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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - DECEMBER 2014
after 1997). Digital Natives are the first
generation in human history to be born
into the world of hyper-connected
information overload. However, since
they’ve been connected since birth,
Digital Natives do not experience the
flood of information hurling at them
as anything more than just “the way
things are,” and always have been—
for them.
At the moment, Millennials are
assuming positions of power in all
walks of life, and they’re impact on
marketing—in the use of viral memes,
infotainment, social media, spheres
of influence, cross-platform content,
etc.—has been profound. But when
Digital Natives start adding their ideas
and influence into the mix, the pace
of change will accelerate even faster.
This acceleration will feel to older gen-
erations like constant chaos and dis-
ruption, but to Digital Natives it will
simply be business as usual—the way
things ought to be.
REVOLUTION #5: FROM SELLING
TO SHARING
Since Millennials and Digital Na-
tives have been aggressively marketed
to their entire lives, they are also ex-
tremely savvy about the media they
consume. Direct, blatant pitches don’t
work on them. They hate being sold to,
and to them, commercials are just the
things you fast-forward through to get
back to the program. Also, since they
are wary of institutions, they are much
more likely to trust the opinion of a
friend than anyone else, hence the rise
of social media as a powerful market-
ing tool.
In the future, selling is going to
be less about persuasion and more
about participation. Brands that posi-
tion themselves as a trusted “friend”
have a much better chance of succeed-
ing in this environment. That’s not a
new idea; the key is truly being worthy
of the customer’s trust. For example,
Whole Foods knows that its custom-
ers care about the ecological, political,
and social impact of the food they con-
sume. To help make that information
more readily available to its custom-
ers, the company is investing in IT
infrastructure to support its vision of
total product transparency—a move it
hopes will inspire the sort of trust and
loyalty all companies are looking for in
the 21st century.
Owen Shapiro is the author of Brand
Shift: The Future of Brands and Market-
ing. Shapiro is a market researcher, strate-
gist and speaker and spent more than 30
years in customer insights and market
strategy. He has a career-long interest
in helping launch innovative start-up
companies, several of which have become
well-known brands, including Staples,
PetSmart, Sports Authority, Ulta and Five
Below.
