Robin Hafitz

Articles by Robin All articles by Robin

• TV Programmers, Beware. Here Comes Gen Z And Massive Disruption in Engage:Teens on 05/12/2017
  

  Just as marketers have mastered Millennials, along comes Gen Z. This cohort ranges up to age 20, a life stage when marketers dream of connecting before brand habits harden.

• Four Key Countertrends: Court Millennials By Going Against The Herd in Engage:Millennials on 04/24/2015
  

  In marketing to Millennials, many brands focus on some obvious megatrends. These can be good for business but can also make a brand just another part of the pack. Fortunately, for this incredibly diverse and enigmatic generation, tapping into counter-trends can be as powerful as surging megatrends, and lead to more distinctive and differentiating strategies.

• Ad Bowl: Going To The Dogs in Marketing Daily on 02/16/2012
  

  There has been plenty of coverage of how the ads played on the Super Bowl this past Sunday. After all, the "game" for Americans is not just about football.

Comments by Robin All comments by Robin

• Prepare For Gen Z Mom, The Ultra Millennial by Julie Michaelson (Engage:Teens on 06/21/2017)
  

  A lot of good thoughts here!  The Gen Z definition is different than what I've seen in most pubs at this point (0-19 is more common), but much of the learning is consistent with what we see in our generational research.  One key difference, though: while Gen Z are what we at Open Mind call "Amplified Millennials" in many ways (especially diversity and digital immersion), they are "Anti-Millennials" in others (including a number of values and ideals, and some digital strategies – all of which are particularly relevant when thinking about parents).  Brands should be careful not to assume the skills they've picked up in working with Millennials will automatically translate to the younger set – some do, and some just don't.

• TV Programmers, Beware. Here Comes Gen Z And Massive Disruption by Robin Hafitz (Engage:Teens on 05/12/2017)
  

  Dream on, Ed.

• Wild Outcomes, More Confusing Trump Tweets by Philip Rosenstein (Red, White & Blog on 02/06/2017)
  

  Most of the predictions of the election outcome were wrong.  But the polls, themselves, were generally right -- showing an electorate so equally divided that any "win" was generally within the statistical margin of error.  Polls showed a race so close that a small push in one direction (Wikileaks, Comey) could have an effect -- and did.  (For that matter, the prediction of the game outcome was wrong.  But the data -- historical -- on which it was based, was correct.)  There's not a crisis in polling, but journalists have hopefully learned that overconfident predictions of outcomes is a problem.  As for Trump, he doesn't have a bias against polls or data, per se -- he's obsessed with tallying scores.  But he's a giant crybaby bully who can't stand it when reality doesn't go his way, and is not only uninterested in learning anything that doesn't jibe with his "they love Trump" narrative, but appears to be unable to absorb knowledge.

• Election Data Proved A Big-League Failure by Wayne Friedman (TV Watch on 11/10/2016)
  

  The polls were wrong.  Does that mean marketers should see research as "broken"?  Hardly.  Trump won the states that took him over the top (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania) by 0.9% and 1%. Clinton won the popular vote by 0.2%. That is how close voting Republicans and Democrates are in numbers in our gerrymandered nation, which makes polling data highly unstable.  By contrast, marketing contests are not winner-take-all battles between two competitors, and research to aid marketers is generally useful, even if "off" by a single percentage point.  But, as this article points out, what pollsters missed was the level of fervor of white ex-urban voters, and that their turnout would trump the turnout of other groups.  Brian Williams suggested on election night that they should have counted the lawn signs.  After all, putting a name in your front yard is a good indication of avidity.  On this point, marketers should take note: in addition to conducting survey research, they should make sure to get out and connect with people individually, where they live, to get a more informed sense of what's going on and how it will affect them.

• Why There Is No President Klein by Bob Garfield (Garfield at Large on 04/04/2016)
  

  Great column, Bob.  You've been getting better and better as you get angrier.  One note on the difference between political and product "branding," though:  You suggest Calvin can afford to aim for a small segment, while turning off the marjority, and contrast this to the broad support a candidate needs.  But candidates DON'T need broad support.  There's much talk of how they play to a small but passionate "base" during the primaries, but it's also why negative ads work so well in politics but can be disastrous in product marketing.  If Calvin were to trash Chanel, overall participation in the fragrance category might fall -- and they'd both get hurt.  It matters how many "votes" each gets, because "votes" are dollars.  In politics, the number of votes doesn't matter; just who wins.  When a politician trashes a rival, it may indeed depress participation in their "category," but someone still wins.  It's a winner-take-all category, which makes it very different than product marketing.

• A Message From Christchurch On The Value Of User-Generated Content by Kaila Colbin (Online Spin on 03/18/2011)
  

  How powerfully and thoughtfully conveyed. Thank you.

• Pay TV Losses: Cord-Cutting Or Economy? by Dave Morgan (Online Spin on 11/18/2010)
  

  The reason why may be the economy, not some rejection of the cable offering, but will those consumers come back? With so many ways and screens to access content (and, yes, such aggressive pricing from other providers), they may be gone for good. More are likely to join them with the economy still gloomy. Young consumers who use other ways to connect to TV are developing habits that may last a lifetime. The catalyst may be economic, but the change may be permanent.

• Social Media Destroys Empathy? Sorry, That's B.S. by Erik Sass (The Social Graf on 05/28/2010)
  

  maybe the questions are badly worded for today's young adults. they simply don't HAVE to "sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective" since they're always in touch and KNOW, and they think "tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me" sounds so saccharine that it warrants a 'no.' i do a lot of research with young folks. from what i've seen, empathy is alive and well, but interest in world events is only for the small group who have the time and inclination to wade through the cesspool of news media. (of course, a big reason they don't have the time is they're busy with social networking).

About Edit

You haven't told us anything about yourself! Surely you've got something to say. Tell us a little something.