Consumers, Media, and AI Foundations

This unit examines how generational change, shifting media ecosystems, and the emergence of generative AI are reshaping consumer behavior and household technology. Students will investigate digitally native households, attention and diversity trends, and early AI household agents to prepare for applying strategic marketing and AI tools in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze similarities and differences among Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z by comparing at least five demographic, media, and technology-adoption factors and produce a 2-page written summary explaining implications for marketing decisions
• Evaluate the impact of media fragmentation, the creator economy, and decreasing attention spans on marketing reach and engagement by critiquing two real-world campaigns and scoring them against defined engagement metrics
• Demonstrate understanding of generative AI foundations by mapping the four layers of generative AI and three household AI examples (e.g., Rosie, Alexa, family chatbot) to specific marketing touchpoints in a single visual diagram
• Apply insights about digitally native households, early mobile access, increased diversity, and mental-health considerations to develop a one-page consumer persona and a 90-second elevator pitch for an inclusive marketing approach