Generation C By Dan Pankraz

C for…..?

Content Creators Connected Co-creation Customise Community Curious Control ‘C’

“ The spread of digital technology has exploded the number of video moviemakers, bloggers & bedroom musicians. Suddenly we're all poets & publishers. Are we witnessing a creative renaissance?” Idealog

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT GEN C They love creating and ‘mashing’ content They are not passive, they form ‘active communities’ They thrive on social media sites where they can get involved in ideas and cultural conversations They’re in control of their own lives and are happy with complexity Gen C aspire to work in more creative industries with less rigid social structures

They love creating and ‘mashing’ content

They are not passive, they form ‘active communities’

They thrive on social media sites where they can get involved in ideas and cultural conversations

They’re in control of their own lives and are happy with complexity

Gen C aspire to work in more creative industries with less rigid social structures

MYTH: Gen C is exclusively teenagers

… is the age Gen C most wish to be

THEY’RE DIGITAL STORYTELLERS, CONSTANTLY CAPTURING AND SHARING THEIR LIVES 96% of wired Aussies under 21 have joined a social networking site Source: Universal McCann Global study on social media trends April 2008

96% of wired Aussies under 21 have joined a social networking site

WHO LOVE THEIR ‘15 SECONDS OF FAME’

And crave constant stimulation… … there is NO OFF SWITCH

THEY’RE WORLD IS BASED ON CONTINUOUS PARTIAL ATTENTION

iTunes MP3 MMORPGs Avatars iMovie CGI YouTube iPod DV cam Blogs PSP Xbox Apps Wii AV remixes USB MySpace Chat rooms IM Camera phones Twitter Facebook Mash-ups Skype Sidekick / Hiptop UGC Nokia Online profiles iPhone Flickr L8R ;-) File sharing WiFi Wiki HD Widgets Torrent VOIP WITH HUNDREDS OF DIGITAL ACRONYMS TO KEEP THEM OCCUPIED Facebook

THEY’RE CREATIVITY HAS EXTENDED TO AN EXPLOSION IN BODY ART

AND A RESPECT FOR BRANDS WHO CREATE CULTURE, NOT MIMIC IT. Cuprocking.com Andy Uprock bringing his graffiti revolution to the world..thanks to Aussie brand Mooks

THEY HAVE A PASSION FOR LEARNING NEW SKILLS Comical instructional footage on how to improve your photoshop skills WHILE NOT TAKING THEMSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY

Comical instructional footage on how to improve your photoshop skills

AND FLOCK TO BRANDS WHO ALLOW THEM TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF IDEAS

LIKE VOTING ON HOW AN AD CAMPAIGN ENDS Flickr Sightings Source:runcactuskidrun.com

EVERYTHING HAS TO BE CUSTOMISABLE

AS THEY TREAT CONTENT AS COLLABORATIVE AND RECOMBINANT The ‘Control C Generation ’

LIKE SPOOFING THEIR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS ON YOUTUBE

Movies are now being created based off gaming platforms GAMING NOW DWARFS HOLLYWOOD

Gen C see real and imaginary worlds as one….their personas can be fluid and malleable through these different worlds

GEN C LOVE PLAYING WITH ‘AVATAR’ CREATION TOOLS THEY CAN PASS ON

BRANDS WHO INTRIGUE THEM WITH BRANDED CONTENT WIN

OR WHO SIMPLY MAKE THEIR LIFE BETTER FIAT ECODRIVE HELPS GEN C BECOME MORE FUEL EFFICIENT DRIVERS

THEY’RE INSPIRED BY BRANDS INVITING THEM TO BE PART OF BIGGER WORLD ISSUES VIRGLE..THE 1 ST PERMANENT HUMAN COLONY ON MARS

GEN C LOVE MYSTERIOUS CHARACTERS… NOT THE CLEAN CUT Experimental Torah Bright Restless Imaginative Mysterious Challenging

Bam Marguerra is THE cult Gen C hero…. He’s dark, constantly rebelling and doesn’t take himself too seriously

THE GEN C LOOK IN 2008/09 Casual cool Fluid Unisex Understated Anti-colour Industrie

Terminator 4 Tip: HYPER REAL AND SCI FI MOVIES WILL CAPTIVATE GEN C IN 2009 Transformers 2 Watchmen Wolverine

10 THINGS TO TAKEAWAY Focus on sparking conversations in culture, not on one way messages Foster their creativity and allow for participation/co-creation in all your ideas Treat Gen C as ‘active communities’ who can spread your message NOT target audiences you’re aiming to hit Make sure your brand is always in BETA mode..never fixed or static Plan for content you don’t create, building flexibility into your marketing programs Create useful stuff like widgets and applications that’s relevant to their lives. Treat real and virtual worlds as one..ensuring ideas live seamlessly across all platforms Don’t treat your brand too seriously…stick to a core idea, but allow for lots of different manifestations to keep Gen C interested Don’t be scared of complex ideas which ‘build’ across different media platforms….don’t just plaster one message everywhere Think about how your brand can make a meaningful contribution to gaming culture

Focus on sparking conversations in culture, not on one way messages

Foster their creativity and allow for participation/co-creation in all your ideas

Treat Gen C as ‘active communities’ who can spread your message NOT target audiences you’re aiming to hit

Make sure your brand is always in BETA mode..never fixed or static

Plan for content you don’t create, building flexibility into your marketing programs

Create useful stuff like widgets and applications that’s relevant to their lives.

Treat real and virtual worlds as one..ensuring ideas live seamlessly across all platforms

Don’t treat your brand too seriously…stick to a core idea, but allow for lots of different manifestations to keep Gen C interested

Don’t be scared of complex ideas which ‘build’ across different media platforms….don’t just plaster one message everywhere

Think about how your brand can make a meaningful contribution to gaming culture

THANKYOU [email_address]