“ USEFUL IS THE NEW COOL ”
Well , that was quite a relief . The reaction to my comment last month (“ Hey , Harley – leave Ducati alone ”) has , I am pleased to say , been both larger than usual and universally positive . I haven ’ t had any single person ( so far ) call me out over any aspect of it . Which is reassuring , since by the end of it I wasn ’ t so much going out on a limb as tip-toeing on twigs ! Since I wrote that piece there has been radio silence about the Ducati issue , but meanwhile , the issues of change within our own industry , like time , are waiting for no man or woman . The motorcycle industry was forced to rise to Black Belt standard where prudence is concerned and that , hopefully , will see us through whatever does lie ahead – Harley take note – why risk throwing it all away ? The change that does , of course , simultaneously threaten to draw time on the business opportunities of the past as well as raise the curtain on sunlit uplands anew . At its heart is the change we are seeing in terms of “ New Gen ” attitudes to the ownership and riding experience . The foundation for optimism is that , unlike their predecessors , the ‘ Millennials ’ appear to be born with one foot on a footpeg in terms of how the characteristics of riding fit with their stated lifeexperience ambitions . If you buy into the theory that ‘ Millennials ’ place a premium on opportunities to express their individuality in a social setting , and I do , then I found some interesting demographic statistics the other day that I find kind of reassuring – for the time being at least ! Like all generalizations , what follows can ’ t be taken to the bank , but one theory of social change doing the rounds currently is that demographics are not in fact exactly generational in nature . They may well have been the case in the past , but with technology driving ever greater diversification and ever faster change , and with self-images becoming ever more complex and fluid , the piece I read started by describing those born before 1945 as the “ Silent Generation ”. Well , while they might be now , they certainly weren ’ t “ back in their day ”, but nonetheless , their life experiences and expectations were as different to those of the 21st century as it is possible for them to be . The theory then goes on to suggest that the Boomers can be described as those born between 1946 and 1964 – well , give or take a couple of years either way , that sounds about right to me . However ,“ we ” Boomers begat trouble – Generation X , a relatively short-lived group said to have been born between 1965 and 1976 . As most “ generations ” do , they were quick to eschew the characteristics of their parents and grandparents ( well , maybe a little less so where the grandparents are concerned ) and , famously , whether right or not ,‘ Gen Exers ’ garnered a reputation for being sultry , sullen , anti-social and apathetic – which left motorcycling and a myriad of leisure pursuits well out in the cold . Well , if this theory has any validity at all , at least we can be grateful that they were followed by the ‘ Xennials ’ – a shortest of all groups ( a “ micro-generation ”, if they exist at all !), being those born between 1977 and 1983 , and who demonstrate a
“ fastest base of meaningful consumer growth ” tough to pin down combination between the pessimism of the ‘ Gen Exers ’ and the optimism of the “ Millennials ” ( aka Gen Y ) – the group born between 1997 or 1984 ( depending on whether you accept the existence of Generation X and 1996 ( or 2000- ish , depending on who you read ). Either way , this is the group which is now our fastest base of meaningful consumer growth and our greatest hope for the future of our ( albeit changed ) industry . tasty ‘ Millennial ’ factoids for you – they are currently estimated to make up Afew 25 percent of the entire U . S . population , and already make up 21 percent of
consumer discretionary spending – which is estimated to be over a trillion dollars in direct buying power in the U . S . alone and a huge influence on older generations . Some 37 percent of Millennials say they are willing to purchase a product or service to support a cause they believe in , even if it means paying a bit more , and are 2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of technology than other generations . For Millennials “ Useful is the new Cool ” and they value brands that enhance their lives , with 80 percent wanting brands that “ entertain them ” ( motorcycles anyone ?), 40 percent wanting to participate in the co-creation of products and brands ( personalization no less !), and 70 percent feeling a “ responsibility ” to share feedback with companies after a good or bad experience ( tell us what you want to ride and we ’ ll build it for you !). Finally , 79 percent say they would like to visit all 50 U . S . states , 75 percent would like to travel abroad and 69 percent say they “ crave adventure ”. Yay ! However , inevitably , what goes around can come around . The ‘ Millennials ’ are , apparently , destined to be followed by ‘ Generation Z ’ ( aka Centennials , Post-Millennials , Plurals , or the Homeland Generation ), and while there is no clear consensus either on start date for this cohort ( the year 2000 is widely expected to be some kind of demographic watershed ) nor any consensus about their characteristics as proto-consumers , a significant aspect of this generation is the widespread usage of the internet from a young age , so for them it is not new technology , which gives them , or will give them , an unprecedented comfort level with technologies of all kinds . Automatic transmissions , heads-up displays , V2V technology – just throwing a few out there ! The bad news is that some commentators are already suggesting that growing up through the ‘ Great Long Dark Night ’ has given the cohort a feeling of unsettlement and insecurity . Damn … just as it was getting interesting there ’ s that long shadow and lost decade thing again !
Robin Bradley Co-owner / Editor-in-Chief robin @ dealer-world . com