In the Demo

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.This episode first aired June 13, 2024.We've been having a great time for 30+ episodes complaining about bad research, reporting, and punditry (and book-writing) about generational narratives. Who doesn't love-to-hate a good "Millennials killed some industry" story? But there are real stakes here, for how companies hire employees, invest resources, and plan marketing campaigns; for politicians and policy makers about who they want to serve or punish, and how they want to build their coalitions; and for journalists and commentators who can popularize and spread these narratives in ways that permeate the public consciousness. These things matter - they affect how we see ourselves in the world, and that affects how we behave... and that affects everything else.In this episode we get back to basics -- why we make this show, what we think the stakes are, and who we think should care.Mentioned ResourcesThe Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by Neil Howe and William StraussBacklash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi: "The 67-Hour Rule" by Derek Thompson in The AtlanticGenerations by Jean TwengeYour HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.Stay ConnectedWebsite: inthedemopodcast.comLinkedIn: In the Demo PodcastNewsletter: inthedemo.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.This episode first aired August 31, 2024.The story about Millennials and dating is all about apps, sexting and ghosting - the habits of the toxically online. But it's not all toxic - it can help people discover how to be intimate and confident in their romantic relationships. Still, real concerns about privacy and security abound. We sat down with Katy Coduto, PhD, an assistant professor of media studies at Boston University and author of the forthcoming Technology, Privacy, and Sexting: Mediated Sex.Find out more about Katy here: https://kdcoduto.comCheck out these other episodes about sex and intimacy for Millennials & Gen Z: The Social Sex Revolution, with Cindy GallopIntimate Inequalities with Cristen DalessandroIn The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.This episode first aired on April 18, 2024.The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade holds such a powerful allure for those who never experienced it firsthand.They discuss what accounts for this cross-generational appeal, from the mythologizing of the 90s in media to the enduring impact of the era's defining genres and artists. And they discuss how technology and cultural shifts of the past 30 years shaped the way listeners discover, consume, and connect with music, and what this tells us about the nostalgia and identity in the digital age.Resources60 Songs that Explain the '90sNew York Times “Grunge: A Success Story”BandsplainThe Oregon TrailOur GuestRob Harvilla is the host of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s and a senior staff writer at The Ringer; he's been a professional rock critic for 20-plus years with stops at the Village Voice, SPIN, Deadspin, and other alt-weeklies.Your HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.Stay ConnectedWebsite LinkedIn Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.This episode first aired on May 16, 2024.Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated and mediated world.Anne Helen Petersen, author and cultural critic, joins host Farrah Bostic to discuss the evolving narratives surrounding millennials and Gen Z. They explore how the optimism of the 90s and early 2000s has given way to disillusionment, the impact of political polarization on younger generations, and the collective burnout experienced by a society that glorifies productivity over rest.ResourcesThe Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt"How the Stanley Cup Went Viral" by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker"It's Just a Water Bottle" by Amanda Mull in The AtlanticVox's "Today, Explained" episode, "The kids are all home"Our GuestA former senior culture writer for BuzzFeed, Anne Helen Petersen now writes her newsletter, Culture Study, as a full-time venture on Substack. Petersen received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on the history of celebrity gossip. Her previous books, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud and Scandals of Classic Hollywood, were featured in NPR, Elle, and the Atlantic. She lives in Missoula, Montana.Your HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University, and founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies.Stay ConnectedWebsiteLinkedInNewsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.This episode first aired on July 18, 2023.BREAKING (kidding, sort of). In late May, Pew Research announced they would "only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life" after a year-long analysis of their own approach to reporting on differences by generations, and the overall landscape of such content and reporting. This announcement supports a lot of what Farrah and Adam have been circling while conducting their research into the Millennial narrative, and Pew's got the data to explain why their approach makes so much sense. Kim Parker, director of social trends research at Pew Research Center, joins to share more context on the thinking and data that got them to this exciting (to us) conclusion.Read the article from Pew here: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/22/how-pew-research-center-will-report-on-generations-moving-forward/. Learn more about Kim Parker here: https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kim-parker/In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you.This episode first aired February 9, 2023.In this episode, Farrah and Adam look more closely at the beginnings of the Millennial Myth, literally the opening quote of Millennials Rising. We discuss how much of the myth hangs on one short quote written in an essay by a (then) high school girl living in McLean, Virginia where the authors set their work. Then, Adam talks to the woman behind that very quote to understand how she feels the myth has defined, served and punished her generation.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Generational stereotypes and the flaws in popular research on Millennials and Gen Z are dissected, revealing how cherry-picked data and misleading interpretations shape public perception. In this episode of In The Demo, we continue our deep dive into the work of Jean Twenge, questioning some of her methods as well as biases in her research on generational traits. We analyze the structure and content of books like iGen and Generations, specifically how authors manipulate data and rely on anecdotal evidence to support predetermined narratives. The conversation also touches on broader themes of individualism, collectivism, and the complex interplay between societal changes and generational characteristics.Resources iGen by Jean Twenge Generations by Jean Twenge Sun Signs by Linda Goodman Monitoring the Future Harvard Youth Poll Google Books Ngram Viewer Your Hosts Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn. Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn. Stay Connected Website: inthedemopodcast.com LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com — Sign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Millennials Rising may have kicked off the race to define the Millennial generation, but one author in particular has become the singular thought leader among commentators, researchers, and others: Jean Twenge. Her books iGen and Generations helped her move from toiling in academic obscurity to shaping the discourse. In this episode of In the Demo, hosts Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno critically examine Jean Twenge's work, particularly her two most recent books iGen and Generations. They explore the transition from academic research to popular nonfiction, questioning her data sources, her analytical frames, and her conclusions. The conversation touches on the use of large scale longitudinal studies, the dangers of oversimplification, and the impact of media representation on public perception of generational differences. And it challenges some of her assumptions about narcissism, individualism, and generational traits, highlighting the complexities of social science research and its representation in mainstream media. Resources Generations by Jean TwengeiGen by Jean TwengeMonitoring the Future — longitudinal youth study at the University of MichiganNarcissistic Personality Inventory The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell Your Hosts Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into practical strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn. Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn. Stay Connected Website: inthedemopodcast.com LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com Sign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gen Z is far more complex and resourceful than popular stereotypes suggest — intimate conversations with young people show us how they're navigating an increasingly challenging world. Their attitudes towards work, creativity, and personal fulfillment tell us a lot about how this generation is forging its path. In this episode of In the Demo, host Adam Pierno speaks with filmmakers Branden Mayer and Max Goldstein about their documentary ‘Wasted'. The film explores the lives of Gen Z individuals in Vancouver, challenging common misconceptions about their work ethic and aspirations. Mayer and Goldstein discuss their research methodology, the process of building trust with their subjects, and the unexpected revelations that emerged during filming. They also reflect on how their findings apply to broader generational trends and the evolving nature of work in today's economy. Resources 'Wasted' - documentary by Further&FurtherThe View - (ABC) — clip features the Joy Behar moment referenced in the documentary and our interviewRick and Morty (Adult Swim) — trust us, you'll like itOur Guests Branden Mayer – Film Director Branden has over eight years of experience directing, editing, and producing video content, including interviews, event coverage, short documentaries, and scripted productions. Most recently, Branden has worked as a videographer for brands such as Amazon, Ford, and Pfizer. Branden is dedicated to creating authentic and powerful documentary films with Further&Further. Max Goldstein – Creative Producer / Research Associate Max joins F&F with an insatiable curiosity and love for people. Most recently, they worked as a Creative Producer for a boutique agency in Chicago, where they booked talent for their entire roster of brands. Max has been a fixture in various creative communities for 10+ years. Their band, Yoko and the Oh No's, started in Chicago's DIY music scene, and they've carried that DIY mentality into everything they do. Your Host Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn. Stay Connected Website: inthedemopodcast.com LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com Sign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been having a great time for 30+ episodes complaining about bad research, reporting, and punditry (and book-writing) about generational narratives. Who doesn't love-to-hate a good "Millennials killed some industry" story? But there are real stakes here, for how companies hire employees, invest resources, and plan marketing campaigns; for politicians and policy makers about who they want to serve or punish, and how they want to build their coalitions; and for journalists and commentators who can popularize and spread these narratives in ways that permeate the public consciousness. These things matter - they affect how we see ourselves in the world, and that affects how we behave... and that affects everything else.In this episode we get back to basics -- why we make this show, what we think the stakes are, and who we think should care.Mentioned ResourcesThe Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by Neil Howe and William StraussBacklash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi: "The 67-Hour Rule" by Derek Thompson in The AtlanticGenerations by Jean TwengeYour HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.Stay ConnectedWebsite: inthedemopodcast.comLinkedIn: In the Demo PodcastNewsletter: inthedemo.substack.comSign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social media and smartphones are causing an epidemic of mental illness and anxiety among Gen Z, according to some prominent thinkers - but are these sweeping claims backed by evidence? Maybe the answer is: it's complicated, and jumping to simplistic conclusions is at best useless and at worst, dangerous.In this episode, we talk about recent discussions about the work of psychologist Jonathan Haidt (often in collaboration with generational researcher Jean Twenge), who argue tech is wreaking havoc on young people. We talk about flaws in the arguments, discuss other factors that contribute to these trends, and try to reckon with the reality that in fact all of us have a lot to be anxious and depressed about. It's the phones; but also, it's really not.ResourcesThe Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt"The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?" in Nature by Candice Odgers"Inside the debate over The Anxious Generation" in Platformer by Zoë SchifferThe Ideas Industry by Dan DreznerDon't Think of an Elephant by George LakoffYour HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.Stay ConnectedWebsite: inthedemopodcast.comLinkedIn: In the Demo PodcastNewsletter: inthedemo.substack.comSign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated and mediated world.Anne Helen Petersen, author and