I recently finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s best selling book, Eat Pray Love. The book chronicles Gilbert’s literal and figurative spiritual journey toward a deeper relationship with God, but never actually reveals which if any religion speaks to her yearning. Gilbert, a Gen X’er, seems to have a lot in common with Gen Y.
New data released this week from Pew Research on Millennials and religion quoted in USA Today, Denver Post and elsewhere, says one in four Millennials (25%) do not identify with any one faith, instead describing their religion as “atheist,” “agnostic” or “nothing in particular.” This level of non-affiliation is much than was seen for other generations at the same age.
At the same time, the Pew study reveals that spirituality among young adults is undiminished. “Members of today’s Millennial generation, ages 18 to 29, are as likely to pray and believe in God as their elders were when they were young.” This leads them to conclude in their headline: “Young Adults ‘Less Religious,’ Not Necessarily ‘More Secular‘.”
There is other evidence to support the conclusion that the issue is more one of lack of affiliation than a lack of faith in God. A survey of Millennials reported in New Yorker magazine last year found that 43% of Gen Y believes they are ‘as religious’ or ‘more religious’ than their parents. A Marist Institute poll shows over three in ten Millennials define their primary long-term life goal in religious terms (“To be spiritual and close to God”). That figure was higher than for any other age group.
What makes this lack of affiliation especially intriguing to me is that in many other areas of their lives, Millennials are inclined to go along with their parents’ choices.
Within the 25% who are unaffiliated, nearly three quarters were raised in a religious faith tradition and dropped away. This makes faith the outlier as far as decisions that break with their parents. Recall that this is the first generation that as a rule likes their parents and even thinks of their parents as their ‘best friend’.
- 86% say they share their parents political views.
- Every single student in my Principles of Marketing class raised their hand last week when I asked who banks where their parents bank.
- According to an AARP survey, 41% of Millennials with cars drive the same brand of car their parents drive or have driven.
- The American Savings Council found 71% of Gen X’ers and Gen Y’ers turn to their parents for financial advice.
So why make the break here, over something as important as faith?
I think has to do with the strength of the Millennial subculture and its strong, shared ethical values than a fundamental change in their belief in God.
The Gen Y subculture is astonishingly ethical, both in values and in practice. ’Bad behavior’ on a variety of social dimensions from pregnancy to crime to drugs are all down among young adults. Socially, Millennials prize tolerance as a result of their inherent diversity. They are significantly more socially liberal than their parents on issues of marriage, abortion, interracial dating. Millennials are less inclined to believe that church affiliation is necessary to be a ‘good person’. According to a Marist Institute poll, 56% have donated money to a charity in the past six months and 67% have volunteered their time.
I’ll go out on a limb here and speculate that some of the lack of affiliation is due to a desire for ‘authenticity.’ The Gen Y subculture is unusually sensitive to phoniness. It’s unlikely they will go through the motions of attending church just because it is ‘the thing to do’ if they have questions about their own sincerity.
In the final analysis, reaching Millennials and getting them to re-affiliate with any one ‘religion’ may be unrealistic as a ‘marketing objective’.
Gen Y is accustomed to choices, and there is some evidence they may feel confined by a denominational label. In December I noted that Millennials are ‘auditioning’ faiths the same way they would look for a college, a spouse or other major decision (“For Millennials Belief Is A Choice“). This represents a huge generational shift and as with so many other Gen Y trends, may start to migrate into the thinking of other age groups. The Pew research shows that like Millennials, most Americans are embracing ‘multiple faiths’, with beliefs that do not ‘ fit conventional categories’.
Ten days ago, Coke released a video for its ‘Open Happiness’ campaign that it hopes will become a global viral sensation. The video, titled “Happiness Machine” has so far had over 1,110,000 Youtube viewings. The effort is part of a global effort on the ‘Open Happiness’ theme that includes other social media efforts, including teams sent all over the world to identify ’stories of happiness’.
Here is how Mediapost described the effort last week.
The video, shot on the Queens, N.Y., campus of St. John’s University, concludes with a title asking: “Where will happiness strike next?” and a message encouraging viewers to “Share the happiness, share the video.”
A.J. Brustein, global senior brand manager, Coca-Cola, says the video was conceived as a way to connect with teens and young adults outside of TV ads and online games. “We wanted to give them something that would spread a bit of happiness and something they could pass on to their friends to keep the happiness flowing,” he sums up.
Coke acknowledges that the effort is an experiment and future videos will depend on the success of this one.
So I asked my MBA students for their opinion via our class blog, whether or not this is a good approach for a powerful brand like Coke to use to connect with younger drinkers? Three out of four liked it and thought it was a great effort. Nearly all said it had viral potential. They especially enjoyed the essential kindness of delighting others without expecting anything in return. Here’s a sample of what they had to say.
Kathryn: “This video was an absolute delight to watch. I could not help smiling throughout the whole thing! Without getting far too philosophical, I think our society has somewhat forgotten that a small deed of good and happiness has powerful ramifications for people and how they feel. This campaign plays on that emotion very nicely, and in a way that connects that feeling with the product. Free Coke in a fun way = Happiness.”
Jack: “I think this campaign from coke is a great strategy for connecting with consumers. From an imaginative stand point I think it would be hard for someone to watch this video without wondering what else they were passing out, how they rigged that machine, or if they were going to do it again (hopefully at Notre Dame).”
