The Social Media Marketing Blog: Generational Marketing

As I was shaving with a disposable razor this morning - not my usual razor - I began thinking about the power of generational marketing. One way of segmenting markets is by looking at the various generations: Matures (b. 1909-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1976) and Millennials/Gen Y (1977-1994). We're well aware that the Baby Boomers are the largest generation, followed by the Millennials, hence such the interest in both.

As I was using the disposable two-blade, I thought about my Gillette Mach3 Turbo razor and was reminded of how I got to use the Gillette brand in the first place. In the late 80s / early 90s, Gillette made an incredibly smart marketing move: they purchased the mailing list of the Selective Service. If you're not familiar with the Selective Service system, every male in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 25 must register, in case there's the need for a military draft.

Gillette sent their new (at the time) razor, the Sensor, to every registrant. For reference, Gillette makes more money on their blades than they do on the razor mechanism itself - it's similar to the computer printer model, in which printers are priced affordably and the cartridges are expensive. Each and every young male that registered got a free razor and set of blades from Gillette, essentially giving them the opportunity to be Gillette customers for life. I don't know what the long-term adoption rate for Gillette was, but I can guarantee you that it got more men thinking about their products than just advertising would have done.

But it got me to thinking more broadly: how many opportunities are there for marketers to really affect an entire generation? It seems like a tall order in this minute-by-minute attention-starved generation. But if it's something as simple as what Gillette did, such an experience has the potential to stick - especially since word of mouth (online and offline) can help such efforts grow.

Are there other campaigns that you know of that have affected entire generations that way? Or are there opportunities that you foresee for current brands to have this kind of impact? Drop me a comment and let's discuss it.

Photo credit: Brian Warren (Flickr)

Labels: brand, Generation Y, Marketing, social media

About Scott

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He as been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary." But perhaps the best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career has spanned a wide variety of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, in over a dozen books, and on a variety of broadcast media from podcasts to NPR to national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.

Books in which Scott's work is featured:
Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements
Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead
MicroMarketing: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small
Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live
Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Twitterville
Six Pixels of Separation
Monkeys with Typewriters
Read This First
World Wide Rave
Get Seen

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the Advisory board of SavvyAuntie
Scott is on the Advisory board of Business Smart Tools
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards
Scott is on the Advisory board of The Hive Awards
Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators
This blog's content is also syndicated on Social Media Today
Plaid occasionally does web work for me and designed this site
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.