Brands are built over time and, with past generations, a brand could invest in building its equity with the right audience and then adjust messaging as the audience progressed through their life stages. That's not the case if your brand is relying on Millennials for its future.

With all the new fall TV programming, your DVR is likely getting a more rigorous workout. But, marketers need not feel guilty for indulging in a little extra couch time. This is one fall season that watching TV constitutes legitimate "research."

Not a day goes by that we don't see some evidence of Millennials' collaborative nature, whether when we're researching an answer to a tech problem (thank you, Android developer forums!) or just listening to music (the song Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy, and Andrew W.K. did for Converse). Perhaps because they came of age in the most connected time in history, Millennials share freely and help others every chance they get.

While Beloit's Annual College Mindset List may be "... designed more for aging faculty than the kids themselves, a reminder that the cultural markers of Boomers and Gen Xers will make no sense to the kids they are teaching," it highlights an interesting challenge relevant to all brands at any time -- remain culturally relevant over time.