cultural critic, joins host Farrah Bostic to discuss the evolving narratives surrounding millennials and Gen Z. They explore how the optimism of the 90s and early 2000s has given way to disillusionment, the impact of political polarization on younger generations, and the collective burnout experienced by a society that glorifies productivity over rest.ResourcesThe Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt"How the Stanley Cup Went Viral" by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker"It's Just a Water Bottle" by Amanda Mull in The AtlanticVox's "Today, Explained" episode, "The kids are all home"Our GuestA former senior culture writer for BuzzFeed, Anne Helen Petersen now writes her newsletter, Culture Study, as a full-time venture on Substack. Petersen received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on the history of celebrity gossip. Her previous books, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud and Scandals of Classic Hollywood, were featured in NPR, Elle, and the Atlantic. She lives in Missoula, Montana.Your HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University, and founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. Stay ConnectedWebsiteLinkedInNewsletterSign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Preconceived notions and media narratives have warped perceptions of social media and internet culture, shaping misleading stories about generations. A critical look beyond the headlines reveals the complex realities of how people of all ages engage with online platforms in nuanced ways.Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno welcome Rebecca Jennings, a reporter at Vox covering internet culture, to unpack the flawed assumptions and evolving trends shaping discourse around TikTok, influencers, and generational divides. Together, they explore how content creation, viral sensations, and the quest for fame and money online impact society in ways that often defy simplistic narratives. The conversation challenges listeners to question their assumptions and rethink the digital world around them.Resources"Romantic norms are in flux. No wonder everyone's obsessed with polyamory." by Rebecca Jennings: https://www.vox.com/culture/24078524/polyamory-open-marriage-anxiety"'Girl' trends and the repackaging of womanhood" by Rebecca Jennings: “Girl” trends and the repackaging of womanhood"Everyone's a sellout now" by Rebecca Jennings: Everyone's a sellout now"Against trendbait" by Rebecca Jennings: Against trendbait"What is 'Cheugy'? You Know It When You See It" by Taylor Lorenz: What Is ‘Cheugy'? You Know It When You See It. (Published 2021)"DIGITAL 2024: GLOBAL OVERVIEW REPORT": Digital 2024: Global Overview Report — DataReportal – Global Digital InsightsOur GuestRebecca Jennings is a senior correspondent covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on how social media is changing the nature of fame, fashion, money, and human relationships. Since joining Vox in 2018, she has reported extensively on the introduction of TikTok into the US, covered the rise and fall of hype houses and sexfluencers, and investigated young tech entrepreneurs, aesthetic trends, and the nature of beauty in the social media age.Stay ConnectedWebsite: https://www.inthedemopodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/in-the-demo-podcast/Newsletter: https://inthedemo.substack.comSign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade holds such a powerful allure for those who never experienced it firsthand.They discuss what accounts for this cross-generational appeal, from the mythologizing of the 90s in media to the enduring impact of the era's defining genres and artists. And they discuss how technology and cultural shifts of the past 30 years shaped the way listeners discover, consume, and connect with music, and what this tells us about the nostalgia and identity in the digital age.Resources60 Songs that Explain the '90sNew York Times “Grunge: A Success Story”BandsplainThe Oregon TrailOur GuestRob Harvilla is the host of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s and a senior staff writer at The Ringer; he's been a professional rock critic for 20-plus years with stops at the Village Voice, SPIN, Deadspin, and other alt-weeklies.Your HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.Stay ConnectedWebsite: inthedemopodcast.comLinkedIn: In the Demo PodcastNewsletter: inthedemo.substack.comSign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing impatience with generational stereotyping has sparked a critical reexamination of how we categorize and analyze age cohorts. Despite Generation Alpha still being born, that won't stop consultants and pundits from making sweeping predictions about who they will be and laying out dubious prescriptions for how they should be raised. By scrutinizing the motives behind labeling Generation Alpha, the absurdity of predicting the traits of a generation that hasn't fully arrived becomes apparent.Farrah and Adam discuss the cyclical nature of generational myths, the societal anxieties they reveal, and the problematic values emerging from Gen Alpha's parents. The episode uncovers the financial and economic drivers behind generational analysis, challenging assumptions and highlighting the importance of a more nuanced understanding of the forces shaping our youth.Resources"The ABC of XYZ" by Mark McCrindleBusiness Insider: The oldest Gen Alphas can almost drive: Here's how millennials' kids will shop, work, and liveMorning Consult: A Brand's Guide to Gen AlphaYour HostsFarrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.Stay ConnectedWebsite: inthedemopodcast.comLinkedIn: In the Demo PodcastNewsletter: inthedemo.substack.comSign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The demographic cliff - a controversial idea that declining population growth will trigger economic disaster. But is it real or just sensationalized clickbait pushed by those with an agenda?Investment advisor Harry Dent popularized demographic cliff fears in the mid-2000s to sell his financial advice (and a book, of course). From there, it became a favored trope in education, where school administrators - from K-12 to college - worried about not having enough enrolled students. Recently, concerns have shifted to plummeting birth rates in South Korea, China, and Canada. But throughout history, similar narratives have repeatedly stoked moral panic about changing demographics - from Gen X's alleged lack of work ethic to Millennials' supposed disinterest in homeownership and parenthood. Cutting through the hype, Farrah and Adam expose who gains from pushing demographic doomsday myths and why resisting these misleading narratives matters.Mentioned Resources:Harry Dent's book "The Demographic Cliff": https://www.amazon.com/Demographic-Cliff-Survive-Prosper-Deflation/dp/1591847273New York Times article on China's demographic