Generation Y: The perfect building block to elevate your Brand in Kenya.

The buzz is here. Organizations are finding it hard to maintain a crop of citizens dubbed Generation Y ,a group of tech savvy, well informed generation with very unique attributes. A generation dubbed rebellious in many circles, very impatient and always on the go.

The need to write this article was necessitated by a column  I read concerning how marketers can use envy to elevate their brands. The article by the Marketing Maverick, Chris Harrison on 3^rd of August in the Daily Nation, brought in a unique perspective I had never thought of in regards to brand management. Chris highlighted that since markets  are moving to free economies ,brands need to be more differentiated and what better way than trigger ENVY to provoke a range of emotions in the consumer.

(I couldn’t agree more)

And this made me thinking “why not link Generation Y to Envy in the marketing context???”,or better still “rather than look at them as a pain in the employers eyes why not also look at them as a Marketing gem, a building block to elevate your brand??? .”

The recent release findings of PWC in regards to the Generation Y and how organizations are finding it hard to retain them is a true reflection of our recent society and its paradigms. And for me, as a marketer ,the other side of the coin is that they are the foundation to new dispensations of Brand management.

To simply put it:-To build brand elevation you need  ENVY in your tool kit. To build ENVY you need the Generation Y.

Why do you need the “Y”;

1. Its no secret that these guys earn good perks and account for 25% of the working population which is expected to rise to more than 50% in two years time, comprising of guys below 30 years of age .They possess the latest Smartphones and appreciate latest designer wear. (Funny enough salary to them is not their main motivator since they don’t live to work but work to live).
2. They are the ones redefining tomorrow’s business and market today. A recent research in the automotive sector shows that the Gen Y opts for cars that improve fuel economy, environmental friendliness and are personalized to their own needs. Green for them is the talk of the day. The research futher showed that the reason Toyota Corolla increased in sales vis-à-vis the Older Toyota Camry was due to the above factors despite them being of the same size.
3. Great source of innovation, ideas and more so very tech savvy , driving the clout in social media marketing at an increased rate.(Bearing in mind that Facebook already has over 500M users while Twitter has over 100M recording 20B tweets in a span of four Years).

Analyzing them further,their attributes fulfill four brand building blocks which make them attract Envious glances:

1. Brand Differentiation .They are a generation  that went to the best schools and university hence learning the art of differentiation at an early age. (Being exposed to high levels of reasoning at very tender ages).
2. Brand identity .Shockingly are a generation that appreciates family but Value Friendship more since friends are a source of encouragement, ideas and more importantly ,identity, compared to the family unit.(This is because parents were/are harsh and strict hence opening up to them, forming a bond becomes abit difficult).This is the reason that made the TV series Friends be a hit in the early ‘90’s and the TV series “The Cosby show” lose its grip.
3. Brand preference . Mentored by parents who did not want to make the mistakes of the previous generation, this generation is confident, ambitious and achievement-oriented. Give them solutions they become your preferred choice over the rest.
4. Brand experience. Are a generation that wants control and engagement because they are tired of sitting on the sidelines.(They ask “why should I go to school, get good knowledge ,have access to information only for me not to be involved in any level of decision making due to my age???”)-This is the main factor, that drives sales for Plays stations and state of the art 3D’s LCDs to absolutely crazy levels :-They give you the ability to control and engage at the same time.

With these branding fundamentals unconsciously embedded in their unique attributes (making them be the most Envious generation in our Kenyan society ) , any seasoned marketer should ,with precise strategy and tactic ,consider the Envy superhighway/zone as an appropriate way in the process of brand elevation especially in the 21^st century.

Envy is all about thinking out of the box in the pursuit of strengthening your brand .No better way than courting the “Y” (where I proudly fall) in the pursuit of building your successful brand.

Hard dynamics? Just thinking out loud.