What it takes to generational marketing to stay relevant today

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CriticalSessions

5 min readApr 4, 2019

Customer segmentation and targeting are getting more complex. Our first Atc’s Talk It Out with Mintel last week unravelled the underlying bipolarism, between the undeniable need of age clusters and the opportunities of a cross-generational approach in marketing.

There is widespread agreement that age clusters matter a lot in marketing segmentation. Though it can be remarkably hard to say quite to what extent they do so. We harbour no doubts that getting to know what your target generation wants, along with its needs and expectations, is crucial for successful communication campaigns.

In our first Atc’s Talk It Out last week, we argued that in today’s complex scenario, numerous are the variables at play and that a too narrow focus on generational markers can either be misleading, in terms of a correct profiling of your customers’ base, and generate unnecessary biases and stereotypes that are ultimately dangerous for a correct marketing strategy.

Laying bare the stereotypes: the myth of digital natives vs digital immigrants.

One of the most common ways to divide humanity nowadays is between those who are born and raised in a digital-dominated society and those who weren’t: a dichotomy between so called Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. The origin of this split can be traced down to an essay by American author and education expert Marc Prensky, who back in 2001 speculated on the substantial difference between generations, in his widely discussed and fiercely criticized article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.

While some experts labelled Prensky’s theory as mere nonsense, the myth of digital natives consolidated over years in many curious stereotypes. Many of these biases are about the relationship between these people and the technology they are using everyday: their supposed superior ability at multitasking for example; or the widely believed perception that digital natives are innately more knowledgable about tech stuff and all things internet. There is consistent evidence that these beliefs are mostly inaccurate, and in some cases even absurd.

In marketing, such stereotypes have often led to biased depictions of generations and to marketing initiatives that fall short to truly engage with consumers

Beyond generations: the case for a multivariate marketing segmentation.

For those who work in the AI field, there is a fundamental distinction between complication and complexity. Complicated problems can be very hard to solve, given their enormous amount of variables that need to be handled and measured. But they can be eventually broken down through rules and algorithms. Artificial intelligence is most suited to handle complicated situations or systems.

Complex problems or systems, on the other hand, present so many unknown and interrelated variables that is impossible to narrow them down to a set of rules or algorithms. Weather forecast and all social sciences, like economy, are an example of that.

There is a never settled debate on whether marketing can be numbered among the other social sciences. Nonetheless the importance of a social perspective in marketing studies has gained steam in recent years. Anthropology, economic sociology, science, technology and cultural studies are adding up to the list of fields directly related to the study of consumption. People’s expected purchasing behavior is increasingly studied from different angles, which are taking into account all the nuances of a target’s personality, status, desires, fears, emotions.

The complexity of the current scenario is arguably calling for cross-generational approaches to consumer profiling and segmentation

It si from this standpoint that we can say that a strict focus on generational differences can lead us to miss important clues for understanding our target market. Odds are, a cross-generational approaches to consumer profiling are to enjoy a lasting revival.

Are we really THAT different?

In fact, researches on generations’ attitudes and the use of digital media, which have long been considered the distinguishing factor among different generational clusters, can help grasp the complexity of the current scenario and the apparent contradictions that emerge from set of statistical data if we consider them like absolutes.

Not significant differences in the use of digital tools between Italian Millennials and Boomers…(source Ipsos, 2018)

…but significant discrepancies if we look at the percentages of Internet users within each generation, according to Italian research institute Istat (data: 2006–2016)

By taking into account the context patterns which are affecting behaviours, we can come closer to a more accurate depiction of what our audience can expect from a brand or product and what the triggers to purchase could be.

Perhaps, are we just all quite alike? Glancing beyond generations

Not surprisingly, cross-generational oriented frameworks are enjoying a big coming back into marketing studies. Tools like Deloitte’s matrix (Beyond Millennials: Aspirationals, Go Getters, Pragmatists and Discerning Achievers, Deloitte, 2018) and the now-ill-famed OCEAN model, look more suited to take complexity into account. They signal the robust interest that marketers and brands address towards multivariate segmentations of their target audience.

If we consider some of the most astonishing features of our present day-like the incredible width of choice available to consumers, the unfiltered access to information and the tangible perception of being able to do whatever we want- thanks to digital tools which are designed to make ourlife easier everyday, we may realise that the scenario that we happen to live in — with its whopping cultural, social, economic and technological shifts- is so complex, so pervasive, so relentless, that it can’t be relevant to digital natives only.

It’s for all of us.