Palace of Versailles
The best part of learning history is realizing how much of what happened in the past echoes in events and decisions of our own day. Last week Ken Burns’ new documentary series, “Prohibition,” spelled out the unintended consequences of a well-meaning effort to fight an alarming social ill. The sad lesson about what happens when we attempt to ‘legislate morality’ still resonates.
A Turning Point in the French Revolution
I just learned that one event in 1790, over a year after the storming of the Bastille, turned out to be pivotal in securing the gains of the Revolution. This event, related in Paris: Capital of Europe by Johann Wilmm, seems eerily reminiscent of the current gatherings on Wall Street:
[On the morning of October 5] “A large gathering of people and unusual excitement filled the square in front of the Hotel de Ville, when several large groups of women, who had gathered in the districts, began to arrive; they asked to be admitted to the Hotel de Ville and stated that they wished to speak to the mayor and representatives of the Commune to inform them that they had decided to march to Versailles. They added that they would not permit any men to join them.”
This spontaneous movement of women had no leader and no demands, just a sense that something was not right.Ultimately, the National Guard did join the women’s march, and the rest as they say, “is history.” The author writes:
“In the revolutionary history of Paris there had not been, nor was there ever again, anything like that mass action of October 5. All of Paris went to Versailles – for reasons that varied greatly – and saved the Revolution by bringing the king back to Paris in triumph.”
On the evening of October 5, Louis XVI gave his written agreement to the decrees issued by the National Assembly between August 4 and 11. Not many hours earlier he had said he would never consent to these regulations. Furthermore, Louis agreed to move back to Paris, and so did the National Assembly. They all set out on October 6 and that evening the king in Paris “as a prisoner of his people.” Three years later in 1793 he was executed, as every 8th grader knows!
The Modern Day Parallel
Fast forward two centuries and we see some startling parallels between the October Parisian women’s march of 1790 and the October Occupy Wall Street events of 2011. Could this leaderless, demandless group ultimately do what no political party has yet accomplished? We will see. But meanwhile, I think it is foolish of politicians and pundits to dismiss it. Something is not right, and the people know it. If there was a King Louis in New York, he would be on his way to Washington.
Millennials (Finally?) On the Move
Collectively, marketers know Millennials are a potent force. They are a large cohort, more homogenous than older cohorts due to their relative similarity in life stage and upbringing, and uniquely empowered through technology to ensure their voices are heard. What has been more surprising up until now is why they haven’t mobilized. I speculated in the past that it may be that they are less comfortable advocating on their own behalf than that of others. Now that the economy has given them a big enough cause, the time may have come for them to mobilize.
It is characteristic of Millennials that their movement is relatively calm, leaderless and still collaborating on its agenda. It may take a while for them to find their voice, but once found it is sure to be heard.
In fact, it is precisely their lack of unity and singular demands that may be its greatest strength, just as it did the Parisian women of 1790. Beka Economopoulous, an unofficial media spokeswoman for Occupy Wall Street, told the International Business Times that she feels the lack of one specific demand actually gives the movement more strength.
Much of the media attention on Occupy Wall Street has centered on the lack of singular demands and unification amongst the hundreds of protesters camped out in Zuccotti Park. “The longer the occupiers don’t have demands, the stronger they are,” said Economopoulous, a vice president at Fission Strategy, a social media company specializing in strategies for nonprofits and foundations. “I don’t believe there will be a stand on one particular reform that we want to see happen. We believe the system is fundamentally broken.”
According to one young marcher, the Occupiers want to preserve a system where everyone has an opportunity to pursue their dream which now seems corrupted. The writer, Dax Devlon-Ross, claims that the movement is actually inspired by the death of Steve Jobs and his widely circulated Stanford commencement speech:
It may not seem that way today, but in the beginning nobody wanted to listen to the Occupiers either. Even now most of us still won’t allow ourselves the permission to dream of a world without widespread greed and corruption. Most of us are still resigned to just getting a piece of the pie. It’s understandable. Corruption and disillusionment rob our faith and steal our dreams.
This is where Steve Jobs fits in. In a rightly celebrated 2005 Stanford commencement address that has been viewed on Youtube some 10,000,000 times, Jobs talked about the inevitability of death and the urgency of life:
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. …
Occupy Wall Street is fundamentally about breaking free of the dogmatic thinking and policy making that has resulted in a wildly unjust social and economic order.
More than Just Millennials
I’m not sure what the modern day parallel would be to the National Guard of 1790, but given the mood of the country it may not be long before others join the young marchers.
According to Pew Research, it’s not just Millennials who feel this way. A recent report eloquently spells out a high degree of disillusionment with the system, and a sense that it no longer works fairly for everyone.
- Fifty-four percent of Americans believe “businesses make too much profit”.
- Forty-seven percent believe Wall Street ‘hurts [the economy] more than it helps.”
