Millennial Matters: Introducing Our Think Tank

If you’ve been following this series you know that, after some push back by Millennials, I’ve been focusing on engaging with GenY-ers directly… trying to think and behave like a digital native myself. It’s become apparent that in order to market to Millennials with empathy, it’s necessary to cast aside so many of the sweeping generalizations made by marketers about them, and speak to them directly.

My partner Hessie Jones and I threw around a lot of ideas as to HOW we could do this; getting involved heavily in the social networks that younger people are most active on is a no brainer, but we wanted to take it farther. We started thinking about the bright Millennials we know that are examples of how wrong some of the generalizations about Geny Y are, and we decided we should talk to them. Directly. Regularly. With structure so that it wasn’t just a rambling conversation.

Today we introduce our Millennial Think Tank: it will start out as a weekly Google+ On Air Hangout, Thursdays at 8pm. Our first goal is to get feedback on some of the most common stereotypes about Millennials:

• They are cheap, but will spend unGodly amounts of money to have the latest technology
• They are very close to their parents
• They don’t take direction from the superiors in a work situation
• They require constant validation

We won’t stop there of course. We’ll be getting their take on specific Gen Y focused ads and campaigns, on social networks, on societal upheavals and what they actually think about all of the attention directed their way. And we’ll let you ask questions too. We plan on using our bright network of young people as a go to source for honest, non-hyped feedback.

So, hold onto your hats – there may be some myth-busting going on, and there certainly will be a lot of smart talk.

Amy Tobin

VP of Content & Strategy at ArCompany. She has an extensive background in Sales, and focuses on generational marketing and content. With Hessie Jones she founded ArCompany’s Millnnnial, GenX and Boomer Think Tanks and writes and speaks on those topics from an insights/strategy perspective.