SXSW 2025

Generational Narratives Are Horoscopes for Marketers

Description:

Generational narratives are entrenched in marketing strategy, trend reporting, coverage of tech, social media and other trends — it’s become a popular shorthand for understanding people, whether as consumers or voters or participants in the culture. This presentation will be a live show of In the Demo, a podcast co-hosted by Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno. In it, we will examine where these narratives come from, what they get right and what they get wrong, how they are sold as realities we have to inhabit, how marketers and others make sense of them, and how they lead us all astray.


Related Media

Other Resources / Information

Our episodes are all available here: https://youtube.com/@inthedemopodcast?si=RqKkqMwHjdBrHwT6


Takeaways

  1. No demographic group is a monolith. Understanding the variations within a group helps us get real about our audiences and ourselves.
  2. Generations aren’t natural. They are sold to us through media and marketing, creating unrealistic expectations we have to live up or down to.
  3. Generational narratives pit groups against each other in a fight for attention and resources. They create conflict instead of fostering solidarity.

Speakers


Organizer

Farrah Bostic, Founder, Head of Strategy and Research, The Difference Engine


Meta Information:

  • Event: SXSW
  • Format: Presentation
  • Track: Advertising & Brand Experience
  • Track 2
  • Level: Intermediate


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