What’s more, Pew says these attitudes do not divide cleanly along partisan lines. I also suspect they do not reflect age differences. Many trends that started with Millennials sparked change in other generations. Why not this one?
Judging by the outpouring of eloquent grief on the passing of Steve Jobs, I’ve concluded if a black turtleneck was a sports jersey, it would need to be retired. (In fact, sales of black turtlenecks are going through the roof.)
We are witnessing a cultural moment celebrating a life well-lived inspired by the death of someone who was NOT a politician, a sports or entertainment icon, or a religious leader.
What makes this testimony so remarkable is the high degree of consensus about what made Jobs’ life admirable.
Steven Paul Job’s life, ideals and accomplishments resonate across the generations. He was born at the height of the Boomer generation in 1955, but in many ways he was the ultimate Millennial, and also the ultimate Gen X’er. His 2005 Stanford commencement speech has over 5 million hits on YouTube so far. Perhaps this says something about generational differences: they may be more on the margins than on the big ideas.
Above all, Job’s occupies a special place in the hearts of Millennials. On The Next Great Generation blog, Millennial, Meghan Ross, writes:
…the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad have granted us accessibility to the world at the touch of our fingers. These products (along with the MacBook and MacBook Pro) not only make an endless amount of tasks easier to accomplish, but they also are present for some of the most significant life events we experience. I had my entire music collection in my pocket the first time I left the country, read my first “real world” job offer email from my iPhone, and completed my final undergraduate projects on my MacBook.
In fact, it’s hard to imagine Millennial life without Apple products, as this infographic demonstrates. Would Gen Y be so “Millennial” without them? Ross goes on say that Job’s greatest contribution, however, was his exemplary life, “his unwavering beliefs and an acknowledgment of unavoidable death that drove him to take chances on life’s uncertainties that come with chasing your dreams.” Similarly, Melanie Shreffler write sin the Business2Community blog, “Although Jobs wasn’t a Millennial, he “embodied the Millennial spirit of innovation and entrepreneurialism, following his passions and not worrying about what the outcome would be.”
An entire generation now has a shared idea of what it means to be a leader that has nothing to do with titles held, degrees earned, fashion (turtleneck aside), or social media Klout. Being a leader is about who you are and what you stand for. Jobs inspired us to understand that leadership is about more about great taste, willingness to collaborate and a laid back working style. As Shreffler explains, the Genius of the Genius bar is that it demonstrates, “Anyone can be an expert, even if they’re young and wearing jeans and a t-shirt.”
Above all, Jobs’ enduring contribution will be his demonstration that it is possible to live your values.
The power of the Stanford commencement speech comes from Jobs’ commitment to his sense of self even in the face of devastating loss and death. In the end, Millennial values are not that different from those of other generations. They aspire to be successful, to make a difference in the world, to have functional marriages, and to be good parents.
What will make Millennials unique is — if they can manage it — is to hold on to their sense of self and values even as life presents challenges that have caused other generations to make compromises. This is what makes Jobs so inspiring… and so Millennial.
Footnote: I am writing this on my latest computer, a desktop Macintosh, my first Apple that wasn’t a phone or iPad. Seems fitting…
Millennials define themselves more by their interests and passions than their careers or even technology. The desire to connect with brands that share their passions is a key motivation, both online and offline.
Consequently, identifying and understanding Millennial passions is an important first step in designing effective marketing programs.
Last week the Kansas City-based agency, Barkley, shared new research that shows Millennials have a greater range of activities they are passionate about than those over 35. Significantly, Milennials are more likely to define success in personal terms and to put greater importance on it than older generations. “Seventy-nine percent* define success as “doing what you are passionate about“. Today’s youth are not influenced by money or the image of success. In fact, even in their online communities, only 6% feel that “having lots of friends on Facebook” is an influential quality. The vast majority believe “Being True To Yourself” is inherently more influential in life (62%).” *
Millennials want to be defined by their passions, not their careers.
Last week I moderated a panel at the conference Barkley sponsored to reflect on the findings of their research and its implications for marketers, “Share.Like.Buy” in San Francisco. The panel was titled “Tapping Millennial Passions,” and the panelists were noted Millennial researchers: Barbara Bylenga, CEO, Outlaw Consulting, Alex Smith of Mintel, and Tracy Panko, CEO, Spiral16.
The session focused on how Millennial passions are expressed and how they differ from those other generations. The panelists also discussed the potentially disruptive implications of these differences for marketing products and services across a number of categories.
Alex Smith began by noting that while Millennials’ passions may be similar in some ways to those of older cohorts – the environment, causes, music – the way they express and pursue those passions is very different. They have more tools to express their passions, which are used to curate their personal identities and gain attention. Their overall goal is to express themselves in a way that is true to who they really are.
Barbara Bylenga added that Millennials are especially passionate about things that impact others: the planet, the environment, social justice, poverty. They see their passions as a way to define themselves as ‘changemakers’. What other generations might consider an ‘interest’, Millennials see as central to who they are. They define success in terms of their ability to turn these interests into accomplishments or even a career. Hence their passions are especially motivating.
