The Hindu Business Line : Youth is a matter of choice

THIS millennium belongs not to you and me, born in those good old days, but to those who turned 20 when the new century dawned. They are the `millennials,' say Jean Lammiman and Michel Syrett in Cool Search, published by Capstone (www.wileyeurope.com) . "How can companies use their insight into brands, technology and 24/7 living to keep up with the revolution that is happening in the workplace and the marketplace?" asks the blurb, before listing the five characteristics that define the millennials: intimacy, loyalty, awareness, balance and risk. "Youth is a matter of choice, not chronology," observes the book, talking about the guys and gals who have "gripped a mouse for longer than they have had a rattle," who "do not think the way you assume they do" and who will therefore make it necessary for you "to throw away the personnel and brand management rulebooks."

They are around you in the workplace and question your notions, and it is okay if you don't have the answers straightaway. Remember what Fritzche said: "Adults don't have the answers any more. Technology is one of the reasons that the relationship between the young and old is becoming a dialogue, rather than a lesson." They have new words in their dictionary, and `grammar is disappearing.' A Lindstrom thought woven into the book is on how brands have taken the place of religion in a godless world. "Paradoxically that makes individual brands more vulnerable, not less. Loyalties may be strongly felt but the need for instant gratification means that they can be dropped without a second thought."

Millennials are more entrepreneurial than their predecessors. And they want opportunity more than money and security. "They would rather take a cut in salary or work from home in poverty to build up the enterprise they want," is an observation of Chris Anderson cited in the book.

Time-users range from fast-laners who enjoy the 24-hour culture, to past-timers who like to settle down when night falls. But consider the following statistics about London's late-night economy: "Five lakh young people go clubbing in London on a Saturday night — more than all the people who visit all of London's top ten visitor attractions combined in a week; more people leave Leicester Square on a Saturday night at 11 pm than at any other time of the day; and more people walk the streets of the West End between 10.30 p.m. and midnight than at any other time of the day." By that yardstick, isn't a good chunk of economic potential in our metros given a forced lullaby? However, millennials believe in `balance,' unlike their parents who "extended family and professional responsibilities into unsocial hours reluctantly under time pressures."

Managing them is about `mental engagement.' So, "challenge and astonish." A snatch from `Fast Company': "If you want your company to think outside a box, why not learn by working with people who don't know there is a box?" Millennials may think faster and make decisions quicker, point out the authors. The last chapter is `branding cool' that marketers may like to soak in. "Irony, self-deprecation and plain speaking have replaced old-style image-building," notes the book. Humour is the cornerstone of teenage culture, and they look at `aha' in `ha ha.' Contrary to marketing myth, straight talk works wonders: "J. C. Penny & Co's hugely successful Arizona Jeans brand has a new campaign showing teens mocking ads that attempt to speak their language. The tagline? `Just show me the jeans.'"

Recommended read for everybody who wants to woo the millennials, `as recruits and consumers.'

BookMark@thehindu.co.in

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