Chartered Accountants Institute is reaching out for Gen Y

I stumbled-upon an interesting article from the institute of Chartered Accountants, describing their Brand Campaign, showcasing their efforts to grab the attention of Uni students, and alluring them into the world of opportunities which will open for them by becoming a CA.

The interesting part was not the concept of the campaign, with the riddles and world of opportunities. For me it was the understanding of a new generation, and trying to cater to the way they absorb information, rather then using “what we’ve always done”, as we hear so often.

The willingness to change, to adjust to the new generation, and communicate with them on their terms, is what will determine the effectiveness of their campaign.

Some of the points the creators of the Brand Campaign have considered, when designing the campaign:

• Generation Y has grown up in a world where Internet, music downloads, instant messaging and mobile phones are the norm.
• In choosing a job, they value training, management style, work flexibility, staff activities and non-financial rewards over salary.
• They look for real life role models and mentors rather than stereotypes.
• Young people work to live rather than live to work – they are looking for fun, quality friendships and a fulfilling purpose.
• (They are)…happy to work hard to earn the respect of their peers.
• (We must do our best in)…avoiding clichés of what is perceived as the typical accountant. The tone should be upbeat and aimed at engaging both mind and heart.

The Brand Campaign as a mix of communications will be used to develop a deeper conversation with our target audience and will integrate with both online communications and the complementary(…)TV campaign.

How do you communicate with your target audience? Do you find them where they are, or doing it “like you’ve always done it”, using “traditional” methods?

If you’re a numbers person, take a good look at this table. As the largest proportion of the Australian population, Gen Y cannot be ignored:

Defining the generations

Source: ABS census

Gen Y is the Connection Generation. Make sure you’re connected with them, and communicating with them on their terms:

They live in the internet age – everything is within reach 24/7/365. Are you?

They are using technology to share information. Are you?

They are transparent, (because you can’t hide anything in the internet age). Are you?

: : : : : : : : : : :