While many forms of advertising may be less effective today there are forms that appeal to young consumers. One book that discusses this is Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, by Rob Walker. According to Andrew O'Connell of HBR, the key is to "emphasize meaning first, functionality second; remember that people simultaneously want to feel like individuals, and be a part of something bigger than themselves"
At CATALYST last week, the Auxano team designed a strategy to give away hundreds of copies of Church Unique, by creating a memorable experience as part of the giveaway. First we blanketed the conference environment with little business cards that said "BUZZ" on one side with a message on the other: text "catalyst-buzz" to a 95495 (our 5 digit short code). T-shirts were given away with the same message. When people texted the number on their cell, an immediate reply via text told them where they could get a FREE COPY of the book that's creating all of the BUZZ. Once they got the book, recipients would then wear a big round sticker that said, "I caught the catalyst buzz." We created meaning with a combination of intrigue- an unexpected yet interactive impression, that was both individual (personal touch with me and our team) and big (co-branded with the large event) as we distributed the most valuable mass giveaway of the conference.