I belong to Nintendo's Generation

NINTENDO GENERATION

I was born in 1986 in Barcelona (Spain). In Spain we are called Generation Y, but we are also called Generation Nintendo. What I knew before coming to the US about my generation was that if you were born between 1980 and 1999 and you are based on criticizing everything you belong to this generation. We are adaptable to changes and we are under the influence of Internet. We give so much importance to Reality shows, sports, TV series, movies, laptops, game consoles but Internet is always in our life.

With the articles I read in Spain and the material we’ve been given here, we can build a stereotype that defines us accurately; however there are some truths that are not said.

The main characteristics we usually share are:
· Challenging attitude

· Flexibility facing changes in organizations or in our personal life

· Individualism. We look for maximum satisfaction

·Bargaining and negotiation skills. The growth of information technologies gives us the chance to access more information.

· Creativity. Since we were child we developed our right side of the brain so as to be more creative but we also maintain the left side which gives us logical thinking.

· Friendship. We all need to have friends and to keep in contact with them to fulfill ourselves.

In my case, I fulfill all these values because I don’t believe in given rules and I need challenges to be motivated. I prefer to work in group than working alone, but I always think in my satisfaction. All the people from this generation can’t match perfectly because we all have different backgrounds and interests; however we all have similar worries and the same objectives in our life.

USA isn’t much more different from Spain as you would think. The only differences are that some networks or trends arrive late. For example, in Spain we use Facebook and Messenger, and practically anybody has an account in Myspace. In my case, I’ve heard about mySpace but I’ve never used it. Another clear example is that it was my first time to listen to a Podcast or write in a Blog.

Anyway, no matter where we come from, no matter where we were born or which background we do have. Of course, there are cross-cultural differences, but we are all connected at any time thanks to Internet, we are all immunized against advertisements and marketing campaigns. Basically we can set up a standard about how we act and how we think.

Marketers should be concerned about this growing generation because we are changing the rules in business, especially in marketing. We need to be targeted and contacted in a different way as marketers did with our parents. Internet is our source of information and friends are our consultants and advisors, so that determines the path to follow. We should change the rules to create a better environment, but we need the right frame.

Everything is changing, so companies should be able to adapt their working methods to these changes in order to ensure their profits/sales. As mentioned in the Business Week, the brands that were performing extremely well with our parents, now they are having a lot of problems to sustain their profits. That means, that change is need it. They should explore new distribution channels, alternative ways of advertising (viral marketing, guerrilla marketing,...) and develop specific products for our needs. There are some companies that are doing their homework and that is reflected in their Profit Loses Statements, so the other ones must take a look on them to adapt their activites to the new millenium and the new coming customers.



Toni Candini