challenges: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/business/china-birth-rate.htmlWhy Pew Research Center is no longer reporting on generations: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/22/how-pew-research-center-will-report-on-generations-moving-forward/New York Times Op Ed on the population of school-aged children dropping: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/opinion/declining-enrollment.htmlNational Post article on the Canadian birth rate drop off: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canadas-birth-rate-has-dropped-off-a-cliff-and-its-because-nobody-can-afford-housingFind us at www.inthedemopodcast.com where you can also sign up for our newsletter.You can also find us on twitter or instagram at @inthedemopod for updates and clips, and on LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the Millennials came of age to enter the workforce (which took nearly 15 years) the media was awash in headlines about how to cater to this powerful new generation. Today, the headlines have turned to Gen Z. Farrah and Adam go deeper than the headlines to reveal that the story is still about Millennials. Reminiscent of the treatment of Gen X, Gen Z is constantly compared to their elders, but worse, many writers and researchers are lumping Millennials and Gen Z together. Mentioned Resources: Email-gated landing page: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/content/genzmillennialsurvey.htmlResultant PDF: https://app.box.com/s/cl1f3v6tabsudujm6ej1ois9svuaxttyConnect with us!Our website: https://inthedemopodcast.com/On X: https://twitter.com/IntheDemoPodOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/in-the-demo-podcast/Our substack: https://inthedemo.substack.com/Rate & Review In the Demo on Your Favorite Podcast Platform:Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeiHeartCohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Why stories about groups matter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Farrah and Adam discuss the role and effectiveness of strategy in advertising, including how connected it needs to be to cultural trends, consumer insights, and business realities. And then - they take a deep dive into an article by Richard Huntington in WARC, "The Future of Strategy 2023: Marketing is in desperate need of a reality check" in which he agrees with our premise that generational segments are astrology for marketers - but uses this as a cudgel against all segmentations, which we don't care for, frankly.Also mentioned, Farrah's piece, "There's no such thing as insights".Connect with us!At our websiteOn ugh twitterOn LinkedInSubscribe to our newsletterRate & Review on Your Favorite Podcast Platform:Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeiHeartCohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Why stories about groups matter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The best advertising reveals something you've thought for a long time about a product, service or its users (or yourself!) and presents in an unexpected way. Either for a laugh or some emotional response. Today, we're seeing advertisers take broad stereotypes of generational segmentations and paste them directly into ads. The results are, um, not great. MENTIONED RESOURCES:2024 Lamb: The Generation Gap Coinbase: GenerationsJP Morgan Chase: Meet the JennifersTide - quiet timeThe Musings of an Opinionated Sod - Sorry, dear Rob Campbell, Farrah misattributed your blog title to Dave Trott!!! For shame! CONNECT WITH PODCAST:Our websiteOn ugh twitter On LinkedIn Subscribe to our newsletterRate & Review on Your Favorite Podcast Platform:Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeiHeartCohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Why stories about groups matter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam and Farrah commence a new season, and in the spirit of the new year, take a look at recent Millennial headlines and found that... nothing has changed, and nothing ever will.Links:Jodie Foster on Gen ZThe ironic reason Gen Z are ageing faster than millennials — MetroThe Plastic Surgery Trend Gen X, Millennials, & Gen Z All Agree On — The Zoe ReportHow you wear a scarf can reveal if you're Gen Z or Millennial — New York PostGen Z's throwback ‘chunky highlights' hair trend makes millennials cringe: 'Don't do it!' — New York PostMillennials are ditching 'sad beige' interior design — Business InsiderGen Z Loves Watching TV With Closed Captions On, & Gen X Is Bewildered — Scary Mommy7 Bills Millennials and Gen Z Have That Boomers Didn't — GOBankingRatesThese 2 generations visit libraries at higher rates than any other generation — Deseret NewsGen Z workers say this emoji is the most NSFW — but boomers and millennials disagree — New York PostHow Gen Z and millennials want to work in 2024: ‘Lazy girl jobs,' 'bare minimum Mondays' — and less — Fox BusinessMillennials have found a way to buy houses: Living with mom and dad — The Washington PostGen X is being ignored. Gen Xers say they like it that way. — Business InsiderOK Soda: The '90s Soft Drink for Gen X That Fell Flat — Mental FlossThe Year the Millennial Internet Died — WIREDCohosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. Edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio, and produced by Ashley Derrington. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Our intro is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai. Learn more and find supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special drop in our feed - the inaugural episode of Farrah's new show Cross Tabs, released on Iowa's GOP Caucus day, January 15, 2024.Host Farrah Bostic (In the Demo Podcast, The Difference Engine) and pal Paul Soldera (Equation Research), set the table for what Cross Tabs is all about: demystifying what polls are and how they work.Mentioned links:Jill Lepore's "Politics and the New Machine" [The New Yorker]Jill Lepore's "The Problems Inherent in Political Polling" [The New Yorker]What Was Nate Silver's Data Revolution? [The New Yorker]"Polls' Representative Samples Often Merit Skepticism" [Wall Street Journal]"How Public Polling Has Changed in the 21st Century" [Pew Research Center]All in with Chris Hayes, December 21, 2023 [MSNBC]NY Times/Siena College Poll, December 2023 [New York Times]"From Which River to Which Sea? College Students Don't Know, Yet They Agree With the Slogan" [Wall Street Journal]YouGov Poll Links(December 2023):https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/12/20/edc6d/1https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/12/20/edc6d/3https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/12/20/edc6d/2Suffolk University Iowa Poll (January 2024)"Ann Selzer Is The Best Pollster In Politics" [FiveThirtyEight]AAPOR Analysis of the 2016 Campaign [AAPOR]"Trump lost, but he won millions of new voters. Where did they come from?" [Washington Post]The