Of all the impacts of the Recession, the impact on Millennial attitudes and shopping behavior may be the most lasting.
There’s no question, Gen Y has been hit harder than other generations by the double whammy of fewer jobs and higher student loan debt. The result is a generation that is more consciously frugal and actively reconsidering the role of material possessions, luxury, sustainability, career in their lives.
The result may be a new Gen Y aesthetic, one that prizes minimalism and simplicity over luxury and status in the choice of homes, fashion, technology, travel and more.
A recent report by Price Waterhouse Coopers, “The New Consumer Behavior Paradigm: Permanent or Fleeting“, found there is a more careful approach to shopping and consumption across all generations, including Gen Y. Twenty-five percent of 18-27 year olds say their shopping behavior has ‘changed significantly’ and another 47% say it has changed somewhat.
“A more thoughtful approach to spending on luxury and non-discretionary goods is emerging. Shoppers are placing a premium on goods that exhibit qualities of timeliness, usefulness and versatility. Items that make shoppers feel like they are getting something that will hold its value for the money (rather than something that is going to go out of style next season or has limited, narrow usefulness) will be judged worth the investment. Shoppers also continue to look for goods that are “green” or sustainable and appear to be willing to pay a slight premium for green goods that also deliver a personal economic benefit—e.g., energy-saving light bulbs and appliances.”
My favorite source for culture trends is Tim Stock, professor of Design at Parsons School of Design in New York. This week he released a fabulous new presentation focused on the post-recession definition of ‘luxury’ and emerging ‘culture codes‘. According to Stock, “The recession left us acutely aware of the fallacies of finance and the need for sustainability.” At the same time “transparency is forcing us to confront the truths that lay behind the production of our favorite luxury goods.” (See 4.28.10 NYT article “Why does this pair of pants cost $550?” for more evidence.)
Stock’s “Recession Codes” presentation (see below) goes one to explain that not everyone is responding to these pressures the same way. He describes four different segments, Purists, Passport Posses, Guilted Lilies and Brand Heavies. Purists recast traditions in a new way while Passport Posses take a more irreverent stance toward fashion and luxury. Guilted Lilies embrace nature and shun all kinds of ostentation. Only the Heavies have a more traditional view of the meaning of brands. This is powerful stuff and I urge you to at least flip through the presentation.
While Stock doesn’t limit his analysis to one generation, Millennials in particular seem to be embracing the concept of ‘traveling light’ as a way of life.
Many Gen Y-targeted blogs and articles provide advice to others on how to live the frugal life, avoid debt and aim for experiences over stuff. A post from CollegeFashion.net provides “10 Recession Fashionista Tips”, including “Plan Plan Plan”, “Cut back on the frills”, and “write down your debt in a place you’ll see it every time you spend money”.
Whether by necessity or choice, minimalism appears to be the new ‘chic’.
Basics are in. (Sales of Levi’s are on the upswing).
Complexity and clutter are out. (The biggest complaint about the iPad appears to be that it doesn’t do enough to warrant buying a new device. Recycled and vintage are hot. Even the value of an elite education is increasingly being questioned.
Further evidence of the new minimalist aesthetic comes from a blog post last week by Matt Cheuvront, an influential Gen Y blogger and the voice behind “Life Without Pants“. He writes of a “Rising Trend of Minimalist Marketing“:
“The minimalist trend isn’t rising, it’s here, it’s everywhere around us. We’re living in a society that ultimately wants less. We’re condensing our wants to meet our needs – and in a world in which we are absolutely inundated and bombarded with information – we value simple and effective over flash and glamour… I was in the store the other day buying some shampoo and something obvious was staring back at me – gone are the days of the bright pink bottles with crazy typography that scream “look at me”. Now we’re seeing rows upon rows of simple, clean, white bottles with easy to read fonts and clear “messages” about what that product will do for me. Calls to action are clearer, messages are much less fuzzy, and everyone, even Vidal Sasoon, is buying into the minimalist approach.”
Will this trend last? According to Matt Cheuvront, minimalism is not the majority, but it is a growing trend for marketers. Many of the comments in response to his post seem to support the view that fewer gadgets, fewer things and more experiences are the way of the future.
“Minimalist living is something that resonates with me tremendously. I usually don’t get involved in predictions, but I think it’s safe to say that minimalism is here to stay. The thing that appeals to me about the whole thing is the simplicity. Everything stripped to the bare essentials. As a civilization we’ve gone to the extreme end of consumerism (at least in the Western countries) and are now realizing what’s really important.” – Henri J
“However you look at it, minimalism is SO appealing right now. People are sick of feeling overwhelmed. It’s a turn off. How do you appeal to people? Keep it simple. I think the future has simpler living in store with higher quality.” – Melissa G
“I’ve always been a big fan of minimalism in my life, globally, and is a part of all my decisions, particularly from an ecological perspective. I want as few packaged, processed, and plastic things in my life as possible. I live in a small space so that I’m not tempted by the suburban sprawl ethic of always getting more “stuff.” And once you get set in your more minimalist routine – life is a lot more comfortable. And I love seeing that minimalism of all varieties is becoming more mainstream.” – JennSutherland
“With regard to minimalism per se I think a lot of it has been forced by the current world economy which when, coupled with the likes of craigslist and ebay as a simple means to turn unwanted or unnecessary belongings into hard cash, has led people to decide whats important in their lives. I also think that the current economy has turned the traditional college-career-family trajectory right around. A LOT of people who were before totally career-driven (and therefore money-driven) have had that option taken away from them, not through choice, and instead have been forced to drive their energy and enthusiasm into other pursuits, such as enterprise and travelling (and blogging).”
