A Preview of YouthNation with Matt Britton

A summary of things you should know about YouthNation according to Matt Britton:

Introduction

In this episode Matt Britton gives an in-depth preview of his book, YouthNation, where he shows what it takes to stay connected, agile, authentic, and relevant in today’s marketplace.

In his book Britton provides an effective marketing plan with practical advice and strategies for keeping your business brand relevant to the new economy of youth-driven cultures. The goal of the book is to teach you how to use psychographics to target younger markets, craft a brand story that will attract new target markets, build highly engaging online communities, and stay ahead of the competition.

This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who run a business that deserves the attention of millennials, but are having difficulty marketing, hiring, and communicating with the younger generation.

The Book’s Unique Quality (2:51)

I think that I’ve had a very unique experience in spending a lot of time in the board rooms of major corporate marketers and because of that I’ve been able to understand their challenges and needs. I’ve also spent a whole lot of time on college campuses, nightclubs, and places where this culture is really being built, and so I think the experiences I’ve had within being on both sides really has led to an invaluable resource.

The Best Way To Engage (3:35)

I think every chapter provides a unique set of value in its own way and so the reader can go in and look at individual chapters and be able to get an understanding of the key principles. The front half of the book is written about the cultural changes that are being driven by millennials and the back half of the book talks about the marketing and advertising implications to that. So I think the reader can just look at the front part or back part depending on where they are looking to gain the most insights.

The Reader’s Takeaway (13:13)

I would want it to be that anybody who wants to succeed in business right now really needs to fully understand and embrace youth culture to do so. They need to understand that young people are changing the world and the decisions and lifestyle habits are the ones that are disrupting every industry. And in order for them to succeed they need to understand what’s going on with young people and stop ignoring it.

A Deep Dive Into The Book (4:18)

There is massive change going on now in the business landscape and it’s being driven by cultural changes in our population. Right now the big changes are being made not by decisions made in the boardrooms but by movements that are happening on the sidewalks by young, empowered millennials that are leveraging technology and social media to really change the world. These disruptions are causing changes in all corners of our economy and business world and I’ve broken them down to different principles which need to be understood by businesses and understood by marketers in order for them to succeed.

The first major changes that I’ve written about in the book I call from status symbol to status update and that’s basically talking about how millennials and the driving consumer is much more consumed than obsessed with experiences verses the possession and material items. So retailers and providers of goods really need to change the way they come to market and not so much focus on unique selling proposition of their products but of the experiences and stories that can be told from the consumption of their products and services.

I talk about changes in music and popular culture and the huge explosion of outdoor festivals driven by popularity in electronic dance music and how electronic dance music is a massive trend that’s not going away anytime soon and how brands can jump on it.

I talk about since the shift is moving away from the consumption of physical items to the consumption of experiences; young consumers are now focusing on the access of good verses the ownership of good. So it’s the rental or sharing economy and what does that mean and what companies have really thrived by creating marketplaces for the items instead of just traditional retail models.

I also talk about microeconomic changes that are being driven by millennials such as them not wanting to move to the suburbs and instead staying in major cities and the implications for them staying in the cities in terms of them being about to transact with one another. I talk about careers and the evolutions of careers and what millennials want from them.

I talk about the power of the crowd and how the crowd is an invaluable resource for companies that want to source best in class thinking and wisdom.
Lastly I talk about what all these changes mean to the future of marketing and advertising. I stay with television and how the television model with the adoption of all these new technologies is starting to become broken and how companies that have relied on the age old television model really need to reinvent themselves.

I talk about some of the new ways, since we can’t rely on television as much anymore, to reach consumers such as the creation of content and the value of storytelling. I talk about how brands can use data, the social and interest graph, and social media data to be able to actively target consumers.

Lastly I talk about the importance of people needing to be brands and personifying their brands.

My book is really a holistic view of all these changes that are going on and what I found in talking all over the world is that there is such a disconnect. Things that are sort of household names and household habits of millennials who are changing the world are still so out of reach and largely misunderstood by business decision makers and I am hoping this book provides a great resource to tie it all together.

NOTE: That was just a summary. To get the full deep dive, play the audio clip at 04:18

Notable Quotes From The Book (13:55)

“Experience is the new currency” – Matt Britton

The Credibility/Inspiration Of The Author (1:07)

I am the founder and CEO of MRY which is an advertising agency focusing on digital and social technology to really help brands break through and be remarkable with their consumer.

I work with a lot of major corporate marketers and what I found over and over again with big brands is that there seems to be a major disconnect behind their knowledge of the marketplace as they exist today and really what’s going on in terms of the disruption and change that’s already being driven by youth. For me the book is really meant to be a roadmap for marketers and business decision makers to understand how to navigate the complex changes that are brought about by these youths driving the economy to ensure they are not left in the dust.

Other Books Recommended By The Author (15:06)

Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

More Information About This Book and The Author

Buy YouthNation by Matt Britton on Amazon today
Visit YouthNation.net to learn more about Matt and his book
Follow Matt Britton on Facebook and Twitter

More Information About This Episode

Download the full transcript here (coming soon)
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher , and SoundCloud

Related books:

The New Entrepreneuz by Ronen Gafni and Simch Gluck
What’s Next by Michael Price
A World Gone Social by Ted Coine and Mark Babbitt

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Wade Danielson

Wade is a 4-time serial entrepreneur and is the Founder/Host of The Entrepreneurs Library. With a long time passion for reading books, Wade created an online resource and podcast for entrepreneurs who love to read personal and business development books. His long-term goal in life is to start an entrepreneurial home schooling program for children of business-minded families.