Marketing to the Class of 2015

What are the content consumption habits and marketing preferences of the generation that entered college in the Fall of 2011?

Do the online habits of the Class of 2015 differ from those who have gone (online) before?

On Dec. 2nd, 2011 WWD published a recap of a talk given by Matt Britton (chief executive officer and founder of Mr. Youth, a New York-based social media company) to the Business Insider Ignition Media Conference held Nov. 30th and Dec. 1st, 2011 in the Time-Warner Center in NY.

According to Mr. Britton, it's "very challenging for brand marketers to understand how to reach [the Class of 2015]."

This latest generation of web-savvy college students "see themselves as broadcasters, letting friends know through social media where to go, and they take these cues from their friends."

A Mr. Youth study called Meet2015.com explains that this group's attention is fragmented across multiple platforms: “This means your brand must be completely integrated across platforms and technologies in an effortless and seamless way. With the majority of the class of 2015 using two or more devices while watching TV, traditional media and commercials go almost completely unnoticed.”

Specifically, the Meet2015.com study shows that 80 percent of this age group use two or more devices simultaneously, 59 percent visit Facebook during class and 76 percent spend an hour on Facebook every day.

The ways to reach the Class of 2015? Mr. Britton recommends: entertainment, loyalty programs, create something they need, personalize your brand and recognize them for past patronage.

Thanks to Simon Pulman for the link to the WWD piece by Lisa Lockwood.