“I am definitely seeing the minimalist marketing as a trend. I agree that as a society we are overwhelmed with information. I genuinely hope that this trend continues and I believe that it will. There is definitely a strong correlation with the “green” movement and the allure of minimalist marketing so I believe that this style of marketing will continue to grow.” - MelliMoore
This trend poses interesting challenges for marketers:
First and foremost they need to create functional products with fewer features, lower cost and lower environmental impact. Beyond this they must find new ways to make their brands meaningful and desirable now that anti-chic is the the new cool. One brand that seems to be ahead of the fashion so to speak is Urban Outfitters. A recent post on TheNextGreatGeneration.com blog explains the source of its appeal. Urban Outfitters creates a unique experience that mimics rummaging through a vintage shop in the East Village. How chic can you get?
I spent two exciting days at Ad:Tech in San Francisco’s Moscone Center last week, along with 11,000 other digital marketers. It was total immersion in the state of the advertising art, circa 2010. Needless to say Don Draper would not feel at home either on the exhibit floor or the speaker forums. It’s even a far cry from marketing as we knew it just ten years ago.
Interestingly, the exhibits were mostly about ‘Tech‘ while the speakers were mostly about ‘Ad’. It was as if two conferences were happening simultaneously.
First the ‘tech’. Digital technology means that ‘media’ is defined in a whole new way. It’s still about content, but that content is more targeted and interactive. A case study on the panel I moderated by Alloy Marketing (alloy.tv) and their client, LG Mobile, featured a series of 11 webisodes titled “Haute & Bothered“. The series generated so much comment thru different viral channels via YouTube, RockYou and Meez.com that it will soon begin a second season. Geoff Ramsey of EMarketer.com described a new kind of video from Coincident.tv where viewers can literally friend characters as the playing, as with this ‘hypertrailer’ for Glee. Coincident.tv has essentially developed an XML-based metadata framework dubbed Cue Point Language that makes it possible to add additional content, links or even various types of actions to any predefined point of a video.
Placement of media is also high tech. Advertising networks respond to advertiser queries in just 50 milliseconds, with the highest bidder winning exposure. The ads we see are determined by who we are, the context and what that viewing is ‘worth’ to those bidding. This targeting precision is something the Mad Men-era ad guys never dreamed of.
Finally, attention, interest, desire and action (the old AIDA model) can all happen simultaneously with digital media, so everything is measurable. We know what works instantly or close to instantly. As Sarah Fay of DMG Media, the owner of Ad:Tech, the iMedia Summits and the CMO Summits puts it, “Data is the New Black. Data management
is becoming ‘the’ key ingredient to planning and managing effective advertising program.”
On the ‘Ad’ side of ‘Ad:Tech’, creativity is center stage and ‘insights’ are the new strategy.
Ironically, creative ideas for digital advertising seem to be less about science and more about art. (In this respect, Don Draper would feel right at home!) It would appear that digital execution makes strategy, if not less important, certainly less connected to execution. Now, speed of execution is everything. In a world of instant results and low or no media cost, pre-testing is irrelevant. You can literally ‘just do it’. In his keynote, Jaime Cohen Szulc, CMO, Levi Strauss & Co. made this point explicit when he recommended strategy and execution be handled separately, by different agencies. His reasoning? Both have become ‘too complicated’ to be handled by one agency, it now takes an ‘agency network’, each ‘playing to position’ to create an effective campaign’.
I have been in marketing long enough to know that it takes both strategy and execution matter, and they work best when they work together. So I expect there to be a course correction sometime in the near future, with greater focus on both strategy and media technology. This may come sooner rather than later, once marketers realize there is little more incrementally to be gained from ever finer ways of optimizing media buys. Dynamic Logic, which has researched over 300 online campaigns for efficacy came to this conclusion in a recent report for the 4A’s. “When it comes to digital advertising, a lot of time is spent choosing Web sites, ad sizes, formats, targeting and other factors. Maximizing creative quality, is the foremost driver of ad effectiveness—even more important than targeting, ad size or ad format.”
Even in the new world of high tech advertising and media, ad effectiveness will still be determined by both media targeting and message relevance and likeability. Of the two, overall impact is determined more by the message than by targeting, even in digital media.
The (majority) opinion of my sophomore Marketing students regarding Facebook ads is that they are likely to be ignored. (April 12, “Millennials Skeptical About Facebook Ads“)
It’s not that ads aren’t welcome in social media, they just don’t register. Beyond just not getting attention, some students say Facebook ads can be a nuisance. In the words of student, George C, “The consumers’ tolerance for pestering advertisements on social networking sites is relatively small.”
