Worth Repeating

Finally, we can ditch all that "edgy" and overly "cool" creative that basically just took up space and time with not much additional benefit.

Guess what? Kids are smarter! Bring on the No Bullshit approach. Ads that actually mention and describe what the product is. Good God, not in the advertising world! We can NEVER be too upfront about what we're selling. It might be too boring! Well, time to change. Yup, according to a survey done by YouthStream Media Networks as reported in Media Post, the next generation wants a practical, no nonsense approach to marketing. Check out these stats:

- Students rated practical advertising messages as "extremely" or "very" important, with "honesty" (90%), "product information" (86%) and "description of actual pricing" (71%) getting the strongest responses.

- The more superficial issues traditionally considered vital to this demographic group received far fewer positive ratings, with "celebrity endorsements/models" (6%), "irreverence" (14%) and "coolness/edginess" (31%) among the least favored qualities.

- When it came to personal finances, 47% said they are "more likely" to save money in the current economic climate, and 31% are "more likely" to put off major purchases.

- When students were asked how they would use a hypothetical $10,000 gift, the most popular response was "pay off credit card debt or student loans" (36%), followed by "put it in the bank" (26%).

Oh, and don't worry, I still believe in building a brand :-)

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