So while putting together an eBook campaign I’ve been working on for months now I came across an old article from 5 Blogs Before Lunch.
Dave points us to a New York Times article about Grups aka Yupsters aka Yindies.
This is an obituary for the generation gap. It is a story about 40-year-old men and women who look, talk, act, and dress like people who are 22 years old. It’s not about a fad but about a phenomenon that looks to be permanent.
I have learned that being an ADD ex-Skateshop owner turned New Media/Web 2.0 Marketer means I am NEVER the target audience.
The playlist on my mostly full 80 gig ipod is more likely to resemble that of a scenester 20 something than a suburban father of 3.
“Grups� is a nerdy reference to an old Star Trek episode in which Kirk and crew land on a planet run entirely by kids, who call grown-ups “grups.� All the adults have been killed off by a terrible virus, which also slows the natural aging process, so the kids are trapped in a state of extended prepubescence. They will never grow up. And they are running the show.
The obvious take away from this article is that Marketers need to pay attention; Grups are low hanging fruit for all things ‘cool’.
What is less obvious and that the article doesn’t go into is that there are two ways to look at Grups:
- Those who just don’t want to or have to grow up. They like the clothes, attitude and music. Deal.
- Those who are a sign of things to come.
I’ve never owned a subscription to a newspaper. I watch about 2 hours a week of TV, and that counts online. The radio station in my car is set to one station: static. Remember the mostly full 80 gig? I have an FM transmitter that I play my ipod on.
If you looked at Grups media consumption, it would be through the roof. But they don’t wat to be interupted. Advertising’s fine as long as it doesn’t get in my way. They spend a lot of money on stuff but they have little or no brand loyalty. They buy *good* brands but there are a lot of *good* brands.
My best advice to Marketers is:
- You have to be where we are (but)
- Don’t get in our way (and)
- Be ready when we’re ready.
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Whoops! Thats Me!
Im 37, have friends in their early 20s. Have an mp3 player full of hip electro. Wear up to date clothes. Spend too long in social networking sites etc