The results of an intriguing research study by neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus, revealed Facebook ads can not only be effective, they can be more effective than TV advertisements.
The commercial tested was “Trip For Life,” part of VISA’s multimedia campaign built around the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Click here to see the ad tested) Neurofocus conducted these tests for its own research purposes, not because they were commissioned by the advertiser, which lends extra credibility to the findings. The results were surprising. Facebook ad placement outperformed the TV and web site performance on overall effectiveness, purchase intent (tied with TV), and messaging. The only place TV was a clear winner? Brand perception.
Intrigued, I asked my students a follow up question, “What companies, products, and services do you think would benefit from advertising on Facebook or MySpace.com?”
Not surprisingly, students were most likely to indicate apparel brands and retailers. Their reasoning: These brands are available online and already familiar to young adults. Other frequently mentioned categories were technology, educational institutions and movies/entertainment.
Alex I: “Companies or organizations that should consider advertising on Facebook and MySpace could include: Universities, employment websites such as Monster.com and clothing stores with online shopping capabilities such as Nordstrom and Nieman Marcus. A study done by the New York Times indicated that 45% of the individuals using social networking sites were also likely to make a majority of certain purchases such as clothing and electronics online as well.”
Katie H: “Food products and clothing retailers would be good companies to put their ads on the social sites. These products rely on ad frequency to remind people to purchase the goods. The clothing industry also uses positive peer advertising to get customers. When people see a clothing line on a social site that millions of their peers use, they will be more willing to purchase the products, too. Coke, American apparel, NIKE, Inc, and American Eagle have used Facebook and other social sites to advertise to their target markets.”
Nneka E: “Nike and other shoe stores that sell common shoe brands and styles would be great advertisers for social netowrking sites because they are already popular amongst consumers. If a consumer sees a creative advertisement for a shoe style that he or she is interested in, they can go online to nike.com to place their order befcause chances are they possibly already own one pair of Nikes or are at least familiar with the sizing. Pouplar clothing store for all age groups would also be a great category for social netowrk advetising. Popular stores for men and women such as Express, Victoria’s Secret and Forever21 can benefit in a way similar to Nike.”
Sarah C: “I think the companies that would most benefit from advertsing on Myspace or Facebook would be companies that provide online products or services such as games or shopping and companies selling music or promoting bands and artists. These types of products are easiest for online customers to access after seeing an advertisement.”
Jackie B: “Companies that would benefit from advertising on Facebook or Myspace are those that meet the wants or needs of the 14-25 age group. These companies could include cosmetic products like ProActive, technology companies like Apple, other websites like SparkNotes and upcoming movies.”
Some students indicated that interest in Facebook or MySpace ads could be enhanced by targeting messages to specific interests:
Veronica B: Companies can use the location, interests, and relationship status of individuals to advertise their products and services. For example, local college and universities can advertise to students based upon their recorded location. Dating services, travel and resort agencies, airlines, banks and credit card companies, music groups and concerts, and electronics companies can greatly benefit by advertising to younger individuals based upon their recorded interests.”
Danielle D: “Some companies and products that I think would benefit from advertising on Facebook or MySpace are music companies and band promotions, Apple’s iPod, television shows and movie promotions, political events and campaign promotions and sports promotions. I also found that Facebook targets to college students that can be specific to their universities through scholarship promotions, storage unit promotions, airline promotions, “ND Off-campus housing.”
A few students indicated that Facebook has the added benefit of peer to peer advertising, although others indicated this could be ‘creepy’ or off-putting:
Alex K: “One major benefit of Facebook is that it can promote a product in the user generated content section if a user’s friend becomes a fan of the product. This creates a word of mouth added benefit.”
Parker K: ”Some companies are encouraging happy patrons to write testimonials about the product on Twitter and Facebook. With the advent of Twitter posts being displayed in Google searches, this may be a brilliant plan. If an advertisement does its job of piqueing interest, the positive testimonial can come in to finish the task, instilling desire and action.”
Tim G: “Advertisements on Facebook can be tailored to the interests that you have posted on your profile, making for a much more personalized experience with a company. However, this experience can sometimes not only be creepy, but off-putting. Advertisements for “Cute Cathlolic Singles near Notre Dame!” do not appeal to most individuals. The best advertisers will match you to your interests without the consumers’ knowledge. An ad on Facebook saw my passion for soccer and asked if I wanted better soccer coaching. The ad was personalized for me, but was not overbearing.”
Nick G: “Advertisers should consider tailoring ads to consumers based on their interests to draw more attention to the products or services to be advertised. Banks and investment companies like Chase and ETrade might benefit from advertising on the social networks as well to attract more consumer loyalty by using relationships, e.g., my friends do their banking at Chase, so I will too.“
Finally one student suggested that the more the ads look like the content that students are on social networks to see in the first place, the more effective they will be.