Lindsay: “I enjoyed this commercial. It’s heartwarming to see how the unexpected presence of simple, pleasant things—extra cokes, pizza, flowers, balloon animals—can bring people together. It’s fun to watch a shared laugh become a celebration.”
Matt: “Coke = Good! (or happy) That’s all I could think of after watching this commercial… I think it does a great job of spreading the happiness vibe that Coke is trying to convey, particularly when you see the huge smiles of all of the college student’s faces. I think the video will go ‘viral’. It has that ‘wow’ factor that a lot of people (I know a lot of my friends will) share on social websites like facebook or twitter. Pure entertainment always sells. Go Coke! Keep entertaining me! I like it!”
Katie: “Loved it! The premise reminded me of a funnier version of the Liberty Mutual ads from a couple years ago – the ones showing people helping out strangers and other people seeing the “good Samaritanism” and in turn helping out someone themselves. I think that “feel good” aspect can really go far in our society…”
Suzy: “Super fun video! I think Coke did a great job creating an enjoyable, happy sentiment amongst viewers – a sentiment that can easily be associated with their brand after watching the clips and reactions of students.”
Robert: “The gratitude of the random act of kindness is innate in most of us, and this ad taps into that about as well as a large company could ever hope to. I am not cynical about this being unable to convince people to buy, no doubt in my mind this will have a significant impact on the buying habits of shoppers unconsciously.”
This effort reminds me of VW’s recent “FunTheory” viral campaign in its simplicity and appeal. The “Piano Stairs” video has already experienced over 10 million views on YouTube. Given the relatively low cost of production and media, if the Coke video is as successful, I think we can expect to see other big brands follow suit. It certainly isn’t a replacement for an ad campaign but offers a great way to amplify the message via social media.
Sample Twitter Stream Today:
JamesKChou: I have greater respect for Conan O’Brien - http://bit.ly/5YBDmp#Conan #obrien #nbc #leno
ChrisTashima: NBC is so spineless. They really need to get over Leno – the rest of the country has. This is embarrassing.
DmitrySocial: Conan has become the web’s fastest rising brand..why would he want to stay on TV and risk irrelevance?! http://post.ly/IjQl
DrewFromNY: If you don’t think #Conan is funny, read his 2000 Class Day speech at Harvard. http://www.allowe.com/Humor/book/COBspeech2k.htm
DavidInIndy: #Conan *actually* put the Tonight Show on Craigslist: Here’s the link http://bit.ly/4SJkSB Love it! #teamconan
Conan O’Brien may reach Millennial icon status as a result of NBC’s decision to favor Leno over O’Brien for the coveted 11:35 Tonight Show slot.
As the New York Times put its, “They may not have watched (O’Brien’s) “Tonight Show” regularly — or at all — but boy, are they angry now.” According to the Times, Mr. O’Brien fell short in NBC’s attempt to gain younger viewers at 11:35 p.m., yet he is by far the favorite in online viral buzz and voting. There are petitions, Facebook pages, “I’m with CoCo T-shirts, and a steady Twitter stream of support for ‘CoCo’. Sentiment is said to be running 50:1 for O’Brien over NBC/Leno.
Why now, with all the other news in this currently very heavy news cycle (Haiti, China/Google, McGwire) has this story managed to mobilize so many young adults?
I’ll hazard a few hypotheses:
1. NBC’s decision violates Gen Y’s sense of fair play. Leno’s failure in prime time was not O’Brien’s fault. He is the victim of others’ poor decisions, not unlike Millennials themselves.
2. O’Brien acted in a classy way. He didn’t overreact, he maintained his dignity and acted gracefully. His open letter to the “people of the earth” seemed reasonable and honest. “The most-recommended comment about NBC on nytimes.com read, “I haven’t been a fan of Conan’s show but this letter is complete class.” Johnny Carson, a former long-running “Tonight” host, “would be very proud,” the commenter added. “I’m a fan now.”
3. O’Brien fills a vacuum. I’ve commented before that as a generation, Millennials have surprisingly few ‘iconic’ celebrity brands. Yes, there’s Colbert, Stewart and Lady GaGa. But who else?
4. The imbroglio is tailor-made for social media. In my class this week, we speculated how much faster the whole New Coke episode might have unraveled if it had happened in the era of the social graph. The speed with which Gen Y has mobilized word of mouth in support of O’Brien is testament to their facility with the tools of digital social influence.
5. Leno is “so Boomer.” Let’s face it, Leno isn’t coo;, he’s the guy your parents watch(ed).
6. O’Brien is genuinely funny. Millennials love to laugh and this has provided Conan with an opportunity to shine. It’s his moment and he’s making the most of it.
What have I missed?
Source: CDC/NCHS National Health and Nutrition Study
On two occasions in the past year, when remarking on my observations about Millennials and their evolved food preferences, I was challenged by senior executives who quite reasonable asked, ‘If Millennials are so much more sophisticated about their food choices, shouldn’t it follow that they are less obese?” On both occasions I had no ready answer.
Are Millennials healthier than previous generations, or is all the talk about fresh and nutritious foods, gourmet tastes and healthy lifestyles, just that: talk?
