Demographic Report on Our Target Market:

The College and Career Group

The group that we are targeting with the College and Career Week promotion is referred to as
“Generation Y” or the “Echo Boom” and it includes 70 million people. Reaching this group with
advertising for the promotion may prove to be challenging. According to Nancy Shepherdson in
her article entitled Life’s Beach 101 published in the May 2000 issue of American
Demographics, this group has “seen as many as 20,000 commercials every year since they were
old enough to sit up.”
According to Shepherdson, we can make the following statements about this group:
1. As a group, they are unaware of the clout they wield in the job market.
2. Soon-to-graduate college seniors underestimate their worth and overestimate the
difficulty they will have finding a job.
3. Generation Y was the first generation to grow up with the Internet, and they will define
how we integrate the Internet into everyday life.
4. This group responds best to integrated marketing that doesn't strike you as advertising.
5. They are more likely to respond to anything that makes their lives easier.
6. Some recent college grads may be wealthier than previous generations were at the same
age.
7. This group has more savvy than previous generations, and they are starting to make big
decisions earlier than ever.
8. They aren’t as inclined to respond to celebrity endorsements or to idolize established
market leaders, but they do exhibit strong brand loyalty after they have selected a brand.
9. They respond to practicality and individual expression.
10. The Echo Boom is diverse in taste and culture.
11. This group sees through “hype” fairly quickly.
12. They prefer buying experiences that are customized for them.
13. They are much more likely to become interested in products through word of mouth or
"buzz" than any traditional media outlet.

The article by Shepherdson cites an interesting case that illustrates point 13 above. The findings
of a 1999 survey of 500 college students conducted by Strategic Mindshare, a Miami-based
research firm, concluded that students preferred to learn about Web sites from friends. The case
involved an e-promotion by Ikea, the Swedish home-furnishings retailer which offered $75 off
purchases if customers sent Internet postcards to their friends announcing a store opening.
Within two weeks, the promotion generated 37,000 referrals.
One thing we should include in our promotion is multiple opportunities for customers to
participate in activities, not just to buy things that are on sale. Shepherdson’s article points out
that
…the store concept most preferred by today's college student is
one in which "the five senses are engaged," where there are
"experimentation and hang-out areas" (à la Barnes & Noble and
Borders Books) and places to "engage in activity and buy
products." This generation enjoys the cross between retailing and
 activity-based businesses such as gyms, copy centers, and sporting
venues.
As we think about this promotion in the stores and on the Web site, the following advice should
be considered from Shepherdson:
Currently, most marketers see e-commerce as a way to target a
specific group, or simply as an extension of their existing sales
operations. But as e-commerce matures, marketers will need to do
more than just enable consumers to buy online. Eventually, they'll
need to make online buying/returning/asking for help as seamless
as it is in a store.
And finally, the article included the following table that relates the average starting salary for
college grads by job title:

Job Category February February

2000 1999

Computers & $44,722 $41,316

Information Science

Engineering $43,740 $44,594

Education $38,898 $40,328

Sales & Marketing $35,746 $33,223

Business & $35,452 $34,254

Management

Accounting & Finance $35,104 $34,173

Public Affairs & $29,535 $28,372

Social Services

Communications/Media $28,446 $27,892

Source: JobTrak.com