TWENTYSOMETHING™ Inc. Probes College Freshmen Mindset: Incoming Class Of 2010; From Barney to George W

Business Wire,  August 14, 2006  

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NEW YORK -- Traditional incoming freshmen, born in 1988, are arriving on college campuses right now. TWENTYSOMETHING(TM) Inc.'s annual list of Fascinating Freshman Factoids(TM) provides insight into the minds of the next new student wave:

(1)  The Class of 2010 has never known life without Barney videos.
(2)  Hyundai Motor America will always be one year older than they
     are.
(3)  When today's incoming freshmen were born, movie theaters were
     showing Die Hard, Big, The Naked Gun, and Rain Man.
(4)  Missing the muscle car heyday of the 1960s, the Class of 2010 is
     seeing Detroit flex its American "muscle" for the first time
     (e.g., Mustang GT, 300C, Charger, Camaro, Challenger).
(5)  Today's incoming freshmen directly contributed to the stellar
     success of numerous brands: American Idol, Apple, Skype, Amazon,
     eBay, Mini, Cingular, and Starbucks.
(6)  They would be shocked to learn that MTV used to air only music
     videos.
(7)  The Class of 2010 witnessed the Bush family's presidential
     dynasty as a President Bush has been in the White House 10 out of
     the past 18 years (to date).
(8)  Members of this birth year were just as likely to be carpooled in
     SUVs as mini-vans.
(9)  This cohort was 13 years old when tragedy struck on September
     11th.
(10) The incoming Class of 2010 has never known a world without the
     Internet, cellphones, Prozac, Lexus, or laptop computers.

"Our list is intended to illustrate that the incoming Class of 2010 has fundamentally unique reference points, life experiences, and need sets," says David Morrison, president of TWENTYSOMETHING(TM) Inc. and author of Marketing to the Campus Crowd. "It's frighteningly easy for marketers, faculty, university administrators, and even parents to fall into the natural seduction of drawing on their own - likely outdated - personal college experiences." He explains that even recent graduates are frequently shocked at how profoundly the campus scene can change insofar as student mindset, language, attitude, and lifestyle.

"It is business critical to always remember that the college market is rapidly evolving on so many levels 24/7," Morrison explains. "Change is the status quo for the campus crowd."

TWENTYSOMETHING(TM) Inc. is the world's original young adult consultancy. Founded in 1991, the firm has worked with over 40 Fortune 500s including Procter & Gamble, Apple, Toyota, Pepsi-Cola, Kraft, and Citibank. Additional clientele encompass advertising agencies, universities, and governments. For more information, please visit: www.twentysomething.com.

David Morrison is an accomplished consultant, speaker, and author. The Washington Post hails him as the "consummate marketing insider". He is the founder and president of TWENTYSOMETHING(TM) Inc. Morrison holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Marketing to the Campus Crowd (Kaplan Publishing, hardcover, ISBN 07931-8600-5) is the definitive book on student marketing and has received critical acclaim.

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