The data to address this question is surprisingly hard to find. There is a lot of research on kids and obesity, but adults tend to be lumped together by the CDC and other government health reporting groups. Now, just in time for New Year’s Resolutions, I have the answer, thanks to my new Twitter friend, Rick McGuire, a writer and expert on health and medical issues. He provided a link to a 600+ page report with the intimidating title, “Health, United States, 2008, with a special feature on the Health of Young Adults.” This report draws on a wide variety of sources to paint a most comprehensive picture, based on what I can only call ‘a ton of data’.
Unfortunately, the trends suggest the opposite of what I would have predicted: Gen Y, defined as young adults 18-29, are less active and more obese than earlier generations.
“The proportion of young adults 18–29 years of age who were obese more than tripled from 8% in 1971–1974 to 24% in 2003–2004.”
“Nearly two-thirds of young adults did not have regular leisure-time physical activity and three-quarters did not report strength-training at least twice a week.”
Beyond obesity, there are other reasons to be concerned about the Millennial generation’s health. Overall, the report makes for alarming reading. The statistics on risk factors such as cigarette smoking, drug and alcohol use, unmarried pregnancy, and infectious disease rates among 18-29 year olds all suggest a generation who’s health is in serious danger. These facts are not well understood and important to consider as country is about to take on the enormous challenge of insuring a greater proportion of the population.
Alcohol: “Trends in heavy drinking remained constant for both men and women during the period, with about 6%–8% of young men and 3%–5% of young women reporting heavy drinking. Heavy drinking is defined as more than 14 drinks per week for men and more than seven drinks per week for women, on average. One-fifth reported 5 or more drinks in a day on at least 12 days in the past year.”
Illicit Drugs: “Almost 40% of young adults 18–20 years of age, about one-third of 21–25 year-olds, and one-quarter of 26–29 year-olds reported using an illicit drug in the past year.”
Tobacco: “In 2006, nearly 30% of young adults were current cigarette smokers. Between 1997 and 2006, the current smoking rate declined nearly 20% among young adult women but did not decline significantly among young adult men.”
Sex: “Twenty-one percent of women reported forced sexual intercourse before age 30.”
HPV: “45% of women age 20–24 years tested positive for HPV infection.”
Overall Health: “Eighteen percent of young women and 12% of young men reported at least one of six selected serious health conditions in 2004–2006, and 4%–5% of young women and young men reported overall fair or poor health or an activity limitation due to a chronic health condition.”
Mental Disorders: “An estimated 7% of young adults 20–29 years of age had a diagnosis of major depression in the past 12 months. 9% of young adults 20–29 years of age had one or more of these three illnesses major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or panic disorder) in the past 12 months. Young women (11%) were almost twice as likely as young men (6%) to have major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or a panic disorder in the past 12 months.”
Unmarried Pregnancy: “Between 1990 and 2005, the proportion of births that are to unmarried women was highest for women under age 20. Between 1990 and 2005, the proportion of births to unmarried women rose from 66% to 84% for women age 18 years, from 58% to 77% for women age 19, from 37% to 56% for women age 20–24, and from 18% to 29% for women age 25–29.”
Health issues and health care are likely to be the single biggest issue of Gen Y’s lives. Already, the desire to maintain work-related benefits is contributing to keeping them in place on the job, according to a report by Fidelity (“Gen Y Workers Under Financial Stress Value Their Benefits”). Although they are healthier than older adults, young adults are still subject to chronic diseases, activity limitations, and death, and need health care for various reasons. As this report points out, however, “they are the age group least likely to have health insurance, and when they do need health care, they experience problems accessing the health care system.”
Looking ahead, the cost of health care overhaul will mostly be borne by Gen Y. The single biggest thing they can do to keep the overall cost of health care down in the future is to change the choices they make now. It’s a new year and a new decade. Let’s hope for their sakes Gen Y makes a resolution to take the health care debate and their own health care seriously.
If you are a food marketer trying to figure out the 18-25 year old market, you won’t want to miss what’s been happening this week at The Next Great Generation blog (#TNGG on Twitter). All week has been ‘Food Week’. A dozen young bloggers have contributed personal and revealing essays on how they think about food. Think “Slate-magazine-meets-market-research-community” and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Studies have shown there has been a generational shift in the way young adults relate to food. They were exposed to better food at home, in restaurants and through travel with their Boomer and Gen X parents. In their lifetimes, there has been an explosion in new tastes from greater accessibility to ethnic foods, TV cooking shows, specialty food stores, and not but certainly not least, Internet how-to and recipe sites. There was no Food Channel when I was learning to cook. I am embarrassed to admit how much Velveeta I ate in college. (Velveeta is shelf-stable in case you didn’t know.). I never met a garlic clove or realized salad dressing didn’t have to come in a bottle until graduate school.
