Influencers of the 21st CenturyMillennials and Gen-Z

Generational Breakdown• Born 1996 to present: Gen Z, iGen, or Centennials

• Born 1977 to 1995: Millennials or Gen Y

• Born 1965 to 1976: Generation X

• Born 1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers

• Born 1945 and before: Traditionalists or Silent Generation

• *Note: There is some discrepancy about where exactly one generation ends and another begins. These dates are according to GenHQ (leading generational researchers).

Why look at generations in business?

• Looking at people through a generational lens offers useful predictability for those trying to reach, inform, or persuade a large cross-section of a population.

• i.e. who is creating, marketing and consuming

What shapes generations?• The three key trends that shape generations are

parenting, technology, and economics.

• Ex. Many Baby Boomers have the parenting philosophy, “We want it to be easier for our kids than it was for us.”

• This philosophy, in turn, helped create and reinforce the assumption that Millennials’ are entitled, which is now a hotly debated topic.

So let’s talk about the up-and-comers: Millennials

What event(s) do you think have defined Millennials?

What event shaped Millennials?

• The end of the Millennial generation and the start of Gen Z are closely tied to September 11, 2001. That day marks the number-one generation-defining moment for Millennials.

Millennial Stereotypes• lazy

• entitled

• shallow

• narcissistic

• materialistic

• too connected

• cynical

• indecisive

• economically unstable

• “job-hoppers”

But how do millennials describe themselves?

Concerns for the future

Addeco 2015

Aspirations

First Job Priorities

Job Hunt: Where do they look?

Millennial Consumption

• Brand Loyalty: Only 25% of millennials express commitment to any brand, product or company.

• Purchasing Habits: Millennials generally save more, spend less, ask questions (largely of friends) before committing to buy anything.

Take 2min:

• How will this shift in the consumer demographic affect businesses and brands?

Rise of the PROSUMER

Prosumer:

a prospective consumer who is involved in the

design, manufacture, or development of a product or

service.

“The Most Entrepreneurial Generation Ever”

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=153&v=pkaccM6M2Ss

• Do you agree with Dorsey that Millennials and Gen-Z are “Market Disrupters”?

Who are the top influencing Millennials of 2016/2017?

1. Mark Zuckerberg• The famous millennial created

Facebook, the most powerful social media platform ever - and raked in a few billion dollars along the way.

• Making a difference: he's already spent considerable sums giving back to cure diseases and help civilizations make better decisions across health care and education.

2. Gerard Adams• Founder of Elite Daily, Gerard

Adams is an entrepreneur who understands millennials - to the point that his newest startup, Fownders, helps millennials create their own startups and become entrepreneurs themselves.

• Sold Elite Daily to the Daily Mail in 2015 for $50 million.

3. David Karp

• David Karp created Tumblr, a site famous among many millennials who use the blogging platform daily. The site is normally used for sharing art and images, but it also acts well for short form blogging and sharing ideas.

• Founded Tumbler @ 21years

4. Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp

• Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp created Pinterest (value more than doubled from $5 billion in May 2014 to the $11 billion in March 2015.

• As a result, Forbes estimates that Silbermann, Pinterest's CEO, has a net worth of $1.6 billion, while Sharp , who is chief creative officer, is worth $1 billion.

5. Michelle Phan• Popular YouTube personality,

Michelle Phan uses her gigantic fan base to promote her own lines of makeup and started Ipsy, a makeup/beauty company.

• In 2015, Phan was named to the Inc. 30 under 30 and Forbes 30 under 30 lists. The same year, Michelle Phan raised $100 million to value the company Ipsy at over $500 million.

6. Peter Cashmore

• There aren't many things more influential than news. Peter Cashmore, founder of media giant Mashable

• Began as a tech blogger and has since built one of the biggest tech-news sites.

7. Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom

• Instagram, created by Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, is the immensely popular photo sharing social media app.

• The app has a particularly large audience with millennials and Gen-Z.

8. Brian Chesky

• Founder of Airbnb, Brian Chesky has managed to disrupt and revolutionize the way people approach travel, room and board.

• Worldwide impact in more than 65,000 cities and 191 countries.

9. Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy

• The founders of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy took photo sharing to the extreme

• Created one of the biggest social media networks: 158 million people are using Snapchat every day, and on average, open the app 18 times a day (between 25 to 30 minutes in the app every day)

So with all of these successful Millennials, what

about the stereotypes?