Claire K: With each of these different products and services, their choice of promotion should include some type of media to watch or listen to rather than requiring clicking through to another website. Viewers are on the social networking sites in order to view media and content in the first place and have no intention of searching for products by going out of their way to surf through a website. By using fun media that entertains the viewers as well as informs them of a product or service, companies can create an interest or buzz about the product. These areas or products and services are also similar and related to the media that users are viewing on the social networking sites to begin with.“
I read these responses as permission for at least some advertisers to experiment with advertising on Facebook, albeitly cautiously, and in the most targeted possible way.
While Gen Y may not welcome ads on Facebook and Myspace, they do think some advertisements are appropriate and relevant, especially if they offer an immediate way to follow up on the interest by clicking through to a web site or learning more about the product or service. Another way to add relevance is to offer entertainment value.
Much attention is paid to what Millennials watch for fun and their disinterest in printed newspapers. So, it’s easy to forget that Gen Y is actually among the biggest consumers of news.
An April study by McKinsey in the U.K. reports that the average person consumed 72 minutes of news a day, compared with just 60 minutes in 2006. They further report that the increase was driven almost entirely by people under the age of 35. ”Two-fifths of those in this age group said they felt the need to be the first to hear the news, compared with just 10 percent of people aged 55 to 64.”
In the U.S., the Associated Press (AP), a group with a vested interest in Millennials’ interest in news, released a study in March that looked at ‘news ad fatigue’. The study took an in-depth, ethnographic apporach that focused especially on people 18-34. The study concluded that consumers are “tired, even annoyed, by the current experience of advertising,” and that, as a result, they don’t trust very much of it.
Younger consumers, ages 18-34, have adopted ways of getting their news that are much different from those of past generations. Younger consumers are not only less reliant on the newspaper to get their news; they also consume news across a multitude of platforms and sources, all day, constantly. Among the key touch points in the new environment are online video, blogs, online social networks, mobile devices, RSS, word of mouth, Web portals and search engines.
Newspapers may be less popular with young adults not because they are printed so much as that they are no longer the ‘newest news‘ by the time they hit the newstand. With a smart phone in your pocket, why do you need a newspaper in your backpack? (As an interesting aside, a recent ethnographic study of the contents of over one thousand Gen Y backpacks revealed many ‘low tech items’ like pens and notebooks, but no newspapers).
At the same time, AP found, “consumers do want information relevant to their needs, as well as ways to socialize that information“.
In other words, it’s not just about being informed, it’s about the ability to share information with other people. News is another form of ‘social glue’. By it’s very nature, news is social currency for Gen Y. The AP study further concluded that where Gen Y leads, other cohorts will soon follow: ”the rest of the population is catching up to the vanguard.”
The AP study was designed to understand what ‘news’ means to Millennials and how it relates to their lives. A variety of ethnographic research methods were used.
- Participants completed a live ” journal about how they would represent themselves, focusing on what was important to them, their likes/dislikes, values and philosophies, as well as who and what made up their social networks.”
- In the news realm,” participants described what they considered to be news, how they defined newsworthiness, the influence of platform and channel on their personal definitions of news, their preferred means for accessing the news and how and when they themselves disseminated, or shared, news.”
- Participants were also asked to choose a news story they would typically follow and then track it over the news cycle. A debriefing session asked questions about why they approached the story they way they did, their choice of sources, etc.
- There were also ‘day in the life’ exercises, using cameras and blogs to get ‘in the moment’ close to decisions about what to read or listen to and what to share.
The report takes the form of a series of in-depth, individual profiles of young adults and their relationship with the news. Reading through the profiles it becomes apparent the degree to which news, work, entertainment and social media have converged. These are no longer discrete categories of activities.
Robert, a 28-year old performance events manager working long hours, showed a close connection between texting and checking news. “After finishing a text message, Robert habitually hit the Internet button on his PDA and quickly browsed headlines.”
Here’s a description of how “Mark”, a 28-year old manager of an online travel agency in the U.K.consumes media.
“Mark’s news cycle was continuous and he spent up to six hours a day searching for and receiving information. Mark was on the Internet most of the day and used that time to keep up to date on news coverage and sports-related information. Mark liked his news to be “punchy” and pointfocused. He read the headlines in the Times and followed up on BBC online to “find out what’s happening” with stories that he wanted to track. Mark said he trusts the BBC and Sky Radio (for sports), followed by the Times and the Guardian. Mark’s news consumption was related to other activities that he was engaged in and although he was actively consuming the news, it was almost always in tandem with other activities such as driving or working…
Mark also mentioned Facebook as a source for news. He recently had a friend die and found out about it from another friend who used e-mail viaFacebook to let everyone know about the death. Mark admitted to this being a difficult and potentially unfair way to tell people about the death. He questioned the use of Facebook for certain types of “news.”“
These findings emphasize the need for topicality in marketing and the importance of news to the Gen Y audience. Millennials are accustomed to fresh, relevant content. The blurring between daily activities and ‘news’, combined with the diminished trust Gen Y has for ‘ads’, means marketers who want to reach Gen Y need to spend more time creating ‘news’ than messages.