Here are some of the highlights of this week’s experiment at TTNG relevant to food marketers. Think of it as an early Christmas present:
Cooking and Shopping
Matthew Nolet, “Cooking From a Book is So Last Century” “Like so many of my generation and beyond, I believed that the art of cooking was best left to others: parents, professionals, and McDonalds. However, when the moment of edible reality hit me, I found myself completely overwhelmed by cups, teaspoons, garlic, and French culinary vocabulaire. It was the confidence of Bobby Flay, the simplicity of Rachel Ray, and the “how-to” approach of Alton Brown that brought me and so many others back from the brink of dietary disaster. With the invention of the cooking show and the celebrity chef, the process of cooking, baking, and assembling meals has moved from being simply a domestic exercise into an expression of creativity, devotion, and skill. The secrets of souffles, emulsions and sauces no longer escape or confuse us. By following our favorite television chefs, we have been able to discover the ability within ourselves to create great works of delicious art. As a result, we have found ourselves with a new form of celebrity. Fandom is no longer reserved simply for athletes and movie stars. The celebrity chef now holds a devoted spot within the American psyche and television channel listing. Their restaurants are packed nightly and their faces are recognizable. Top Chef makes chefs into celebrities. The Next Food Network Star makes the everyman into a chef into a star. Food now fulfills a larger role than simply as sustenance; it is entertainment and it is impressive. As a result, food and the creation thereof is now “cool” and a highly desirable skill amongst the general masses. Now almost four years later and hundreds of Food Network episodes later, I enjoy cooking for a biweekly dinner involving close friends where we try new recipes, new techniques, and chastise each other for both our failures and successes.”
Zoe Meeran, “Cooking by Nose” “Like many of my friends I don’t grocery shop particularly often, and certainly not in the middle of the week. When I do go to the store, I buy foods that I can use in more than one dish. Vegetables, lemons, ground beef. Most of the time, I just don’t think to plan out my meals, but in addition to that I’ve always been an innovator. My love affair with Top Chef has me wondering what I can whip up using vegetable stock, corn and black bean salsa, spices, and only one hand (tortilla soup – GO!). I like the challenge of combining unexpected flavors – if, for example, you haven’t tried watermelon and balsamic vinegar, put the laptop down and head to your local farmer’s market now.”
Food Brand Loyalty and Lovemarks
Dan Rosenberg, “My Cheatin’ Heart” “When given the choice between two parity brands, love can only go so far. And I’m not alone. There are a precious few who really won’t accept Pepsi instead of Coke, or will pay that extra dollar and cross the street to go to McDonalds instead of Burger King. If you want to get an all-things-equal-and-controlled study of brand loyalty, go to the corner of Boylston and Tremont Streets in Boston where a Starbucks and a Dunkin Donuts are separated by no more than a 50-foot stretch of asphalt. Here, you’ll see the hipsters and theatre-goers choose which brand of coffee gives them the buzz they love…A competitors discount, a picky friend or even the wafting smell of burritos in the wind can lure me away from the brands I claim to love. Man is a fickle beast, and my dolla-dolla billz have no discretion. But certain brands have a stronger hold than others. Everyone has their preferences, but they also have the brands that they choose to define themselves by: their “My” brands. Much in the way Miley shouts “they’re playing my jam” about the Jay-Z song that made her butterflies fly away, these are the brands that do everything right. When interacting with these brands, everything becomes right in the world. If I had to pick, my “My” brands would include Tropicana Orange Juice and Heinz Ketchup. They’re delicious and remind me of home, but I’ve cheated on them too. Damned if it doesn’t leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.”
Pizza
David Ricaud, “Sex and Pizza” “Could pizza be what unites generation Y with its predecessors? Sex. Entitlement. Self-involvement. To me, these are the three qualities that other generations use to set themselves apart from millennials. The boomers think we are oversexed (maybe we are!) and undervalue some inherent meaning to sexual relations. Gen-Xers, the slackers, say we feel a sense of entitlement to good grades and great jobs. And they all think we are self-focused and value careers over friends and family. “You kids have no roots,” a 68-year-old New Yorker said to me. Pizza, though, connects us to the slackers, reformed hippies, and WWII heroes. At dinner, my gen-X brothers, my baby boomer parents, and my great generation grandmother show the same appreciation for this simple triangular delicacy. Dough, mozzarella, and tomato sauce form a timeless American classic—one that, even when we judge our children and grandchildren, will continue to unite us all.”
Bottled Water
Melanie Wong, “I’m Sorry This Water Is Reserved for Special People “Voss water is only available in some specialty stores, namely in Whole Foods. An admirer of good minimalist design, a bottle of Voss water costs around $3.14 plus tax. If I was to consumer just one bottle a day, that would amount to $1,146.10 a year. A thousand dollars a year on a small bottle of water in a glass. What insanity! But look at the bottle, with its sleek, elegant design. The embossed “VOSS” lettering on the bottle with a silver screw on top. With my love for gray and minimalist design, Voss water is my savior in a world of strange colors and comic sans lettering.Bottled water in any form also carries an image in each of their bottles. Fiji and Evian carry a sense of exotic faraway-ness that watch and car companies also embody. Aquafina, the official sponsor of the MLB carries a pure, water-for-athletes image that may appeal to people who are more active. Companies place stronger brand identity to everyday items like bottled water than products that speak for themselves like Midol, Kleenex, or Crayola. This branding effort does not go unnoticed for marketing majors like myself. I want to become one with the luxury and exoticism of Fiji and Voss water, because carrying around bottles of water with a brand, associates myself with it.