How to overcome stereotypes in the workplace

1. Constant need for positive feedback

• Understand bosses are not parents nor care-takers, they are the ones who pay. Additionally, managers don’t have time or money to waste on babysitting.

2. Claim to be “Mr. & Ms. Know-It-Alls”

• Millennials are an intelligent generation, and also living in a competitive society. Show peers what they do know, but also be open and eager to learn. We can do this by simply

• Ask questions or go above and beyond expectations by enrolling in classes or reading recommended books.

3. Do not understand importance of online privacy

• The growth of technology continues to skyrocket. It’s important to stay educated on how social media can play a role in professional careers.

• Whatever is posted online can be seen by anyone. Think twice before taking a picture and uploading it to any social media account.

• Ask yourself, what would my boss say if they saw this?

4. Always impatient• Millennials are used to receiving & delivering

information at the touch of a button due to smart phones. Have a different approach in a work setting.

• Ex. Tasks and projects are completed over a period of time and not at the snap of a finger.

• Ex. A promotion is only earned after continuous proving oneself over time with hard work, dedication, and time to actually achieve goals.

So how do Millennials make an impact?

• These stereotypes are actually characteristics make millennials better workers:

• Social butterflies: team players

• Drive to be best: hard workers

• Time-sensitive: do things in a timely manner

• Technology: innovative & finger-on-the-pulse

PSA to all future employers:• “Yes I was born between 1977 and 1995, yes I

use a 5-inch electronic device to do most of my communicating, and yes I derive some self esteem from breaking the three figure like barrier on Instagram. However, this doesn’t define me as a person or an employee.”

• “What does define me and many others of my generation is a craving for ingenuity, a passion for constant learning, and a thirst for more efficient work and communication methods.”

So Millennials are in the workforce now.

Where do you come in?

Gen Z: 1996-PresentAlso known as iGen or Centennials

What we know about Gen Z so far in 2017…

• Members of Gen Z—born in 1996 and after—cannot process the significance of 9/11 and it’s always been a part of history for them.

• Within 5 years, they will become the fastest-growing generation in both the workplace and marketplace.

• In terms of economics, they are being called “The Throw-Back Generation”

• Potentially smarter with money than Millennials

What shapes Gen-Z?• The Great Recession impacting parents of Gen Z

• Student loan debt becoming a crisis in America

• Growing up with an African-American US president

• Legalization of gay marriage and medical marijuana

• Prevalence of billionaire Millennial entrepreneurs

• social media has always existed for them, Baby Boomers are their grandparents rather than their parents, and they think Millennials are old.

What shapes Gen Z?• Parents of Gen Z are primarily Generation X and

Millennials, which marks huge shift in expected behaviours:

• While Baby Boomers were known for being helicopter parents and raising their kids with an approach often summarized as “We want it to be easier for our kids than it was for us,” Generation X and Millennials raise their kids with more of a “Figure it out” approach.

• The outcome: very different than Millennials’ experience with Baby Boomer parents. Baby Boomer grandparents will likely continue to make life easier for iGen grandchildren)

Gen Z = Throwback Gen• Not since the Baby Boomers has there a been a

generation so concerned with financial responsibility. Some of the notable financial behaviors of Gen Z identified in the study are:

• 77% already currently work in some capacity to earn spending money

• 56% recently discussed finances with their parents (within the past 6 months)

• 21% had a savings account before age 10 • 12% are already saving for retirement

Expert Analysis: Gen Z Impact• Jason Dorsey, President of The Center for

Generational Kinetics, predicts that Gen Z could potentially surpass Millennials in influence in a short period of time:

• “Gen Z’s practical and fiscally conservative behavior is already making them part of businesses and our economy, despite their young age. We’re watching this generation closely at The Center and working to help marketers, managers, and leaders start to understand them and adapt ahead of the curve.”

Why the difference between Millennials and Gen Z

• Potentially motivated to action now because of:

• watching the struggles of the generations before them

• dissatisfaction with government solutions to debt problems like college affordability

• determination to break the cycle of debt and live financially independent

Gen Z in the workplace

• Hooked to Smartphones: Gen Z’s future supervisors and managers will have to know that leaving their cell phone at home is simply not an option for this new generation.

• Pragmatism: One area that The Center for Generational Kinetics explores is whether or not iGen’s pragmatism carries over into how they approach work.

Big Question: What do you think?

• Will Gen-Z accept lower-paying jobs to get a foothold in a career or hold out hoping for something better to come along?