Imagine a world of opportunities and the reality of having to make real decisions; not a game on your phone, not a new blockbuster movie. No. Now, that is everyday life.
We’re talking about that first decade after school life. Whether you dropped out, graduated, or are in between. Whether you’re looking for a job, changing jobs, or jumping into the first one you can get or are taking the one your parents told you to begin with. Whether you’re earning real money and deciding what to do with it… It’s decision time! It’s time to go wild and spend, or start saving. It’s time to invest in your look, your hobbies, your social life, or your education.
So many choices when you start building your career! In previous columns, we discussed the key life stages we all pass through. When you are in your 20s, nothing seems more important than that life stage – the one we call ‘Career Building’.
Of course, we know it’s different now. Today’s 20-somethings have to contend with work from home, side gigs, and the threat or opportunity of AI. As we point out all the time in our talks about how businesses should focus on lifestages, tactics change. For any reader between 20 and 69 (that would be Dave), if you think back to your first decade in the work world, change has always been there. Coping with typewriters, keyboards, and the internet, or needing to learn new things and unlearning the theories from school to make it practical – it’s always changing.
Then there are social norms and expectations. Fifty years ago, ‘Career Building’ would have been nearly an all-male life stage in Bangladesh, and they would have been married by their mid-20s. Now, like their peers around the world, they are more likely to put off marriage until later, have fewer children, and move around and try different jobs.
The one thing that does not change is managing life, both at work and in the world. ‘Career Builders’ are now having to ‘figure it out’. That means they are looking for help, and brands have an opportunity to be there to provide it.
It’s an opportunity that brands like Nescafé have been aware of for decades. Ever seen a commercial where 3 or 4 colleagues are struggling with a task, looking a little lost, or bored or tired, but aware that they need to get something done? Then one of them has an idea, makes coffee, instantly, of course, for the group, and suddenly the sparks fly, the conversation takes off, the problem is solved, and there are smiles all round. That is a standard instant coffee brand template.
It is also a template for brands to pitch to ‘Career Builders’ on how they can help. Their premise is that life is harder than you thought, and whether in a group or on your own, a decision needs to be made. A trusted source is leaned on for help, and then success! And then you move on.
Of course that inspiration can also come in the form of “going to get a coffee”. The ability to say “I too can go somewhere a little better for a better conversation” is an important means of their believing in themselves. In Dhaka, that might be Gloria Jeans, an international brand that offers the local worker a place to look and sound a little more stylish and in control.
Think about fashion brands like Noir or Sailor – very different styles, maybe more for work or for play, but really, they are problem solvers. Young and busy ‘Career Builders’ need help. They need that spark to maybe look more professional, or more free-thinking, or more socially approachable. What smart fashion brands do is give easy access to the right queues for success. Want to be seen as internationally on par and part of the global world? Then go buy clothes at Yellow, for example.
Brands become smarter when they realise their role in moving between life stages. The L’Oreal brand mix is the perfect example. For the smart older teen, college girl ‘Identity Builder’, they have Maybelline. But the day you graduate, they want you to move to L’Oreal Paris because one brand is for ‘Identity Builders’ wanting to explore colours and looks, but once you are in the working world, you need a brand that is a bit more mature, professional, grown-up.
Of course, ‘Career Builders’ now have the issue of taking care of their own money. Careers mean jobs, and that means income and spending and having some control. So the financial services world understands that this is a key stage to make the right offer. Tactically, today, that means mobility. Because a ‘Career Builder’ in this decade has grown up with everything available on their phones, bKash took a lead in targeting 20-somethings with a service that suited them. Just as other banks did a few decades ago by targeting the then ‘Career Builders’ with ATMs for easy access.
Once you think about the lifestage, the tactics come easily because, as we constantly point out, “What matters to people” needs to be the mantra of all marketers… and what matters to people in those first ten years of career building is to look like they are making it.
Our previous article on Identity Builders — Why I Can’t Get No Satisfaction Never Gets Old — offers a meaningful prelude to this follow-up on Career Builders.