Eating Healthy
Adam Di Stefano, “Toxic Foods” “My previous eating habits were fairly representative of my generation, but they are without a doubt a function of our lifestyle. In a world where fast food isn’t fast enough, we take shortcuts and it comes at a cost. If at my age I was already feeling the impacts of my food choices, I can only imagine what I would feel like in my 30s, 40s or 50s. I’m not alone in recognizing this, though. We’re in the midst of a fundamental shift in the way people perceive their relationship with food. The tail end of my generation is coming of age in a time where McDonald’s has salads on the menu, and Happy Meals come with apple slices. While our parents’ generation is the McDonald’s generation, we may well be remembered as the Whole Foods generation. We have the motivation. We’ve witnessed what a generation that grew up in the golden age of fast food has led to: record levels of obesity and cardiac problems being the number one killer in North America. A generation ago, a vegan, or an organic farmer was a hippie, a fringe character. Now, they may not be the majority, but they’re mainstream minorities. We’re a generation that understands food labels. We know what organic means. We’ve turned movies like Supersize Me and Food Inc. into blockbusters.With every passing day, more and more Gen-Yers are going to come to the same conclusion I did, that we need to stop treating our bodies like dumpsters, and change the way we interact with food. Gen-Y is the generation that is going to reclaim our relationship with food as being sacred. No more toxic junk. Bring on the real food.”
Kristin Fritz, “The Real Risks of Real Food” “My mom has never used a crock-pot or Hamburger Helper. She never served Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and is proud that my brother and I were exposed to different foods growing up. The most exciting part about getting my first apartment was the kitchen and not having to rely on a dining hall anymore. I proudly adopted some of my mom’s cooking habits while discovering a few tricks of my own. Even so, my skills need improvement, so it’s nice to know I can call home when a question comes up. Food awareness is a popular trend right now. With the movie release of Food Inc. and Jonathan Safran Foer’s new book, Eating Animals, it’s evident that more people today care about where their favorites foods come from.In order to lead a more proactive lifestyle I’ve decided to pay more attention to what I eat. Whether at home prepping dinner or at a restaurant I believe it’s smart to carefully consider food options before taking that big bite.”
Colby Gergen, “Fast Food Frenzy “I’ve managed to hide my fast food fiendings from my pantry so far. I don’t think it suspects a thing. …The problem is, I don’t want to leave my pantry. It’s been great to me. And for everyone else. I feel great when I spend time with it, my friends dolphin, deer, and eagle all thank me, and the buttons on my jeans get along great with my pantry. Sure, I may not always enjoy it. There are definitely times when I’ve been with my pantry but thinking about Wendy (or Sonic, the Queen, Colonel, etc). But even when I stray, I always come back to my pantry. I know that it will always be there. As a whole, we have a rock solid relationship. There’s a future, a long one, with my pantry. I don’t see that long of a future when I’m with the King (or the Bell, Five Guys, Hardee, and so on). So I stay true, for the most part, to my pantry. I know that in the long run, I’ll be better for it. Even if there are some rough batches, err, patches.”
Online Delivery
Mariam Shahab, “Enough of the Paper Menus” “We’ve matured from the days of ramen noodles satisfying our mere hunger pangs, and upgraded to relying on delivery to satiate our palates. When searching for food delivery, one-stop shop sites like Campusfood, Delivery.com and Grub Hub have marked their territory. Since we’re all hyper-connected but shy of actually speaking on our phones, online delivery is a natural fit for my generation. A run-down of the big players in the race for the delivery game:
- Campusfood.com attests itself as the largest virtual food court in the country with a 2000 plus network of restaurants. Campusfood is also the savviest user of cultivating relationships with their customer base. They created a Facebook app called Food Friendzy based on the idea that playing online games and sharing the app can lead to wining free food.
- Grub Hub has occupied the green food delivery site niche: they buy carbon offsets on all orders and make it simple to decline extras (i.e. – plastic utensils and paper napkins).
- Delivery.com centers itself based on efficiency and convenience. The site saves your favorite restaurants and previous orders for simpler reordering.
There’s much more on the TTNG site, about Ben and Jerry’s, about binge eating, dieting (different article thank goodness), the coolness of healthy foods as well as the full articles on the topics above. Check it out.
With insights this good, marketers can only hope they tackle adult beverages next!
In their October report, “The Millennial Muddle: How Stereotyping Students Became an Industry”, the Chronicle of Higher Education provides this scathing assessment of the ’experts’ that have sprung up to discuss Gen Y:
Everyone in higher education has pondered “the Millennials,” people born between 1982 and 2004 or thereabouts (the years themselves are a subject of debate). Ever since the term went prime time about a decade ago, a zillion words have been written about who Millennials are, how they think, and why they always _______________. In short, Millennials talk is contagious. Those who have shaped the nation’s understanding of young people are not nearly as famous as their subjects, however. That’s a shame, for these experts are colorful characters in their own right. Some are scholars, and some aren’t. Many can recall watching the Beatles on a black-and-white television, and some grew up just before Barney the purple dinosaur arrived. Most can entertain an audience, though a few prefer to comb through statistics….They are products of their time. In an era when the wants of young consumers have become a fixation for colleges and businesses alike, these unlikely entrepreneurs have fed a world with a bottomless craving for labels.
Unfortunately, it is true there is no agreement on precisely where to draw the line between Millennials and Gen X, and even less agreement on when the Millennial generation ends.
Gen Y’er, Blake Sunshine, has a special tab on her blog, “The Perrennial Millennial” to deal with the issue, but concludes the answer is fuzzy, somewhere beginning around 1980. Even Wikipedia concedes, “there are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends.”
