While much of the gaming industry is focused on how to monetize millennials, a renowned generational expert cautions gaming operators not to overlook others and their gaming preferences.
Chuck Underwood, host of the PBS series “The Generational Imperative”, is an expert on generational studies and a consultant to numerous industries and governmental agencies. He provided a two-part look at how the gaming industry should assess generational differences to remain successful.
On Wednesday, Underwood enlightened G2E attendees on the distinct differences among various generations of potential customers in the U.S., identifying five such generations. The oldest (age 90 and over) is the G.I. generation, which fought two world wars, survived the Great Recession, and generally have a make-do attitude about life.
Next comes the Silent generation, born from 1927 to 1945 (now ages 71 and 89), followed by the Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 (now between ages 52 and 70).
Generation X is comprised of individuals born between 1965 and 1981 (ages 35 to 51 years old), while Millennials were born between 1982 and 1998, making them ages 18 to 34.
Underwood said differences exist between generations because of unique environments and experiences generally shared by each generation.
Baby Boomers, for example, grew up during the time of greatest economic achievement in the United States, when the middle class was at its best. Jobs were plentiful, steady, and long-term. Most people could buy a home, raise a family, and still have discretionary income for travel and leisure.
Today, Baby Boomers control about half the nation’s wealth. “Ignore Baby Boomers at your peril,” Underwood cautioned G2E attendees Wednesday.
Underwood said that unlike Baby Boomers, Generation X members grew up during a time of economic change, saw their parents being laid off from work and divorcing at exceptionally high rates, with numerous disgraced public figures. The generation’s viewpoint? Trust no one and nothing.
Many members of Generation X became latch-key kids, while their parents became more permissive due to feeling of guilt arising from divorce or being away from home to work, Underwood said. Generation X also is the first to grow up with computers and high tech being readily available, is quick to learn and grasp advancing technology, but hasn’t been “clobbered” by it like Millennials.
The result, Underwood said, is that Generation X is a highly independent, individualistic, self-reliant group of people who don’t seek out the interaction and social experiences that Millennials crave. Nor do its members hold loyalty to employers or brands in high esteem, due to the many changes experienced during their lifetimes, including Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, and two space shuttle explosions.
The women of Generation X were the first to surpass males in educational achievement, as the women’s liberation movement propelled them into new autonomous careers, Underwood said. In general, the women of Generation X are bold and empowered, while the men are emasculated and seeing their roles in the world decreasing. The marketing materials targeting this generation often reflect those themes: promotional materials target women by emasculating men, and target men by denigrating women.
By way of example, Underwood played a deodorant advertisement depicting a woman in business dress changing a stranded man’s flat tire. He followed that with a beer advertisement in which two attractive women start fighting over the qualities of a beer, losing their clothing and inhibitions in the process.
Much of the gaming industry, Underwood said, has targeted Baby Boomers for their extensive wealth, and now are targeting Millennials, due to their large size and anticipated longevity and life expectancy that is greater than any prior generation.Yet, Underwood cautioned, the gaming industry should not overlook Generation X, which now is hitting its economic “sweet spot” as its members become empty-nesters with no children to raise, and reach their maximum earning potential.
While Generation X often grew up with one or more parents gone much of the time and developed a strong individualistic approach to the world, Underwood said. Millennials are nearly opposite. Most have grown up in stable homes, as their parents chose to sacrifice potential career moves and increased earnings in favor of maintaining a strong family core that did not exist when they were children.
Millennials are connected via technology, which has overwhelmed them and made them highly dependent consumers of electronic goods and technology. That technology also helps Millennials to become and stay active members of their community, and they share strong group dynamics, unlike their Generation X predecessors.
Underwood described Millennials as spoiled, cocky and sassy. “They think they will change the world; therefore, they likely will.” Before they do that, though, they want to experience life with their friends, which includes travel.
Underwood said Millennials have a longer life expectancy than any prior generation, don’t see long-term stability in the jobs market, and are content to take a decade off to live and experience the world, while continuing to live with their parents and delay getting married, raising families, and trying to establish careers.
Because they have a pessimistic economic view, most Millennials are loathe to make long-term economic commitments, such as buying a car or home, but they do like to travel and enjoy a shared experience with their friends and family.
When it comes to gaming, the difference between the preferences for Generation X, which is more autonomous and independent, and Millennials is vast. Generation X is more willing to play games against the house and without social interaction, while Millennials want a shared, interactive experience and don’t like taking chances, Underwood said.
That means for casinos and others in the gaming industry to effectively promote their resorts and destinations, they must take generational differences into account and craft marketing campaigns based upon the significant differences. To create effective promotions, a great deal of consumer and market research must be done to better identify the preferences of each generation and the opportunities and challenges they pose.
Each generation has unique ways in which it buys and sells items, and marketing appeals must reflect them, Underwood said. Generation X, for example, grew up the most materially comfortable generation with expansive economic opportunities, and it knows and demands quality. Its members are cynical, distrustful, self-focused, and have a “survival of the fittest” mentality. “I take care of me; you take care of you,” is how Generation X views the world, Underwood said.
Millennials, by contrast, are more social creatures who seek out interaction and shared experiences. If casinos want to bring more Millennials to their gaming floors, they need to provide packaged experiences they can share with their friends, including dining out, engaging in outdoor activities, attending concerts, and other non-gaming activities. “Your properties must be right,” Underwood said. “If they are not right, [Millennials] will have you for lunch.”
Whenever a promotion or event is being created, Underwood urged gaming operators to run it through a “generational filter” before implementation. That includes training supervisors and staff, auditing results, and making necessary changes to ensure each generation is getting what it wants.
