Millennials have busy social lives, and as a result they exhibit some interesting shopping habits specific to the candy and snack category.

According to research by Barkley and BCG, Millennials tend to snack far more than older generations.  It is very common for Millennials to regularly have snacks in the mid-morning, mid-afternoon and late at night.

The line between meals and snacks is blurring.

Frequent snacking is an opportunity McDonald’s has seized with menu items like Snack Wraps and Chicken McBites.  Taco Bell also leveraged this trend with their “fourth meal” campaign.

This also relates to Millennials’ lifestyles.  They are seldom alone.  They travel in groups, or are always about to meet up with someone.  They tend to get together for drinks and snacks regularly.  Even at work, it is common for them to bring snacks to meetings, even passing the bag around for everyone to share.  Food is a big component of their social lives.

Millennials Look to Buy Snacks Everywhere They Go

Millennials shop a wider range of channels than other generations, and tend to purchase at places better known for ‘instant consumption’ than for planning ahead.  When asked where they buy non-chocolate confectionery, Millennials listed all sorts of outlets, but were more likely than everyone else to say they buy at events, gas stations, convenience stores and vending machines.  Basically, wherever they happen to be, they are probably open to buying a snack if one catches their eye.  This is not surprising, since Millennials tend to be impulse buyers who want what they want, when they want it.

Millennials Love to Share

Millennials use their smart phones for everything from constantly texting friends, to staying connected through social media, to researching and buying products online. Thanks to technology, Millennials are very aware of what is happening in the world around them.  Through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, they share what they care about and encourage others to get involved.

Millennials in particular rely even more heavily on the opinions of others.  Of the participants in a 2011 study, those under 35 years of age where almost twice as likely in some cases to rely on input from others.  Millennials look to friends and family members 65% of the time for information on products and services.  They refer to coworkers and classmates 43% of the time.  They also depend on consumer online reviews and blogs and professional reviews. Smart phone applications such as GrubHub, OpenTable and Yelp make it easy for Millennials to quickly find things and places to eat in an instant any time of day.

Skittles Attracts Millennials With Online Fun 

Skittles is a brand that has leveraged Millennials’ desire to connect to engage consumers on the web. Its Facebook page has over 21.5 million fans, nearly as many as Starbucks. Fans are encouraged to upload photos showing their devotion to the brand. Its “Ride the Rainbow” games are a fun way to feature novelty products like Skittles Riddles, where the colors don’t match the flavors.

KIND Gets a Bite From Millennials with Healthy Snack Options

Millennials care about how they look and enjoy taking care of themselves. Many are frequent exercisers and nearly all try to eat healthy.  Snacks that have a good-for-you angle are well positioned. According to Candy & Snack Today, the energy and nutrition bar segment grew 14% last year and is projected to grow at an even faster rate through 2016.

KIND Healthy Snacks, with the motto “be KIND to your body, your taste buds and the world” is well-positioned to engage Millennials.  This is just the type of brand that could gain a large Millennial following because it’s good for you and is connected to a cause.  Millennials tend to be aware of and cautious about the sugar content of their food, along with other ingredients.  Also, remember that a fourth of them are parents, so offering them something they can feel good about giving to their kids is a must.

Millennials have strong nostalgic feelings

The ’90s are the newest “good old days.” Even though they aren’t very old, many Millennials find themselves in uncertain times now and have fond feelings for the books, movies, music and brands of their childhood. They grew up with Harry Potter, Pixar movies and Beavis and Butthead.  These memories are part of their bond with each other. Many brands like MTV are discovering nostalgia can be a way to Millennials’ hearts.  Maybe candy brands should remind sentimental Millennials how they played a role in their childhood, as well. Times are tough right now for everyone and especially for young adults.    Show them how much fun it can be to enjoy the products of their   childhood.

Carolyn Kelley is a Marketing Consultant at Brand Amplitude, LLC.  You can follow Carolyn @MiamiBelle

Will this schema be applicable to all marketing?  Probably not, but it serves as a useful reminder that when discussing Millennials, a box of crayons is more useful than a broad brush.

