Generational differences in technology use and marketing approaches for millennials and Gen Z

Millennial and the new Gen Z

This research involves a comparison between the Millennial and Gen Z. generations. Other research topics include the distinctions between communication and technology, an evaluation of online communication among Millennial Colleges in the modern world as well as the adjustments required in order for them to communicate with people of Gen Z, to maintain their competitiveness in the field of virtual higher education. Another issue that has been thoroughly discussed is Gen Z's as Gen X'ers offspring and Millennials as Baby bloomers' offspring.

The Gen Z's that are upcoming; those born between the mid-90s and 2007 mostly include youth who have been raised with computers, cell phones and internet. They are dependent, savvy and have complex knowledge of technology. In addition, they have grown up to be introduced to smart phones. This generation has financial concerns due to doubts concerning student loans and an economy that is souring (the 1990s-2000s tech bubble along with the 2008 recession caused by the meltdown of home mortgage), the war against terror and 9/11. In addition, they have been infected with the culture of PC usage among colleges. This generation has diverse people, most of who are still living in their parents' homes. This makes them part of a share type of economy, which has share platforms such as Uber and Airbnb among other internet concepts that define them both economically and socially. They depend on internet services for basically all they do; research, socializing, and planning, shopping and even booking tickets. Gen Z's are the first people to genuinely experience the digital world. They are allowed free branding, taking part in a Big Data system which has companies attempting to harvest their habits in order to determine how they can be marketed in a marketplace that is uneven. They are aware and receptive of the drill; this generation has grown up under Big Brother/ Big Government overreach, where Homeland Security, NSA and TSA all appear usual to them. This generation is distinct from Gen Y, since Gen Y, also known as Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995) has greater "immunity to many of the traditional sales and marketing pitches" (WJS, 2015).

The Millennials have also been raised during the PC era, but they are more responsive to "cultural" aspects that come from the advanced left such as acknowledging the rights of the LGBT community. They also need to grow a little more with the growth of the web. For this reason, advertisers have to use a unilineal consumer behaviour model for the purpose of advertisement and development. The model has an organized sequence showing the variables, something that the previous models did not have. For instance, Lavidge and Steiner (1961) suggested, and Palda (1966) supported a model that showed the hierarchy of impacts.. Another model for processing information on the effectiveness on advertising was suggested by Mcguire (1969). The models have an impact flow that is unilineal, showing the model's variables (Mullen & Johnson, 1990, n.p.). This millennial generation has had quite some experience in the marketing field, but they still label themselves as a little older, such as independent, liberal and conservative (Iacosta, 2015).

A. Lavidge and Steiner (1961) "Hierarchy of effects" model

B. Mcguire (1969) "Information processing model of advertising effectiveness."

Fig: Examples of unilineal models of consumer behaviour (1960 to 1967) (Mullen & Johnson, 1990, n.p.)

To stimulate the customers' brand or purchase choice, the brand can be connected to a personal or engaging issue, through accentuating the distinctions between brands as well as emphasizing on the fundamental features of that brand, and clearly explaining how the brand works. There can also be creation of a lifelong relationship with customers (Bloemer & Kasper, 1995, p. 326).

Purpose of Study

Technological advancements have led to alterations in teachers' teaching methods, and the relation among experts in the corporate world (Gibson &Sodeman, 2014, p. 63). This paper analyses the similarities and distinctions between the two generations. It discusses such topics as:

• the connection between Gen Y and communication and technology, • evaluating Gen Y's current online communication with Colleges'

• Adjustments required for Gen Z's and Millennials to communicate in order to maintain competitiveness in the field of virtual higher education

• The issue about Gen Z's as Gen Ears offspring and Millennials as Baby Boomers offspring.