Many experts when making presentations about Millennials feel compelled to begin by defining what is meant by the label, which is itself an indication the term is fuzzy. (The same is true of presentations about ‘brands’, but that is a subject for another day!) For the record, here how a few of the leading thinkers define Gen Y:
- Don Tapscott, author, “Grown Up Digital“: 1977-1997
- Kit Yarrow & Jayne McConnell, authors, “Gen BuY“: 1978-2000
- Morley Winograd & Michael Hais: authors, “Millennial Makeover“: 1982-2003
Suzanne Kart features a cool infographic today by McCrindle Research on her blog, GenXpert (click on the graphic to enlarge). I love the way this defines the generations and provides some key statistics for each – size, life expectancy at birth, age at marriage and first child, % of work force. The real take away here is that demographics matter and each generation leaves a distinct footprint. Whether the cut off between Gen X and Gen Y is 1978 or 1980 is really beside the point — there will always be gray transition years. In the end, what matters is how an individual identifies themselves.
Gen Y is famously averse to labels of any kind, and especially the label ‘Gen Y’. They consider it ’stereotyping’. As individuality and choice are core values for young adults today, this aversion is understandable.
Yet marketers need ways to group people. Gender and age are generally the first of many prioritizing cuts, because they known to be associated with real differences in attitudes, lifestyle, media consumpton and consumer behavior. Generational segmentation takes this profiling one step further, but is by no means the only, or final step, in any target audience definition. Other factors such as category use, income, and lifestage, that take into account Gen Y’s wonderful diversity are also critical. (See “Gen Y to Marketers: All Millennials Are Not the Same“)
A generational portrait, such as the one I paint in the presentation below, is useful because it provides ’color’. It can bring a target alive to those who are trying to influence it to do something - to watch, to buy, to donate, to vote, to volunteer, to read. Relevance is the most critical part of any communication. Understanding generational values increases the chance you will say something relevant, or at least say it in a relevant way.
Millennials: A Generational Portrait
Smart marketers are waking up to the fact that people under age thirty are a ‘Blue Ocean’ opportunity today and a critical target of the future. They are recognizing that Millennials have some distinctive characteristics that are good place to start in developing meaningful products, services and communications.
It’s the last three weeks of December and Christmas, at least in America, is unavoidable. Everywhere you look there are lights, parties, gifts, shopping, music and wishes for a Merry Christmas. For Millennials, it appears, Christmas is a time of introspection, as there have been several articles and blog posts lately about the difficulty of making religious choices.
The concept of religion as a personal choice is a generational shift. My generation did not think of religious belief as a choice. You were Catholic, Jewish, Presbyterian or Baptist, just like your parents. But young people today take a more conscious approach to faith. As my 15-year old son put it, “If I were born in a Hindu family, I’d be Hindu”. The implication being that religion should be a considered choice, not something that happens by ‘luck of the draw’. Adam DiSefano writes today, in The Next Great Generation blog, that for Millennials, it’s hard to know ‘how to choose the correct religion’:
“Nearly every major religion preaches that it is the one true religion. If there’s only one true religion, what happens to all the people who don’t subscribe to it? Do they rot in hell just because they chose the wrong religion? I was baptized Roman Catholic. I went to Church and Sunday School most weeks until I was eight. I was Roman Catholic because that was all I knew. There was no other choice. In the sixth grade, I had a class that aimed to teach us about morality and religions from around the world. One day, the teacher said something that stuck with me: “Religion is a choice. You can choose your religion….It used to be that if your parents were Catholic, you were Catholic, end of story. Religion had a captive audience. Now, we have a choice. We’re shopping around for the best religion, and you know what? We can’t pick a winner. We’re paralyzed by choice, and so, we decide that maybe we don’t need organized religion after all.”
No choice appears to be the choice of a large number of Millennials. According to research by Lifeway.com, “70 percent of young adults ages 23-30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22.” Paul Eulette wrote in October for his blog, “QuarterLifeMagazine” that when young adults reach college, ”the support of the “family atmosphere” is gone and now young adults of Generation Y are having to realize the need to make these decisions for themselves for the very first time.”
Young adulthood today seems to be a time of auditioning different beliefs. Adam reports that he is still in the process of deciding what he believes:
“Today, I don’t consider myself a Catholic. I meditate and have dabbled in Yoga, but hesitate to call myself a Buddhist. After all, I don’t believe in reincarnation. I have issues with organized religion in general, but still consider myself a spiritual person. I do good in a way that’s consistent with my own values, as they’ve been defined by my parents, my friends, social norms and my personal experiences. But as for a label, I haven’t chosen one yet.”
In this respect, as in so many others, Millennnials appear to be on the vanguard of a trend.
New research released today by Pew shows most Americans are embracing ‘multiple faiths’, with beliefs that do not ‘ fit conventional categories’. Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72%) say they attend religious services at least a few times a year, including 38% who say they attend at least once a week. Among those who attend religious services at least once a week, nearly four-in-ten (39%) say they attend at multiple places and nearly three-in-ten (28%) go to services outside their own faith. In other words, most church going americans are a lot like Adam DiStefano — they like to mix it up and avoid a ‘label.’ A surprisingly high number of Americans, say they believe in reincarnation, ghosts and fortune tellers. Three fourths say they communicate with the dead.
