Early on in the Nieslen post on the presentation given at their Indonesian summit by Dan Pankraz, Planning Director/Youth Strategist, DDB Sydney, they state clearly that
"Unlike Gen Y or Gen Z, Gen C is not an age cohort."
Of course they immediately peg it to an age segment - teens and twenty somethings. When I look at the characteristics of the "Connected Collective Consumer" - their version of Gen C - I see a lot of truths that transcend an age group. Certainly my peers who are a bit north of the high end of the bracket (a wee bit older than 29, let's say) have almost all of these characteristics.
"Tribal behavior: Like many youths, Gen C form their identities by belonging and expressing themselves within "tribes" reflecting the desire to "connect" around interesting ideas, cultural objects, causes and movements. Brands need to get into conversations that are happening within and across tribes. This will give their messages more credibility and attention compared to external sources."
counterpoint: Think about any research on networks and clusters. Maybe youth is more likely to align themselves with recognizable "tribes" but all of us exist with clusters of affinity groups (shared interest or identity)
"Social status derived by what you share: Gen C gains credibility in their friends' worlds by expressing opinions, sharing ideas, observations and thoughts. Their influence depends on what they share and how often they share it."
counterpoint: In many ways this defines what we all do via Twitter and Facebook. It is not generational per se.
"Bee-like swarm behavior: Powered by social media platforms, Gen C members mobilize as one with their tribes like bees around topics that interest them. When it comes to buying decisions, 85 percent of youths rely on peer approvals. Everything is reviewed and rated, making decision-making a team sport. Marketers must talk to "we", not "me". Marketing successfully becomes all about "talking to the community, not the individual", and creating a conversation for the swarm to run with."
counterpoint: I find this fascinating and worth a much deeper look. I do believe that our social shopping habits have more to do with age than many of the other items on this list.
"Social oxygen: Gen C thrives on constant connectivity via social media platforms. Mobile devices have become "social oxygen", enabling them to connect, create and share opinions and thoughts with their tribes. The mobile phone acts as a lifeline to the world, connecting not only with people they want to talk with, but also shielding them from those they do not."
counterpoint: Again, this is a quality of many folks who are constantly checking in, scanning their Tweetdeck display, texting their friends and family.
"Continuous partial attention: Teens today consume 13 hours of content daily and have constant exposure to new 'news'. As experts at managing content and information, they engage in never-ending conversations, constantly "livestreaming" their experiences to the world."
counterpoint: finally a stat on content consumption not advertising or a single platform like TV.
"Chameleons: Gen C consumers are "chameleons", constantly changing and morphing their identities to simultaneously belong to as many different tribes as possible. One-dimensionality is not an option for Gen C."
counterpoint: this makes sense as an attribute of youth. While us fogey's theoretically have long since come to terms with being 'who we are,' young people are developmentally more elastic
"Co-creators: The social web has brought out Gen C's creativity, leading to what Mr. Pankraz calls the "democratization of creativity". They no longer consume ideas, but actively participate, play and collaborate. They demand to be part of the brand story."
counterpoint: I buy this. Just look at an Technographics slice and you will see that younger cohorts are more likely to play an active, content creating role online. They walk in expecting to co-create with brands even while some of us do also appreciate it.
After all is said and done, I believe there is a new, "Connected Collective Consumer." many of these characterics transcend age and have more to do with the profile of social networking/social media usage, mobile and broadband connectivity in a particular market. Still, when you assemble all of othese characteristics, they do seem to describe a new generation, after all.