Focus Group Podcast [The Bulwark]Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our special guest for our final episode of the year is our good friend Faris Yakob. He and his wife Rosie are the force behind the consultancy Genius Steals, a nomadic strategic and creative consultancy. Faris is also the author of a book about how advertising works through the lens of the concept of attention. It's called, Paid Attention which is now in its 2nd edition. He has been at a variety of media and advertising agencies throughout his career, including Naked Communications, McCann Erickson, MDC Partners and helped to found many others. He writes for Campaign, Fast Company, Contagious and other publications. And he thinks deeply about the state of the ad world - how its changing, what it does, how it does it, and what it means for us all. He sat down to talk to us before Thanksgiving about how media planning works, how brands and advertisers think about audiences, and how the stories we tell about youth cultures have been recycled and subtly upgraded since the invention of the teenager, to fulfill the hopes and dreams of not only the corporations who want them to buy stuff, but just as importantly, the people who make advertising and want to believe it is capable of doing something good in the world.This is our last episode of the year - we wish you a very happy and relaxing holiday season, and send our best wishes for the New Year. See you in January!Links!Genius/Steals: http://geniussteals.co/Paid Attention, by Faris Yakob: https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/paid-attention-9781398602502"We Need to Talk about Generations", via Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2023-04/Ipsos_We-need-to-talk-about-generations-WEB.pdf"Nothing Beats a Londoner" via Paula Bloodworth of Wieden + Kennedy, via WARC: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/why-strategy-should-embrace-execution/en-gb/2811Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science: https://marketingscience.info/ and How Brands Grow: https://marketingscience.info/how-brands-grow/Mark Ritson: https://www.marketingritson.com/Herd by Mark Earls: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Herd%3A+How+to+Change+Mass+Behaviour+by+Harnessing+Our+True+Nature-p-9780470744598 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are taking this Thursday off for Thanksgiving, sorry to our non-American listeners! We will be back with one more episode in December before pausing to work on Season 2, which is already under way. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice. You can email us with questions or thoughts - adam@inthedemopodcast and farrah@inthedemopodcast. In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is your generation your identity? What happens when your actual life starts to veer away from the story of your life? In this episode, we take a look at the way some members of the Millennial generation are starting to experience a mid-life identity crisis as they realize that they did in fact become married, home-owning, parenting adults with retirement savings. We examine these "getting older" Millennial narratives and what the data tells us about what's really going on with Millennials (on average). Highlights:Generational differences and life experiences. 5:35Millennial identity and generational anxiety. 12:20Gen X's economic status and the narrative around it. 17:23Millennials' marriage and life milestones. 21:09Marriage, homeownership, and financial stability in the US. 27:55Fertility trends and age of first-time mothers. 30:40Millennials' changing attitudes towards parenthood and aging. 35:59Mortgage debt by generation, challenging stereotypes. 42:18Retirement savings and generational differences. 51:29Millennials' identity crisis and expectations. 57:29Links!"How Millennials Grew Up and Got Old" Fertility Rates"The Age That Women Have Babies: How a Gap Divides America"Average Age to Buy a House"The Shifting Profile of First-Time Home Buyers" "Millennials on Better Track for Retirement Than Boomers and Gen X" "Millennials Don't Stand A Chance" In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam and Farrah regroup to discuss what they've learned from past episodes featuring Cindy Gallop, Katy Coduto PhD, and Cristen Dalessandro PhD (find them in the feed!!) about Millennial sex, dating, and intimacy. You know, the stuff you have to deal with before you even get to worrying about whether they're getting married on time and having enough kids!Intimacy, relationships, and generational differences. 0:00Gender roles, relationships, and technology. 7:22Dating apps and their impact on society. 12:34The impact of social media on self-awareness and relationships. 20:21Gender roles, attraction, and media influence. 25:33Millennials, Gen Z, and intergenerational relationships. 33:48Societal expectations around marriage and intimacy. 40:19In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our third installment in a series of episodes exploring the part in between hookup culture on college campuses, and "failure to launch" narratives about Millennials living at home instead of getting married and starting families: those years when you're an adult, working, and figuring out what you want in a relationship (if you even want one). In previous episodes we looked at the "social sex revolution" championed by Cindy Gallop, the world of online dating apps and sexting with Katy Coduto, and now we turn to the less overtly sexy but just as consequential parts of Millennial sex: dating, attraction, relationships. What were the factors influencing how Millennials in their twenties and early 30s were selecting partners, ordering their relationships, and navigating relationship dynamics? Cristen Dalessandro, PhD, author of Intimate Inequalities: Millennials' Romantic Relationships in Contemporary Times, joined the show to talk about her research into the ways Millennials intersecting identities around race, gender, class, age, and sexual identities influenced the choices they made about which people to sleep with, date, and form lasting relationships with. What she found is extremely interesting, sometimes hopeful, often a bit of a bummer, if only because unfortunately, Millennials were not going to save us from traditional gender roles and typical relationship dynamics. She also has some suggestions about ways to make things better - both on an individual level and a social policy level. "What people do at the individual level really matters. If you are somebody who does care about making a more egalitarian gender relationship, then you do need to put in the work to be educated on what that looks like and check out research that people have done and ask your partner what they think, right? It's just asking your partner what they think about something and then not being offended if they are critical of something that