The study was based on a survey of 4,000 Millennials (ages 16 to 34) and 1,000 non-Millennials (ages 35 to 74) in the United States. The research profiles six  discrete segments based on responses to questions about technology, cause marketing, media habits, and general outlook on life: Hip-ennial, Millennial Mom, Anti-Millennial, Gadget Guru, Clean and Green Millennial, and Old-School Millennial. (See below)

What I like about this segmentation is that it transcends any particular category, issue or dimension and it also acknowledges the importance of lifestage in shaping consumer behavior. A millennial mom is not interested in the same things as a Hip-ennial. Likewise, it acknowledges that while the generation as a whole is defined by its passion for causes, interest in the environment, and use of technology, they are not true of all Millennials, and even goes so far as to identity an ‘Anti-Millennial’ segment.

In my conversations with Millennials, many say that they do not identify with all of the characteristics ascribed to their generation. This segmentation helps to drill down a bit into that issue. For marketers, these segments help to put a face on some of the more prominent Millennial ‘archtypes’.  You wouldn’t address a Gadget Guru in the same way as an Anti-Millennial when talking about technology, and perhaps a few other related categories.

Any blanket segmentation has limitations and this one is not a replacement for a category-specific Millennial segmentation, particularly if your category doesn’t readily line up with the dimensions used to create these segments.  Nevertheless, this research is a step in the right direction and should provide terrific starting point for those wishing to drill down into this cohort for specific insights that get beyond the generalities.

To access the full report, visit the BCG web site.

To learn more about the study, visit the Barkley web site.

• Movie:  Bloomberg/Businessweek predicts the movie will to generate $350 million at the U.S. box office, with a chance to go as high as $390 million, putting it in line to surpass the $381 million mark set by the final “Harry Potter” film.

• Books: The books have already surpassed the sales of the Twilight series, with 36.5 million copies of the series in print.

• Soundtrack: The movie soundtrack debuted at number one on Billboard, displacing Adele’s 21.

Witnessing this rocket-like performance, it’s worth taking a moment to ask “what explains the phenomenon?” 

The movie defies categorization:  Survivor + Gladiator + 1984 + Coal Miner’s Daughter with a PG-13 rating.  Yet, there is more going on here than just a mash up of unlikely genres.  Like one of Katniss Everdeen’s high tech arrows, this story strikes at the heart of many Millennial-cherished values.  Here are just a few of the ways “Hunger Games” connects emotionally with its Millennial audiences:

1. Collaboration is the new competition - Although the Hunger Game competition is a fight to the death, with just one possible winner, Katniss refuses to succumb to the pressure to win at the expense of others. She repeatedly shows kindness to younger, weaker competitors and benefits from her generosity as others spare her life for sparing theirs.

2. Excess consumption is revolting - The contrast between Katniss’s dreary District 12 and the colorful, grotesquely lavish lifestyle of the dystopian capital, Panem,  makes viewers cringe.

3. Distrust power and “reality TV” - The rules of the game are arbitrary and manipulative, the rule-makers are corrupt and not to be trusted.

4. Competence is what matters -Katniss prevails because she is more disciplined, skilled, and strategic. Her competence is a powerful answer to the oft-repeated wish, “May the odds be ever in your favor.” The capable do not need luck.

5. Mentors are important to success -Katniss is willing to take the advice of her stylist and her mentor. That advice is critical to her success.

6. True love is not the end all, be all – Katniss is willing to sacrifice her life for her sister. She is motivated by family, not by romantic love.  In fact, she’s not sure she wants to marry and have children at all. She is clear-eyed about the ‘star-crossed’ lovers theme, not sentimental.

7. Be yourself -Throughout the movie, Katniss is unwilling to accommodate those who advise her to ‘be more likeable’.  She refuses to win by sacrificing who she really is.

Like an Arrow

These are some of the ways “The Hunger Games” connects with Millennial values, yet for me, the movie was uncompelling. There was little more at stake than the survival of the main characters.  Since I am aware the movie is a trilogy, Katniss’ survival is foreordained (at least until the third installment).  I liked Katniss, but I don’t relate to her or her plight.  I was more engaged in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, where the stakes of the Cold War transcended the significance of the individual characters.  In the end, what does it matter who wins the Hunger Games? There seems to be little of principle at stake.

For Millennials, the more personal drama of Katniss Everdeen is compelling and important. She is a real and admirable role-model. Her fictional struggles are not that abstract to Millennials confronting a competitive world, yet trained from an early age to collaborate. Her desire to remain true to herself, and resist corruption resonate. Her lack of self-consciousness about the way she looks, her desirability to the hot guys around her and her dedication to those younger and weaker are especially poignant to young adults struggling to find their way.

