This week I found an article named Five Surefire Ways to Reach the Youth Market that contained five tips on how to market to us Generation Y’ers. They are:

1)      Be Edgy

2)      Provide Valuable Content and Information

3)      Have a Social Mission

4)      Connect With Their Parents

5)      Co-Create With Your Customers

Individually, these tactics used to market to our generation work for specific reasons. Tip 1 is effective because Generation Y’ers are on a constant mission to obtain the edgiest and most innovative products. If products are marketed in a new and edgy way there is a connection made by assuming the product will have these characteristics. Tip 2 reflects the fact that we are responsible for making our own purchasing choices and want to feel educated about our options. Having a social mission is a successful tactic because Generation Y’ers are passionate about world issues because of how much we are, and have been exposed to. Linking a mission to a product allows us to feel like our decisions are making a difference. No matter how much we may despise Tip 4, we Generation Y’ers rely on our parents for our purchasing decisions and often our purchasing power is heavily affected by them. Lastly, using a marketing tactic of allowing us to cooperatively aid in the creation of products is an extremely effective way to get Generation Y’ers interested and committed to their product. I believe these tips are successful because they are the ones we do not instantly distinguish as the traditional marketing styles of companies focusing on the Generation Y’ers. They aren’t over simplified or generic and we appreciate them not underestimating our power as consumers or knowledge of quick fix marketing schemes.

This video from the Globe and Mail highlights tip number three on on the list which is having a social mission to connect to the Generation Y’ers

In class five a lot of emphasis was placed on teams and their importance and benefits. I specifically related to the points on how each member of the team contributes both their strengths and weaknesses when they join. I have played Team BC Ringette for over six years and have gotten to learn a lot about how to play on a team and work with others. The fact that we were all good at different aspects of the game is what made us strong and successful. Where one person lacked in something like shooting, another would make up for it with her strength in goal scoring. For teams in classes or in organizations I feel they carry the same philosophy of relying on those around you to utilize your strengths and support your weaknesses with their own areas of expertise.

Dr. Tina Seelig, the Executive Director for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, articulates in this video that the key to being on a team is not just to make yourself succesful, but to make your team members successful as well.