you're doing. But at the same time, again, those sort of broader structural patterns, what's happening at the policy level, that's important as well. And so if we care about something in particular or we want to see a change in a certain direction, I think it's helpful to get involved and to get informed with what's going on and to be part of that conversation and not just sit back and let things happen."In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're joined by Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet to talk about how she had a front-row seat to many of the changes in media, memes, and Millennials over the course of her career from tabloid blogger to feature reporter for The Washington Post. We talk about the role of social media, the way incentives for media companies have evolved, how she proved internet culture was a beat, and how memes get amplified into mass culture - and what all this means for generational identities.You can order her book, available next week! here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Extremely-Online/Taylor-Lorenz/9781982146863You can find Taylor online in many places, including her website: https://www.taylorlorenz.com/ and @taylorlorenz basically everywhere (TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, etc).If you're curious about her coverage of some of the generational memes we all know and loathe, check out her 2019 piece 'OK Boomer' Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations: Now it's war: Gen Z has finally snapped over climate change and financial inequality." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/style/ok-boomer.htmlFor more recent reporting, check out her work at the Washington Post - a recent piece debunking a recent TikTok panic the Today Show amplified is especially smart: 'That dangerous TikTok trend on the Today Show? It was fake.' https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/13/tiktok-boat-challenge-fake-misinformation/In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We started with headlines from the New York Post and other extremely online publications and our research overall has shifted heavily into the journalistic media narrative arc that has been assigned to Millennials; a group we're not even sure we would say exists. Now we decided we need to read the most visible and influential books over the past 20 years that coincided with shifts in the story. Up first, Kristen Soltis Anderson's 2015 book The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up).Find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Selfie-Vote-Millennials-Leading-Republicans-ebook/dp/B00O7XISSC?ref_=ast_author_mpbWe reference the author's appearance on 538 here: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/politics-podcast-good-or-bad-use-of-polling-extended-cut/Introduction Interview with Echelon Insights (5:02) The selfie vote and selfies (11:01) How the GOP could connect with Millennials. (17:20) The selfie as voting metaphor. (22:10) How can they win back the vote? (27:44) Millennials not worried enough about aging. (36:34) How much you can know through data about voters? (42:12) The decline in union membership. (46:41) Shareholders vs. Investors. (52:06) What the republican autopsy had to say about Millennials. (56:18) Taking advantage of every opportunity. (1:00:37)In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story about Millennials and dating is all about apps, sexting and ghosting - the habits of the toxically online. But it's not all toxic - it can help people discover how to be intimate and confident in their romantic relationships. Still, real concerns about privacy and security abound. We sat down with Katy Coduto, PhD, an assistant professor of media studies at Boston University and author of the forthcoming Technology, Privacy, and Sexting: Mediated Sex.Find out more about Katy here: https://kdcoduto.comIntroductionThe role of generational differences in online dating and dating. 9:52Dating apps. 15:30Dating tropes. 17:14The gamification layer. 24:00Millennials and dating apps. 27:15Swipe right on everyone. 31:48Why hookup culture? 36:08Sexting is good. 43:53The nuances of privacy in online relationships. 45:54Branding millennials. 59:08The good and the bad of social media. 1:02:59In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're starting a mini-series on intimacy. First up, Cindy Gallop is the founder and CEO of Make Love Not Porn. They are pro-sex pro-porn Pro-knowing the difference. It's her personal experience with Millennial lovers that opened her eyes to the challenges they were faced with in relationships. Intimacy has been pushed out of culture, and replaced with a variety of distractions, entertainments and stories. Cindy's direct style makes her a sought after voice in this conversation. As you'll hear, she's seen the challenge up close and personal.Learn more https://cindygallop.com/ and makelovenotporn.tv Introduction Cindy Gallop (7:46)How Pornhub is shaping minds (12:55)Make Love Not Porn (19:16)Millennials are more open about sex and relationships than older generations (25:34)What does porn look like for millennials? (34:07)The importance of having a committed partner (42:08)The story of millennials and intimacy (46:39)Challenging preconceptions (51:35)In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Generalizations can be damaging. In this episode, Benish Shah joins us for a conversation about how marketers, in an attempt to simplify the huge Millennial consumer group, over-simplified them en masse. She looks at how power structures are shaped, people on the margins are held there and others are pushed there by the narrative perpetuated to make it easier to sell things.Benish Shah is a marketer, builder and advisor to companies and brands around the world. Learn more here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benishshah/Every generation is the next great generation. (6:13)The power of the box. (10:04)The collective good vs. the individual good. (16:30)Finding a balance between individualism and community. (22:14)Setting respectful boundaries. (25:02)Free will is an illusion. (29:49)Disruptions of complacency. (35:06)Everybody gets a trophy trope. (39:23)Being a millennial boss to millennial employees. (43:22)In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BREAKING (kidding, sort of). In late May, Pew Research announced they would "only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life" after a year-long analysis of their own approach to reporting on differences by generations, and the overall landscape of such content and reporting. This announcement supports a lot of what Farrah and Adam have been circling while conducting their research into the Millennial narrative, and Pew's got the data to explain why their approach makes so much sense. Kim Parker, director of social trends research at Pew Research Center, joins to share more context on the thinking and data that got them to this exciting (to us) conclusion.Read the article from Pew here: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/22/how-pew-research-center-will-report-on-generations-moving-forward/. Learn more about Kim Parker here: https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kim-parker/How did you know Millennials were coming into their own? 3:39Methodological considerations for comparison. 