Kudos to the author, publisher, movie makers and marketers who recognized the potency of this particular narrative to a generation ‘hungering’ for a heroine that fits their time.

Millennials may be poorer than they appear

Late last year I wrote a post based on two recent reports using government data to document the seriousness of the financial squeeze on Millennials (Young and Poor in America, December, 2011).    The bottom line? There isn’t much of a bottom line for today’s young adults.

Factors impacting their pockets are  fewer jobs, lower earnings, poorer job quality in terms of benefits, higher debt, and higher costs for education, rent and health care.  The data is a clear warning to marketers counting on discretionary dollars from young adults to jumpstart their industries out of recession. It’s not gonna happen.

It found 20-somethings in 2005 were worse off than those of 1975 in every area except education, and even the trends for educational access are alarming.

Typical earnings (in constant dollars) for young men have declined over the course of a generation, falling 19 percent between 1975 and 2005 and falling 34% for young men without a college degree. Typical earnings for young women increased a mere 4 percent over the same period. Much of the decline came recently, between 2001 and 2005, despite increases in educational attainment.

Just How Bad Is It?

Source: Ad Age: Spending by 25-34 year olds indexed to Boomers at the same age.

This week, two more analyses of Millennial spending shed further light on the situation, sadly with much the same conclusion. One is from Ad Age and the other from Bloomberg Businessweek.

The  Advertising Age analysis is based on Bureau of Labor statistics spending data  comparing three generations at the same point in their lives – age 25-34. Indexing Boomers at 100, the study shows significantly lower spending by Millennials in constant dollars for a range of categories, including food at home, apparel, home furnishings, and transportation. Dining out and entertainment were not as strongly affected but were down somewhat nevertheless. While not shown in this analysis, based on the earlier studies it is likely that spending on discretionary items such as travel, automotive and financial services would also be impacted. It is interesting to note that these declines are not due to lower TOTAL spending, which is actually up vs. 25-34 year old Boomers by $3 in constant dollars.

Millennials Adjusting to the New Reality

The actual data matches Millennials self-perceptions regarding their spending. In a recent study, we asked Millennial women if they were to have an extra $1000, how they would spend it? The majority claim they would allocate it to debt reduction, savings and education. This is not an group given to self-indulgent splurges.

A new report by Bloomberg Businessweek confirms the “penny pinching” realities of Millennial life:

•  Nearly a quarter of Millennials say they don’t have enough money to buy basic necessities
• Less than half say they consistently pay their bills on time
• Nearly 40% of Millennials are estimated to be without health insurance
• About a quarter have moved back with their parents at least once to save money
• Nearly half (45%) say they have consciously reduced their driving (vs. 24% of older drivers)

Marketing Outlook Growing Brighter

The silver lining is that while “rising” of Millennials and their disposable dollars has been delayed, it’s not likely to be foregone entirely.  Recessions always end eventually and people grow older. As the economy improves and Millennial incomes improve, the brands that have gone the extra mile to connect with Millennial values and aspirations during bad times are likely to thrive all the more so during the good ones.

Meanwhile, those looking to connect with Millennials in the near-term should take care to position their products and services as necessities, not frills. Show the utility of the brand in helping Millennials be more efficient with their time, smarter with their money, or kinder to the environment.

Another hint: Millennials may be more likely to open their pockets for gifts for a special someone or an experience than for goods for themselves. For the most part, Millennials are less interested in accumulating things, but they still crave unique entertainment and access to life enhancing experiences.  The one exception may be apparel.  According to the Bloomberg Businessweek data, Millennials as 25-34 spend 8% more on apparel than those 35-44 even though they earn 22% less. It’s one thing to be poor, but apparently it’s just not cool to look like you’re struggling.

Why Millennials Matter

The Millennial vote will be pivotal to winning the election in 2012, just as they were in 2008.  In 2008, Millennials made up 17% of the electorate. Collectively, they accounted for a significant part of Barack Obama’s national popular vote.

In 2012, even more Millennials will be of legal voting age. Millennials are projected to make up nearly one fourth of the electorate next November. Many of these young voters will be casting ballots for the first time, and are likely to be more ‘independent’ than partisan.  Nevertheless, Pew figures from November 2011 show Obama with a 26 point lead over Mitch Romney among 18-29 year olds in a hypothetical match-up.  A lot will depend on how many Millennials actually show up to vote as well as what both candidates do to capture their attention in the next 12 months.