“Though the U.S. is an overwhelmingly Christian country, significant minorities profess belief in a variety of Eastern or New Age beliefs. For instance, 24% of the public overall and 22% of Christians say they believe in reincarnation — that people will be reborn in this world again and again. And similar numbers (25% of the public overall, 23% of Christians) believe in astrology.
Nearly three-in-ten Americans say they have felt in touch with someone who has already died, almost one-in-five say they have seen or been in the presence of ghosts, and 15% have consulted a fortuneteller or a psychic.
Twenty-three percent (23%) believe in yoga not just as exercise but as a spiritual practice. Similar numbers profess belief in elements of New Age spirituality, with 26% saying they believe in spiritual energy located in physical things such as mountains, trees or crystals, and 25% professing belief in astrology (that the position of the stars and planets can affect people’s lives).
Fewer people (16%) believe in the “evil eye” or that certain people can cast curses or spells that cause bad things to happen to someone.”
The desire to avoid a label and celebrate diversity is characteristic of Gen Y. What I find especially fascinating is how this characteristic appears to be migrating into other age groups. The trend toward embracing broader spiritual views appears to be well underway. Half of Americans (49%) say they have had “a religious or mystical experience – that is, a moment of religious or spiritual awakening.” According to Pew, this represents a sharp increase over the past four decades. In 1962, only 22% of Americans reported having had such an experience, which grew to about a third in 1976 (31%) and 1994 (33%). This seems to at least partly explain the current fascination in angels, demons, vampires, and other supernatural beings.
Will Millennials continue to forge a more individualistic spiritual path? Or return to a more conventional approach as they age? What do you think?
2009 “Cyber Monday” sales exceeded last year by 14%, thanks to plenty of deals and rising consumer confidence. Consumers bought nearly 30% more items per order this year versus last year, and 10% more items per order online than they did in stores on Black Friday.
Based on consumer survey data from Mintel (Online Shopping US May 2009), it’s safe to say Millennials played a role in the surge in online shopping last week. Compared to older age groups, people 34 and under are more likely to shop online. While overall they may not have the spending power of older consumers, their willingness to shop online makes them disproportionately important to online retailers.
- . When presented with a list of 25 major online retailers, only 30% of those 18-24 years old and just 29% of those 25-34 years old say they have never purchased online from any of those listed; the comparable number of all other groups is 42% or higher.
- Amazon has the strongest penetration of all online retailers among Millennials. Forty-one percent of 18-24 year olds and 41% of 25-34 year olds have purchased from Amazon; every other age group is 32 % or lower.
- Millennials are more likely than older shoppers use the store to research, and online to buy. Thirty-seven percent of 18-24 year olds and 41% of 25-34 yearolds say they price comparison after a store visit. This compare to just 31% for 35-44 year olds and 32% for 45-54 year olds.
- Millennials are more likely to pay attention to online peer reviews. Sixty percent of 18-24 year olds and 60% of 25-34 year olds “read consumer feedback online about products or services before making a purchase” compared to just 55% for 35-44 year olds an 51% for 45-54 year olds.
Two factors hold Millennials back from doing even more shopping online.
First, many 18-24 year olds lack electronic payment ability. 40% of 18-24 year olds and 46% of 35-44 year olds say they prefer to do business with retailers that accept Pay Pal or another service they are signed up with. This is a higher level of agreement than for other age groups.
Second, many lack the funds to do much shopping, at all. According to a new Fidelity study, nearly two-thirds of Gen Y checks their balance before making a purchase of $300 or more. (“Recession Makes Gen Y More Conservative” 12.8.09)
“Over 70 percent (of those surveyed) are very concerned about their finances and have set the goal of daily money management and budgeting as their biggest focus. Most Gen Y individuals are using mobile technology to stay updated on their cash flow situations with 64 percent reporting that they typically check their balances online before making a purchase of $300 or more. On average, this younger generation holds over three credit cards with one fifth (20 percent) carrying a balance greater than $10,000 and one in four (25 percent) believing they will never be free of credit card debt during their lifespan.”
How can online retailers encourage young shoppers to spend online?
Although they are comfortable shopping online, the youngest Millennials (18-24) are the most careful shoppers. With money tight, it will come as no surprise that Gen Y is the age group most receptive to online coupons. According to IRI, 51% of 18-24-year-old shoppers indicate they would be very likely to use coupons presented to them online, the highest of any group. Mintel research shows that EBay enjoys the highest penetration of any age group among 18-34 year olds.
They want to deal with retailers they know and buy products they are familiar with. Of all the age groups studied by Mintel, they were the most likely to agree with these three statements:
I will only buy products from brands I am familiar with when shopping online
I will only make an online purchase if I am familiar with the product I am buying
I will only make an online purchase from a store I am familiar with
For marketers, this is a warning not to take young shoppers for granted. They like shopping online, but it may take more effort to convert them to buyers than older age groups. Brand familiarity, online reviews, online coupons, and the abilty to see the merchandise in store before buying will all be important to winning their business. They also like gift cards and are avid users of ‘wish lists’. Perhaps a strategy for reaching Millennials is to make it easy for them to let others know what they like.
Where you are will define who you are
A video conversation between digital marketing gurus, Simon Mainwaring and Rishad Tobaccowala caught my ear today. They were discussing the notion that for marketers, at least, “Where you are will increasingly define who you are“.
