Review by Choice Review
Johnson, an author and consultant, ventures into the brave new world of Generation X and Y consumers who constitute the "connected generation." She argues these generations have turned away from traditional marketing and advertising practices where consumers are passive participants. Instead, these generations demand active involvement in the marketplace; those companies that recognize and allow this to happen are the new success stories. According to Johnson, five essential criteria (e.g., "experience," where consumers seek active participation) define this new group of connected consumers and underlie what she calls the "ten consumer cravings." These ten consumer cravings (e.g., for personalization, adventure, social networking, innovative designs) are the meat of the book, and a chapter is devoted to each. Chapters follow a similar format and set of topics: a description of the phenomenon and why it arose; lessons learned and examples of companies that have successfully harnessed them; and ideas, questions, or tasks that others may address to tap into this emergent phenomenon. Despite some hyperbole, this book offers keen insights, and marketers would be well served by studying it. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Research and practitioner collections. G. Riecken Georgia Southern Univesity
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
As baby boomers move past their peak spending years and begin to move toward retirement, marketers are focusing their attention on a new generation of consumers. Generation X (1965-79) and Generation Y (1980-97) are technology-fluent individuals who have embraced cell phones, BlackBerries, e-mail, and text messaging, but they have also been so inundated with advertising that they are cynical and difficult to reach. Johnson, CEO and cofounder of the Reach Group, is an award-winning marketer and expert on Gen X & Y and female consumers. She notes that as Gen X & Y have come into dominance in the marketplace, immersed in highly networked, always on gadgets and technologies, they have emerged as the Connected Generation. Johnson identifies 10 core cravings that drive these consumers to connect with and buy products, and she highlights the challenges in reaching this group with real-world success stories such as the Motorola Razr, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Target, and Red Bull Energy Drink. The result is effective as both a marketing workbook and a study of social trends. --David Siegfried Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
For those who want to know what the wired generations want to consume and experience, this book provides plenty of insights. CEO of marketing consultancy ReachWomen, Johnson clearly knows her topic, providing many examples of brands that have appealed to the desire for personalization, adventure, high concept design, loose family and social networks, spirituality and five other core "cravings" of 18- to 40-year-olds. Each chapter is also sprinkled with case studies to illustrate marketing success stories, ending in workbook sections with exercises that will help readers apply the advice in each chapter. In fact, readers would do well to read this book close to a computer or keep a pen at hand to jot down URLs. The volume of information is at once its strength and shortcoming: 10 chapters deliver on the subtitle's promise, but the information can be overwhelming. Fortunately, the author addresses that concern in the book's conclusion, where she outlines some ways to put new ideas to work within an organization. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
What used to work in marketing has changed, and many companies are trying to figure out how to react as their market shares erode. One way is to focus marketing efforts on a smaller demographic group and capture its loyalty. These new books focus on two such attractive population segments: baby boomers and the so-called Generations X and Y, which together form the 18- to 40-year-old consumer group. Curiously, Johnson previously wrote Don't Think Pink: What Really Makes Women Buy, but here she opts for a generational rather than gendered treatment, while coauthors Brown and Orsborn, both executives at Imago Creative, a marketing firm specializing in baby boomer women, apply their expertise on marketing to women. Both books suggest that traditional marketing and advertising don't work with either boomer women or the later generations-as the prime audience, for instance, 18- to 34-year-old mothers can no longer be expected to watch the soaps-and attempt to explain both why and what can be done about it. The books observe what their subject groups do (at work and at play) and how they want to be treated. For example, Generations X and Y are really into technology, using it in new ways that allow them to form bonds with one another that generally escape boomers. In fact, baby boomer women really want technology to be as simple to use as possible, and they seek to use it in completely different ways. Both books provide ample case studies to substantiate their theories. Ad agencies, corporate libraries, and business schools should consider acquiring both volumes if they want to have the latest thinking on segmentation and targeting, but these are optional purchases for general circulation libraries, even with substantial marketing collections.-Stephen E. Turner, Turner & Assocs., San Francisco (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
