Generation Forward

Hi

In a New York Times article by Vindu Goel, City Urges MySpace Users to Spend Wisely, we read about Citibank’s approach to attract users of a new Citibank and MySpace credit card called “Generation Forward”.

Regardless of our opinion of credit card companies, Banks, and financial institutions in the curernt financial crisis, what strikes me is the Manifesto of the new card and how some of the lines in it are the best examples of Indienomics:

” The world I’m inheriting makes me different.
I’m not afraid of what might happen, but energized by what could happen.
For my generation, forward isn’t just a word.
It’s a way of life.”

” I am Generation Forward.
I’m the first generation to have a credit card named after me.
Imagine! A credit card that rewards you for doing the right thing.”

Remember Indienomics?

Everyone is a network
The opportunity is to reach them where they program to themselves, regardless of platform.

Citibank not only offers a card that reacts to the consumer behavior, they pitch it in a place that they believe they can best reach that consumer: the financial independent consumer who inherited a world in Chaos, who is looking forward to better times and opens his life and lifestyle on MySpace pages.

Advertising is content
Customize your message and think outside the pod.

A great example of customized and targeted message to a young, confused but hopeful consumer who needs advise and help in his or hers financial situation.

The question I ask is: Will applying two of the Five tenets of Indienomics help Citibank and MySpace “sell” the new card to the right audience?

It all depends on the consumers that they are trying to reach and the opinion those consumers have of both brands. As it says in tenet 4 of Indienomics: Trust is king
An influential audience trusts the right brand in the right place.

If Citibank, together with MySpace gains the TRUST of a generation that wants to move forward “Generation Forward” will be the card of hope.

Until the next time

Daniel M

This entry was posted on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 10:32 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.