Use a lifestage lense to predict and plan for Millennial impact
Bylenga says lifestage is a good lense for thinking about how Millennials will change categories. The latest Census data confirms Millennials are putting off childrearing, staying single longer. Currently they are in the ‘explorer’ lifestage, but as they mature, many are entering the ‘spinner’ stage, forming households and settling down, and in some cases readjusting but not necessarily abandoning their passions. They still want to make a difference, but will realize (rationalize?) that making a differences lies in the cumulative effect of small decisions, little actions, not necessarily a big career accomplishment. Every little decision is going to take on added significance. Marketers can leverage this insight by helping them feel like their consumer choices are helping make a difference.
Bylenga went on to say Millennials will increasingly see it as a stepping stone to independence, with many aspiring to be entrepreneurs rather than bind themselves to a sure paycheck. (In fact, this prediction may be already coming true. There was a 250% increase in the past two years in the number of Millennials who choose freelance work over a job.)
Characteristics of brands that generate passion among Millennials
When asked the characteristics of brands that generate the greatest amount of passion among Millennials, panelists repeated mentioned the importance of authenticity. According to Barkely’s research, Livestrong is the number four most recognized charity among this age group, a position it achieved by being authentic according to research by Spiral16, said CEO, Tracy Panko.
Despite dramatic and controversial events surrounding Livestrong founder Lance Armstrong, the Spiral16 data shows that Livestrong has continued to successfully engage their community and turn them into passionate evangelists. Besides amassing a huge following on Twitter, Livestrong has also spread its influence and message across other social media platforms with a clear and concise message. Eight out of the Top 10 most influential web pages in the study are components of the Livestrong organization, while the remaining two pages were created by passionate Livestrong fans. (The RSS feed for the Livestrong blog ranked even higher — number two — than blog URL itself.)
Panko points out that this kind of community and presence is impressive. As much as brands would like to, they cannot just control online attitudes at will. A digital presence this dominating, nonprofit or not, can only be built up from years of consistent hard work and clear strategizing. She also cited Patagonia as another brand with a strong authentic brand with special appeal to Millennials. Patagonia’s willingness to willingness to show the less desirable parts of their brand suggests an honesty that allows them to win with consumers. Other brands cited for their authenticity were Trader Joe’s and In ‘N Out Burger.
By Guest Blogger, Judy Hopelain
Recently, I was in a conversation about student activism. Participants were mostly folks who remembered the ’60s fondly. The majority view seemed to be that student activism is dead…that most of today’s students don’t want to make waves, and are more concerned about paying off loans and getting a job than about the quality of life in the world around them.
I think they have it completely wrong.
As a lecturer at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, I have the opportunity to get to know 40-50 juniors and seniors fairly well over the course of a semester. Students in my class come from a variety of majors including business, communications, engineering, design, and American studies. They do care about paying off loans and getting jobs. And their class participation and projects show clearly that they are also concerned about more than themselves.
Today’s college students are fluent in the language of social responsibility – not just the CSR type initiatives that are just a thin veneer.
They have little use for those, and can smell a “green washing” from a mile away. No, their passion is for brands that have built doing good into their business models. And they choose class projects that allow them to figure out ways for other brands to do good, too.
TOMs Shoes success on campuses across the country is a case in point. Students love this brand for its integrity and honesty, and they want to help it succeed in its mission to give away a pair of shoes to a shoeless Third World child for every pair sold. As part of a class assignment, my students came up with a number of ways to extend the brand’s meaning, broaden its reach and increase its impact like creating more of a connection between the giver and the recipient community – allowing givers to go work on community development projects in those communities, creating an app that would allow givers to ‘track’ the gifted shoes from factory to recipient like Domino’s allows customers to track their pizza from store to door.
American Apparel is better known for its provocative imagery and sexual harassment lawsuit-laden founder than for its idealism. Nonetheless, my students recommended ways to refocus the brand on worker rights and its made-in-America heritage to reengage consumers in American Apparel’s historical activism. Inspired by Chrysler’s highly successful Eminem commercials, they recommend that American Apparel, which has its only factory in LA, open a second factory in Detroit (as soon as it addresses its cash flow issues).
True, students are not protesting wars or throwing rocks at the police or other forms of the establishment. But this form of activism is no less heart-felt or legitimate, and it’s also likely to be more enduring.
Isn’t it about time boomers got over themselves? As Steven Colbert’s segment on Ted Nugent on June 27 illustrates, the ‘60s were a VERY long time ago.
Two new research reports came out this week that offer more than the usual superficial ‘survey findings’ about Millennials.
These deeper looks at Millennials may reflect the increasing understanding that this cohort matters. Both studies provide a treasure house of new insights and an appreciation of the complexity of describing a whole generation without resorting to platitudes like “They’re connected!”
