MARKETING TO YOUTH:MARKETING TO YOUTH:Connecting with the Net Connecting with the Net

GenerationGeneration

Tanya FuscoE-Learning TechnologistCentre for Learning and Teaching

Don Tapscott

Grown Up Digital

• Wave of youth, aged 12-30

• Poised to transform every social institution

• Reshaping the form and functions of school, work, and even democracy.

• First truly global generation

8 Characteristics1. Value freedom and freedom of choice2. Want to customize, make things their own3. Natural collaborators, enjoy conversations not

lectures4. Will scrutinize you and your organization5. Insist on integrity6. Want to have fun at work and school7. Speed is normal8. Innovation is a part of life

Don’s Guidelines for Marketing

• Text me (I always have my phone with me)

• IM me (it’s the first thing I do when I get home from school and it works when I am playing video games on TV too)

• Facebook me (yes Facebook is also a verb)

• Phone me (but not on my cell phone cause it costs me money)

Lynda Partner’s Recommendations

• Opting in to receive product information on Facebook may be the most important evolution in consumer marketing.

• They have lots of “friends” – often many hundreds and can reach out to all of them with only a few keystrokes. Possibilities for word of mouth marketing are huge. 

• Mobile marketing will also gain in importance as teenagers are glued to their smart phones.

Comscore Canada 2008

Social Networking sites (SNS):

• Include community-based Web sites, online discussions forums, chatrooms and other social spaces online

• Enable users to create public profiles

• Form relationships with other users

• Usually involves verification

The Dominant Social Networks

• LinkedIn: for professional contacts

• Facebook: for people you know

• Twitter: for people, corporations and brands you know, don’t know, are interested in– Endorsed stalking

Canadians Engaged in SNS

U.S. National School Board Association Study

CREATING & CONNECTINGResearch and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking (nsba.org) July, 2007

•Online Surveys•1,277 students from age 9 to 17•1,039 parents

•Telephone interviews with 250 school district leaders who make decisions on Internet policy.

NSBA Findings

• “Students are hardly passive couch potatoes online. Beyond basic communications, many students engage in highly creative activities on social networking sites — and a sizeable proportion of them are adventurous nonconformists who set the pace for their peers.”

Popular SocialNetworkingActivities

Students on SNS

• 59% of online students say they talk about any education related topics, including college or college planning; learning outside of school; news; careers or jobs; politics,ideas, religion or morals; and schoolwork

Students on SNS

• 50% of online students say they talk specifically about schoolwork

Facebook – Roots in Higher Ed

• Launched on February 4, 2004.

• Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a former Harvard student.

• Initially the membership of Facebook was restricted to students of Harvard College.

Targeting on Facebook

Group for Web Developer Grads

OYAP Facebook Group

Algonquin OYAP Group

Facebook is Social

• Use should be social in nature– Increase sense of belonging– Build bonds among classmates– Increase bonds between students and

teachers

Family Influences

Family Influences

Whether it is through a formal mentoring program or an informal working relationship, Gen Ys can provide a different outlook.

There are many relevant skills Gen Ys bring to the workplace. Their technical skills as a generation surpass any other generational cohort.

Flip Ultra

Pass the Flip

• Recording Videos– Press red record button to start/stop– Press up/down keys to zoom in/out

• Playing Videos– Press the play button to start/stop– Press left/right keys to view previous/next

• Deleting Videos– Press trash can to delete current clip, and press again to confirm

Questions?

E-mail: tfusco@flemingc.on.ca