Participatory Marketing Network Study Tracks Gen Y Behavior within Social Networks
Brands Are Struggling to Reach Younger Gen Y’s in Social Networks and Social Ads Remain Tough Sell

NEW YORK (March 3, 2009) — The Participatory Marketing Network (PMN), an organization dedicated to helping marketers transition from push and permission marketing to participatory marketing, today announced a new study about the behavior of “Generation Y” within social networks. The study, completed with its research partner, the Lubin School of Business' Interactive and Direct Marketing (IDM) Lab at Pace University, was conducted among 220 PMN panel members and consumers between the ages of 18-24 in February 2009. Results highlight that brands are struggling to build a compelling value proposition for Generation Y users within social networks and that advertising is still not breaking through effectively.

“In a tough economy, many brands are looking to social networks as a way to engage customers and prospects in active dialogue, but many are still waiting for proof that increasing investment in this burgeoning ‘channel’ will yield measurable benefits,” said Michael Della Penna, co-founder and Executive Chairman . “While our research doesn’t suggest that brands should turn away from social networks altogether, it does show that more work must be done to understand what drives participation and engagement within social networks.”

Findings from PMN’s Gen Y research, administered to the exclusive Gen Y panel at the Lubin School’s IDM Lab include:

• 62 percent of Gen Y’s have visited a brand or fan page on a social network, but only 48 percent have joined.
• The top five reasons for joining a brand or fan group are to “get news or product updates” (67 percent), “view promotions” (64 percent), “view or download music or videos”(41 percent), “submit opinions” (36 percent), and “connect with other customers” (33 percent).
• While 84 percent noticed ads on social networks, 74 percent say they click infrequently or never (36 percent saying they don’t click on ads at all).
• Only 19 percent say they find ads on social networks relevant.
• 51 percent say they’d join a separate social network to manage their brand interactions.

The Participatory Marketing Network partners with Pace University’s Lubin School of Business' Interactive and Direct Marketing Lab to provide its members with exclusive access to a Generation Y panel for ongoing research initiatives. Members can design and execute proprietary quantitative and qualitative research in conjunction with the PMN to better understand and market to this powerful consumer segment. The broad definition of Generation Y includes more than 70 million Americans born between 1977 and 2002.

The PMN was recently launched to help marketers navigate change as consumers increasingly turn to each other for insight and information rather than brands. It helps marketers make the transition from push and permission marketing to participatory marketing – which is all about taking advantage of the social Web. The Network’s mission is to help educate marketers about how to market WITH customers rather than AT them. It will focus on the strategies and tactics that exemplify this kind of thinking and, most important, it will demonstrate why participatory marketing is so powerful by spotlighting brands that are already “doing it right.”

For more information about the Participatory Marketing Network, to inquire about membership, or for more information about the Generation Y and Social Networks study, please go to www.thepmn.org or email info@thepmn.org.

###

JOIN THE PARTICIPATORY MARKETING NETWORK:
Marketing is in the midst of a paradigm shift. The rise of a semantic and "social" internet is ushering in a new era in marketing defined by consumer participation and control. The PMN was established to give marketers the knowledge and know-how necessary to start marketing with customers rather than at customers. Join Today.

SEARCH THE PMN: