Barbara Bylenga is president and founder of Outlaw Consulting, a highly successful San Francisco-based company specializing in spotting trends. They talk to trendsetters and predict which trends will go mainstream. Outlaw has been telling companies like Nike, Levi’s and Diageo for years what the coolest of the cool kids want. In a recent exclusive interview for the Global Business Network (GBN), she affirmed that cool Millennials are indeed different from cool kids of the past. Here are a few highlights:
GBN: The bulk of your trendsetters are in their teens and 20’s. We hear a lot about the Millennial Generation and how they are different. Is it hype or real?
BYLENGA: Millennials, or Gen-Ys, are definitely different. They seem to feel more empowered — and more entitled — than any generation before them. They have an innate team orientation that makes them excellent collaborators. And the ideas about issues like marriage and career are radically different. Their “American dream” isn’t about the picket fence; it’s a flexible freelance career and a life defined by passion. There’s no doubt in my mind that they are poised to change society. And they’re the biggest American generation ever — even bigger than their parents, the Baby Boomers. In just a couple years, they’ll be on-third of the U.S. population.
GBN: What are Gen-Ys like as consumers?
BYLENGA: Gen Ys see themselves as changemakers. But they’re also busy trying to have a middle-class life, so their protests take different form than youth protests of the past. They see corporations as having lots of power but little heart, and they try to create change by using their dollars. The “aha” for corporations is to recognize that values and authenticity are important to this generation — and that directly affects how they spend. American Apparel, for example, has been totally embraced by youth because of its labor practices. Shopping there make them feel like they’re spending money in the right place. Companies that really “walk their talk” about core values will be endeared. If you want to be relevant to Gen Ys, you need to understand their mindset. Understand what they’re doing — and why.
GBN: What’s the hot new thing among Gen Y trendsetters? I assume they all have iPhones...
BYLENGA: Well, iPhones are still very popular, but they’re not as cool as the MacBook Pro, which is the most powerful status symbol among our trendsetters right now. Some of them are living in squalor on 24th and Mission [in San Francisco], eating Ramen noodles and shopping at the Goodwill — but they paid two grand for their MacBook Pro. An iPhone is nice for keeping in touch, but let’s face it, it’s yuppie accessory. Toms Shoes are also big right now. Every time we do a focus group with trendsetters, at least one of them shows up wearing a new pair of Toms. They’re simply designed and very comfortable, and for every pair you purchase Toms donates one pair to a child in need in Argentina or South Africa. “One for one,” they say on the box. It’s a simple mission and the shoes are hip.