Here’s a sample to help you understand why you might want to read the full reports:
1. “The Truth About Youth” by McCann WorldGroup
This engaging report (worth reading for the graphic presentation as well as the content) is based on qualitative and quantitative research among 7000 young people around the world. Sixteen motivations provide an organizing framework (i.e., JUSTICE, COCOONING, JOURNEYING, MUSCLE, SURGE, etc.)
Here are some highlights from the report:
“If we want to truly grasp the power of connection for this generation, we can look at how they want to be remembered. It is not for their beauty, their power, or their influence, but simply for the quality of their human relationships and their ability to look after those around them.”
“Once upon a time, teenagers had a small group of friends (typically 4-7 people), and these were often people met through school. Within this group young people could express their individuality, but it was vital that they belonged to the group. However, nowadays things are more complex. Using social media, a typical teenager is likely to manage and maintain multiple, intersecting groups of friends. In this sense, ‘connecting’ to a broader network of friends has replaced the singular need to ‘belong’ to a tight-knit group of friends.”
“In the Social Economy it’s not good enough to simply do something…you have to tell people about it before it becomes real. In other words…”pics or it didn’t happen!””
“The best possible result in social media for young people is when someone else uploads a photograph of you looking cool and then tags you. In this scenario you get all the credit without looking overly vain or full of yourself.”
“The flipside to mass self-expression and connectivity is the ability to continuously measure your own life achievements against those within your network. Never before have young people found it easier to benchmark their successes (or lack of…). As the Social Economy increases its reach, could we find an entire generation impacted by social status anxiety?”
2. “Millennials, Abortion & Religion Survey” by Public Religion Research Institute
Few topics are more sensitive than abortion and gay marriage, but this report manages to handle both with sensitivity and nuance. A broad national sample of 3,000 allows for comparison of Millennial opinions to those of other age groups. The report offers insights as to why they are different, and why they are sometimes, surprisingly, similar to other generations.
Here are some highlights:
“One of the most politically important ways Millennials differ from other cohorts is their attitudes toward gender roles and sexual morality. Millennials strongly support gender equality and rights for gay and lesbian people and generally have more permissive attitudes toward sexuality issues. However, by traditional measure, younger Americans are no more supportive of abortion rights than the general population, despite having demographic characteristics (e.g., less religious) and attitudes on related issues (e.g., gender equality) that are positively correlated with support for legal abortion.”
“Nearly equal numbers of Millennials (60%), Americans age 30-49 (58%), and Americans age 50-64 (59%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases…The generational divide on the issue of same sex marriage, in contrast, is nearly linear and dramatic.”
“Approximately 7 in 10 Millennials (71%) support this requirement [parental consent for women under the age of 18 for an abortion].” (Note this is higher than the public at large which is 68%)
While Americans [including Millennials] are nearly divided in identifying with the pro-life and pro-choice labels they have a clear opinion of which label is more socially acceptable. A majority (53%) say it is more acceptable to be pro-choice in America today.. this holds true across most demographic groups including Millennials.”
Encouraging Signs
These two studies give me hope that we are finally getting beyond the negative stereotypes of entitlement, job dissatisfaction, technology addiction and other unproductive avenues of discussion and starting to get to a deeper understanding of this complex generation. I see a lot of research, and much of it looks the same, in the questions asked and the routine conclusions. I applaud these groups for digging deeper.
Links to full reports:
Millennials, Abortion and Religion (pdf)
When it comes to defining personal identity, few brand choices matter more than what you choose to wear. When students tell me they aren’t into brands, I merely smile and point to the Notre Dame, Nike, and Adidas logos on their hats, shirts and shoes. For Millennials, apparel brands are an important means of curating identity.
For marketers, the challenge is to understand what makes a brand cool enough to wear?
The Coolest Brands
There are many systems designed to tell us which brands have the most equity, are the most valuable or represent the greatest value to consumers. But until today I was unaware of a serious study of which brands are the most cool. Spanish branding agency, Allegro234, recently released results of its 2010 Coolest & Gaps Branding Survey. The study, now in its third consecutive year surveyed 4,200 people in 28 countries.
One of the things that makes it so original is its emphasis on write-in responses. Rather than pre-ordain the coolest brands, they rely on nominations. Each respondent proposes one brand that represents ‘the coolest experience’. Remarkably, of the 114 global brands nominated, 20 represent 60% of the responses. The top 40 proposed brands are 75%. This high degree of consensus suggests we know all cool when we see it.
The study went beyond proposing cool brands and also asked participants to rate their nominated brands on ten dimensions of the brand experience. These dimensions included ‘Brand’, ‘Communication’, ‘Place’, ‘Availability’, ‘Related Services’, ‘Tailormade’, ‘Interactivity’, ‘Respect for the Environment’, and ‘Social Responsiblity’.
Of these ten factors, by far the most important was ‘Brand’ – the vision that the brand promises.
