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Navigating the Evolving Media Landscape

  • OTT 2023

The media landscape continues to evolve, arguably at a faster rate than ever. Leading media and measurement experts presented research-based insights on how viewers use different forms of TV/video on various platforms. Attendees joined us at the Warner Bros. Discovery Studios in California and via livestream to understand the latest data and discussions of the data’s implications. This content is currently available for event attendees only until 11/30/23.

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Advertising Effectiveness: Performance Measurement in the New World of Privacy and Tools

On July 26, measurement practitioners discussed how to adapt to this new era of privacy with tools for measuring ad performance effectiveness. Panelists explored new considerations for existing methods, such as marketing mix modeling (MMMs) and multi-touch attribution (MTAs), and discussed the pros and cons of various privacy enhancing technologies (PETs), including multi-party computation, clean rooms, and more.

A Fresh Look at 50+ Consumers

The importance of consumers age 50+ is not always recognized, this research confirms. It also finds that this group is changing in some surprising ways.

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Demystifying the Multigenerational Workplace

On May 18th, 2023, ARF Young Pros met to discuss how generational differences can affect behavioural preferences and tendencies in the workplace. Multigenerational teams are the new normal with at least four generations in the workforce today. Age correlates less and less with expertise and authority and the need for effective collaboration across generations is therefore more valuable than ever.

Demystifying the Multigenerational Workplace

On May 18th, 2023, ARF Young Pros met to discuss how generational differences can affect behavioural preferences and tendencies in the workplace. Multigenerational teams are the new normal with at least four generations in the workforce today. Age correlates less and less with expertise and authority and the need for effective collaboration across generations is therefore more valuable than ever.

THE LAST WORD

Capping off the final day of sessions, Kantar’s Michelle Eule led a lively commentary on whether the generation consumers are born into really matters as an influence for marketing and if other psychographics or demographics are more important.

DISCUSSION

This panel, moderated by Scott McDonald, led a discussion in response to the presentations on the generational implications in marketing and advertising. Topics of discussion included the notion of labels and challenges that can be associated with them, using generational attributes as a starting point or a “lens,” and the idea that while generations may be an indicator, values and certain behaviors can “transcend age.”

Generations are Messy but Meaningful

J. Walker thanked Bobby Duffy for his insights and perspectives and offered a somewhat different take: He stressed that generations are an important way to study social change. They are a useful construct, but they are not perfect. According to J. Walker, generations are best understood as an aggregation of life trajectories, shared circumstances and events as generational members come of age. Graduating during a recession or growing up in a pandemic will shape those generations. Cohorts who grow up at the same time and share common experiences, expectations and values matter for brands and culture. The shared starting point is the critical factor. Comparing Boomers at 20 years old with Millennials at 20 is the relevant point. A general comparison of Boomers vs. Millennials is not relevant.

The Generation Myth

Highlighting key points from his book, The Generation Myth: Why When You’re Born Matters Less Than You Think, Bobby Duffy presented his research on generational thinking as a powerful idea corrupted by stereotypes, myths, and cliches. As he tracked today’s generations over time (Pre-War, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z) to see what is truly generational, Bobby looked for gaps between young and old on attitudes to everything from drinking, smoking, and loneliness to race, gender equality and climate change. He found that many analyses and forecasts about consumer behavior ignore the complexity of change, that is, they only look at one of the three mechanisms that cause changes: Cohort Effects—Behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that are more common among members of a generation; Period Effects—Changes resulting from events and circumstances that affect everybody, all generations, from war and disasters to periods of economic boom; Life-Cycle Effects—Members of all generations change as they grow older and experience getting married, having children, etc.  The key to using generational analyses in consumer behavior forecasts, therefore, is to untangle these three mechanisms and recognize the importance of period and life-cycle effects to avoid overstating cohort effects.