Some excerpts from an article on marketingclick.com >>
New kids on the lot Gen Y's are growing up. Believe it or not, 27 million are already old enough to drive. Automakers, meet your customers of the future. ... Generation Y doesn't think or act much like boomer consumers. They've already driven pop culture icons like Nike and Levi's to distraction with their fickle interest in alpha brands. Immune to tried-and-true brand strategies, they'll decide what's cool, thank you very much, and for reasons only vaguely grasped by their elders. All of which makes Gen Y both a tempting target and a formidable challenge for automakers worldwide. ... Brad Fox of AutoPacific explains: "[Gen-Y] guys are dumb dogs. The girls are cats - a little more finicky. Guys want their cars to go fast and have flash and dash. Girls want the car to start." ... A recent convert to the notion that it's never too early to create car buyers, Ford is reaching out to drivers and nondrivers alike with its campaign for the new Focus, a retooling of the basic Escort. It's being launched over 18 months to give good teen buzz an opportunity to sell the cars. And kids are buzzing about the souped-up Focus "statement cars" that Ford has loaned to key influencers like DJs, clubbers, assistants to stars, and X-gamers. It has also been noticed that the Focus sponsors Ricky Martin's tour ... "Although very few of (Generation Y) are car buyers now, it is vital to create a relationship with them so they'll think of Ford when it's time to buy a car," says Julie Roehm, Focus brand manager. ... Gen Ys are definitely thinking more about cars than they used to. On the latest Coolest Brands list from Teenage Research Unlimited, a semi-annual ranking of the hot brands among kids aged 12 to 19, car companies made it onto the lineup for the first time ever. Among the hottest of the cool? Chevrolet, Ford, and Honda. >>
