Vignettes from Borrell Miami: Of a certain virus, a certain generation and … general uncertainty
MIAMI — Borrell Miami presenters trotted out coronavirus jokes early, like a thoroughbred headed for the fourth gate at the Derby.
Matt Britton begins his keynote presentation at Borrell Miami.
The conference kickoff on Monday, March 9, featured a cheeky-geeky video on why fist bumps are so much better than handshakes. The crowd — robust despite a bit of last-minute attrition thanks to virus-related corporate travel bans — laughed. Then keynoter Matt Britton, CEO of Suzy and expert on youth demographics, launched with this:
“Welcome to the last conference ever on Earth.”
More hearty laughs ensued, but this time, you could almost sense the moment it occurred to all of us how much the truth and context of the day made the line funny and sad. It was probably best to get obligatory references to the virus and its impacts out of the gate in early good humor.
Digital natives are restless
Britton, for his part, moved quickly into a fascinating discussion of traits and behaviors of younger generations, particularly millennials (born 1981-1996) and Generation Z (born 1997-mid 2010s).
“Millennials were the first generation to grow up with the internet in the household,” Britton said. “Gen Z was the first generation to grow up with mobile phones. Mobile advertising isn’t even a new discourse for them. It is kind of like their dial tone.”
He described how younger generations favor experiences — particularly travel — as a social currency over possessions, and how that trait was both driven by the emergence of social media and a contributor to the growth of social platforms.
How do millennials exhibit this social currency? Instagram. Britton gave us a term for it: DIFTI, or Did It For The Instagram.
“In the ’80s and ’90s people would define what they were by the cars they bought, the things they bought,” Britton said. “It was the rise of consumerism, and all that stuff showed society what you were all about. Once upon a time the only way to show your experiences was through photo albums, remember that?
“Now experiences have replaced physical items as new social currency,” he continued. “Instead of a Rolex or new sneakers, now it’s a status update. People think millennials are narcissistic, with all the selfies, right? But the core human driver is no different from why all of you care about what brands you buy.”
Britton gave other examples: the restaurant you go to not for the quality of the food, but for the selfie-friendly decor; the people who rent private jets that don’t leave the ground (!) just to take selfies in the luxury cabin.