The Coolest Apparel Brands
The entire report is well-worth reading, but for this blog I will focus just on the apparel brands. Not surprisingly, apparel brands represent a large proportion of the top 60 coolest brands. They include:
Diesel (6), H&M (9), Gap (12), Nike (14), Levi’s (17), Adidas (19), Swatch (22), North Face (23), Hugo Boss (26), Stella McCarthy (31), D&G (32), Patagonia (40), Top Shop (42), Pony (45), Zara (49), and Burberry (51).
Allegro234 observes that cool apparel brands fall into four broad categories. Tellingly, none of these categories has much to do with ‘luxury’:
Masstige: Ex: Stella McCartney, Hugo Boss, D&G, LaMartina, Disiguel
Mass: Ex: Target, Gap, H&M, Top Shop, Zara
Performance Sports: Ex: Nike, Patagonia, North Face
Urban Sports: Ex: Adidas, Pony
One of the most fascinating lessons here is that ‘luxury is no longer a guarantee of coolness’. The report goes as far as to conclude that ‘luxury brands with some exceptions, are no longer considered cool’ and that a cool experience is now what matters most in the definition of cool’.
“A cool experience helps peoples’ referential status and moves away from the traditional idea of luxury. Something luxurious is not necessarily cool. This gives greater weight to trends over more rational shopping processes and the flow of the experience is more important than possessing he product in order to live it.” 2010 Coolest Brands Survey, p 13.
I have long said that luxury is not relevant to Millennials. In my experience, young adults have a different metric for determining value, and that metric rarely involves status or prestige. While it’s true that Millennials enjoy premium brands, their affinity has more to do with the experience of ownership than the fact of ownership. A Coach or LV bag for a young professional woman, represents the first step on the path to a professional image or career. It has practical connotations, an accessory that aids confidence in an interview and suggests you are discerning and willing to ‘invest’ in something of value.
Other related lessons: Mass brands can be just as cool as exclusive brands. Performance brands can be just as cool as fashion brands. In other words, it’s no longer essential to be ‘hip’ to be ‘cool’.
Do Millennials Relate Differently to Brands?
The research on cool brands was not limited to Millennials, but coolness represent a more modern view of brand value than more traditional markers. In particular, by underscoring the importance of ‘brand’ in the sense of ‘credible promise or vision’, the Allegro study is better aligned with how Millennials choose brands.
New frameworks are needed and have started to appear, that emphasize attributes such as Identity, Performance and Social Responsibility (Future Brands). I like to think of these as Competence, Caring and Belief. More research is needed before we can conclude that Millennials relate differently to brands, but I am convinced they do.
The fastest growing digital company in the world is Chicago-based Groupon, which this week announced 2010 revenues of $760 million, up from $33 million in 2009. Even bad Superbowl ads can’t undo that kind of head-turning performance.
Rocket-like growth inevitably brings intensified competition. Right on cue, the category of ‘social coupons’, which also includes Living Social and Gilt, among others now also includes a new, niche entry, YouCeleb.com. Think of it as Groupon for fashionistas – “YouCeleb gives you access to the hottest celebrity fashion without the celebrity bank account” In a nice twist, a portion of the proceeds go to the celebrity’s favorite charity.
The female focus of YouCeleb.com is not an accident. A cool infographic from Digital Buzz highlights the profile of Groupon users – young, wealthy, educated women.
- 77% female
- 66% 18-34 years
- 50% have bachelor’s degree
- 30% have post college degree
- 70% have above average incomes ($50K or more)
Given this profile, it’s not a surprise that many of the most successful Groupon offers are for things young women enjoy – salons and day spa’s, dining out, and yoga classes. And they do LOVE them. Here are some comments by members of our Millennial Marketing “super consumer” community:
Sasha Muradali: “I get really good deals on these and I’ve seen really good deals on them too. There was an 85% MMA discount about a week ago on The Dealist I think. I bought one on them recently for a 6-week foreign language class. The thing is, places I wouldn’t normally go to, or things I wouldn’t normally participate in, I get the opp too through Living Social/TheDealist/Groupon. Besides for the discounts, it just opens your eyes to new and cool things. Discounts are always good — really good discounts are even better!
”
Katie Lorenz: “I use Groupon, Living Social, Foxling, and Deal a Day Online. I cancelled my gym membership and only use Groupons for yoga, ballet classes, pilates and tennis (usually unlimited use for a month) and 90% of the time they’re places I’ve never been. I’ve loved all the facilities but their normal prices are usually too expensive for me to continue on so I find the next best thing. “
The men in our community are more equivocal in their assessments of social coupons:
Justin DeGraaf: “I subscribe to Groupon and just started livingsocial during the Amazon.com GC bonanza. Although I look at Groupon maybe 3x a week, I’ve never purchased anything. For some reason, I don’t feel like it’s a good deal, most notably on services. I don’t trust that the rates a spa, for example, gives are any cheaper than if you were to call them and ask for an introductory special. And in my town, the restaurants that are participating are the dodgy and struggling ones. Now, when Living Social did the amazon special I went crazy! Bought like 6 of ‘em. : )”
Steven Conway: “For me, it depends entirely on the category of the deal. When it comes to apparel/retail brands, I tend to purchase groupon deals from brands I currently shop at it like the Gap and Nordstram Rack, as there is a perceived higher risk in buying a groupon from a retailer I do not shop at or like – no matter how good the deal is. On the other hand, when it comes to a restaurant, I will take a chance on a place I haven’t tried as I feel there is less risk involved. Overall, I would rather have a bad meal experience than buy something from a clothing retailer I probably wouldn’t wear.”
