It’s a New World; Try to Keep Up (#TTKU)
February 13, 2014
You may have heard that America’s favorite snowboarding red head, Shaun White, did not win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s halfpipe event. In fact, he didn’t get a medal at all.
Iouri Podladtchikov of Switzerland, however, did bring hold a shiny new gold coin necklace. What’s more interesting is that this 25-year-old Russian native - nicknamed iPod - won gold by nailing his signature move, which involves two head-over-heels flips, two 360-degree turns, and 1,440 degrees of spin.
And guess what he calls that signature move? YOLO.
That’s right, YOLO. As in, You Only Live Once: the hashtag made popular by drunk and reckless college students around the world. Now it’s a snowboarding move. In 50 years, all the Olympic snowboarding hopefuls will be attempting YOLOs in their quests for gold.
The point is the world is evolving. Technology has infiltrated our lives and impacted our culture in every way imaginable. And one of the most noticeable impacts can be seen in how we communicate. From hashtags and acronyms to memes and emojis, our language has changed. Someone who lived 50 years ago reading a teenage girl’s text message today would probably think it’s in another language.
And if your brand wants to be around for the next 50 years, well, you better keep up. Pay attention to what younger generations are doing, what they’re saying, how they’re saying it. Staying in touch is key to staying relevant. Sprint’s recent TV spots do a great job of generating appeal across generations by tying classic actors to modern language with a sense of humor.
Next time you hear two college kids talking in what seems like verbal shorthand, don’t roll your eyes; tune in. If they’re not your target audience now, one day they will be. And you’ll want to be able to speak in a language they understand. #OldPeopleProbz
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