Never a Lack of Ideas

The Pew Research Center defines Millennials as Americans born between 1981 and 1997. Two years ago, Time magazine said people born between 1980 or 1981 and 2000 are Millennials. Most other definitions cite similar date ranges. But I don't think Millennials are defined solely by their age. Sure, date of birth provides some guideposts, but Millennials are better defined by psychographic traits — like confidence, entitlement, tolerance, and narcissism. And one platform has done more to foster these traits than any other: Facebook. Facebook has shaped the way this generation behaves as consumers and employees. It has influenced this generation's attitudes about privacy and has redefined "friendship." In my opinion, a "Millennial" is someone who started using Facebook while they were in college, high school, or junior high school. But let's stop calling them Millennials. We should rename "Millennials" the Facebook Generation. College st...

Best Brands in the Land Happy Halloween! In what will hopefully become an annual tradition, I present to you my list of the top ten brands in the United States. To create this list, I relied heavily upon my opinion of the general perception of each brand versus its competitors, and how much of a premium the brand can charge because of that perception. I didn't get hung up on revenue data or market share numbers — I just went with what I see and hear every day and threw in my own opinion from a marketer's point of view. Here's my list, starting with the best brand in the land: Victoria's Secret — The brand became a household name by charging a premium for products that very few people see when worn; and then turned that brand equity into a complete line of clothing. Google — Do you use any other search engine? I'll bet you've even used the word "Google" as a verb. Apple — The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone have defined their categories. Facebook — The d...

This is my second of three posts on creative ways to land a marketing internship. Read the first. Friending Your Marketing Internship Taking out a Facebook advertisement is an easy, effective way to get the attention of a marketing internship coordinator. Here’s what you should do: 1. Create a web page that includes a message to your potential employer about why you want to become an intern at that place and what makes you qualified. This is going to be the page to which your Facebook advertisement points when clicked. Add a photo of yourself and start with something like, “Hi, I’m Nick, and I want to be an intern at [company] really badly.” If you aren’t able to create your own web page, do the above steps to the extent you are able on LinkedIn or a free blogs site (like the one I’m using here). Make sure that your page lists your email address so that page viewers can contact you. Most importantly, ask up front for the person reading your page to put you into contact with (or forw...

A Present in a Tube We received a gift from Facebook at work last week because we regularly advertise on Facebook. The gift came in a poster tube and had a cool "Open Here -- From your friends at Facebook" stamp on one end (see photo). Inside the tube were the following items: A really cool 19" x 19" letter-pressed poster that looks like a great graphic print, but when you look closely, there are words like "connect," "friend," and "since 2004" all over it. We're going to frame it and hang it. A letter-pressed postcard that can be used to spread the joy of Facebook. A cardboard coin with a big "$75" on it that says, "From your friends at Facebook -- for the public school of your choice" (see photo). This was definitely the coolest part of the gift. The Gift that Keeps on Giving The $75 coin that we received is redeemable at www.donorschoose.org . Donors Choose is an amazing website where classrooms of student...

Imagine This You see an ad for Old Navy , Gap , or Banana Republic that tells you if you become a fan of theirs on Facebook , you'll receive 10% off of every order you ever make at any of the three stores for the rest of your life. The catch? To get the discount, you have to tell the store the email address that you use to log into Facebook every time you purchase a product, whether that's in the store and online. In exchange for being a fan of one of the above-mentioned stores, you get a tab on your Facebook profile that only you can see. It includes clothing recommendations for you from Old Navy, Gap, and/or Banana Republic, and the recommendations are constantly updating based on the season and your previous purchases. You can even buy clothing right from the Facebook tab and receive your discount. Once in a while the special tab even includes discounts on items that you might like. So, would you sign up for a service like this? I sure would. And I'd tell all of my frie...

Breaking Ground Vitaminwater is no longer in control of its marketing message and I think that’s brilliant. For the first time that I’ve ever seen in a tv commercial, Vitaminwater is running ads that end by displaying its Faceboook fan page URL instead of a traditional website address. The Future of Advertising? Vitaminwater is combining elements of a variety of different types of marketing – social media, word of mouth, viral, etc. But there are two keys to this campaign: The brand is supporting these types of advertising with nation-wide tv spots being shown during CBS March Madness broadcasts. Vitaminwater is leveraging the genuineness of Facebook instead of using its own website. As consumers have grown more and more wary and immune to advertising messages, they have increasingly been turning to unbiased sources of information for product reviews. Vitaminwater could have opened up its own site to unfiltered user reviews, but that wouldn’t appear nearly as pure as it does when...