For marketing that leverages the power of ‘news’ I can think of few better examples than Van’s Shoes. Van’s is a division of VF which also owns The North Face, Jansport, Wrangler and Lee brands. Van’s, which sells both footwear and apparel wholesale, online and in its own retail stores around the world was acquired in 2004 for about $300 million but has grown steadily since. Van’s actually spends very little on paid media, but is extremely active in youth culture. Even a brief visit to their web site shows an overwhelming amount of ‘news’ – about bands, video, contests, and events (like SXSW). Their blog, Facebook and Flickr pages are up to date with lots of current posts. The ‘news’ on their site that isn’t really about Van’s or even footwear, but is all about the things their young active, athletic target is interested in. Van’s really seems to understand their target and how they think about ‘news’.
If you have a spare 15 minutes, check out this video interview. DeAndre Upshaw of Gen Y Live, invited me to share my thoughts about Millennials for his audience of credit union professionals. The interview was conducted Thursday, March 11 via Skype.
Upshaw (@Deandresays), an energetic Gen Y’er himself, blogs for Young & Free Texas, a youth marketing program for credit unions. He go the job by winning a contest. U.S. News and World Report wrote a great article March 10, about Millennials and financial services, titled“Gen Y to Banks: Do Better”. Here is how US News describes Upshaw’s introduction to to the world of credit union marketing:
“The Texas Dow Employees Credit Union hosts an annual contest for a gen Y spokesperson who finds free things to do around Texas and shares them on the campaign’s website, www.youngfreetexas.com. (The campaign started at a Canadian credit union and has since made its way south.) Armed with a $30,000 annual salary, a Toyota Prius, a MacBook, and a high-definition video camera, last year’s winner, DeAndré Upshaw, a recent graduate of Baylor University, posted videos and blog entries on financial literacy, budgeting, and other topics relevant to his peers. Website visitors can click through to more information on the credit union’s offerings, but advertising products is not the focus of the site.
The campaign seems to be working. Young and Free Texas’s Trey Reeme says that in the past two years, the 18-to-25-year-old demographic has been its fastest-growing segment. “I think [the campaign] builds trust,” says Reeme, who is 29. Upshaw, Reeme adds, seems more like a friend than a banker, and the annual contest sends the message, “We want to learn from you, as well as help you—not just take your money.”
For more, on the Young & Free program, check out my post from January, “Why Credit Unions Are Winning with Millennials”.
Upshaw asked great questions and has tremendous charisma and energy, not to mention technical skill to pull off a live skype video interview with tweeted-in questions. I answered them all as best I could, but refused a request to dance.
Photo by Shakirah Shakirah
Jim Nichols (aka @catalystjim) is an expert marketer and Senior Partner at Catalyst SF. On Monday, Jim gave me a flattering ‘shout out’ on iMediaconnection. Now it’s my turn to return the favor. His insightful article, “Digital Demographics: 11 Brands That Are Doing It Right” spotlights eleven campaigns, six of which are targeted to Millennials.
Here are highlights of his descriptions and critique of the six Millennial-targeted campaigns:
(Hint: Jim included lots of video in his article, to see the campaigns, click on the numbered brand names)
1. The U.S. Military
“No organization has a greater interest in appealing to teens than the military. It’s certainly no accident that the imagery in many armed services ads shows great similarity to that of a first-person shooter game. Gaming might be a keystone in military marketing, but so too are social networking, video, mobile, and tailored peer-to-peer experiences that enable prospects to speak directly with soldiers and hear firsthand accounts of life in the military.
Believe it or not, values and ideals are the central themes in all of these executions. In the sponsored games, virtue triumphs over evil. In daily activities, soldiers are more likely to be shown as relief providers after tsunamis than street-to-street fighters. You might disagree with such portrayals for moral or political reasons, but make no mistake — they are central to virtually all of these communications. And that’s because they are central to the sensibilities of today’s teens.”
2. Axe
“I am now going to talk about Axe, for no other reason than to see if iMedia Connection will let me discuss a viral effort called “Clean Your Balls” on these hallowed pages. There’s certainly a seminal idea here..Some 200,000 people are also fans of Axe and the campaign on Facebook. Axe has heavily integrated mobile into the mix as well, most notably in its “Hair Crisis Alert” SMS campaign. Overseas, the Axe brand has appealed to teens with an IM-delivered spin-the-can game that encourages teens to reveal sex secrets. Since few teens have a high privacy threshold, it offers the brand a prime opportunity to get intimate.”
3. Ford Taurus
“Ford’s Taurus effort in partnership with car lifestyle magazine Dub reflects many of these characteristics. By talking to real millenials, not actors, Ford honestly addresses past image problems, thereby making the ultimate family car relevant to the new family values of millennials. The nice rims didn’t hurt, either. But that’s part of being a millennial too: Family? Flash? Doink! Let’s have both! There was a lot more than video to this effort, with digital outdoor, social media, and brand integration on the Dub site, to give just a few examples.”
