• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, October 23, 2012

Along with gluing viewers to TVs and other media devices, the current election season is providing a wealth of demographic information for marketers.
 
Honing in on Generation Y, new research from The Intelligence Group finds that 73% of consumers ages 18 to 34 plan to vote for the candidate they feel will make the world a better place, while 27% will base their vote on who they think will improve their personal situation.
 
Dubbing them “Generation Wevolution,” Gen Y’s presidential priorities represent a more fundamental “we” -- rather than “me” -- mentality, says Joe Kessler, president of The Intelligence Group.  
 
“This is a generation with a strong social consciousness, and they are a force to be reckoned with,” according to Kessler.
 
“This generation of 80 million-plus cares about the world around them, and they show and share their social consciousness through the products they choose, the entertainment they consume, and the experiences they pursue,” Kessler added. “Gen Y communicates like no other generation -- using their inherent mastery of technology to do so -- and they believe they have the power to make positive change in the world.”
 
It’s not surprising, then, that Gen Y ranked the green movement, hybrid cars, branded reusable tote bags and climate change awareness as four of the top six “hot” issues.
 
Likewise, Gen Y believes in social entrepreneurship; they believe they can do well both financially and for the world around them. In fact, 56% would take a pay cut to work somewhere that is positively changing the world.
 
Not entirely self-reliant, however, the majority of Gen Y respondents agreed that the president is -- and will remain -- better positioned to make a difference in the world.
 
For its study, The Intelligence Group surveyed some 900 U.S. consumers ages 18-to-34 this summer.