Millennial Mood Shift

In the recession-dominated four years since the last Presidential election, Gen Y has gone from being optimistic and ‘hopeful’ to discouraged and angry.  The shift seemed to have happened quite suddenly, triggered by the realization that trillions of stimulus dollars, gigantic industry takeovers and costly bank bailouts were insufficient to create  jobs and give young adults a toehold in the economy.

Why ‘sudden’? Even as little as a year ago, I would never have predicted anything like the Occupy Wall Street movement. In fact, when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert launched their “Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear” in Washington DC last October, I wondered whether it would resonate with a generation notable for its lack of protest and desire to work within the system to create change:

“… the truth is, this generation does care. They are caring by not participating, by disassociating. Stewart also understands this; he gets their approach. They are conservative liberals. They want to change the system without marching down Main Street. Without lowering themselves to the same tactics, name calling and bickering they detest. It’s hard to have a voice when you are disgusted by the tone of the conversation. So instead of joining, they are quiet rebels who challenge the status quo by the way they live, not how they protest. …. The “Rally to Restore Sanity” was a TV staged event they attended, not a grass roots rally they created. Just like Demand TV or ITunes, it was offered up and they clicked “attend.”

When you’re hurting, inequity is an easy concept to grasp — just ask any four year old.  In 2011, evidence of unfairness was easy to find.  The concept that lit the spark was growing lopsidedness in wealth distribution. The target of resentment was easy to find, as well – Wall Street. The way money is made by corporate fat cats and Wall Street bankers became the focus of Millennial discontent, not those who set the rules in Washington. This is good for Obama, and bad for Republicans who are more associated with the 1% than the 99%.

What It Will Take to Win With Millennials

Winning with Millennials will require either championing the idea of inequality, or refocusing the dialog. Obama seems to understand this with his recent populist stance and anti-business actions, like the decision to block the Keystone Pipeline and the AT&T/T-Mobile merger.  The Wall Street Journal writes, “The deal landed just as the Obama administration was rolling into its rel-election campaign, which, amid a depresssed economy, will be about vilifying big business and playing to economic pessimism.” (“How AT&T Miscalculated”, WSJ, 12.21.2011)

Yet there is evidence that refocusing the dialog may be a better way to win the hearts of Millennials. Most people accept that wealth is inequally distributed and say that even in an ideal world, the top 20% should in fact control about a third of the wealth.  Millennials especially have been raised to believe that hard work and talent are what matters to success. What they struggle with is inequal distribution of opportunity.  In other words, it’s okay if someone has more than I do, as long as I have a shot at being part of the 20% myself.

Shifting the conversation to distribution of opportunity rather than wealth would resonate with Millennials, who contrary to myth, are not looking for a handout. Democratic pollster, Douglas Schoen, reported in October that the more radical ideas of those Occupying Wall Street are in fact out of step with the mainstream of Millennial thinking, which is more focused on a level playing field than redistributing wealth: “People are frustrated by an economy that does not reward hard work and responsibility.” (“Polling the Occupy Wall Street Crowd,” WSJ, 10.18.11)

Paul Conway, leader of the non-profit organization, Generation Opportunity, agrees with this assessment. He says the Occupy Wall Street protesters are out of step with most young voters:

“Despite this loud minority, though, most young voters believe lowering business taxes creates jobs, and that businesses are able to grow with less government interference…President Obama’s 2008 electoral victory was attributed in part to his support from first-time voters. But his public expressions of sympathy with the Occupy Wall Street movement, and his disdain for public spending cuts, could alienate a large number of young voters this time around.” 

Listening to young voters and getting the real message of Occupy Wall Street right could make the difference between winning and losing in 2012.

Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light Institute, concurs that the Occupy Wall Street group does not represent mainline Millennials who continue to be more interested in changing business from the inside out than via protest.

