• by January 24, 2001

The stage is set for young professionals, members of the X and Y Generations to exert increasing influence on corporate cultures around the world. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22 million people older than 45 (the "Boomers") are projected to leave or retire from the workforce between 1998 and 2008, and there are only 19 million in the worker pool between 25 and 44 available to fill these jobs.

Well said in an article in the November Presentations Magazine, the kid in the corner at your next presentation may be the president of a dot-com company, a Silicon Valley marketing consultant or some other technologically astute entrepreneur on the rise, not the corporate intern or gofer!

For those buyers, planners and marketers dealing with these, and the other "grouped" markets, here's a snapshot of their characteristics, from the same magazine:

TRADITIONALISTS

- Born; 1922 to 1946

- Population: 44.2 million

- Memorable Events: Pearl Harbor bombing, World War II, The Great Depression, the New Deal, the Korean War.

- Icons: Reader’s Digest, Blondie, the golden age of radio

- Music: Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker

BABY BOOMERS

- Born: 1946 to 1964

- Population: 76.8 million

- Memorable Events: John F. Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, The Civil Rights movement, women's liberation, the moon landing.

- Icons: Television, Doonsbury, the peace symbol, fallout shelters, discos

- Music: Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jim Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, the Supremes

GENERATION X

- Born: 1965 to 1978

- Population: 52.4 million

- Memorable Events: John Lennon murder, the Challenger disaster, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Operation Desert Storm

- Icons: the personal computer, The Simpsons, music videos, tattoos

- Music: The Cure, U2, Madonna, Guns and Roses, Nirvana, Beck

GENERATION Y

- Born: 1979 to present

- Population: Currently 77.6 million

- Memorable Events: The Oklahoma City bombing, the O.J.Simpson trial, the Columbine school shootings, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal

- Icons: the Internet, Nintendo and PlayStation, Beanie Babies, pagers, body piercing

-Music: the Spice Girls, the Backstreet Boys, Offspring, Metallica, Matchbox 20

These are the markets we serve.