What does Gen-Y Attention Span Mean To You?

Being in the entertainment industry (or any industry for that matter), we need to be aware of where our viewers time is being consumed. Where Boomers and Generation-X would spend an evening in the basement listening to vinyl and 8-tracks, Gen-Y is out and about.

Millennials are:
Talking on cell phones,
Instant messaging,
Spending time on social networks,
Video sites,
Gaming,
Going to movies,
Watching DVR-TV,
Ripping, downloading and streaming music,
Eating out,
Googling,
Blogging,
Shopping and more.

So when you are designing your marketing campaign to Gen-Y, you are thus competing with all these mediums. If your song, video, game or other medium doesn’t immediately grab their attention, they are on to the next one. With thousands of videos being uploaded every hour on YouTube it is very easy to click on to the next one.

If your video game is hard to play, boring or not up to graphics standards, it gets popped back in the mail to get another better one tomorrow.

If your song isn’t available on iTunes, Myspace, in video form, Pandora, etc, they will spend the next 3-5 minutes listening to someone who sounds just like you only better prepared.

When you are preparing your message, how long is it? How fast till Gen-Y gets what they want?

Is your video 3 minutes long, when your competitor gets across the same message, only better in 30 seconds?

Does it take 2 minutes to get to the chorus of your lead single?

Do you have to walk through 3 buildings to kill one monster?

Ryan Healy from Employee Evolution says it coming from a Millennial perspective:

I’ll admit it, my attention span is virtually non-existent. When a friend sends me a link to a YouTube video, if I’m not hooked in 10 seconds, I don’t watch the rest. When I stumble onto a new blog, if the first post doesn’t suck me in immediately, I usually leave, never to return again.

People will not invest time and energy into something that is not immediately appealing.

When you are making your next marketing plan for your new single, your CD release, a viral video, just think of the competition you are in a league with. If you are an emerging artist, your song is a small fish in a very large and oversaturated pond. Play your cards right and the food will come a plenty thanks to viral aspects, word of mouth and strength in numbers.

Gen-Y has choices. Are you on their menu?