Consider the Target
Marketers considering social coupons as a strategy for gaining trial (See my MENG Online post last week, “Social Coupons: Backward Marketing, Forward Thinking“) should first consider the characteristics of their target. Is the target young, upscale and female? Then social coupons may be just the ticket.
Social couponing fits with the overall social context of shopping for young women. E-marketer provides an excellent overview of how teen girls approach shopping (“Online Shopping Is Entertainment to Teen Girls“, 2.28.11). Millennial age young women are similar to teen girls in that they love shopping, but they like shopping with others even more. For them, shopping is more than deals, it is a way to bond. Talking about your Groupons and sharing deals generates important social currency, currency that is often less meaningful for guys.
YouCeleb.com may be the first of a wave of female-focused social coupon opportunities. It’s harder to imagine new Groupon-like sites just for guys – Trouton, anyone?
A special thanks to Suhan Park, Notre Dame MBA candidate, for alerting me to the YouCeleb.com launch.
I came to dance, dance, dance, dance
I hit the floor
‘Cause that’s my, plans, plans, plans, plans
I’m wearing all my favorite
Brands, brands, brands, brands
Give me space for both my hands, hands, hands, hands
You, you
Cause it goes on and on and on
And it goes on and on and on
Millennials are suspicious of marketers, skeptical of claims and ignoring ads, but their affinity for brands is undiminished. Gen Y understands that brands are cultural symbols that convey meaning. Brand choice, especially in image driven categories like mobile phones, shoes, entertainment, and clothing brands matters even more to teens and young adults, than to older consumers.
Brand Talk
Keller Fay’s 2010 Talk Track study asked participants use a diary to keep track of their brand conversations between July 2009 and June 2010. The study sample ranged from ages 13 to 69, and included a break out sample of 4,900 teens (ages 13 to 17).
They found that, overall, teens engage in a significantly higher level of word of mouth about all brand categories than the public as a whole. Furthermore, teens are twice as likely as everyone else to hold brand conversations online, although online still accounts for a minority of brand conversations even among teens (13% for teens vs. 7% for general public). (‘ Online’ included email, texting/IM and social networking).
The sheer volume of DAILY conversations about brands is impressive.
- 69% of teens have one or more conversations per day that include food/dining brands, versus 54% of the total public.
- 67%/39% about technology;
- 63%/42% about sports/recreation/hobbies;
- 63%/39% about telecommunications;
- 59%/38% about retail/apparel
- 58%/46% about beverages
- 45%/35% about automotive
- 45%/26% about personal care/beauty
Marketers, Brand Stories and Facebook
This week, Facebook announced a new program called ‘Sponsored Stories‘ designed to generate revenue from these conversations.
When a friend mentions a brand or has any brand interaction such as “Page Likes, App interactions, Place check-ins and Page posts”, that mention will now show up in a separate ‘sponsored stories’ area to the right of the feed. This is to make sure that mention isn’t missed. Here’s a short two-minute video from Facebook explaining how it works.
Make no mistake, Brand Stories are ’advertisements’, but they are likely to receive little or no pushback from Millennials, for they don’t seem like ads. Millennials want to know what brands their friends ‘like’. As the video points out, “anything they would have seen as a sponsored story is something they would already have seen in their newsfeed.” Now, it’s just more likely those interactions will be noticed.
Brandification?
As Millennial Josip Petrusa points out in his blog this week, Sponsored Stories is just a continuation of the ‘Brandification of Your Social Presence”.
“Both Edelman’s “8095” and L2’s “Gen-Y Affluents” reports have verified that Millennials are considerably brand-centric. They love the brand. They love brands. They share brands. They talk brands. They live brands. They speak brands. And they have invested considerable ideological value into them. They have come to represent who they are. When you make this correlation you begin to see the very beginnings of branded social profiles. Brands will no longer come to represent the products that encompass them but the user who empowers them. The user who humanizes them.”
The stories go on and on and on
From my perspective, what Petrusa calls ‘branded social profiles” is the continuation of a trend toward the humanization of brands and the branding of people, places and institutions that has been developing for years. The trend has simply accelerated with the advent of social media.