We were long ago untethered from our landline phones and TV sets. Now, with everyone connected everywhere / all the time, where you are does have a much greater importance and influence on what is relevant. Where you are and who you are with are relatively new factors for marketers to consider when creating communications.
Mainwaring puts it this way: “..suddenly, whether we’re in the office, a coffee shop, whether we’re at the beach, whether we’re at our friend’s house or outside the movies will have a huge impact on the type of information we share and the type of information we absorb or choose to listen to on behalf of brands.” Tobaccowala explains the marketing implications of mobility this way:
“I think where you are will play and increasingly bigger and bigger role in defining who you are…and what you are interested in particularly for marketers because mobility is where real time and social come together. You have companies like Four Square and a lot of others who are starting to leverage that. What it does mean for a marketer is to provide just in time utilities and services rather than advertising because you are open for certain things at a particular stage in time and that time increasingly will be defined by where you are located.”
A new multigenerational study from Motorola found the desire to be constantly connected knows no age limit. Millennials (80 percent), Gen Xers (78 percent) and Boomers (78 percent) are equal in their desire to be constantly connected. According to the report, connectivity is now more of a lifestyle issue, and being accessible at all times is seen as a necessity across generations (Millennials, 79 percent; Gen Xers, 64 percent; Boomers, 65 percent). It’s not only a necessity, it’s something they really like and enjoy. Rather than finding it stressful, many even find it ‘relaxing’:
The ability to connect wherever you are has become an essential component of daily life. In fact, seven in 10 Americans (70 percent) feel it’s “important for me to always be accessible,” and nearly eight in 10 (78 percent) feel they are constantly connected with family, friends and colleagues, regardless of physical location. This level of access gives Americans the freedom to better prioritize and blend different aspects of their lives. Rather than feel stifled by their constant availability, Americans admit that being connected makes them feel relaxed and confident.
In spite of their everyday use of technology, 70 percent of those surveyed are still excited by the ability to live a connected lifestyle and, regardless of where they are, have become reliant on the ability to access and share content, including video images, anytime, anywhere. Sixty-six percent of Americans expect to be able to access the same content no matter where they are.
While 24/7 connectivity is becoming a way of life for everyone, it has been true of Millennials for some time now. With their fluid sense of space and time, they reason, why do something in the office when it can be done just as well and more efficiently someplace else? Why spend time pre-researching a purchase when you can do on the spot? Why worry about gathering recommendations ahead of time when they are always available, in the moment?
According to Mainwaring, smart phones are becoming ‘the hub of our communications’. I know this is true for me. I rarely carry my laptop around anymore, now that I can surf, blog, tweet, and email from my iphone. Yesterday I stopped to get air in my tires, but was delayed unexpectedly when they found a nail in one of the tires. What normally would have been a wasted hour of inconvenience reading old magazines and watching CNN now barely made a ripple in my day. What kind of communication opportunity did that hour represent for a tire marketer? The mind races.
As a marketer, these are indeed exciting times.
No Goody Two Shoes?
Don’t let the body art fool you…. According to a new nationwide study released by the Girl Scouts USA, kids today are more upstanding than their counterparts 20 years ago.
-
62 percent surveyed in 2009 say they would not cheat on a test compared to about half in 1989.
-
58 percent say they would refuse an alcoholic drink if offered one at a party compared to 46 percent in 1989.
- Only 18 percent say they believe smoking is acceptable if a person finds it enjoyable. In 1989, more than a quarter thought smoking was acceptable.
- One third of teenagers say they intend to wait until they are married to have sex compared to less than a quarter (24 percent) in 1989.
- 59% percent of teenagers agree with the statement, “Gay and lesbian relationships are OK, if that is a person’s choice.” Only 31 percent agreed in 1989.
- 59 percent say that being around people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important to them. (This question was not asked in 1989.)
- Compared to 20 years ago, youth today are more likely to say they intend to vote in the future (84 percent vs. 77 percent),
- 76 percent say they will give to charity vs. 63 percent in 1989. Some 79 percent say they will volunteer in their communities.
The best news is that behavior seems to be lining up with reality. Teen births have dropped by almost a third since the beginning of the 1990s; drug use is down, voting is up. Pretty soon, adults will have nothing to complain about when they talk about “kids today!”
None of this will come as news to Wendy Shalit, author of a book I read last year, “Girls Gone Mild“ (which was recently republished as ”The Good Girl Revolution: Young Rebels with Self-Esteem and High Standards”). One of the more startling points in the book is that the mothers of many young women are more likely to be pushing their daughters to be more sexual than they themselves find comfortable. A New York Daily News op ed last summer she wrote in response to Miley Cyrus’ Vanity Fair appearance was titled “Why Miley Cyrus is Stripping Down As She Is Growing Up.” She wrote:
“Ironically, it’s Miley’s younger fans who are acting more mature. They are screaming not for stilettos and cleavage but to hear her inspirational hit “The Climb,” which encourages them to be themselves and “keep the faith.” Despite all the self-serving banter about her “taking the wheel” by disrobing, the truth is that a confident, modest Miley would be far more rebellious than a Miley who takes the usual route of pornification.”
What do you think? Are young people today more clean cut than their parents were?
