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I <3 You :Communicating to

the Millennial Generation

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Who Am I?

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Ongoing Work

Neil Howe and Bill Strauss

www.lifecourse.com

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Caveats•Generation generalizations

•Filters

•“Each generation seeks to remedy the perceived excesses of previous generations.”

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Quick Review: Who are the Millennials?

•Those born 1982-2004

•Ages 2-24

•Approximately 79 million young people

•Seven Core Characteristics

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Team-Oriented•Sports Generation

•Working Together (to make a difference) is powerful

•Groups more Important than Individuals

Spot 1

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Special•National Agenda

•Parent’s obsession

•Generational Destiny

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“Well aware of the difference a great teacher can make—and the damage a bad teacher can do—parents turn over their kids and hope. Please handle with care. Please don't let my children get lost. They're breakable. And precious. Oh, but push them hard and don't let up, and make sure they get into Harvard.”

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Sheltered•Safety

•Monitored

•Child Protection Laws“Parents who stopped wrestling their kids into car seats years ago may soon have to flex those muscles again. A growing number of states are requiring children as old as 8 -- kids who have outgrown basic car seats, but who still are too small to use regular seat belts -- to sit in booster seats.”--Wall Street Journal, Car Seats for 8-Year-Olds, 1-27-2005

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Special and Sheltered

•Spot

•Spot

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Toyota

Spot 1

Spot 2

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Confident•Good Economy

•Make a Difference

•Trust Authority

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Ebay

Spot

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Achieving•Long-term Planning

•SAT Scores Up

•Math and Science Scores Up (Don’t believe the Media)

•AHB (All Harmful Behavior) Scores down

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Taking Lisa Simpson’s Money, Randy Lynn, www.OpEdNews.com, 12-23-2004

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“And the last thing I want to address is the idea that somehow this new generation is not as prepared for the sacrifice and the tenacity that will be needed in the difficult times ahead. I have not found this generation to be cynical or apathetic or selfish. They are as strong and as decent as any people that I have met.”

--Jon Stewart commencement address, William and Mary, 5/20/2004

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Conventional•Values: Parents and Family

•Conforming rather than Confronting

•Rules Help Everyone Succeed

•Conservative about sex, drugs, drinking, tobacco, i.e. most harmful behaviors

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Pressured•Highly stressed, scheduled generation

•Sports, music, lessons

•Standardized Tests

•Prescription Drugs

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“On the morning he was to take the SAT last March, a 17-year-old senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in suburban Washington went looking for a bottle of pills. His score on practice tests had been too low and, with his sights set on an Ivy League college, he needed a miracle. Or, friends suggested, Adderall. He grabbed a tiny blue pill from his little brother’s prescription stash and swallowed it two hours before the test. Despite some jitters when he took the test that he attributes to the drug—a stimulant prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD—he scored 200 points better than head on a previous test.”

Pressed to Do Well on Admission Tests, Students Take Drugs, Wall Street Journal, 11/8/2004, Nicholas Zamiska

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Millennials Generation X

Special Latch-Key Kids

Sheltered Survivors

Confident Cynical

Team-Oriented Individualists

Conventional Extreme

Pressured Self-Directed

Achieving Pragmatic

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The Army

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Old Slogan: An Army of One

New Ads

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New Ads

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Coke

Spot 1

Spot 2

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Millennial Quiz: Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

Do These Media/Personalities/Trends resonate with the Millennial Generation?

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Britney Spears

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Target Corporation

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Bold bright colors indicate optimism about the future

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Extreme Sports

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•Snowboarding

•Skateboarding

•Bungee-jumping

•BMX Racing = All Individual Sports

•Rock Climbing (All Very Risky)

•In-line Skating

•Mountain Biking

Spot

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•Lacrosse

•Ultimate Frisbee = Team Sports to Keep an Eye On

•Soccer

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Binge Drinking

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Voting

Voting

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Every Morning: Today is Going to Be the Best Day Ever!

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Handouts

Contact me at: robert.filipczak@capella.edu

Thanks for Your Time and Attention

Are there any Questions?

Finale