This document discusses how legacy companies can strengthen their affinity with Generation Y. It notes that Gen Y is digitally connected, values experiences over possessions, and cares about corporate branding. To connect with Gen Y, legacy companies must reinvent relationships using social media to enhance customer relationships and allow customers to share experiences. Companies should focus on engaging fans and converting them into advocates through their Facebook pages. The summary provides an overview of the key points regarding how legacy companies can better connect with Generation Y customers.

1. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
WINNING
WITH GEN – Y

2. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
A DECADE OF CHANGE
John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the way of life. And those who look only to the past or
present are certain to miss the future.” This quote, though valid throughout time, rings
especially true today. The reality of the present and possibility of the future blur tighter more
than ever before. Without a keen eye and fervent passion to both evolve and drive change, it is
easier than ever for both brands and individuals alike to blink and be left behind.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
While youth has always introduced ideas that help shape culture, today’s young generation
have found themselves at the very epicenter of major societal change. While Millennials may
not yet be the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or leaders of the free world, they are possibly
the biggest influencers and innovators around today.
A 25‐year‐old is the CEO of the most searched brand on the web, a site with a larger population
than the United States. We have a Commander in Chief who won his spot in office thanks to a
grass roots movement fueled by social media. He youtubes, tweets and cannot be separated
from his Blackberry. Clearly president Obama does not fall into the 1977‐1996 age range used
most frequently to define Millennials, but he understands the importance of adopting their
values and thinking like one. Embracing the Millennial perspective is key for anyone wanting to
keep up (and move ahead of the curve).
THE NEW LEADERS
Change will not slow down as time passes; in fact, most see it accelerating at an unprecedented
rate. Social Technologies will further pervade and integrate into our lives in ways that the rest
of us ever dreamed of. Successful companies will not focus on “what’s always worked”
(Millennial Inc.).
Who what will lead successful companies and drive growth in the next decade? New Ideas,
creative approaches, innovative products, integrated organizations, open communication,
connected communities, responsible ethos, and most important an increased passion for
change.
With the changing customer landscape, Legacy companies have to overhaul their Brand and
Reputation Platform. It is not just about keeping up with the evolving world, but also about
setting the pace. So, how do legacy companies reinvent themselves to stay relevant and
innovative in the eyes of Gen Y?

3. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
Strategy: Develop experiences that enable preferential relationships and
connections with Gen Y.
Who is Gen Y?
Gen Y has grown up with the Internet and mobile communications. They are digitally,
globally, and constantly connected. They are driving how mobile communication
technologies are used, initiating social behaviors that are transmitted to other
generations (Generation Y and the Workplace Annual Report 2010).
The Numbers
 Ages: 18‐30 years‐old
 Size: estimated 50 million
 Buying power: $889.3 and growing
 Diverse: 40% identify as non‐Caucasian
 Educated: Approx. 40% 18‐22 year‐olds enrolled in college,vs. 25% of prior generations
Gen Y Lens:
Connected
Flexible Collaborative
Gen Y Lens
Control

4. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
The main reason Millennials matter to marketers is that they indicate future trends to a
greater degree than young adults in the past (Millennial Marketing). Here are a few
reasons why:
 Technology proficiency has empowered Millennials to wield a disproportionate
influence on the culture and on the buying decisions of other generations.
 Millennials are the first to put new technologies to use to make the most of their media
time.
 Gen Y’ers are less impulsive shoppers. They place a priority on experiences rather than
possessions, and are more likely to make every purchase a considered one.
 Gen Y’ers also display a distinct generational “personality” when it comes to responding
to marketing programs and messages. Consequently, push marketing is on its way out,
the new marketing is all about engagement, and much of the shift is due to Millennials.
 Finally, Gen Y cares more about the company behind the products they buy and the
places they work. Corporate branding and brand architecture are more important than
they have been in the past.
What do Legacy companies need to do to strengthen their affinity with Gen Y?
Connect: Reinvent the relationship with this generation using web, social based learning and
support tools. Gen Y is here to stay and they want to stay connected! Social media applications
should focus on enhancing the customer relationship and provide them an opportunity to share
the same customer experiences. Peers Drive Relevance (Millenials
Inc):
Word of Mouth gives Millennials a
method to validate claims, but it
also enables them to learn about
products and services from peers
who can lend perspective and
relevance. Whether looking for
novels for their book club,
parenting information from a young
parents message board or a new
set of skis from their Facebook Ski
Group, Millennials have easily
accessible resources to learn about
purchases from people who best
understand their needs.

5. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
Building a fan base on Facebook can increase the strength of your brand, but it wont necessarily
increase sales immediately. Small businesses should focus first on using a custom Facebook
page to manage its reputation, support customers, engage fans and convert fans into advocates
for your company.
In the above example, Baking for Good combines sweet treats with a sweet policy. A
percentage of all sales goes to a charity of the customer’s choice. The concept alone increases
fan loyalty – instead of feeling guilty for purchasing a high‐calorie item, you can feel good
knowing your purchase is helping others. Baking for Good has designed a custom Welcome
page that mirrors the lovely design of its website. The Welcome tab is also a “reveal tab,” which
displays certain content only to fans. After “Liking” the Facebook page, new fane receive a
discount code to use with their first Baking for Good purchase. This Facebook page is increasing

6. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
the company’s fan base through a great design, while attracting new customers with a special
offer.
Summary of my Interview with Ms.Pallavi Raj [small business owner]
According to Ms.Raj’s perspective, this trend is not coming soon but is already here. It is
powerful, personal and it can touch in ways that many traditional broad marketing techniques
cannot. Social Media Marketing is cost effective and it has broken barriers that used to prevent
businesses from taking off. For Ms. Raj personally, it has proven cost effective for her small
business. This used to be a barrier and this does not exist anymore.
Bigger companies & corporations that primarily invested in traditional marketing are fast
embracing this concept and putting resources on digital media. But they are still invested in
traditional marketing techniques like Direct Mail, Banner Ads, Television Ads etc. Traditional
Marketing Techniques are both resource and financially expensive. But Social Media in contrast
is a cost effective tool for B2C Marketing. Traditional Marketing requires intensive segmenting
and analytics performed to achieve the perfect target selection. Inspite of these analytical
efforts to improve target selection criterias, large companies still find it a challenge to break
even in these methods. The second channel which is web based Marketing includes touches
such as tailored ads on Google which are again expensive. Fraud behavior on these Google Ads
makes it hard for small business companies to make money at the end of the day.
The third channel which is social media is hence an evolution because it reaches out to
consumers and speaks to their heart. Businesses refer to it as ‘Inbound Marketing’. It attracts
people and makes consumers reach out to the company. Social Media is making the dream of a
marketer come true in a cost effective way.
Ms.Raj’s small business company – Tax Munshi is targeted for Gen Y who are not afraid of the
web. Their customers are usually males between the ages of 25 and 35. They do not hesitate
giving their credit card and are comfortable with online transactions. Though the younger and
internet savvy folks will be mainstream, according to Ms. Raj she had to creatively come up
with ways to supplement her business for older generation folks and the Gen Y outliers who are
not comfortable with online transactions. They also offer another a premium product which is
not a ‘self‐service’ product and this could help the older generation folks who need more hands
on help. So companies would have to come up with creative solutions for their customers.
This trend will have a stronger impact on industries that are consumer facing than B2B because
of the volume of consumers in the B2C space. B2B companies have their own ways of validation
as the denomination of prices is higher for B2B. Companies that have completion of transaction

7. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
online will benefit more from this trend. Geographical factors also play a role in this trend. In
countries where new products come up faster and grow faster, the laws of the country could
make adoption different and challenging to consumers. Although the Gen Y and the social
media trend is a potential that is waiting to be tapped, she believes consumers will never use
Facebook to tell friends and family on Facebook on what they bought on a regular basis. That is
the nature of people and its more about friendship. They will most probably become a fan or
‘like’ certain products from a company. Active promotions will not happen on Facebook
because when things gets confidential, they don’t want it to be public. Right now, she sees
social media as a referral forum and the company needs to give a consumer the right reason to
refer the product to a friend. And a small business in her mind needs to provide suitable
incentives for the consumer to refer a friend by giving a better pricing on their products for
their next purchase.
Ms. Raj in her conversation spoke to me about a company called ‘Sunrise Signs’. Its an example
of a small business using Facebook to promote their business(Hubspot.com)
Sunrise Signs is a maker of custom signs, wraps, and graphics. They created a default landing
page for their Facebook fan page using the HubSpot Welcome Facebook application.
Upon the visitor liking the page, this welcome message disappears and is replaced by a page
including a conversion form. This allows Sunrise Signs to capture leads directly from their
Facebook page! Here's what this post‐like page looks like:

8. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
In conclusion, connecting and collaborating with Gen Y is a necessity rather than a nice to have
feature in business because
 Gen Y is a “linchpin customer” for the future
 Gen Y is a strong influence on other segments with huge future buying power
 High lifetime value and spend growth potential
Bio of Ms.Pallavi Raj:
Pallavi Raj is an entrepreneur who has launched two startups that help simplify lives of their customers. With a mix
of Fortune 500 & start‐up experience, Pallavi brings unique leadership capabilities in managing technology
products, low‐cost marketing programs and community creation.
Pallavi is the Chief Operating Officer for Agavey Incorporated (www.Agavey.com) and the Chief Customer Officer
for TaxMunshi (www.TaxMunshi.com). Agavey Inc. simplifies the lives of homeowners by enabling them to
purchase home improvement and maintenance services from local qualified service providers online. TaxMunshi is
an India based venture that helps Indian taxpayers file their Income Tax Return online in a few easy steps,
eliminating frustrations of the manual tax filing preparation.
Pallavi has a Bachelors Degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, India
and a Masters in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh. Pallavi had joined the
MBA program with an intent of graduating with a concentration in Operations Management but was drawn
toward Entrepreneurship and Marketing while at CMU ‐ there has been no turning back after that. She has worked
with a Venture Capital firm in CA, an Incubator at Pittsburgh, been associated with startups at various capacities
and with marketing of Fortune 500 companies including FedEx.
Pallavi enjoys spending time with her family. She is an avid reader, loves yoga and hiking and stays involved in local
PTA organizations.

9. Trend Assessment – MKTG 7546 Gayatri Seshadri
References:
1) Millenials Inc ‐ What your company will look like when Millennials call the shots
‐ Mr Youth and Intrepid
2) Generation Y and the Workplace Annual Report 2010
http://www.haworth.it/mwg‐internal/de5fs23hu73ds/progress?id=pRl/T1534g&dl
3) Millennial Marketing ‐ Millennials Are Trend Bellwethers
4) Marketwire – Communications
5) http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2011/07/11/cmos‐how‐to‐become‐the‐lynchpin‐of‐
your‐entire‐organization/
6) http://personalbranding.com/2012/01/millennial‐branding‐gen‐y‐facebook‐study/
7) http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248589/14_creative_ways_to_use_fac
ebook_business_pages.html
8) http://learning.hubspot.com/examples/customerexamples/Default.aspx?&Tag=Faceboo
k+Fan+Pages