Understandably, brands have been growing their digital media spends and getting on board with the latest social media platforms to reach today's digital-centric audiences. With that have come expectations of existing programs for reaching and influencing the up-and-coming post-Millennial, or Gen Z audience. Yet, taking a closer look at this demographic, brands may find themselves sorely disappointed in their digital results by giving short shrift to the old "tried and true" real-world experiences.

I live outside Boston, a bastion of liberal attitudes and progressive thought. The reputation I like to think we have for inclusion and even-handedness has been battered recently by a spate of hate speech among teens. Some of these instances have happened at some of our most respected schools. At Boston Latin, the oldest school in America and one of the city's most competitive, black students have been told to go back to Africa and at Newton North, a high school in one of the most affluent communities, Jewish students were taunted about killing Jesus.

Nancy Reagan left an incredible legacy when she passed away recently, particularly in regard to her work for young people. She made huge strides in a key issue facing teens in the 1980s: drug use. It was a growing problem at the time and one that needed immediate attention before it spiraled out of control. When the Reagans entered the White House, teen drug use was near record levels, but when they departed eight years later, it had declined by 47% and continued to drop.

So far, the story of the 2016 U.S. election has been the rise of outsider candidates. On the Republican side, of course, is Donald Trump, now the leading contender after his massive Super Tuesday wins. On the Democratic front, there's the 74-year-old senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.