Millennial Generation and Technology

An entrepreneur known as Russ Warner, (2013) says "They have been raised with technology, which they have adopted to using 24/7. The Gen Ys are so dependent on technology that 50% of them are willing to sacrifice breathing just to keep a crucial device." (cited in Gibson & Sodeman, p. 66) such scholars as Chelliah & Clarke (2011) state that the Gen Y's have "witnessed the growth of an ever-present, pervasive access and connectivity to capture, prepare, pass, and then receive data using many devices (portable wireless computer, hybrids of PDA-phones, smartphones and modern portable gaming devices) at any place and time, something that has never happened before." The growth of sites for social networking like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin has brought this generation closer together (cited in Gibson &Sodeman, 2014, p. 66). The Spring 2011 Cassandra Report by Intelligence states that 29% of a selected group of American Millenial trendsetters (currently at the age of 14-34 wish for the brands they like to have outdoor ads communication means, 32% through social media and 32% through TV advertisements. In addition, customers can now be entertained through smartphone apps, hence advertisers can also use them for outdoor communication (JCDecaux, 2012, p. 11)

Kirkwood & Price (2005) state that the technological culture among millennial students affects their approach of higher education; their needs from the curricula and their methods of transfer of knowledge (cited in Gibson & Sodeman, p.66). Nonetheless, Franz (1998), Gardner (2006), Chelliah & Clarke (2011) state that this generation expects that technology should largely enhance the process of learning, by allowing them to access many areas to get sources of information, which they can integrate into the real process of passing knowledge with the help of multimedia modes that incorporate entertainment as learning takes place (cited in Gibson & Sodeman, 2014, p. 66).

Significance of the Study

Oblinger (2003) states that College educators, particularly, face their own special problems while working in the modern-day college environments. The use of old teaching and course preparation methods is not exactly the best way for college teachers in most cases, if the teachers want to understand the interests of the modern-day students (cited in Porter, p. 7). With the changes brought by student bodies based on the expectations of students, there may be a great advantage among the instructors, since they can analyse the sophistications among their own students. This will help them further comprehend what exactly the goals of their students are, from going to college. For instance, students may be hoping to achieve some purpose from being part of higher education (Porter, 2007, p. 7). Hence, this paper analyses the approaches used by online Colleges as well as the adjustments they need to make for future communication, to maintain competitiveness in the field of virtual higher education. This is with regard to the two generations under study.

Comparison and Contrast of Millennials and Gen Z

In the last 15 years, America has seen the rise of mobile phone and internet usage, and the Gen Ys have been quite excited with the technological growth. Older Millennials outpace Americans in almost every kind of cell and internet use (Pew Research Center, 2010). Pew Research Centre (2010) states that the Gen Ys may also be the most learned Americans -- the outcome of a "current world insight-based economy" as well as recruitment of millions of grad school students in their twenties, mainly since they are unable to get employment. Among those between 18 and 24 that were surveyed, about 40% joined college by 2008; a very large share.

While, the Gen Zs are more realistic and pragmatic than Gen Ys, they are seen to be more loyal and responsible, and they are hardier, since they have already learnt how to deal with tough times as they grew. The millennials were raised during an era of success, peace, and a time when the concept of internet was still new. At that time, there was budget surplus. This led them to think that after college, they would definitely get employed, and that they could move from their jobs to better ones if they were unsatisfied. This, however, only came true for the older Millennials. The Gen Zs are aware that getting employed is difficult, and they are likely to stick to their employments for quite a long time (Siegel, 2016).

Online Colleges' Communication with Millennials Currently

With every passing year, there have been studies proving that blogs, Twitter, podcasting, Youtube and Facebook were the top sites used in the higher education sector of the U.S. Studies have shown that there are three major roles played by social media including recruiting students, investigating more about where they are learning and identifying where they are learning. The findings by NACAC have also shown that social media is used in colleges to recruit students and for promotion (Sessa, 2015, p. 5).

The 2009 "Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media Is Changing College Admission," report by Nora G. Barnes includes the most successful practices for social networking in higher education. They use video in seeking attention and passing information, use of a consistent streamlined design which reflects school themes, layouts and colour, and linking social media sites using an institution's homepage, and the other way around; soliciting content and input from different sources such as staff, students and faculty in order to represent many viewpoints, posting achievements, providing a platform for interaction of the page with visitors through message boards, animation, giveaways among others and keeping the site regularly updated (cited in Sessa, 2015, p. 5).

