Generation Einstein 3.0

Fad, 20Mel, 21Benassi, 24

“A deeper look into Generation Y, how we think, and key aspects that brands are overlooking. Welcome to our world, Generation Einstein 3.0

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more

violent. It takes a touch of genius --and a lot of courage -- to move in the

opposite direction."

-Albert Einstein

Nature changes along with us.

An entire generation, brought up with television, the internet, and now, smartphones. Blasted with constant messages by the media, being advertised to left, right, and centre, this is a generation that is smart enough to figure out what’s real, what matters, and what doesn’t.

What is “Generation Einstein, 3.0”?

“Generation Einstein 3.0” is a nickname given to Generation Y (17 – 27 year-old youths).

They are called “Generation Einstein”, because of their extreme intelligence, when it comes to day-to-day life.

We’re not talking about advanced physics or rocket science here.

But rather, they are intelligent enough to digest and process all the information that the media is forcing onto them, and they can tell the difference between a gimmick, and something genuine.

It has become extremely hard to sell anything to Generation Einstein.

“The greatest power that Generation Einstein possesses, is the power to

collectively block out whatever you’re saying. They couldn’t care less”.

Bernard Hor, 28, 2011Leading Youth Specialist.

Whenever we’re bombarded by advertisements, these are probably the messages that marketers think they’re

giving us:

# “Come and look at us, we’re interesting.”

# “Check this out, it’s cool.”

# “We’re probably better than whatever you’re currently using.”

# “With enough good behavior, your parents will definitely get this for you.”

# “Don’t you think you’d look better wearing this?”

# “All the cool kids are using us”

# “You’re missing out if you don’t use us”

THIS is what we actually hear:

# “Blah Blah Blah”.

# “Same old story”.

# “Same thing, different brand”.

# “Pleeeease make us cool”.

# “Blah blah blah”.

# “We’re no different from the 1000 other advertisements you’ve seen today”.

# “Like, whatever”.

# “We just want you to buy our stuff”

# “You’re just another statistic to us”.

# “ Yeah, you’re important. As long as

you buy our stuff!”

After decades of being bombarded with advertisements left, right, and

centre…

… Generation Y has simply learnt how to block out whatever they

deem as “Unimportant”. Advertisements just fade into the

darkness, along with thousands of their counterparts that we see on a

daily basis.

“Nowadays, nobody ever wakes up thinking about a particular brand. Brands are like, the last thing on our minds, unless

they’re important to us, and help us achieve things that otherwise we wouldn’t

be able to do without them”.

“We don’t hate advertisements. We just don’t really care about them”.

“We’ve been watching TV and tuning in to the radio for decades. We’ve learned how to tune out all the unnecessary stuff. Like whenever I have the time to catch House

MD on TV, the minute it cuts to commercials, I flip the channel”.

“Everyone does it”.

-Zhen Cui, 24Youth Specialist

Generation Einstein is getting too smart to continue being advertised too.

Let’s face the facts.

The time has come, where marketing to youths is no longer

enough. It’s time to engage them.

Stop marketing TO. Start marketing WITH.

“I’m waiting for the day when a brand will actually come and ask me what I want, instead of thinking that they have me all figured out”.

“Every member of our generation has a story to tell, and in my experience, the brands that help us tell our stories are the ones that we stick with for a good few years”.

“Nowadays, it’s not just about engaging Generation Einstein, it’s about removing the barriers that prevent that engagement”.

Advertisements don’t work on me and my mates anymore, we’re looking for something real.

Otherwise, it’s the same old thing, different day.

-Melody BendindangYouth Specialist

If Generation Einstein is your key demographic, then you need to

pay attention very closely.

“Generation Einstein understands the difference between brands being real, and brands SAYING that they’re real”.

-Peter Van Stolk

“When you’re marketing without money, you need to stay true to the fact that you need to make an emotional connection”

-CEO of Jones Soda

“Our competition spends over a billion dollars a year on marketing. We can’t afford to, so we can’t play by their rules”

-Peter Van Stolk.

“If you only follow the rules of business, then you’re always

going to follow what your competitors do”.

“We’re not in the business of keeping media companies alive.

We’re in the business of connecting with our customers”.

-Trevor EdwardsVP Global Brand Nike

“We’re moving from an era of finding customers for our products, to an era of finding products for our customers”

-Seth Godin

In youth Marketing, being safe is the riskiest thing you can do.

-Henrik Habberstad

“When it comes to Youth Marketing, Attention is your biggest cost”

-Graham Brown

Let’s put the scales, matrices and statistics on hold, for just a

little while.

Let’s sit down and have a real conversation. An entire Generation is dying to talk. You just have to listen.

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that

can be counted, counts”.

-Albert Einstein