My previous post discussed a few examples of good ways to reach the Millennial generation through marketing. Now that you've seen the good, it's time to face the bad. Here are a few of my personal "Don'ts" when targeting my generation.

Stop calling us lazy, and self-absorbed and any other generational generalization you can think of. No one wants to be pigeonholed, and as a marketer, it is unwise to assume we are all the same. Time magazine’s May 20 issue cover said it all. Yes, we may appear to be "all of the above," but we are also extremely adept at dealing with change, innovation, and creative outlook. Case in point, Mark Zuckerberg and the kinds of people who make the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list will be the ones who save the world.

Don’t tell us what to do.  We are resourceful and self-sufficient.  Having grown up in a digital age, we are becoming increasingly resistant to the old ways of direct marketing. We’re not looking to be sold a product directly. We need to arrive there ourselves.  Hannah Fleisman of HubSpot’s Brand and Buzz team sums it up perfectly:

“I think Millennials value honest brands with substance. You don’t need the flashy ads and can save tons of money by having a valuable position in your industry and communicating it without frills. I am always on social media; I watch TV online; I shop online – I live online. If your brand is authentic and truly providing something awesome, I’ll find you on the web.”

We know what you think of us. It’s like when our parents try to be cool and use the “hip” lingo. It’s obviously fake and makes us cringe. For example, the people at LG think us to be so connected that we are willing to interrupt precious life moments to record it for YouTube or share with our friends. In the commercial for the LG Optimus G Pro phone, a woman, mid-proposal, whips out her phone to record the moment. Most likely thought up by an older man in an ad agency, he assumes that we are so caught up in oversharing that we can’t press pause on our own technology use.  Sure, we may be connected to our phones, but we’re still human beings who enjoy life in the moment. This ad won’t make us want your phone, LG; it will just show us how stereotypical you think we are.

What do you think? Do any of these ideas appeal to/disgust you?