 5 points
A:
X-ers

48. Q:
This generation was raised
in homes with 50% more stuff
in weight than homes of just
20 years prior.
5 points

49. 5 points
A:
Millennials

50. Q:
This generation is team oriented,
civic minded, and “special.”
5 points

51. 5 points
A:
Millennials

52. Q:
This generation has always
seen its mission, not as
constructing a society, but
of justifying, purifying,
even sanctifying it.
5 points

53. 5 points
A:
Boomers

54. Q:
Surveyed in 8th and 10th grades,
this generation indicated they
would rather spend their
time doing things with friends
than doing imaginative tasks
on their own.
5 points

55. 5 points
A:
Millennials

56. Q:
Their critics call them smug,
narcissistic, self-righteous,
intolerant, puritanical, and
hypocritical. Others describe
them as distracted perfectionists.
5 points

57. 5 points
A:
Boomers

58. Q:
While this generation is the most
wanted, most watched over, and
most programmed, they’ve also
witnessed the largest gap in
wealth in American history.
5 points

59. 5 points
A:
Millennials

60. Each generation rebels against an elder-built world
and against the generation before it. Is that why
Millennials behave almost opposite of Generation X?

61. Each generation redirects society according to its own
inclinations. Each generation:
1. solves a problem facing the prior youth generation
( think Millennials and Generation X )
2. corrects for the behavioral excess it perceives in the
current midlife generations
( think Millennials and Boomers )
3. fills the social role being vacated by the departing
elder generation
( think Millennials and G.I. Generation )

62. Boomers grew up when institutions felt too strong and
individuals too weak.
Millennials are growing up when institutions feel too
weak and individuals too strong.
Boomers were born when rationalism ruled and
spiritualism lay dormant.
Millennials are kids when spiritualism rules and
rationalism lies dormant.

63. ROUND 2
Who’s Next

64. Q:
The first-cohort of America’s 15th
or next generation is most likely
being born now. Experts are
debating two events which could
determine their start birth date.
Name one of the two.
5 points

65. A:
2000 AD
or
9/11/01
5 points

66. Q:
This unnamed 15th Generation will
be born to parents from both
________ and ________
generations.
5 points

67. 5 points
A:
X and Millennial
generations.

68. Q:
True or False
Though cautious to marry,
Generation X is dedicated to
starting and maintaining stable
families, succeeding at a role
many of their parents did not.
5 points

69. 5 points
A:
TRUE

70. Generations are shaped by their
surroundings and influenced by the
generations with which they interact.
While being born, generations become
history. As they age they make history.
The history they make impacts current
and future generations. This is called
a Social Moment .

71. Social Moment – a brief time (about one decade)
during which people perceive that historic events
are radically altering their social environment.
Secular Crisis – when society focuses on reordering
the outer world of institutions and public behavior.
Spiritual Awakening – when society focuses on
changing the inner world of values and private
behavior.

72. Social Moment has created a predictive pattern of
four types of generations repeating themselves in
American history (and in the Book of Exodus).
1. Idealist – encounters a spiritual awakening entering rising
adulthood, and a secular crisis entering elderhood.
2. Reactive – encounters a spiritual awakening entering youth,
and a secular crisis entering midlife.
3. Civic – encounters a secular crisis entering rising adulthood
and a spiritual awakening entering elderhood.
4. Adaptive – encounters a secular crisis entering youth and a
spiritual awakening entering midlife.

73. Q:
In the Millennial cycle which
is the Idealist generation?
(encounters a spiritual awakening
entering rising adulthood, and a secular
crisis entering elderhood)
10 points

74. 10 points
A:
Idealist:
Boomers

75. Q:
In the Millennial cycle which
is the Reactive generation?
(encounters a spiritual awakening
entering youth, and a secular
crisis entering midlife)
10 points

76. 10 points
A:
Reactive:
X-ers

77. Q:
In the Millennial cycle which
is the Civic generation?
(encounters a secular crisis
entering rising adulthood, and a spiritual
awakening entering elderhood)
10 points

78. 10 points
A:Civic:
Millennials

79. So, the 15th Generation will most likely be an
Adaptive Generation.
15th
They will most likely
encounter a secular crisis
entering youth and a
spiritual awakening
entering midlife. Adaptive

80. Like all generations in the making, the 15th
Generation is being shaped by history
that surrounds them.
What shapes history?
The aging of older
generations.
In a four-stage, two-stroke
repetition.

81. THE REVOLUTIONARY CYCLE
Generation Name Type
Awakening (1701-1723) Idealist
Liberty (1724-1741) Reactive
Republican (1742-1766) Civic
Compromise (1767-1791) Adaptive

82. THE CIVIL WAR CYCLE
Generation Name Type
Transcendental (1792-1821) Idealist
Gilded (1822-1842) Reactive
Progressive (1843-1859) Adaptive

83. THE GREAT POWER CYCLE
Generation Name Type
Missionary (1860-1882) Idealist
Lost (1883-1900) Reactive
G.I. (1901-1924) Civic
Silent (1925-1942) Adaptive

84. THE MILLENNIAL CYCLE
Generation Name Type
Baby Boomer (1943-1960) Idealist
X (1961-1981) Reactive
Millennial (1982-200?) Civic
15th (200?-20??) Adaptive

85. Adaptive Generations
Adaptive generations travel a genteel lifecycle.
Early in life they try to excel in subordinate tasks
given to them by the next-elder generation.
Historically, adaptive
generations are raised
by reactive-led parents
who are nurturing,
intensively protective,
even suffocating.

