Talkin' Bout My Generation

It's been quite a while since my last blog. That's due to an unusually busy December during which I helped launch a highly successful business in Fort Myers. The business is a long-term off-airport parking alternative to the current more expensive on-airport parking. After frantically applying as many marketing and budget conscious advertising strategies I could muster, coupled with some marketing and sales techniques employed by the company, I can happily say, the efforts resulted in a huge success. The goal was to have 1,000 cars parked in the new lot by Christmas day. The biggest challenge? The lot was not slated to open until Dec. 18 and even THAT was an iffy proposition. We enacted a very intensive radio campaign, Val-Pak coupons, publicity plan, street signage, facebook fan page, and emailed coupon campaign. The end result was 1,075 cars in the lot on Christmas day. Woo Hoo!

One of the interesting aspects of this campaign was applying one of my favorite strategies: Generational Marketing. In the next few blogs, I'm going to focus on different generations as I've studied them. My interest started when I heard Chuck Underwood speak at a conference. His book, "The Generational Imperative" is a must-read for anyone interested in this discipline. I've recently gotten several generational books and my husband used the theories presented for a research paper on cross-cultural communication.

The premise of generational marketing and communication is understanding that we are all similar in our attitudes and beliefs based on the state of the environment in which we experienced our formative years - basically our school-aged years. If you were raised for instance in the 30's, your attitudes are very similar to most others who lived during that time, but drastically different than those raised in the 70s. That seems like a no-brainer, but the interesting part is that you don't have to have had the exact same experiences to have the same attitudes. For example, I am a Generation Xer. Although, the cut-off from Baby Boomer to Xer is only two years prior, my attitudes and beliefs are firmly planted in my generation and not the former. Our generation was the first group to have latch-key kids. We were the first to have television directed strictly to us. We were the first to have a president resign in humiliation and our country defeated in Vietnam. As a generation, we are considered to be extremely cynical and survivors. We rely on our friends more than family and will come up with a solution that serves our purposes and those of our friends. We're not global thinkers as much. We're more worried about what happens at home, then what happens abroad. This is just a quick synopsis of Gen X. There is plenty more and I'll go into that in future blogs. The point is - I was NOT a latch key kid. I was NOT raised by Baby Boomers (unlike many of my peers). These two things were very important in forming the attitudes of my generation. I have the attitudes, but I didn't have the direct experience. It really is facinating to talk about this to a room full of differing generations. You can see each generation nod their heads as it is described - even if the factors that lead to that definition don't fit their lives. It's all about what you grew up with in society.

The Silent Generation
The first generation I'm going to focus on is the Silent Generation. Born 1927 to 1945, this generation experienced some very dynamic societal effects. As they were going through school, they watched war heroes (the GI Generation) return to the United States. These GI's were strong and valiant. They were confident in their abilities and looked up to by an entire generation of worshippers. Silents, relatively small in comparison to the GI generation, wanted to be just like the GIs. They lived in post-war prosperity and held strictly traditional values. They were in the era of the S&H greenstamps and valued bonuses with purchases (coke glasses with purchase of a gallon of gas) Women were valued as mothers and wives who kept a clean and tidy home, had a nice cake baking in the oven for after-school snacks and made sure the children were presentable when father came home. A well-run home was the Silent Generation woman's heart's desire. She went to college strictly to find a good husband or to become a teacher or nurse - the only two acceptable careers for women. Silent Generation males were all about conformity. They wore their gray flannel suits and put the needs of "The Company" before everything else. They were not rewarded for ingenuity, but for being a good and loyal worker. The needs of the company were far more important than the needs of the individual. If you worked hard and remained loyal, you would not only have job security (most Silents remained at the same jobs all their lives) but you would be promoted and paid based on your loyalty. Sometimes, that included remaining silent if you saw corruption and blindly following the GI leaders who must know better. They trusted authority and viewed the news media as a reasonable source for valid information. They read newspapers and watch television news extensively.

The Silents call themselves the Greatest Generation and indeed, in many ways they were. They embraced the joy in life and thrilled to the sounds of Doo Wop. They loved to dance and revelled in the stability and warmth of a loving family.

Where's the Beef?
That's the background, now for the marketing meat. How do you reach Silents? Go for the grandchild card. They have an uncommon attachment to their grandchildren. Prior to the Clara Peller days, Wendy's successfully launched a campaign depicting grandmother and granddaughter sharing some love over a Wendy's burger. Brilliant!

Silents believe that they've worked hard all their lives and deserve to be rewarded. They want to be young and vibrant - spending the children's inheritance is a cool thing for them. They deserve their vacations, big fancy cars and trips to the moon if possible. They want to serve as a role model for their grandchildren because they don't like how their Baby Boomer children have assumed that role. If you can tap into ways they can connect with their grandchildren, you'll have a home run.

Another little trick are coupons and special offers. Even the wealthiest of Silents appreciates a good value. Although they grew up in prosperity, they were still influenced by the frugality of the GI Generation who grew up during the Depression. A millionaire Silent is as likely to clip a coupon to save a couple of bucks as a struggling senior on a fixed income.

That's just a taste of learning about the Silent Generation. Next blog - Baby Boomers. My New Years resolution is to incorporate generational strategies in every aspect of my marketing plans for the coming year. Sometimes we get sidetracked by "good ideas" that don't meet the right generational criteria. Clever and sexy are not usually effective with Silents. Valuable, practical and deserved are all a big plus.

Generational Marketing in Practice
For Executive Valet Airport Parking, the Silent Generation was reached primarily by coupons and news media. When they received their Val Pak coupons for $1.00/day off the advertised price, they made sure to bring in that coupon. They responded strongly to the news coverage of the opening. One very wealthy Silent Generation man told us that he was happy to pay $5.99/day for parking, but if we raised it to $6.99/day, he'd stop using the service. Keep in mind, the alternative is paying $11/day at the airport. I think he'll be a prime target for money saving coupons in the future, don't you? Many of the customers from this generation cited the television as their source for learning about the discount parking.

I hope you enjoy this generational series. Any comments about how generational marketing has been beneficial to you or your company, I'd love to hear them. I wish everyone a safe, healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!