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Wednesday Buzz: Millennials? Old News. Try Centennials.

The next generation you'll have to reach is starting to graduate from high school. Time to get ready. Also: What work will look like by the time all those centennials actually hit the workforce.

We’ve talked enough about millennials on Associations Now to fill a book or 10. But every generation gets older, and eventually the next one will get an identity of its own—one marketers will be drawn to like a moth to a flame.

According to Ad Age, the identity for the next generation of kids is “centennials”—people who were born around the turn of the century. If that kinda weirds you out, think about it this way: Kids graduating from high school this year were toddlers when Britney Spears had her first hit in 1999. (Don’t think about that too much—you might hurt yourself.)

Companies like Taco Bell and DreamWorks are already taking early stabs at reaching this new market, which is destined only to grow from here, as the oldest kids in this market are turning 18 this year.

Marketers say there’s a lot of room to try new things with this age bracket.

“It’s this idea of taking on an experimental mentality,” Sparks & Honey Senior Cultural Strategist Dan Gould told Ad Age. “The easiest way to start is by making small bets.”

Are you ready to take on the next generation? If not, don’t let it give you gray hairs—you still have time to figure it all out. They’re not that old yet.

A Decade Into the Future

Speaking of things you’ll have to worry about in the future, Fast Company’s Gwen Moran wants you to know what work will look like in 2025. Long story short: We’ll wear a lot more wearables, automation will remove the need for some industries, and robots might steal our jobs. That doesn’t sound great, but on the other hand, our work-life balance will likely be better, which means that people who hold onto their jobs despite the robot invasion will have more time to spend with their families. (ht @VelChain)

Other Links of Note

Getting members involved in your web redesign process, through crowdsourcing or otherwise, can be a great way to help drum up ideas, Christina R. Green writes on the MemberClicks blog.

If your nonprofit doesn’t have a blog, now might be a good time to fix that, says MarketingProfs contributor Amy Butcher.

Are Evites old news? The new event marketing platform Hobnob does it all via text message.

They're coming. (iStock/Thinkstock)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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