4. eHarlequin.com
“Yes, Virginia, Harlequin romance novels are definitely not just for Grandma anymore. There are still pirates with hearts of gold and dusty but decidedly unstinky cowboys on some of the covers. But Harlequin is working hard to evolve and be culturally relevant to millennials. According to Book Business, Harlequin is at the forefront of e-publishing and “enhanced editions” that combine updated potboiler text with rich content, websites, and interactive experiences especially for Gen Y. Harlequin is a leader in ebooks, offering titles on all the major platforms. In addition, the publisher offers blogging support, widgets, and badges, and extensive online marketing programs designed for the demo. Now, there’s nothing to say that all this interactivity isn’t relevant for all ages, but its success at attracting millennials is getting significant attention.”
5. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
“From where I sit, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter’s new campaign is genius. How do you do health product news for a not-health-obsessed target, on behalf of an irreverent brand? Cue Gloria Estefan song! This seems quintessentially Gen X to me both because of the vintage of the song the brand parodies, and the surreal nature of the whole darned thing. There’s also the ironic fun. A thankfully non-jail-baity boy band behind our faux everywoman female lead, Megan Mullally. Majestic lyrics to boot.”
6. FreeCreditReport.com
“The ad campaign for FreeCreditReport.com, based on the fear of mundane, menial jobs, seems to be pointed squarely at Gen X. I mean, the idea of having a McJob as a result of a bad credit rating — Douglas Coupland couldn’t have written it better. While the reality of low-paying jobs is sadly known to far more people than just unlucky Gen-Xers, one of the ads comes straight out of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
In Conclusion….
The article goes on to cover five additional campaigns each targeted to older cohorts, then draws this conclusion about the differences (or similarities) to the Millennial-targeted efforts:
“There is certainly evidence of demo-specific targeting across age cohorts in digital. But having witnessed hundreds of examples in the course of writing this article, I am struck by how the medium is less central than the messages and values. Which is as it should be. It’s apparent that digital has matured to a medium that begins with an idea rather than an executional form…. Teen campaign ideas should be different than senior campaign ideas. We should talk to millennials differently than we do to Gen X or boomers. But the tools we use can come from a common list.” – Jim Nichols
Amen. Generational marketing has a tendency to focus on the question of media choices and ‘how’ we reach each age group differently. But with the rapid adoption of social media by all ages, the question becomes less about the target-appropriate platform and more about target-appropriate content. It comes down to ideas.
The idea that the idea comes first, media second (what we used to call media-neutrality) is not new. Whether we were talking about radio, TV or billboards, or are now talking about Facebook, FourSquare, or text, the idea should come first. (Perhaps this should be called platform neutrality?)
Thanks for the shout out, the terrific article and especially the reminder of what’s most important, Jim.
When Millennials are asked what are their favorite brands, Apple generally tops the list. Yet according to research reported last summer by YPulse, Dell still leads the pack in actual current ownership of computers. Thirty-one percent of college students own a Dell, far ahead of Apple at just 23%.Either purchase intentions are less than a sure thing or other factors are at play. That factor is called Parents.
I have noted before that when targeting Millennials, it’s wise for markters to “Meet the Parents”. They are unlikely to make major decisions without parental input. And in some cases (especially when they are underwriting the cost), the parents’ vote is the only one that really matters. Computers are perfect example of why that advice is worth considering. According to Ypulse:
“Understanding the apparent disconnect between current use and future intent among college students requires a better understanding of who’s doing the buying and when. Laptops are largely paid for by Mom and Dad just before a college student’s freshman year. Only one third of collegians report paying for their laptop using only their own money – the other two-thirds get help with a portion of the price tag (10%) or have it purchased for them entirely (56%). While deciding what to buy is more often within the student’s control, more than a third (36%) are being influenced by the advice of others.” — YPulse Report, July 2009
“Dell is the laptop brand most often used by high school students at 30% current ownership while Apple trails dramatically at 4% current ownership. Future intent is nearly at parity with 22% intending to buy an Apple and 20% intending to buy a Dell. Merely one out of eight (13%) of high school students paid for their own PC and merely one-third (33%) made the decision as to what they would purchase.” — YPulse Report, July 2009
By Millennial Marketing Guest Blogger, Kristin Dziadul
One of the questions I get most often from marketers is “What brands do Millennials like?” I asked Kristin Dziadul, a recent graduate in marketing, to provide her perspective.
“I think I speak for most all Millennials when I say that I choose brands because they are seen as ‘popular’ or ‘cool’ as deemed either by our social group or society as a whole.
For example, I would not buy clothes from Wal Mart when I had the option to buy them from Abercrombie & Fitch or Express instead. This is because the two former brands are popular and buzz-worthy, whereas you would be more abashed to say your clothes are from Wal Mart. I think most Millenials go through this stage during high school, as everyone is becoming very judgmental and forming their social ‘clicks.’ Millenials are major gossipers, which is why brands tend to matter a lot as we go through our teenage years.
