Mind Your X's and Y's: Satisfying the 10 Cravings of a New Generation of Consumers (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: community connectors, brand theater, content strategists, New York, Vocation Vacations, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For those who want to know what the wired generations want to consume and experience, this book provides plenty of insights. CEO of marketing consultancy ReachWomen, Johnson clearly knows her topic, providing many examples of brands that have appealed to the desire for personalization, adventure, high concept design, loose family and social networks, spirituality and five other core "cravings" of 18- to 40-year-olds. Each chapter is also sprinkled with case studies to illustrate marketing success stories, ending in workbook sections with exercises that will help readers apply the advice in each chapter. In fact, readers would do well to read this book close to a computer or keep a pen at hand to jot down URLs. The volume of information is at once its strength and shortcoming: 10 chapters deliver on the subtitle's promise, but the information can be overwhelming. Fortunately, the author addresses that concern in the book's conclusion, where she outlines some ways to put new ideas to work within an organization. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

As baby boomers move past their peak spending years and begin to move toward retirement, marketers are focusing their attention on a new generation of consumers. Generation X (1965-79) and Generation Y (1980-97) are technology-fluent individuals who have embraced cell phones, BlackBerries, e-mail, and text messaging, but they have also been so inundated with advertising that they are cynical and difficult to reach. Johnson, CEO and cofounder of the Reach Group, is an award-winning marketer and expert on Gen X & Y and female consumers. She notes that as Gen X & Y have come into dominance in the marketplace, immersed in highly networked, "always on" gadgets and technologies, they have emerged as the "Connected Generation." Johnson identifies 10 core "cravings" that drive these consumers to connect with and buy products, and she highlights the challenges in reaching this group with real-world success stories such as the Motorola Razr, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Target, and Red Bull Energy Drink. The result is effective as both a marketing workbook and a study of social trends. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (August 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743277503
• ISBN-13: 978-0743277501
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #379,598 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that hits you where you live and shows you step by step how to influence one of the biggest markets in the nation today, September 6, 2006

By	Dave Lakhani "BoldApproach.com" (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I loved this book, it is one of the best that I've read this year.

This is an important book because it gives you a clear, step by step roadmap for influencing and persuading one of the most fickle (and over marketed) consumer groups of our era, those consumers between 18 - 40.

The author goes into exacting detail about how this market consumes information and how you can create messages that resonate with them and stick. She also tells you what doesn't work (I cringed several times as I recognized mistakes that I made).

If you are in this age range you'll find this book one of the most refreshing you've ever read because it will describe you and how you consume information (I know it did for me) and it will help you make the transition between the kind of marketer you are today and one that can be even more effective.

This book is a guidebook, a roadmap and a manifesto. Grab this book today, even if your market it older, one of the things that the author didn't cover is how much more like 18 - 40 year olds older generations are becoming in their consumption of information and their resistance to advertising. Most of the information in this book applies to anyone who is active in today's world regardless of their age.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars.

Dave Lakhani
Author: Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want and The Power of an Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour a Week

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading once, December 1, 2008

By	F. Portell - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Mind Your X's and Y's: Satisfying the 10 Cravings of a New Generation of Consumers (Hardcover)

I think the author makes some good points that explain how generation X and Y think and make decisions and relate to others. After about the first half of the book it doesn't seem to offer as much "meat" as the beginning of the book. Instead, in a strange way, the book goes on to discuss endless case studies with the basic theme of pampering your customer. For $7 it is worth reading once. After which you can donate it to the public library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing assessment of the X and Y generations, January 4, 2007

By	Janine Warner "Janine Warner" (California) - See all my reviews

If you need to understand how young people make purchasing decisions, this book will put you way ahead of the competition. Even my young, technically savvy friends have learned new things from reading this book.