Currently, ICTs penetrate classrooms worldwide at a very fast rate. This has led to teachers having a challenge in teaching a generation that is wireless yet so wired, with the modern technological growth (IEAB, 2008). The Gen Ys are great influencers of education. To begin with, Gen Y students have made learning institutions change their teaching and communication methods. They have introduced a foreign generational personality, involving teamwork, optimism, structure and courage caused by their entitlement. Teachers are trying to find a way to control the high feedback and engagement levels required by the students.

There are institutions which are trying to create a learning environment that is less formal, which combines practical group-based learning with structured learning. The Gen Ys want an academic path that is clearly structured. They wish to be treated differently and out rightly ask what to study in preparation for exams. Their professors think that they wish for entertainment by their educators. The educators are also confronted by Millennials about the significance of their assignments and their grades. However, not every student is on campus, with the establishment of online learning in universities and college, something which they find greatly significant in their effective strategies. Online learning is growing fast with a 31% rate in higher education (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2016). The 2015 Online learning survey showed that more than 5,800,000 students participate in one or more distance learning course(s). This makes about 30% of the overall number of students enrolled in USA. More than 2,800,000 students are solely online learners (Silverthorn, 2016).There is also renewal of brand policies in advertising, due to the dynamic nature of consumer behaviour. It is of great importance that a brand maintains its continuity and heritage. However, there is still a need for strong brands to continue renewing themselves in the modern world, in order to fit in with the upcoming generation of customers. This is because, just as in the learning process, the upcoming generation of customers does not recognize those names that were previously great (Aaker& Biel, 1993, pp. 18-19).

Changes Required by Online Colleges to Communicate with the Gen Z's in order to stay Competitive in the Online Higher Education Field

The Gen Zs are real digital people, who have lived all their lives around smartphones and the internet, and use them to get information. Being the Gen Xers children, they were raised during the 2008 recession. This is according to U.S. demographer, economist and historian, economist Neil Howe. First, they will have to struggle to get jobs, since the world's economy is currently full of challenges, he continues to say. There are also many disruptions in universities, states Mr. Worzel. Many universities are offering massive accessible online courses, "hence you can access any undergraduate MIT course online, free of charge," he continues (White, 2015).

According to Susan Mccahan, the Toronto University vice-provost of undergraduate innovations, universities acknowledge the future problems that Gen Zs are bound to face, and they are looking for ways to ensure the students are successful. "There are people who take this as a scary moment due to the disruptions that are taking place, but I personally think of it as a great opportunity." She states that innovations like MOOCs are important since they will make universities concentrate on the importance of university education (White, 2015).

"Higher education is going to play a role not just in passing knowledge, but also in ensuring that students get feedback that is of high quality, while they advance their cognitive ability, which will help in the upcoming world that is highly competitive," states Dr. Mccahan. "Critical thinking, creativity and the capacity to create unique problem-solving strategies, communication, teamwork," she continues. "We continue to acknowledge that those types of transferable skills are as significant as what is being taught." "Manitoba University, with the aim of value addition to the academic programs it offers, concentrates on five sectors to ensure they go beyond passing of knowledge," states the students' vice-provost Susan Gottheil: internships and co-op, community and service education programs, student enterprising programs, international programs for mobile students and interdisciplinary projects. The Alberta University deputy registrar, Melissa Padfield, talks about a program in the university known as eHUB, which is an enterprising program that allows free entry for all its students. It is an extra-curricular program, but it greatly enhances their capability of being successful after school (White, 2015).

The use of such online platforms as Blackboard and Canvas have already been taken up in programs of Organization Development, but recent studies courtesy of Bowen, Chingos, Lack, & Nygren (2013) proves that online education works as effectively as the traditional method of teaching. This view encourages the growth of online education. In order to deal with technological advancements, the Horizon Report of 2014 indicates the possible solutions that teachers can execute to help advance student success as they use recent technology. The idea of flipped classrooms has not yet been fully endorsed in literature. However, it has begun to grow due to the observed success by students. This notion involves spending class time for group work and assignments for problem-solving, rather than the traditional way of teaching (Gibson & Sodeman, 2014, p. 69).