This age cohort gains their information and social influences mainly from friends, family, and the Internet when making brand decisions, which is why they care so much about what others think of them. As we get older, we tend to not concentrate as much on the brands we use, as we do the cost versus quality.
I have noticed as I get older that I have become more sensible with the brands I choose to buy.
For example, when I was in high school I used to buy ridiculously expensive clothing from Limited Too, a teen store in the mall. Simple jeans ran upwards of $80, and I used to buy those all the time! Now, I am comfortable buying a tee shirt or bathing suit from Target or Macy’s where they sell no-name brands, but they are fashionable all the same.
When we get older, we tend to lose our main focus of social pressures and influences, and more on our wallets, comfort, and style. I still put focus on what styles are in fashion and do buy from well-known brands on occasion, but it is not an imperative anymore, and my friends and I no longer judge each other based on what we wear and where it’s from.
The brands I am most passionate about are Apple, Coach, and American Eagle.
I am loyal to Apple because of the high quality, great integration with all their products, latest and greatest technology, and brand loyalty. Although their products are expensive, they are extremely durable, made of great quality parts, and are always at the top of industry knowledge when it comes to product development, three components which mean a lot to me.
I also love Coach purses because of the fashion statement and high quality that the brand instills. I have had a Coach purse for over two years and it is still in perfect condition, matches all my outfits (very versatile!), and also serves as a fashion statement.
About 80% of my clothing is from American Eagle. I love this brand because of the affordability and relaxed style.
Kristin Dziadul, 21, is a recent graduate of Western New England College with a Marketing Communications/Advertising major. She is the 2009 New England Direct Marketing Association scholarship recipient, and has a strong passion for marketing and social media! Kristin is from Connecticut and currently has two marketing freelance jobs.
She blogs at http://kdmedianow.com Follow her on Twitter: @KristinEDziadul
Has the world finally woken up to Millennials?
Judging by the media attention focused on Gen Y yesterday, it seems we may finally have arrived at the tipping point. On Feb 24 alone, there were articles and segments that appeared around the country, sparked by the new Pew Report on Millennials:
Chicago Tribune: “Millennials Dubbed ‘Always Connected’ in Pew Report”
Washington Post: “Under 30 Americans: The Next New Dealers?”
Washington Post: “Story Lab: Quiz: How Millennial Are You?”
PBS News Hour: “Demographic Profile of a Generation”
Christian Science Monitor: “Great Recession Hits Millennials Hardest”
Huffington Post: “Our Generation: More Confident, Less Employed”
A quick Google search returned 56 ‘related articles’ for a search on “Pew Millennials“. I certainly welcome the attention on this remarkable demographic group, and I applaud Pew for its indepth coverage. But where are the marketing articles? The Pew data so far is mostly attended to by social scientists, political scientists, journalists and academics.
The marketing world, aside from youth-focused marketing firms, as yet are still fairly tone deaf about the coming shifts.
If you are interested in understanding how more mainstream marketers are reaching out successfully to Millennials, you have to dig a little deeper. MobileYouth’s profile of Ten Brands that connect with Gen Y is a good start for profiles of Ford Fiesta, Monster Energy drink and others. But once you get beyond these high profile stories the cases get a little harder to come by. Here are three less publicized, inspiring exceptions:
Houlihan’s: (Fast Company, March 1, 2010)
“Last summer, it created its own social-networking site, HQ, an invite-only “brand community” of 10,500 “Houlifans” to serve as a virtual comment card. Customers appended that a-little-too-cute prefix to all things Houli-, and they’ve helped the formerly stodgy Irish pub rebrand itself as a contemporary suburban lounge-style hangout.”
StarkSilverCreek Web Publication: (PR Web, February 17, 2010)
All Things West Coast, the company’s flagship brand, is one of the fastest growing digital media properties. Readers value inspired and thoughtful coverage of the west coast including arts (film, stage), wine country, travel, and technology. Alexa Internet, Inc. ranks starksilvercreek.com 93,401 in the US and 285,000 globally. According to Quantcast, readers are affluent (28% earn $100K+), highly educated (67% college/grad school). Generation X and Y (Millennials) account for 68% of visitors.
Herbal Essence: (Business Week, July 2008)
“The shampoo and conditioner bottles are curved so that they literally fit together on the shelf. The nesting shape not only helped Herbal Essences stand out from others on the shelf but also encouraged more young women to buy both products, driving up conditioner sales. To appeal to Millennials, the team also updated the language on the packaging. The ho-hum “dandruff” reference gave way to “no flaking away.” Names for different hair styles were changed to more youthful phrases such as “totally twisted” or “drama clean.” “We totally reframed the proposition,” says Lafley. ….soon after the shampoo was relaunched the brand was growing again, with sales growth rates in the high single digits.”
A lot is known now about how to build a more appealing brand that connects more directly with Millennials. It requires a different approach, because as anyone who reads this blog or the Pew Report knows, it’s a different kind of audience. Getting results like these requires a more collaborative approach to research and a more engaging approach to marketing.
