PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a methodological approach to understanding key influencers of Millennials and other generational cohorts. The approach identifies adults' implicit consumer preferences based on their early childhood cultural experiences.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws from research in the area of generational studies, implicit psychological processing, and consumer preferences to propose a method of identifying and confirming key influencers of generational cohorts' implicit preferences.FindingsA more complete understanding of Millennials and other generational cohorts can be gleaned by complementing current methodological approaches with the one proposed in this paper.Research limitations/implicationsAs preliminary research has just begun using this model, additional research is needed to confirm the theoretical work and association between early childhood influencers and actual purchasing behaviors.Practical implicationsThe identification of early childhood influencers can be used by businesses for their current marketing strategies with Millennials and other generational cohorts or for product development/updates in anticipation of cohorts “aging into” target markets.Originality/valueThe approach proposed in this paper is innovative in its integration of generational cohort analysis with empirical approaches to measuring implicit consumer preferences.

Organizations are increasingly using social media to improve their internal communication. When successfully implemented, such initiatives can have a dramatic impact on internal efficiency, team collaboration, innovation, organizational alignment, and cultural transformation. This article describes a course offered by the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, on the use of social media for internal business communication that can be modified for Bachelor of Business Administration or Master of Business Administration students. The authors describe the pedagogy behind the course design, provide a course description, and discuss social media/ communication consulting projects conducted in the class.There has been an expansive growth in the use of social media to communicate in the business setting. According to a recent global survey by McKinsey (2013), 89% of companies reported using at least one type of social media in 2012, which increased from 72% the previous year. The most common use of social media was to facilitate internal communication (83%), followed by communication with customers (74%) and external partners (48%). These findings speak to the importance of developing scholarship and pedagogy on how businesses can use social media to enhance internal communication.

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