Nielsen and comScore tell us from their stats that advertisers look at all of us through a generational lens. Coming from more than a decade in the television industry - both on-air and digital - I have long been taught to use information we know about what appeals to members of each of the four living generation in the US. I have brought those learnings to my work as a consultant, despite a lack of dialogue about this approach in social media and general marketing circles. This presentation was given 17th September 2010 at the Social Media Email Conference at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco (#SMMSF).

1. Email for the
Generations
Social tactics to trigger responses from the Greatest
Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials
effectively.
Presented By Jennifer Lindsay
Jennifer Lindsay Digital and Host of The A-List

2. Defining Moments
There are four generational categories we can market to in
the US, largely defined by the ad industry
• Greatest Generation: born prior to 1946 (65-plus)
• Boomers: 1946-1964 (45-63)
• Generation X: 1965-1976 (33-44)
• Millennials: 1977-1994 (15-32)

3. Generation Y
The Millenials

4. Millennials
Characteristics Calls To Action
 Expect real-time • Prefer to share via text and Twitter
communication, consider email
“slow” • Impulse buyers
 Visually-oriented • Will share deals as well as event
information easily
 Need immediate gratification • Internet or mobile coupons ideal
 Share information they consider • Battery chargers and in-store WiFi
valuable easily entice
 Friends = family • If you hit a sweet spot, and they’ll
create a video about something
 Most likely brand advocates helpful or unusual

5. Generation X
Gen Xers

6. Generation X
Characteristics Calls To Action
 Time considered a precious  More than 80% of X-ers
commodity actively text or email friends
deals
 Actively use Facebook,
MySpace and Twitter  Deliver quick hit info and offers
 Reduce pressure by offering
 Shop and price-check online
little indulgences to make
 Use email and text purchasing / engaging less
onerous
interchangeably
 Communicate ways to keep
 Self-reliant and individualistic kids engaged – and parents free
 Mistrust institutions

7. Baby Boomers
Boomers and Late-Boomers

8. Boomers
Characteristics Calls To Action
 Make up one-third of those  Reach one and you can reach their
entire follower base with product info
actively online and special offers
 Regular online shoppers and big  Cash-back savings programs
spenders  Upsell! Areas of interest include:
 Like spending recognition  Prescription medications
 Insurance
 Comfortable with email  Gifts for grandkids and kids
 Twitter is an untapped outlet:  Entertainment
Boomers increased Twitter use  Travel
469% during 2009  Discount wines by the case

9. Optimizing For Boomers
 Boomers are still vital and evolving even as they approach and
reach retirement age
 The three basic life structures of Boomers: identity,
territoriality, and time
 Boomers’ identity is essentially optimistic, meaning they have
a vitality which makes them survivors, if not thrivers
 As Boomers age being close to home range becomes more
important
 As people age, their nostalgic yearnings grow, making them
more receptive to and long for positive memories of the past

10. on
The G reatest Generati
The GIs, The Lost and The Greatest

11. Greatest Generation
Characteristics Calls To Action
 Value-oriented: Want to discuss  Email and message boards are
areas of interest targeted channels to message about
senior discounts
 Spend most of their online time
 Messages need to be large enough
using email and message boards
to be seen
 Baby Boomer children  Special products addressing aging
influence adoption of issues and special packs for smaller
technology households are winners
 Asking for more social features  Message about ways you cater to
the more they are exposed to this age group, such as signage or
gadgets such as mobile phones on-shelf or on-cart magnifying
glasses

12. Commonalities: Media &
Meals
 On average, the typical American consumes more than 35
hours of media per week across the three screens of TV,
Internet and mobile
 Across the generations, people are turning to cookbooks, the
Internet and TV for recipe ideas and less expensive in-home
entertainment as budget-conserving options
 Millennials are the most wired to the Internet, while
Generation X favors TV and the Greatest Generation reads
 As smartphones redefine customer media interaction, they
present enormous potential for generating buzz around
products, delivering timely product info and coupon codes,
and building community through brand advocacy

13. Email for the
Generations
Fin
Thank you for listening!
Questions?