86. While your next phase of students will be the 15th
Generation, your parent market is Generation X.
As this Reactive generation enters midlife,
they are:
-playing to win but half expecting to lose;
-accepting wide gaps in personal outcomes and
between sex roles;
-becoming cautious in family life and gradually
mellowing in personality.

87. Q: True or False:
Generation X is proud of its
ability to poke through hype.
15 points

88. A:
True
(Could that be why AdAge reports
that consumers trust word of mouth
at 90% and advertising at 10-40%?)
15 points

89. Q:
True or False:
While Silent Generation parents
disconnected from their
Generation X children,
today, as grandparents,
they’re connected.
15 points

90. 15 points
A:
True

91. Q:
Percentage of college freshmen in 1973 whose
parents held a college degree or higher:
mothers = 20% fathers = 32%
Today, the percentage of college freshmen
whose parents hold a college degree or higher is:
mothers = 30% fathers = 35%
mothers = 35% fathers = 38%
mothers = 41% fathers = 44%
15 points

92. 15 points
A:
mothers = 41%
fathers = 44%

93. Speed Round
Who’s Next is determined by
what’s been and what’s now.
5 points each

94. Q:
True or False:
In 1992 there was only one charter
school in the United States.
Now there are around 500.
5 points

95. 5 points
A:False
( around 1700 )

96. Q:
True or False:
As Millennials graduate from college, there are
now four generations in the workplace.
Some have been known to bring their
parents to interviews, and parents have even
called supervisors when their children did
not receive raises or promotions.
5 points

97. 5 points
A:
True

98. Q
True or False:
Pew Internet estimates
an average 4.1 billion
text messages are sent
daily in the United
States.
5 points

99. 5 points
A:
True

100. Q:
True or False:
In “Mommy Wars,” ABC News
recently reported that more women
are choosing not to return to work
after they have children.
5 points

101. 5 points
A:
True

102. Q:
True or False:
By 2011, the 65-and-over
population will be growing faster
than the nation’s birthrate.
5 points

103. 5 points
A:
True

104. Q:
True or False:
As Boomers age and move in with
their children (your parent
audience) more multigenerational
homes will be created.
Your school might add and market
to “grandstudents.”
5 points

105. A:
True
( and they might arrive in a
Clan-awagon, Clanavan,
or Clan-agon )
5 points

106. 5 points
Q: True or False:
The birthrate has been
declining since 1993.

107. 5 points
A:
True

108. Q:
True or False:
In 2002 more than one-fourth
of all births were to
unmarried women.
5 points

109. 5 points
A: True
( it’s actually one-third )

110. Q:
True or False:
An estimated 45 million
Americans do some part of
their job from home.
5 points

111. 5 points
A:
True

112. Q:
True or False:
Businessweek reports that homeschool enrollment has
grown from 850,000 children in 1999 to more than
1.1 million today, and that a growing number of affluent
parents think they can do better than any school.
5 points

113. 5 points
A:
True

114. Q:
True or False:
It is estimated that your
target audience is assaulted
by over 1000 marketing
messages a day.
5 points

115. A:
True
( Actual estimates are
3000-5000 )
5 points

116. Q:
True or False:
Shouting more messages through
traditional marketing will help you
fight through the marketing clutter
and reach your audience.
5 points

117. 5 points
A:
False

118. The same message you sent to Boomer parents of
Millennials will not work for Generation X parents of
the 15th Generation.
You must speak to them
through their reactive
generation experience.

119. The New York Times reports that for Millennials,
reliance and trust in nontraditional sources –
meaning everyday people, friends, networks, and
networks they created – has
a much greater influence on
behaviors than traditional
advertising.

120. Your audience is experiencing a communication
renaissance.
One that Generation X helped
create and that their children
will take as second nature.
They control their media,
not you.

121. You must talk with, not at this audience.
Gone is the marketing monologue.
Reaching your market now
requires creating a dialogue
between your audiences.

122. Your Bookshelf

123. Media and Resources
Did You Know? Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHmwZ96_Gos&feature=related
Web 2.0 Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nkeOE0E
Pew Internet Research
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx

124. Mommy Tell My Professor He’s Not Nice
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/19/State/Mommy__tell_my_profes.shtml
A Generation Serves Notice;
It's a Moving Target
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D9123FF931A15752C0A9609C8B63
facebook grows up
http://www.newsweek.com/id/32261/page/2

125. YouthQuake (Millennial Values in Work)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_03/b4067000290367.htm?chan=magazine+channel_top+stories
Scenes From A Culture Clash
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/culture-clash.html
Get The Best Out Of Millennials
http://www.adage.com/talentworks/article?article_id=124891

126. The Millennials are Coming
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3475200.shtml
Employee Evolution - Millennials at
Work
http://www.employeeevolution.com/
TargetX iThink Blog
http://.targetx.com/ithink

127. Download Session PDF
#1 Go to www.targetx.com
click iThink Blog
click Slide Presentations
#2 Go to www.slideshare.net/targetx
#3 Email me kallay@targetx.com

128. AFTCN Conference
Seattle 2010