MTV Generation Innovation

MTV Generation Innovation

MTV Generation Innovation

MTV Generation Innovation

In an unsual piece for us at Music Eyz, we uncovered a piece on MTV and how they are defining the children of this millennium and what makes them tick.  The interview exploring this, is between the cooly name Jake Katz and Nick Shore of MTV Insights.


MTV have begun to call the Millennial generation “Generation Innovation.” They are a generation of creators, entrepreneurs and innovators, and will drastically reshape this country in terms of its cultural, commercial and civic spheres. In MTV’s 2012 study, they explore the creative ethos of “Generation Innovation”, what their creative process looks like, what systems they are beginning to reshape and hypothesize about, and what a Millennial driven world will be like in 20 years.

JK: First off, can you tell us a little bit about what MTV Insights is up to?

NS: Yes, I’d say overall we have been trying to understand the generation’s impact on different areas of culture and commerce as they really come of age.

A good example of this is Millennials in the workplace…it’s where all Millennials are headed now, so it’s the “sharp end” of where the generational impact is being felt. 10 years ago the music industry was feeling the generation rush through their system (forcing a shift from the big label album-driven model to something nimble and customizable). Now it’s the workplaces of America that are experiencing Millennialization. This is just one example but we’re looking at the latest “Millennial impact zones” and seeing what’s shifting and how.

Another very different example is retail… how’s the average retailer going to have to re-think what they do when the majority of their consumers become Millennials? This generation researches products differently, buys them differently, interacts with their peer group around the buying experience differently, and demands very different kinds of atmospheres and interactions in stores.

JK: What’s been the most interesting thing you learned about Millennials recently?

NS: We’ve been seeing an increased craving for forums where Millennials can get together and “be in groups” physically… festivals, happenings, co-working spaces, even the eventization of the midnight premier of new movies. It seems as though there is a deep-rooted human desire to connect with the herd around the waterhole that is bubbling up very strongly. We don’t know the full implications of this yet, but it seems to be on the rise and have a lot of emotional heft.

JK: At Millennial Mega Mashup you’ll be presenting your “Generation Innovation” study, what was the inspiration behind that study?

NS: We see a very creative, generative, “maker” and “fixer” spirit in the generation….everything from Etsy to App development, from food truck culture to Millennial projects to regenerate Detroit! Our sense was that this is a spirit of wanting to re-imagine how almost anything can work in a better way, and being able to hack their way to that new version. It led us to wonder…What will Millennials create next, what are they busy re-imagining in classrooms and dorm rooms and garages all over America, what will it look like when they start to bring us these solutions from the future?

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