Today, on a blog I frequent, I caught wind of Catalyst Conference, a conference that I would certainly jump at the chance of attending. There are some great speakers involved and as a young leader, it really appeals to me. The cost and location on the other hand do not. But in any case, I spent some time looking through and found the conference blog, which linked to an interview.

I don't like broad generalizations about young people, we all do not have equal needs, and that is certainly reflected in the comments of the blog. Surprisingly enough I felt there were some good points made. The whole interview happens with an exec at a marketing firm, so I'm somewhat surprised that she has her hand on things. In my experience, the majority of companies are not exactly reaching out to people in my age bracket through their marketing efforts. I mute commercials and read books, I can't remember the last time I clicked a pop up ad. Most of the "marketing" that gets done towards me is done by friends with cool stuff or good recommendations. Music wise it is a little different, I keep my finger on last.fm and pitchfork media but that isn't really marketing, just me keeping my eye out for up and coming stuff.

I think my favorite part of the article is where she is asked about how a company builds "cred" with young people. Ok, so I will totally agree with the commenter who stated that no one uses cred, but I think she definitely makes a point with her answer:

"The North American youth culture marketplace of 13-25-year-olds is among the most philanthropic and environmentally conscious demographic in the world."

It kind of worries me that marketing could head in that direction because it feels slightly exploitative, but I think it is good that someone is saying that. I'm really excited about the possibilities that come from having a peer group so dedicated to others.

As always, take articles like this with a grain of salt, but still, it is certainly an interesting outside perspective on how young people are shaping and are going to shape culture in the future.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 at 9:57 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.