GenEveryone: Connect With All Generations

Marketing and branding innovator Scott Stratten took the stage sporting a man bun for the closing Omni Session at ALTA ONE in Austin. Why the interesting hair style? Stratten quickly explained.

“My wife loves it. That’s the only reason,” he joked.

From there, the best-selling author and president of UnMarketing took attendees on a roller-coaster of wit and nostalgia to drive home his point that everyone thinks the next generation is the hardest to understand and deal with. But is that true or are we reacting exactly as we always have to new ways of thinking and working?

“Every generation hates the next generation. It’s just law,” Stratten said. “We hate people based on age.  

That’s how this works. Generation X was called the slacker generation. Millennials are called the trophy generation. Who’s buying them the trophies? GenX.”

Stratten has transformed how corporations like PepsiCo, Century 21, Fidelity, and Microsoft do business with radical insights on how to engage customers better through social and viral marketing. Instead of worrying about generational differences, he puts the focus back on what matters the most to current and potential customers—values like trust, authenticity, relationships and service.

“The problem is we rip on younger people,” Stratten said. “The difference is disruption—change without time to resist it. The rate of change is exponentially higher now. Embrace the age of disruption.”

Stratten said potential and current customers want to be listened to, validated and have a platform to be heard—especially online. This is less about age and more about being present and trustworthy.

“Never judge a person based on their age,” Stratten said. “Being an idealist is refreshing. They have hope.”