Suppose someone asked you to describe what life was like at 18? It's probably safe to say your answer would be peppered with words like exciting, scary and emotional. But that's where all assumptions end. If, you are now 65, then your 18 was a whole different ball of wax from that of someone who's now 40. Likewise, today's 12 year olds will have an 18th year that's different from both.

Furthermore, you have a lot in common with other Americans who hit that milestone year along with you. That's because you all shared the same "defining moments" say, Pearl Harbor or Kennedy's assassination or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now, take off your "nostalgia" hat and put on your marketing one. There's money to be made from tapping into the latent feelings and values of the various groups of generational cohorts that make up American society.

Defining Markets Defining Moments incorporates the concept of generational cohorts into a customer analysis model called MultiDimensional Marketing. Lest you think this is a rehash of marketing techniques that recognize broad categories like Baby Boomers and Gen X, be aware that this approach takes the "generation" concept to a whole new, much more precise level. Old fashioned demographics it ain't!

This model provides a way to look at customers not just as flat statistics on a page, but as multi-dimensional beings, motivated and driven by a complex matrix of demographics, physiology, and emotions. Generational cohort analysis is the key to MultiDimensional Marketing. It provides us with information about the defining moments and values during a cohort's coming of age experience [defined as the period between the ages of 17 and 23].These core values typically don't change over time, so they provide us with a reliable way to connect with people again and again on a very personal level..

But cohort analysis is only part of the picture. Defining Markets Defining Moments describes five factors that influence buying behavior and make up Multi-Dimensional Marketing. These five factors are arranged as a matrix and become the primary tool for applying the conceptual framework of Multi Dimensional Marketing in real world situations. They are:

Lifestage - These are the roles we take on, or act out, over our lifetime, such as spouse, parent, divorcee, retiree and so on. Lifestages define our attitudes, outlooks and daily activities, but different cohorts often react to the same lifestage in completely new ways.

What is so new and different about the Multi Dimensional Marketing approach is that cohort values overlay the other four factors and shape how they impact the marketplace behavior. For example, we find Baby Boomers attacking the markers of aging differently than their parents did. And we expect that boomers who gave us latchkey children will continue this behavior when they become grandparents. So cohort values provide guidance to responding to physiographic changes and new lifestages. Most of the book is devoted to a thorough and fascinating description of the seven distinct American cohorts with plenty of marketing tips for getting into their pocketbooks. Here is a very brief overview of some of them:

Marketing Tip: Having lived through the Depression, this cohort prefers to pay more for a smaller serving, rather than throw something away. As a result, single serving products are now becoming popular. Maxwell House Filter Pack Singles, Pillsbury single serve cakes, and Orville Redenbacher single=serve microwave popcorn are all examples.

Marketing Tip: The 1940s were an intensely romantic period. Therefore romance (candlelight dinners, hand holding, soft music) can provide a wonderful context for advertising messages. In ads for Lazy Boy recliners, the company uses a scene of a couple sitting on the porch of a Victorian type home; the man is dressed in clothes of the `40s, while the woman, clearly his sweetheart, is looking down demurely as he speaks to her. Older adults immediately relate to the ad, which goes on to emphasize how long the company has been in business another strong selling feature for this cohort.

Marketing Tip: Post War grandparents are healthy, active, educated and endowed with sizeable nest eggs. Spending by grandparents on their grandchildren is on the rise. Yet, toy stores are so focused on capturing the young parent market that they ignore this fact. A good example of a company taking advantage of this market is Genesis Direct of Secaucus, NJ, which markets a catalog called Gifts For Grandkids. The company provides a quarterly newsletter that offers tips that subtly help grandparents carry out their roles.