Susan Bens, the curriculum and program development strategist in Saskatchewan University has also talked about these inverted/flipped classrooms, stating that it is a good example of the improvements brought by technology in the relationship between students and educators. "Flipped classrooms avail lectures beforehand," she states. "Educators post them before they teach, so when students meet their professors, they are able to participate in learning strategies that are more active than listening" (White, 2015). Educators have adopted a new method known as gamification. This concept has game-like basics and incorporates it into the traditional methods (Gibson &Sodeman, 2014, p. 69).

"Mcgill University, located in Montreal has been trying to give experience-based education opportunities," states Ollivier Dyens, the student learning and life deputy provost, including the opportunity to participate in studies in their undergraduate education. "An efficient researcher is one who is creative, can identify a problem, concentrate, come up with a solution for the problem and translate the study for it to be understood by others," he states. "Machines have no potential to have that capacity" (White, 2015).

Gen Z's being the Children of the Gen X'ers and the Millennials are of the Baby Boomers

Do not mistake Gen Z. for Gen Y. They may look like they are one and the same thing due to their dependence on technology, but they are not. The two generations have been raised through very distinct styles of parenting, hence they have different problem solving strategies, in their individual and work situations. The distinctions which shaped them include:

• Gen Y is filled with dreamers, Gen Z. is filled with realists

The Millennials were raised by Baby Boomers, and were made to have a belief in the Dream of America. They were encouraged to go after their dreams and passions, no matter where they would lead them. Gen X watched as the Millennials failed. They also watched the fall of the economy, so they chose to be more practical in raising the Gen Zs. The Gen Zs have been taught to pursue that which they can do best.

• Gen Y was given tools to succeed,

The Gen Zs learnt skills for being successful. The Baby Boomers' generation was among the first to have friendly relations with their children. The Boomers therefore had trouble in sending off their children to live life without their care. The Millennials were provided with all that they required to be successful. For instance, they were allowed to still live with their parents while they were above 20 years of age. The Gen Zs, on the other hand, have been raised with skills for making it without their parents' help. For instance, there are very many Gen Z. children who have been through home-schooling, by their parents of the Gen X. The Gen Xers train their children on ways to adapt and survive, instead of merely taking tests.

• Gen Y is considered to be group-oriented; Gen Z, is considered to be individualistic

The Gen Ys were not taught how to compete, since the Dream of America was still alive. They were, however, trained to be part of a team, since it would be possible to succeed with hard work from everyone. The Gen Xers believed that success was not for everyone after the economic slump. They then trained the Gen Zs to have a competitive spirit, since success is only for the best (Sladek & Grabinger, 2014, pp. 2-3).

Recommendations

The Horizon Report of 2014 forecasts the technological trends, as well as the influence of the higher education sector within the coming 3-5 years. Most of the trends, like teaching the faculty for more advanced technological skills, upcoming pedagogical methods like gamification and flipped classrooms, and also adjusting to the dynamic technology, have been discussed in this paper. Higher education is charged with the duty to constantly ensure that the technological requirements of the new generation are met. There should be additional studies to look into the ways in which technology can be continually advantageous in higher education as well as the corporate world (Gibson & Sodeman, 2014, p. 71).

Conclusion

The differences between the two generations in the way they approach their work and life have many effects. However, the two main surprising distinctions in the corporate world are that Gen Zs will be leaders and create a strong link between income earning and passion. The Gen Ys believe in teamwork, and they are able to prove challenges, where leadership growth is concerned. The Gen Zs are realistic, competitive and individualistic, giving them powerful leadership skills. The Gen Zs take up leadership roles since the Gen Ys are not willing to lead. The two generations, however, have many similarities, since they have both been raised around technology, but the different ways in which they were brought up has made the Gen Zs overtake the Millennials at work (Sladek & Grabinger, 2014, p. 3).