Why a little swagger's a good thing..

Liam Gallagher - model for graduates? Picture via freschwill. Usual rules, etc.

This was sort of inspired by something I wrote on Ad Grads and a bit of thinking, so bear with me.

Despite claims of having eclectic tastes in music, I do find myself listening to very similar stuff after a while - there's a lot of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Smashing Pumpkins and Manics on there; check my Last FM out.

And perhaps it's no surprise that indie music, and obviously, Britpop has had a bloody big influence on my musical tastes - I was 11 when What's The Story came out, after all.

Of course, being that age, and having that album as one of my first 'proper' musical purchases meant that I fell head over heels in love with the image conveyed by the music - the links with football, the look, the way of singing; even the North/South divide that went on at the time - to this day I still can't understand how Blur were ever seen as being a rival to the mighty Oasis. Truly, What's The Story was the album of my generation - I don't think I know someone of my age who can't sing along to at least one song from that album, right from start to finish.

Now, I grew up, and shed a lot of this. And, being honest, I think Liam Gallagher's a bit of a plonker. But there's still something in me which makes me want to buy their next album, however rubbish it may turn out to be.

And I was thinking about this the other day, asking why this is. Well, barring happy nostalgic memories of that time, I think a lot of it is to do with the unbridled confidence and swagger that fills that album and Definitely Maybe before it.

Now, I've written about passion in another post before this, but this, to me, is somewhat different.

Passion, to me, denotes wanting to do the best you can - and it's an admirable trait in whomever possesses it. It's why, I think, advertising tends to be a young profession, because when the passion dwindles, there's only so interested you can be in selling various products/services, and having to be 'up' for the next pitch or new business.

Now swagger is something which, if you believe the reports about Generation Y, my g-g-generation has. And it's not, necessarily, a good trait to possess in the eyes of many. I've written about this before, about how we, as a generation, are bloody demanding.

Whilst not being an pompous, swaggering arsehole is obviously very important clearly pace of change is increasing, and brands are being made (and broken) on the basis of what they believe in. And damn, gen Y knows what IT believes in - its own opinions, and ability to take matters into its own hands.

And, though I'd never suggest that people who read this blog turn into little Liam Gallaghers, the point of this post is simply to suggest that music like this is what an awful lot of my generation were bred on; it's a damn good cultural signifier as to how they'll behave. And I think marketeers and advertisers would have a better time of things if they realised that they, and their products and services need to have a little bit of an Oasis-like swagger, a declaration of intent if they want to be around for years to come.

This declaration of intent is very similar to what Mark says in Herd - people, and brands should begin by stating what they believe in.

Don't believe me? Well, consider this. Be Here Now was the biggest selling album in UK chart history. While not the defining album What's The Story was, it's telling. If you can get people to believe in swagger, you'll do very well indeed (of course, the cautionary tale to all of this is that critically, it was a massive flop - it seems that believing the hype about your own swagger is bloody dangerous).

I'll leave you with some lyrics from D'you Know What I Mean. They are telling...

Look into the wall of my mind's eye
I think I know, but I don't know why
Questions of the answers you might need

Comin' in a mess, going out in style
I ain't good lookin', but I'm someone's child
No one can give me the air that's mine to breathe

I met my maker, I made him cry
And on my shoulder, he asked me why
As people won't fly through the storm
I said listen up now, we don't even know you're born

Generation Why?

The picture is from Lerema (usual policy applies; I'll take it down if you wish)

Imagine you are a marketeer.

You know that your audience is creating more of those strange videos online; you know about MySpace, but that's all fine, because Rupert Murdoch has bought it out for a large amount of money, and is going to conventionally market to them.

If you are particularly savvy, you know that that isn't going to last. They'll move on, and virtual tumbleweeds will inhabit that space.

User generated content may get passe'; after all, as a lot of abandoned blogs prove, people can't keep on being creative and innovative. It's why most blogs are simply link-fests with few original thoughts (including this post, inspired by Adnostic's post on the subject).

So how do you tap into this new generation's revenue stream? Well, firstly, you can accept that the pace of change is coming faster and faster than ever. Trends are found out not only via social networking sites, but by a mixture of the generations that have gone before them. Converse, for example, may have been originally regarded as a Gen X'er brand, but it's coming back in a big way.

To make you realise just how this new generation is changing - they don't regard Michael Jordan as the face of Nike, or maybe even basketball. Oasis, to them, weren't the biggest band in the world, ever.

And this is a generation which is much larger than the 17mill X'ers that made up the last wave. If anything, this picture paints a grim one for those who rely on mass-market trends. Those who will succeed will be those who spark a mass trend, and, I believe, those who are niche brands to begin with.

I'm not saying 'down with Levi, Nike & Coke'. That just won't happen. However, those niche brands which may never have had the spotlight may find their '15 minutes of fame' more forthcoming in this new media landscape.

Yet, I think those brands which try and court Gen Y with freebies and help them make their own content do the other Generations a disservice; I just don't think (in that respect), Y is that much different than other Gens. Y, like X and all of those before them, like smart ads which don't treat them like mugs/acknowledge their message - this last point is perhaps the most important; being self-aware to this generation is the key.

So why all the fear over Y? Branding (to our fictional marketing manager) has become more of a tightrope - but it's also never been more exciting.

Respect your audience and their love for the next cool thing, and you'll be fine. Trying too hard is death; but then, it always has been - it's just this time around, the next Generation has the power to sink your business in one nochalent 'huh'.