8:09How the narrative has shifted over time. 13:11The knock on effects of not reporting on generations. 18:40Gen Z vs. Millennials. 26:40Why do we skip over Gen X? Millennials? 30:48How Millennials have become a synonym for young. 36:50How do you segment millennials into different political parties? 40:04Stereotypes about Millennials. 46:29In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Millennial Myth was created in the late 1990's to help provide context about the coming juggernaut of a generation. As with most stories about huge groups, the narrative held on to broad generalizations and chose odd anecdotes to incorporate, while eschewing other detailed experiences and perspective. Early on, people on the fringes took notice, and have been hanging on ever since. We spoke to author expert on narratives and Founder of The New Quo, (https://www.thenewquo.com/) and host of the Sway Them in Color podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sway-them-in-color/id1487837712) to help add context about how people are left out as a narrative and others this size are being shaped.How generational segmentations are useful to marketers and business. 10:23The problem with social media. 15:04Falling in love with storytelling. 18:19How did you receive the stories of millennials in America? 25:59Where did the fear of college debt come from? 31:54The conflicting narratives of Millennials and Millennials. 39:36Marketing starts as soon as a kid can walk. 45:25The hidden polemics of boomers. 49:51Most media organizations are owned by one person. 55:15The myth of colorblindness in Millennials. 1:00:41The problem with colorblindness. 1:04:39How do I become more culturally competent? 1:08:58In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was hopeful. Or optimistic. Or idealistic. The people crafting the Millennial Myth branded 70 million people as bright eyed and positive that they would make the world a better place. Which is a bit weird because very clear recurring data show that they were no more or less idealistic in their senior year of high-school as the generations before or after them. No more trusting of government. Millennials were defined in this way and have been held to account for the label for the next 20 years and counting.How idealism is just equity. 7:52The Coddling of the American Mind. 12:09The template set by coddling of the American mind. 17:22Millennials and green consumerism. 23:01The importance of having a brand manifesto. 27:54Sustainability rises to the top. 34:21Millennials rooting for a housing bust. 39:41More sophisticated and capital requires more capital. 48:20The cult of the young and how to appeal to them. 52:43In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a bonus, audio-only episode. Did you even know In The Demo is found on YouTube? We were a little surprised, too. You can find In The Demo on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@inthedemopodcast1834Rose Cameron joins Farrah and Adam to talk about her work leading research of the Millennial generation going back to when they were still just babies. Working for global brands, she saw first-hand some of the drivers of the interest in this audience; deemed both an opportunity and a threat. Maybe more importantly they were viewed as the unknowable children of Baby Boomers facing their own parenting shortcomings and mortality.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features our robot Eliza. She queried her cousin, ChatGPT, to write a summary of the Millennial generation. We think they nailed it. Let Farrah and Adam know what you think they got right and wrong by crawling the open web and twenty years of content marketing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time, Farrah and Adam look at the supposedly 100 million people–well, not people–CONSUMERS that had marketers mouths watering. We look at how that plan to receive and sell to Millennials drove the wishful thinking about their behavior and preferences, along with how it might reshape workplaces. In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Farrah and Adam talk about the research that went into Millennials Rising. As always, they have questions. An entire generation–supposedly 100 million people–defined by one survey in one school district? Farrah talks to quantitative researcher, Paul Soldera, who opens the curtain on segmentation and best practices in the most interesting conversation on research methodology that you will hear this year.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this last episode, Farrah and Adam look more closely at the beginnings of the Millennial Myth, literally the opening quote of Millennials Rising. We discuss how much of the myth hangs on one short quote written in an essay by a (then) high school girl living in McLean, Virginia where the authors set their work. Then, Adam talks to the woman behind that very quote to understand how she feels the myth has defined, served and punished her generation.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comAn outline created by Otter.ai0:00 Show introduction with Farrah and Adam4:40 Is Millennials Rising a forecast?10:55 Introducing Tyler12:15 Growing up in Mclean, Virginia.15:10 What is a typical American town?21:27 How Tyler describes the millennial generation27:16 What are Millennials responsible for in culture32:31 Are reporters anti-millennial? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last episode, Farrah reveals the source text for the Millennial Myth was written by an economist and a cultural commentator based on light research they did in McLean, VA in the late 1990's. Farrah and Adam asked themselves, is McLean an appropriate stand in for the entire world? The entire U.S.? As it turns out, it might not be an appropriate representative sample for the state of Virginia. Farrah and Adam compare the U.S. census around the time of this book and since to shed light on possible challenges to the conclusions of the book, and the ongoing crumbling myth. Then, Adam is joined by historians of McLean, Merrily Pierce and Paul Kohlenberger who give a quick history and talk about the unique origins of city and surrounding area.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comShow outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai)Introduction to the episode. 9:00 Education representation in the United States12:39 Understanding the demographics of the area18:36 Looking at voting records for Mclean 25:13 How did the civic league get its start? 30:30 Mclean as an affluent suburb35:40 What does it take to buy a house in Mclean? 41:03 How did the neighborhood look like then? 46:56 The economic reality of living in the suburbs50:45 Youth in the clean area56:30 Protecting your kids from threats1:00:57 The pressure to succeed in school1:06:43 Paul's closing closing thoughts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They've found it! Hours of research and hundreds of clicks on Google spam links have led to the beginning. Farrah has found what we believe is the source text. A pseudo ethnography by a economist and a cultural commentator published in 2000. The ur text is (appropriately) called Millennials Rising. Farrah and Adam discuss the book and its background and attempt to track the sources cited within for clues to an earlier text. In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comShow outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai)0:02 Introductions 7:27 Sources and background from Millennials Rising14:08 How did you go from being one of the directors of the Capitol Steps to co-author of these books about generations? 20:24 Influence on Steve Bannon26:50 Baby on board 32:29 The dark cloud that hovers over the world. 35:30 Millennials are going to be great consumers, right? 42:09 Who are we talking about when we describe that lived reality? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 3, Farrah and Adam look at the misguided reporting on data that positioned Millennials as over-indexing on trust of government and leaders. In this follow-up conversation, they examine the split in the story, in which the media begins to look less certain that Millennials are the saviors of America's future. The bifurcation of the original, straightforward story leads to the unraveling of the powerful myth spun in the early 2000's. The narrative mirrors the shift from the optimistic end of history rhetoric to Great Recession nihilism, with one generation treated as the fulcrum.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comShow outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai)0:02 Introductions1:52 Where did the story shift from optimistic to pessimistic?6:20 Millennials are more trusting of government and large national institutions to do what's right.10:43 The myth that millennials are the next generation of the greatest generation.16:50 The use of survey data as a means of predicting the future is not what it is.22:09 Millennials are more confident in the government than ever before.24:19 What's the choice when you're 18?29:37 Harvard research suggests that an entire global generation has lost faith in democracy.35:04 What's the definition of clickbait?39:44 What's on your mind at the point in time? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the beginning, there was the word. And the word was trust. Initial reports told us that Millennials were trusting in government institutions and authority. Over time, we have seen that shift as Millennials (and um, the rest of us) were witness to the failures of the banking industry, the federal and local government and other institutions over time. In this episode, Farrah and Adam find some data from the early days that served as the basis for some of these conclusions on trust, but look at them in comparison to other generations surveyed at that same young age to see if the data holds up.In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comShow outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai)0:00 Where do these crazy ideas about millennials come from? 3:38 Each cultural observation of each generation is a reaction to the generation before it 8:34 What is the current size of the millennial audience? 12:58 Looking at the crystal ball in 2000 and 2001 18:03 The relationship between the relationship with their parents and the idea of being overachievers23:08 Millennials are more trusting and invested in government 29:11 Pew's longitudinal data on trust in government34:10 The impact of the 2012 election on millennials and how it's different from previous elections Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seen any good headlines about Millennials lately? Do they seem a tiny bit slanted? Why does the entire world believe every Millennial eats avocado toast for every meal? In this episode we look at some of the wildest headlines and examine what may be behind the editorial angle and the reasons why? This leads us to think about the current trajectory of the story and how it's changed over time. In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comShow outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai).0:00 In the Demo: The stories that get told about groups2:19 Why can't we agree on the years of when a generation begins and ends? Why does it change over five years? 7:41 How do you define generations? 10:44 What New York Post wants you to think of millennials16:42 What are some of the most memorable headlines from millennials?19:27 Millennials can finally afford homeownership is good news for the economy25:34 The myth of the Millennial and how it has changed28:56 Millennials have been waiting longer to start families than boomers35:10 The knock-on effects of women getting involved in politics38:15 Millennials in the workforce and moneyFull transcript on inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How on earth did Millennials go from being the glowing, favorite child of an entire nation–our primary source of hope for the future–into the enemy? The bad guys. Murderers. Sort of. Killers of the housing market, fast food and the napkin industry. For 20 years, we've observed and participated in the crafting and re-crafting of this narrative to help sell things from policy, economic strategy and yes, um, napkins. In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.comShow outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai).0:00 Introduction1:22 What's inside the homogeneity that defines it2:53 How the popular narrative about millennials has evolved over time5:52 Millennials are a very amorphous and flexible and malleable punch line8:38 Millennials are still the media shorthand for youth, even though many of them are in their 40s now10:42 The importance of having the benefit of time to look back on the myth12:02 What's changed in the world of brand marketing14:28 What happens if you deviate from the expectation?Full transcript on inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did the generation defined by hope become the enemy? Where do stories this big come from? And why does it matter?Introducing In The Demo; a new podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, experienced strategists and researchers Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth.Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University.Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.