How To Market To Me

Jul 28 2012

Pongr: Capitalizing on the Photo-Sharing Craze

Since I’m back in Boston, I decided to profile three companies in the area that are doing interesting things in the marketing world. First up, Pongr!**

Photo-sharing is the most important social media trend of 2012. Facebook purchased photo-sharing application Instagram for $1 billion, even though the acquired company had zero revenue. A little company called Pinterest became the third most popular social media network in the US. From Facebook’s new Timeline layout to the introduction of the TwitPic app, a photo-sharing service for Twitter, the social media world is getting a lot more visual. How do marketers capitalize on this photo-sharing craze?

Enter Pongr, the software service that connects brands and their fans through photos. Using image-recogonition technology, Pongr filters through thousands of user-submitted photos, verifies pictures of branded product, and send fans back an appropriate response. Long story short, Pongr allows marketers to directly respond to the pictures people are taking of their product. Here’s how they explain what they do:

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Jul 25 2012

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Uncategorized

The Dark Knight Rises and The Superhero Generation

Last Thursday night, I waited with my high school friends to see the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in my hometown of Knoxville, TN. I left the theater completely inspired by the movie and ready to write my next blog post about our generation’s relationship with superhero movies first thing next morning.

Then, the news of the tragic shootings broke.

Even though I am a Tennessee girl at heart, I was born in Aurora, CO. In another universe, that could have be me in Theater 8 with my high school buddies.

Writing this article without mentioning the shootings would be disrespectful and personally offensive. Yet, examining the relationship between millennials and superhero movies is more relevant now than ever. Allow me to honor the young victims, the majority of whom were under 30, by writing about millennials’ special relationship with superhero movies and sending out my prayers and condolences to all those affected by the shooting.

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Jul 21 2012

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Case Studies

Pepsi and Camry: Two Advertisements Doing It Right

It’s easy to pick out advertisements that could do better, but this week I’d like to focus on two that resonated with me. Not only are they effective in their own right, but both build upon criticisms I’ve made in previous articles. Without further ado, here’s how Pepsi and Camry are doing it right.

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Jul 11 2012

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The College Market, The Twentysomething Market

What Patriotism Means to Millennials

I just spent a fantastic 4th of July vacation at two historic American cities: Washington DC and Boston. Between fireworks on the Charles river and a tour of the US Capitol, it got me thinking–what does patriotism mean to my generation?

Wearing ridiculous red, white and blue outfits obviously.

Since millennials will make up at least one-third of the eligible voter electorate in 2016 elections, it’s certainly a question worth asking. Continue reading →

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Jun 28 2012

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Interviews

Chris Colbert and the Concept of One Simple Thing

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing CEO Chris Colbert at his Boston marketing firm Holland-Mark. We discussed his revolutionary theory of branding: One Simple Thing (OST)–a concept I’ve brought up in a previous post. Not only did it get me thinking about my brand, How To Market To Me, but how I view other companies as well.

One Simple Thing: What it is and why it’s important

Here Colbert introduces the concept of OST and explains its importance to both consumers and company workers.

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Jun 22 2012

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What We Really Think

Attention Nonprofits! Here’s How to Hook Generation Me With Social Media

Millennials volunteer at a higher rate than GenXers and Baby Boomers did at their age–82.9% college freshman participated in community service in high school. This number is the silver lining from an otherwise gloomy portrait of my generation from the Journal of Social Psychology and Personality. Aside from our higher volunteer rates, millennials are more narcissistic, extrinsically motivated, aloof to social and environmental problems than the previous two generations. As I reluctantly concluded with a thorough look at this study in the previous article, we are Generation Me. Our selflessly high community service rate? Most likely due to high school graduation requirements and boosting college applications.