Marketers will be wise to begin now. The rewards for early movers in categories like banking, wine, leisure travel, retailing, and media will be great, both in immediate sales lifts (like Houlihans) as well as in better positioning for future consumers. Gen Y trends have a way of migrating up the generations.
Soon it will be more than just the wine industry that is experiencing ‘classic market disruption’, it will be most industries as this 75-million strong demographic recovers from the Recession, and gets about the business of creating homes and careers. Will your brand be ready?
Meanwhile, we are launching a new page on our MillennialMarketing.wikispaces.com wiki to aggregate successful Gen Y marketing case studies. Check it out and feel free to contribute your stories.
Over the past week, I have graded nearly fifty student case analyses of MTV. Make no mistake, Millennials love this brand. It’s iconic. It is part of their growing up years.
So it was with great interest that I read of MTV’s logo update announced last week, the first update in its 28-year history.
According to The Brandchannel and articles in MSN and Ad Age, the move is intended to align with the fact that MTV is now better known for reality TV shows than music videos. There seem to be at least four different motivations for the change.
1. Better align with what MTV does today
The MTV brand has represented more than “music television” for many years, and now – appropriately – the words “music television” are no longer part of the official logo. In addition, the original logo has undergone a slight morphing. When MTV launched, the upside of the logo was that it communicated the very specific, targeted business of the brand to a potential audience that had never heard of it. Of course, the downside of the logo is that once the brand diversified to include material beyond music, such as, say, Jersey Shore shenanigans, the logo became confusing, or even absurd.” - The Brandchannel, Feb 10, 2010
2. Better appeal to Millennial target
“It represents a new visually defined MTV, stimulating its past, present and future and embracing its diversity. Everything from Jersey Shore, to the VMAs to collaborations with the MoMA. The logo is part of MTV’s re-invention to connect with today’s millennial generation and bring them in as part of the channel.” – MSN, Feb 10, 2010
3. Put greater focus on MTV’s stable of talent
“The new logo is meant to put the focus on MTV’s current slate of talent — the stars of mostly reality shows like “Jersey Shore,” “Teen Mom,” and “The Buried Life.” Since the logo (which seems to have a shorter “M” than the original) is also available in a see-through model, it can change when new stars come into the fold. Tina Exarhos, a spokesperson for MTV’s marketing team, explained the change to “The New York Daily News”: “If you watch the channel, you’ve seen that it’s definitely going in a new direction. We really wanted to see the logo featured in a new way, and this was really meant to be able to house all the great things that are happening at MTV at any given time.” PeaceFM, Feb 10, 2010
4. Increase brand recognition
“Mr. Friedman said MTV has also had a problem with brand recognition among viewers who would love certain shows but had no idea they aired on MTV. “The way the logo frames it makes it a simple reference point,” he said.- Ad Age
The move has been questioned publicly on several fronts: Why now after all these years? Is it enough of a change? Is tweaking enough? Is it too mainstream/not irreverent enough? So I put the question to my Brand Strategy MBA class at University of Notre Dame.
Based on the case you just read and your experiences with MTV, what do you think? For the most part, students felt that the change was not big news.
Jonathan: “I think it’s all much ado about nothing. The change is so minor, I initially thought there was simply something wrong with my cable when the bottom of the logo was cutoff.”
Michelle: “I actually had to Google the MTV logo to get an idea of the changes that they made. I don’t think that there was much change at all and I guarantee that many of their teen viewers won’t see the change either.”
Suzy: “The changes are subtle, and not very noticeable among viewers. If anything positive comes out of this initiative, it is the publicity and buzz that was created as a result of the change.”
The larger issue for these students is that the change probably doesn’t go far enough in explaining what MTV means today.
Several acknowledge that the brand’s emphasis on reality shows may not have the resonance for them that it did when they were growing up. They understand the brand has changed, but what does it stand for now?
Marissa: “I think MTV needs to reinvent their brand identity. Their programing has changed with the times as they now focus on reality shows and docudramas like “Teen Mom.”
Rob L: “I think there is no substantive difference other than dropping “music television” which was long overdue. It was the source of a lot of irritation, even to those that didn’t watch the channel, because it caused confusion given that’s not a core part of their programming. If I had a dollar for everytime I heard someone complain about “back when MTV played videos” I’d pay off my student loans. As it stands, they seem to have no identity, no focus. At least Tru TV is direct about their showing reality shows, you know what you are getting into and are not disappointed by their 2nd rate reality entertainment.”
Rob: “Changing the logo doesn’t do much to change the disconnect between ‘music’ and whatever they want to call what they’re showing now.”
Amy: “For those of us who remember MTV when they used to play music videos, the “M” stands for music. Simply dropping the explicit reference to ‘music television’ does not change anything.”
The folks at MTV no doubt understand that their brand is in transition and that is probably the main reason for the logo update.
Iconic brands need to speak into the culture to remain iconic. Standing still is not an option in youth marketing. Perhaps the logo change is just the beginning? With hit shows like the “Jersey Shore” leading the way, I think we may only be seeing the beginnings of how this brand plans to connect with Millennials.
