ArtsMarketing.org

If you're scanning this online in one of several browser windows while chatting via instant message with three or four friends as your iPod blasts in the background, you're probably a “millennial,” a member of Generation Y — someone between the ages of 14 and 24 or so. Direct can't wait to get your reaction to this article, and is sorry it didn't have a chance to consult with you while the story was being researched.

Take heed, direct marketers. Millennials believe it's their right to be included in any conversation about them. They do not consider themselves mere recipients of your advertising messages. Any campaign targeting millennials that starts out with the question “How do we talk with this generation?” has already missed the point. The essential question is “What can we do to make them start the dialogue with us?”