James Twitchell wrote a provocative book as early 2004, titled “Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College, Inc., and Museumworld“ . Twitchell points out the importance of stories to branding in clear terms: ’Often the only thing that separates this ratty rug from that priceless tapestry is a story’.
In the age of social media, ’brand’ stories are no longer confined to the ‘marketplace’ but are now part of culture, both high and low. The difference is that now we are more self-conscious about creating those stories. Here’s Twitchell again:
“And really, isn’t all life about marketing, in a sense? You market yourself to your friends, to your employer, your constituents, and they to you. Your children market themselves to their sport team (pick me! pickme!), schools market themselves (a degree from us is a ticket to success), and even churches market themselves (services at 9 and 11) and their products (forgiveness now, salvation later). Maybe it’s just the illusion of not marketing that we need to dispense with.” (p. 3)
There’s little question that social media and hyper-texting can be a hyper distraction. As social media pervades our every minute in every venue of our personal and professional lives, we all recognize that, paradoxically, it can also be an obstacle to the very things we are trying to accomplish in terms of relationships and productivity.
Hyper Connectivity = Hyper Time Suck
We recently completed a series of interviews among college students, who nearly all admitted that Facebook was their favorite way to procrastinate. When my daughter needs to really focus on an exam or paper, she asks me to change her Facebook password to something she can’t guess until she’s finished.
“I check facebook 3-4 times a day (maybe thousands but I’m not admitting to that here.” Male College student
“I use Facebook constantly, it’s a really good procrastination tool and way to stay in touch with everyone. I use it all the time. It’s the first thing I check when I turn my computer on.” – Female College Student
A widely cited study by Retrevo revealed 18% of those under 25 cannot go even a few hours without checking Facebook, and 55% check it at least daily.
Other Risks
Excessive social media use may have negative effects beyond distraction and loss of productivity. Research in a 4000-student Cleveland high school revealed a correlation between hyper-texting (defined as 120 or more texts a day) and hyper-networking (defined as 3 or more hours of social network use a day) and health issues. Specifically, they learned that students who participate in hyper-texting and hyper-networking are as much as 3.5 times more likely to engage in risky behaviors:
- The 19.8% of respondents who qualified as “hyper-texters” were:
–350% more likely to have had sex
–200% more likely to have tried alcohol
–55% more likely to have been in a physical fight
–41% more likely to have tried illicit drugs
–40% more likely to have tried cigarettes
- The 11.5% of respondents who qualified as “hyper-networkers” were:
–340% more likely to have an eating disorder
–240% more likely to have attempted suicide
–94% more likely to have been in a physical fight
–84% more likely to have tried illicit drugs
–79% more likely to have tried alcohol
–69% more likely to have had sex
I asked my 17-year son, a high school junior, to comment on these statistics. He expressed no surprise, but also no concern. After all correlation is not causality. He quickly pointed out that the students who text a lot have more active social lives. That may suffice as an explanation, but it is little consolation to parents wondering if they should limit social media use in some way.
Getting a Grip
I recently read an article that purported to have a quick test to see if technology was in danger of becoming a destructive force in your life. Of the ten indicators, our family exhibits more than I quite like to admit. Is this a problem? I’m not sure. We don’t seem unusual, and our Twittering, blogging and Facebooking doesn’t seem all that damaging — but how can you tell? After all, my parents thought I was addicted to my Princess Slimline telephone when I was 17 years old.
Benefits of A Social Media Vacation
JWT has listed a social media de-tox as one of the 100 trends to watch in 2011. In October, Communications Professor Bill Sledzik did just that with a two-month break from the business side of social media. Sledzik intended 90-days but only made it to 69. As he teaches social media and PR at Kent State, this was no casual decision.
Sledzik’s blog post on the experience, “How I Spent My Social Media Vacation” indicated that he discovered many productive ways to use the time, preparing a new class and rereading classic books like the “Cluetrain Manifesto” and “Groundswell”, as well as simply focusing more on relaxation. He claims he didn’t really miss it:
It just doesn’t matter. How many bloggers produce such compelling content that you can’t live without it? While I love the digital world, I believe more than ever in the Meatballs Mantra. It just doesn’t matter — at least in the scheme of life.…My blog stats went in the crapper during this break, but so what? Still, I’d be lying if I said links and re-tweets don’t motivate me. When people share my ideas, its affirmation of my work and fuel for me ego. And you don’t do this unless you have a sizable ego. Longtime readers know that my conflict with the Web demons goes way back. I love this space, but I hate it, too. The blog gives me voice, but the burden of the blog hangs constantly overhead. A digital guilt trip.
Now that he has returned to blogging, reading blogs and sharing in the digital world, Sledzik ends with this question – if it weren’t for my job, would I just walk away? Sledzik isn’t sure and neither am I. It is fun to be connected and sharing ideas. I genuinely enjoy my Twitter friends, the ‘thrill’ of seeing my posts get RT’s and comments. The question is whether I can do it in moderation, balancing the time spent with the firehose with time spent reading books and in reflection.
