Why do older families have attics filled with food for a “rainy day,” while a young family has to work hard to fill the refrigerator at all? And will the answer to this question help in marketing? Many behavioral characteristics of your audience in terms of age can be explaine by the theory of generations. In this article, we will look into the nuances of its application.
Conceptual structure of the theory
The theory of generations by Strauss and Howe says that at intervals of 15-25 years there is a “generational boundary”. People born on different sides of this boundary differ significantly in the principles and views that determine their consciousness and behavior.
This theory is closely connecte with the economic factor. According to the authors, it is economic phenomena that are those significant events that are capable of influencing large groups of people and thus forming their collective values.
In addition to economic conditions, large social groups are influence by the media and technologies they use, and, of course, by socio-political upheavals and scientific progress.
Difficulties in applying the theory
In academic circles, the theory has sometimes library shop been criticize for the fact that the time boundaries separating one generation from another are chosen unjustifiably or too roughly.
We agree that it is impossible to clearly define the year in which the “new generation” with different values appears. But still, the theory does not claim chronological accuracy.
Natural environment and territory
The living environment can also cause changes in a generation earlier or later than global trends, for example, in Japan they started thinking about the consequences of irrational consumption much earlier than in the rest of the world. The population density there is very high, and most of the country’s territory is occupied by mountains – there is nowhere to store waste. Consequently, the issue of rational consumption arose earlier.
Level of technological progress
Technologies are fundamentally changing the way we perceive information. Therefore, where they are implemente faster, a generation that has grown up surrounded by gadgets and is accustome to receiving information in real time is formed faster.
As you can see, the collective how do you know if your marketing plan is working? experience of a country or even a city is influence by many factors that slow down or speed up the pace of generational formation. But in the end, albeit with slight deviations, each region follows the path of the global “sequence” – first generation X, then Y, then Z and finally Alpha.
Characteristics of generations
Let us consider the features of the by lists formation of generations XYZ and Alpha in post-Soviet countries.
Generation X
This generation grew up in families that were rebuilding the world after World War II (born from the 1960s to the 1980s). Their parents worked hard
