Comments on: Message to Millennials: Many CMO’s Think You Are Like Them

By: Liza Brown

Liza Brown — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:12:33 +0000

I think that a management job requires quite a lot on th part of the performer. So, things like maintenance is expensive are a bit strange to say the least. So, if these experts are regarded as too “expensive”, you may not hire them. But who will do the job?

By: Liza Brown

Liza Brown — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:12:33 +0000

By: Social Media: What I Learned This Year | Millennial Marketing

Social Media: What I Learned This Year | Millennial Marketing — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:03:08 +0000

[...] This point was driven home to me last spring when I discovered at a CMO Club event that many CMO’s are skeptical about whether Gen Y truly represents a new type of consumer, distinct from young audiences of the past (i.e, not just [...]

By: Financial Times: “The Perils of Trying to Get Down With the Kids” | Millennial Marketing

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:23:54 +0000

[...] One of the recurring themes of this blog is that boomer marketers can get it very wrong if they assume Millennials are like them. When I talk to boomers about Millennials, I always first ask whether or not they have Millennial-age children. If yes, we have an immediate understanding. If no, the conversation needs to start in an entirely different place, as I learned last spring at the CMO Club in New York (”Message to Millennials: Many CMOs Think You Are Like Them“). [...]

By: Alex Romanovich

Alex Romanovich — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:19:57 +0000

Carol, I enjoyed the session during the CMO Club Summit and was one of the CMOs in the audience. I honestly think that the audience was divided, and many felt that the issues raised by your wonderful panel are not ‘management 101′ issues at all. I spent my entire career (over 20 years in media, marketing, and technology companies) working with millenials and I always gravitate towards them. If an organization is looking for fresh, new, and innovative ideas, in addition to ‘experience’, they need to embrace new, vibrant, fresh, and sometimes radical approaches that millenials would bring on board. Does it come at a price? Yes, and sometimes companies benefit by embracing new ways of doing business or reinvention. Think of many new ways that marketers and advertisers are leveraging the millenials today – from viral marketing to social media marketing, millenials make a wonderful contribution to many new trends and explorations. A few concentrate on generation gaps and age differences (old versus young, boomers versus millenials), but in reality we ALL look for more understanding, deeper thinking, respect in a workplace, innovation, and flexible business models. Marketers by design, and by their culture, tend to segment and differentiate, yet the workplace and social interactions are much more complex today than a simple ’segmentation, or ‘us versus them’ notion. As far as ‘high maintenance’ is concerned, I can point to a few Gen X-er and baby Boomer CMOs who are sometimes slowing the progress in their companies by ’set ways, lack of imagination and innovation, or simply by being stubborn and not having their ego in check’. We are all being humbled by the current market conditions – we need to leverage each others’ strengths and concentrate on building new business models of the future, inclusive of all generations, carrying through many sentiments which were expressed at the Summit.

By: Greg Rollett

Greg Rollett — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:31:37 +0000

Great post and insight Carol. It still seems that many businesses are stuck in their ways, and thus will have a difficult time in not only the shift in power over the next 10 years but in recovering from the economic impact that Millennials will have on their business.

It's funny as we are marketing a nonprofit here in Orlando, we always target college freshmen - why? Because if we can get them on board in the beginning we can have them for at least the remainder of their college life and potentially forever. If CMO's can start to think about those principles, their business with thrive b/c of it.

Glad you shared this info!

By: Peter Krainik

Peter Krainik — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:30:45 +0000

Carol, thanks again for attending the CMO CLUB Summit and participating. A few quick comments. Although a few vocal CMOs shared one view, most CMOs in the room are passionate about leading highly motivated teams and know good leadership focuses on understanding each individual in their organization and providing them the nurturing, direction, rewards, etc. that gets them delivering value and feeling good about their contribution. Lets talk new week about next steps and survey CMOs in the club on this topic.

By: DrJohnDrozdal

DrJohnDrozdal — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:45:28 +0000

Once again, Carol, great post.

Unfortnuately, this theme is all too common among senior leaders in organizations. The corollary statement I also hear is “our” Millennials are different from ‘those’ Millennials” implying that the organization can continue business as usual. Here is my worry conversation. If organizations persist in the belief that “it” is the Millennials’ problem – not theirs – and they resist change and shy away from hiring Millennials because they are “high maintenance”, they may find themselves with a shortage of talent. The economy will recover and Millennials will choose to work for places – and managers – who get “it”.

By: Eric Brown

Eric Brown — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:33:44 +0000

Carol. Good Morning
Based on our experience with this segment as our primary customer, I agree with you. The smart companies will, and arguably have adapted to the
Millennials work habits, and they are very, very different from what was a standard 9-5 job.

I am the very tail end of the boomer segment, and the very outlook (I am not judging one or the other, just an observation) on work is diametrically different.

By: Graham Brown (mobileYouth)

Graham Brown (mobileYouth) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:16:04 +0000

Nice article Carol. I like your point regarding CMOs making the effort to investigate what’s happening at the grass roots of their organization with the new hires. Part of the problem stems from traditional hierarchical structures which encourage a disassociation with the coal face.