MILLENNIAL : according to Dictionary.com, is a term used to refer to the generation, born from 1980 onward, brought up using digital technology and mass media.
It’s been nothing short of interesting to watch our magazine experience the “Millennial touch,” and in just a short period of time, move priorities in a direction that seemed a bit futuristic to me.
In September, my staff and I attended a conference put together for magazines such as ours. The subject of the conference was “Create Your Digital Transition Action Plan” which looked to me like more of a race from extinction. The first day I was a bit horrified, to begin learning what I needed to bring back from this conference for my little company. I mapped out a plan that sent our group in three different directions during each segment of of the conference, just to schedule all the workshops we needed. We met some good folks from YEAH Local and from our conversations about the conference, we discovered how millennials react differently and move differently toward getting information and how that has changed the face of marketing . I thought I would learn that millennials are the future of our media audience. No, I would discover, the group includes people born in the last 36 years, encompassing lots of readers, and even clients who advertise in the magazine.
I was happy to learn that many of the things we had been doing for years were the right things. Better yet, some of the newer practices we had recently added were also the right things. Things were looking up for me, but it seemed we still had a long way to go.
We met new digital partners who are helping us wind our way through the digital transition. Then, when we got home, I heard from old friend and colleague Jim- my Vega who has since returned to MVL, to help us achieve our digital goals. Now just a few months later, he and Molly Bar- ber (aka: MVL Videographer) have taken over our digital department. Their online efforts are working. We watched their first media blast, which linked to our first MVL video production, light up our website, stream across the country on social media, and we watched it that night on several television news stations. Our millennials are leading the way to our digital future. We share a lot of laughs about the new millennial attitudes that are shaping MVL, and we listen to a lot of music. I like that.
You may never notice our new digital edition at mountainvalleyliving.com, and all of our other digital efforts. If so, do not worry; we will always hold valuable our readers of the print edition and have no plans to discontinue printing our magazine, ever. We are, however, enjoying connecting with a whole new audience in a whole new way, and are greatly enjoy- ing the entire experience surrounding the “millennial touch” occurring in our office and on the pages of Mountain Valley Living. Find our new digital editions at MountainValleyLiving.com, ShopNorCal. com and NorCalTravelGuide.com. Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
