With Generation Y coming of age, having to find new ways to adjust to the ever-changing demands of my very individualistic generation. Jones Soda, a small Soda company out Seattle, Washington, has continuously embraced [#%0#2]Generation Y[/#%0#2]. They have reached out to their target audience and encouraged them to get involved with the brand. By using photos that people have submitted on their label, they have not only identified themselves with their consumers, but also created an air of excitement around their product.

I know that I look forward to picking up a bottle of Jones Soda to see what crazy photo will be on the front, and I know I’m not alone. Jones has once again out done themselves by allowing consumers the opportunity to have customized bottles made. For thirty dollars you can go on their website upload a photo, and pick out which of the twenty-two flavors you would like your photo to appear on. Then, in about a week’s time you will receive a six-pack of Jones in your mailbox. It’s an absolutely amazing idea! I know that it’s just the type of thing that my generation will cling to… personalized soda bottles (kinda makes you like a celebrity). As a generation, we are constantly looking for the next thing to make us feel important and special, and Jones Soda has set out to deliver what we want.
From a marketing standpoint what Jones Soda is doing with their customizable sodas is a strong and realistic way to reach out to [#%0#3]Generation Y[/#%0#3]. Individuality is something that has been ingrained into the heads of my generation. Our parents fostered a deep-rooted sense of individuality unseen in past generations. It is because of this need to feel special that my generation embraces brands that appear to accept them as individuals. By selling to the individualistic side of [#%0#4]Generation Y[/#%0#4], Jones Soda has secured it’s self as one of the popular refreshments of [#%0#5]Generation Y[/#%0#5].

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My mom sent me a link to a 60 Minutes segment I had missed this season. This news program, hosted by Morley Safer, talks about the “work ethic” of the infamous Millennials as they enter the work force in the United States. The exact age of the Millennials can vary based on who you ask, but the general agreement is they are under 30 years old.

After watching the piece and learning more about what these young people want from their jobs, you might feel defensive, irritated and a bit disgusted especially if you are over 40 years old. I mean didn’t we have to work hard to get where we are? How many times did you stay late, work on the weekend, compromise a vacation or otherwise sacrifice for the job?

And I don’t know about you, but I literally had no fewer than three managers (when I was in my 20s), tell me I needed to “pay my dues” before I could even begin to get promoted. I still get mad when I think about it –because at 25 I knew I was smarter than those managers (sometimes we are, sometimes we aren’t).

But maybe the Millennials are on to something.

I have worked in telecom since 1993. I had come from a hot Silicon Valley software company. All of us were under 35 – even the execs – we used the Internet, email and worked and played together like maniacs. Then I joined Octel, a telecom company later bought my Lucent. Voice mail was the tool of choice; the management was mostly white, male and generally over 50. In fact, most of the people there were older. We didn’t have email and some folks didn’t even use computers.

Fast forward fifteen years and things have changed in our business. Thank goodness everyone has email and computers. But overall, it still seems like we can sometime act a bit, how can I say this delicately, old school. From downloading content on mobile phones to joining a social network site, getting some of my peers to join me has been a a bit of work! I can’t imagine the culture shock a millennial might be experiencing as they join our ranks.

So maybe we have an opportunity to adapt to the needs of the Millennials and it could improve the work experience for all of us. Here are a few things Millennials look for in a job that I think we might all appreciate. See what you think:

Join the team. Millennials like being part of a team. Teams can be fun and motivating. They can also be safe places to flesh out ideas and generate new ones. These are different from those horrible meetings comprised of people who think they have to be included before a project can go forward. Teams share a common goal and purpose and inherently support one another – they don’t create roadblocks or deploy layers of process. Think back, I bet you can remember some great teams you belonged to.

Life-work balance. Dude, notice it isn’t written as work-life balance? That’s the first step towards mental health. Millennials have this as their top priority. They grew up in a world where they saw their parents’ change jobs with every layoff and realized jobs may change but friends are forever. As such, they put their jobs in perspective. That might be a good idea for all of us. Work hard when we work but play hard when we play.

A fun, employee-centered workplace. Millennials want work to be fun. Imagine that. I don’t think that has to mean idiotic, but I have to say, when I host a call, I try to make it fun. I use humor. I laugh. I check in with the other participants to see how they are doing. As a telecommuter, I don’t get to go somewhere to have fun. I have to make it myself. Of course, when I used to go to the office, I was one of the practical jokers. Maybe that’s why I now work from home! Either way, work should have elements of fun because it spawns creativity and innovation.

And isn’t that what we are here to do: create and innovate? As we embrace the Millennials as they enter our telecom world I look forward to their positive impact on our culture. Welcome!

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I came across Jane’s brand timeline and was very intrigued at letting brands tell the story of your life.

Here’s what a random day in my life looks like, told through the eyes of brands:

0900. Good morning, Dave.

0930. The costume

1047. Rise and shine

1105. What’s going on in the world?

1247. Let’s do lunch

1442. You’re on

1807. Refuel and reconnect

2028. Productivity

2345. Y halo thar, internets!

0108. Power down

The brands listed had a somewhat significant impact on that particular day. If I took a crack at putting down every single brand I came into contact with, this post would be larger by several orders of magnitude. For example, I could have included the bands I listened to, the ads I saw, the branded clothes of people that I saw walking around. If I went into a grocery store or a mall, this could have gone on forever.

It’s amazing at how much of your daily life is comprised of interacting with or talking about brands…and how you become self-conscious of publicly associating yourself with certain brands. It makes me wonder whether I’d put down Metamucil, Barry Manilow or Vagisil if it applied to me. In short, it made me think about how much of my identity is ascribed to brands.

Whether this is isolated to Gen Y is debatable. Though I’m still not convinced that this exposure to brands on this scale makes us marketing savvy.

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