Ideas for Connecting with Gen Y

Here is a summary of the article in a nutshell: 10 Surefire Strategies for Connecting with Gen Y (according to marketers)......
1) Respect them as consumers: Members of Generation Y are tech savvy and highly intelligent. Don't talk "at" or "down to" them.

2) Get to know them. Before they will do business with you, Generation Yers want to know that you care enough to find out what makes them tick.... Get out there and talk to them.

3) Look cool and hip: To see what's working, visit http://Apple.com....or Jones Soda Co. http://www.jonessoda.com/index.php

4) Be socially responsible: Generation Y is incredibly conscious about social causes including the environment, animal rights, and world hunger. They want to know that your company is aligned with a cause that creates an emotional connection with them.

5) Be real: Young consumers can spot a phony from a mile away. Don't try to talk the talk if you don't speak the language. Be honest and open.

6) Join their networks: Generation Y will not come looking for you. If you want to attract Generation Y, go where they hang out: social networking sites. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, and Second Life are the hot sites for Generation Y and cost nothing to join.

7) Take it to the streets: Today's youth love experiences. Promotional stunts, product sampling, and rollouts in a strategically placed venue attract the young urban buyer. They thrive on word of mouth marketing, and street marketing is one of the best ways to create buzz for the young consumer. Today's smart marketers use street teams and event marketing to reach Generation Y. For more information visit www.streetteampromotion.com and www.mryouth.com.

8) Give them a chance to win: Generation Y is wild about winning a contest or receiving a gift, especially if it's meaningful to them, like an iPod, a trip to a national snowboarding competition, or tickets to a hot concert. And you'll always be able to reel them in with great java and food. But one caveat: Generation Yers travel in groups so be sure the gift or prize includes enough spending power for them to bring along their friends.

9) Go viral: YouTube turned the Internet from an information highway into an entertainment complex without walls. Video (vodcast) and audio (podcasts) bits uploaded to your site can spread across the Internet as Generation Yers share their favorites with their friends, who pass it along to their circle, and so on.

10) Text them: I hear many older generation leaders saying, "I don't text message. I don't even use e-mail." If you can't connect with their preferred method of communication (texting over email), forget about reaching Generation Y. Learn how to integrate mobile technology in your marketing efforts to get into their networks and be seen. Look at how popular shows like American Idol use texting to vote for their favorite performers, because the producers recognize that their audience is primarily is Generation Y!