For nonprofits, this grim picture masks real opportunity. More young people than ever are interacting with nonprofits–let’s figure out how to hook them! By applying findings from the Journal of Social Psychology and Personality (JSPP) study and The Millennial Impact Report (MIR), nonprofits can make the most of their millennial volunteers and donors–and hopefully turn the tide of Generation Me to Generation We. Continue reading →

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Jun 20 2012

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What We Really Think

Generation Me vs. We: How To Make Sense of Millennials’ Dual Personalities

Millennials get a mixed reputation. While some call us narcissistic and shallow, others are inspired by our connectedness and drive for social change. Are we all about ourselves or others?

The Huffington Post recently featured two opposing studies regarding millennial values that’ve left a few scratching heads. One article reported a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that deemed millennials as more self-centered and focused on extrinsic motivators, such as money and fame, than Baby Boomers or GenXers were at our age. Ouch. Yet, only a few months later, the same newspaper reported on another study that 75% of millennials donate financially to charity and 63% donate time–statistics that seem to negate our previous narcissistic image.

So, which is it: Generation Me or We?

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Jun 11 2012

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Just for Fun

Surprised? 3 American Brands Popular with Russian Millennials That You Wouldn’t Expect

Today I’m writing from Tallinn, Estonia during my trip to Russia and the Baltic states. One of the many interesting things I noticed was which American brands are being reclaimed as “cool” by St. Petersburg millennials after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Some, like McDonald’s and Levis, I expected to see. But these three brands took me by surprise. Continue reading →

Tagged american brands popular abroad, american brands popular in russia, Converse in Russia, Ford in Russia, GUESS? and Russia, post cold war advertising

Jun 03 2012

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Case Studies

How MTV Markets To Millennial Recruits

Reason #847 I love the internet: Meeting the president of MTV (in person!) with a single tweet.

Stephen Friedman and I–life is unreal sometimes.

With the MTV Movie Awards airing later tonight, it’s the perfect time to take a closer look at one of the quintessential brands for 12-34 year olds.Early last month, I heard about MTV’s first Boston recruiting event for summer interns and new graduates only. Considering MTV’s significance to previous generations and the fact that they are undergoing a major strategic repositioning to reach millennials, I had to be there! Thanks to Twitter and the amazing people at MTV Insights, my dream came true and I got the inside scoop.

Here’s how MTV, a channel reaching 100 million millennials, branded itself to young employee-hopefuls (like me!).
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Tagged GenY recruiting, GenY values work, millennial recruiting, millennial values work, millennials, MTV and millennials, MTV Boston event, MTV recruiting tactics, recruiting GenY, recruiting to millennials, what do millennials value in a company, what do millennials want in a company?, what do twentysomethings look for in a company?

May 29 2012

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Case Studies, The College Market, The Twentysomething Market

Non Sequiturs and Millennial Humor: How to Get “Random” Right

“I don’t get it,” my dad tells me after watching an episode of Family Guy where Peter Griffin fights a chicken for a full two minutes with no relation to the episode’s plot. “Is this supposed to make sense?”

He’s not the only one asking. More and more humor aimed at millennials relies on non sequiturs to get a laugh. Instead of setting up a joke within the context of the scene, random humor surprises the viewer with unexpected references. Unfortunately for dad, the whole point is that it’s not supposed to make sense.

So, how do millennial marketers capitalize on a humor based on nonsense? Continue reading →

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How To Market To Me

Your Guide to Getting the Millennial Market

Pongr: Capitalizing on the Photo-Sharing Craze

The Dark Knight Rises and The Superhero Generation

Pepsi and Camry: Two Advertisements Doing It Right

What Patriotism Means to Millennials

Chris Colbert and the Concept of One Simple Thing

Generation Me vs. We: How To Make Sense of Millennials’ Dual Personalities

Surprised? 3 American Brands Popular with Russian Millennials That You Wouldn’t Expect

How MTV Markets To Millennial Recruits

Non Sequiturs and Millennial Humor: How to Get “Random” Right

Follow “How To Market To Me”

Your Guide to Getting the Millennial Market

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