Echo boomers

Echo Boomers
By Paul Herbig

Echo boomers (sometimes called Generation Y) have a lot going for them. These children of the baby boomers were born from 1980 through 1994. These teens and young adults are as a whole an extremely confident group. They think they are smart. They know what they want out of life and are willing to work hard to get it.



Echo Boomers value authenticity and autonomy. Among 14- to 18-year-olds, 80% have a clear idea of objectives and goals in life; 76% of 18- to 24-year-olds know what they want and 71% said they know how to get it. And they're willing to work hard (81%) to come out on top. The vast majority believes they are really good at their jobs.


Echo Boomers also feel they are smarter than the average Joe. Some 62% of 12- to 17-year-olds think they are smarter than most kids their age. Sixty-three percent of the 18- to 24-year-old group think their IQ is higher than average (mimicking the Lake Wobegon effect where everyone was above average). When it came to critiquing the business world and media, Echo Boomers saw some credibility issues. Some 71% of the 18-to-24 group believe that most businesses would take advantage of the public. Another 82% are skeptical about what they see in the media.



Few Echo Boomers, a mere 2%, said they trust magazine ads or TV and radio commercials. None trusted the Internet. They are looking for integrity, for credibility, for truth in advertising and the media, for someone or something that they can trust. Always telling the truth was high on the list of things that are important to Echo Boomers. They want to be seen as people that tell the truth, that their integrity is beyond question. And they want to be seen as people that can see through the exaggeration and the hype.


These young people have been shaped by a wide range of influences, from TiVo to being able to select the color of an M&M for worldwide distribution, to their parents. They are the beneficiaries of a new focus on family thanks to their Boomer moms and dads. Some 78% of Echoes indicated that having a good relationship with their kids is a sign of success and accomplishment, compared to 66% in 2001. More Echoes (52%) say their parents tell them what they can and cannot watch on TV versus 43% in 1999.



They are remarkably accepting of differences and different choices. Some eight to 10 people between the ages of 18 and 24 said it was OK to do what you want. Other characteristics include:

*48% of Echoes are looking forward to the day when they can affect what happens in a TV program.

*68% will buy a different brand just to see what its like (17- to 24-year-olds).


*19% subscribe to fewer magazines than they did one year ago citing a busy schedule and the ability to get the information free online.

*53% said it is very important to make time to relax, compared to 41% in 1997.

*42% want to know more about stress.

These young consumers are influenced by friends more than ads. Trying to market a personal technology product to Gen Y? Getting their ear may take some doing. A new study from market research firm GMI shows this demographic is more receptive to word of mouth than advertising. Among respondents age 18 to 29, 44 percent said they

were influenced by advertising, while 67 percent cited recommendations from friends as an influence (respondents could choose more than one option). In contrast, 58.5 percent of boomers say that word of mouth or friends' opinions influence their decisions to buy.

Echo boomers are bombarded by advertising and do not know what they can and cannot trust; as a result, the only thing they can really trust is a friend. This phenomena can also be seen in the the growing popularity of online networking sites like Myspace , Facebook, and Friendster, which easily let consumers (mostly echoboomers) solicit opinions from a large group of people.

The next wave of consumers is upon us now and they are nothing like we have ever seen before. Get to know them and their needs and special ways of operating. The alternative is an early exit from the game.

Paul Herbig is the Managing Partner of Herbig Marketing Associates, (www.herbigandsons.com) a nationally renown marketing consulting company and former Professor Marketing and Dean, Ketner School of Business for Tri-State University. He can be contacted at mktgandme@aol.com.