In Search of Balance
A few months ago I was struggling to write a book on social media and branding. I have written several articles on this subject and wanted to do a more thorough job. Yet it just wasn’t coming together. My good friend and colleague Gaurav Bhalla, an accomplished author himself, immediately diagnosed my problem. He pointed out that I was so immersed in what other people had to say on the subject I was having trouble finding my own voice. When you are deeply into a subject, you are hyper sensitive to everything you read that is even remotely connected and it interferes with clear thought. Once I recognized this, and stopped obsessively reading every new post on the subject, writing became much easier.
I wonder if it is the same for some teens? In their effort to hear what everyone else is saying, they may be losing the ability to hear their own voice. Everything in moderation, yet the demands of social media are so insistent, this may not be possible.
University of Notre Dame ranks 13th on paychecks
The high price of college is causing some young adults (and their parents) to take a hard look at what is the likely return? While it may still be true that a liberal arts education is a good foundation for life, the link with careers today is perceived to be more tenuous.
Last week PBS New Hour highlighted the plight of many unemployed college grads in Paul Solman piece titled “So you have a liberal arts degree and want a job?” The stories are tragic. Even for those employed, there is a long term effect on earnings of those unfortunate enough to have graduated into a Recession economy. (“The New Pay Gap: Boomers, Gen X and Millennials”, Forbes, 1.5.11)
With five and sometimes six figure investments at stake, parents and students are looking for reassurance that the investment will pay back.
Let’s look at both sides of the equation.
Costs
Over the past twenty years, college costs have increased steadily and the increases have accelerated recently. Relative to 1980-81, the cost of tuition at a 4-year private school have nearly tripled, and the cost at a 4-year public institution have more than tripled — in constant dollars.
According to the College Board, 2010-2011 annual tuition/fees at a public 4-year university cost over $10,000 for one-third of the enrolled students. At private four-year institutions, tuition costs over $30,000 for over a third of the students.
Yet many students pay far less. Twenty-eight percent of students at public 4-year institutions pay less than $6,000 a year in tuition and fees. Community colleges can cost even less.
Return on Investment
The answer to the ROI question is not simple.As with so many things in life ‘it depends‘ – on where you went to school, what you study, how well you study it, internships, connections, starting salary, when you get married and have children (later is better) and a host of other variables too numerous to recount.
Nevertheless, the College Board provides some helpful ‘averages’ that make a strong case that college consistently beats no college by an average of 54% and generally returns the investment made in lifetime earnings. ROI becomes stronger the longer a student has been out of school and has a lot to do with where you went to school. (Click here for CNBC list of colleges with the highest paychecks)
Not only is the ROI provable, the gap in median salary is substantial, and growing more significant each year. Since 1975, the median salary of a man with a bachelor’s degree has hovered steadily between $50,000 and $60,000 in 2008 equivalent dollars, while that of a man with only a high school education has declined from $50,000 to slightly over $30,000.
A Calculated Decision
A new book recently reviewed by the Economist, “Not Quite Adults: Why 20-Somethings Are Choosing a Slower Path to Adulthood” by Richard Setterson and Barbara Ray, reports the results of interviews with over 500 18-34 year olds regarding their coming of age decisions about college, and career. Setterson and Ray conclude that the economic case for college has never been stronger. Nevertheless, they observe reluctance, particularly among families without a college tradition, to make the investment. The cite the findings of MacArthur research to support their conclusion that this is a mistake for the students themselves as well as our society as a whole. In their mind the biggest risk of debt comes from the cost of not investing in college, not college debt.
A university degree has never been more essential for securing good employment. Graduates earn 54% more on average than those who never graduated, yet only a quarter of Americans between 25 and 34 have a bachelor’s degree. Nearly half of the 3m people who enroll in university in America drop out within six years (among wealthy countries, only Italy has a worse rate)….
Good quality, low-cost options for higher education abound (despite the rising price of private tuition), yet the children of poorly educated adults are less likely to make the necessary investment in education. The debt that young people carry today is often not from college, the MacArthur research finds, but from the cost of not investing in college.
Disturbingly, Ray and Setterson, who are academic researchers, speculate that there will be a growing divergence between the college educated ‘haves’ and the non-college educated ‘have-nots’, which they dub ‘swimmers’ and ‘treaders’. This divergence is supported by the salary data mentioned above and the widespread perception that there are fewer options for those with no post-secondary education.
['Swimmers'] often have supportive parents, wider social networks, university degrees and a greater sense of civic engagement. Many “swimmers” even choose to move back home to help pay off student loans and save for the future. Most twenty-somethings, however, are “treaders”, who simply replicate the lessons of their poorer, less stable, non-voting and hands-off parents, but to worse effect.
Related Posts:
Millennial Job Prospects Brightening, Are Employers Ready? 12.15.10
College Loans: A High Price to Pay? 12.13.10
