One of the biggest challenges of Millennial watching is discerning what differences between younger and older age cohorts are likely to be truly generational differences and which are simply due to age? Only time will tell of course. But it doesn’t stop us from speculating which of the categories and decisions they are making now will carry over later in life.
Case in point: Wine drinking. WineSpiritDaily.com reported earlier this week that young adults (21-31) in France are drinking less wine than ever before, but drinking more beer and spirits.
- Many French millennials consider wine to be a drink for older people.
- Some French millennials simply do not like the taste of wine. In fact, when they did drink it, most said they preferred sweet white wines such as muscat, moelleux, or Sauternes.
- Also, good wine tends to be too expensive while beer is cheaper.
- (Surprisingly), many of the young French adults said wine is confusing.
Only one of the top five reasons appears to be potentially generational: a strong anti-alcohol movement in effect in France since 1991 has impacted wine consumption disproportionately and led some young consumers to steer clear of wine altogether. The study’s recommendations to help boost France’s domestic wine industry (enhancing wine education and culture in schools and universities offering smaller bottles on-premise and making labels more colorful) are unlikely to impact this trend.
As you look at consumption or usage differences among younger people, it is a good idea to ask whether any observable changes are truly generational, or something they may ‘grow out of’.
Last week I had the pleasure of listening to three Millennials participate in a panel discussion about new media. The setting was as trendy as the topic, the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York. The audience was ANA members gather to discuss “Innovations in Marketing”. The panel was impressive, brand managers from Mercedes, Unilever and Lincoln Financial.
But their answers to questions about their media use sent a collective chill through the room. They don’t watch TV other than NCAA Finals. They don’t see online advertising thanks to blocking software. They don’t want ads on their mobile devices, facebook pages or IM. They don’t even like ads.
This should not be news to anyone. However, it was shocking coming from Millennial Marketers. They seemed as stumped as the moderator as to how marketers could reach them most effectively. Ah…..with relevant content?
Reaching Millennials with messages they want to hear, in the format they want to hear it is going to be a challenge!