“The Occupy Wall Street movement is largely fueled by a relatively small set of young people who view the protests as a fight for their future. The vast majority, however, are getting up and going to work every day — or wishing they could. These individuals are part of a less dramatic but, perhaps, equally powerful movement of Millennials shaping the future of business.”  (“Millennials to Business: Social Responsibility Isn’t Optional, Wash Post, 12.20.11)

 

Creating a Meaningful Presidential Brand

We should be thankful to the Occupy Wall Street movement for making us recognize Millennials as a political force, even if they do not represent the majority of Millennials. If I were advising the President or one of the Republican Presidential campaigns, I would tell them to get busy. They need to engage with motivated young adults, who’s only request is that they get a fair shake and know a fair shake won’t come from Wall Street but from the politicians that set the rules — for how jobs are created and wealth is made, not how wealth is redistributed.  With Millennials becoming the most influential generation to vote in 2012 and beyond, I am hoping that this dialog starts soon.

Here are four ways Millennials are shaking up retail.

1. If You’re Not a Millennial, Chances Are You Overpaid

According to a new study released from Deloitte, nine in 10 shoppers know what they’re buying before they arrive at a store. Bloomberg calls this trend the ‘Rise of the Surgical Shopper’. Techcrunch heralds the “Death of the Impulse Shopper”. Whichever way you look at it, web-savvy Millennials ALWAYS do their homework before selecting a store. They know what they want and are more likely to treat every trip as a ‘mission’ trip.

The impact: Shoppers are visiting fewer stores, but spending more per store. “Typically traffic and sales growth rise or fall in tandem. Last year [they] spotted something new. Even as retail sales grew 3.5 percent, according to the NRF [National Retail Federation], traffic declined 0.5 percent.” This makes every customer more important, and requires a greater emphasis on ‘converting’ every shopper to a buyer. As a result, retailers can no longer rely on impulse buying to pay back the cost of loss leader promotions, and rewards for store loyalty. Instead, they are having to learn a whole new set of tricks to attract value conscious, socially motivated shoppers.

2. Gaming the System

Location-based services like Foursquare and Facebook Places have turned shopping into a game and taken loyalty programs to a whole new level.  “Millennials are even more willing to participate in loyalty and reward programs than their parents, but they expect reward programs to be free, easy and fast.”  According to a new survey, 77% of U.S. Millennials participate in loyalty programs, and 78% say they are more likely to choose a brand that offers a loyalty or reward program over a brand that doesn’t offer one.  Like older consumers, they prefer universal rewards that can be redeemed with a common currency.

The impact: Retailers can no longer rely on store-specific rewards programs. They need to tie into the larger eco-system, in creative ways. It will also be essential to respect shoppers’ privacy while providing them with offers that make shopping more fun and engaging. Finally, redemption must be seamless.  A recent collaboration between retailers, H&M and Sports Authority, and American Express enables shoppers to get cash back discounts on their AMEX cards  when they check into a venue using Foursquare and spend money using their American Express cards. H&M will give you $10 back on a $75 purchase, while Sports Authority will reimburse you $20 for spending $50.

3. Why Stress? Shop Online.

Multi-channel shopping is a reality for most Millennials who are just as comfortable ordering online as in the store. Last week, Millennial student, Tara Hunt, wrote a survival guide for Millennials for Black Friday which advised her peers to skip the event altogether and shop online. Here’s her description of the check out line:

If you survive the parking lot, the tsunami of people and the flames and demons from the toy aisle, you will find yourself standing for eternity at the check-out counter. There, you will find an exhausted and irritable employee wearing something nauseatingly festive like a reindeer antler headband or elves’ ears. They will greet you with a forced grimace and bid you adieu with a nonsectarian, monotone “Happy Holidays,” and in between make certain that you know that working there is the best form of punishment man could devise. Smile and leave quickly.

Millennial fashionistas know the best goods and prices can be found through online shopping clubs like Gilt.com, Shopitome.com and Designer Social or OneKingsLane.com. An apparel retailer we work with reports that half of their sales are online. Today is Cyber Monday and I suspect that much of the activity will have been Millennial-fueled.

Impact: Retailers will need to find ways to make shopping online as easy and fun as shopping in stores. Amazon, Zappos and Target are leading the way, keeping it simple with no shipping costs, easy returns and peer reviewed merchandise. I especially like how Target displays navigation for clearance, coupons and the weekly ad prominently on the home page, acknowledging the importance of bargains. Similarly, OneKingsLane.com offers ONLY sales and they last just a few hours or days. Neither site feels like ‘discount’ merchandise, rather they extend the ‘thrill of the hunt’ to a different venue.

4. Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?

A University of New Hampshire researcher, Nelson Barber, investigated the shopping and purchase habits of different generations and concluded that one of the most distinguishing characteristics of Gen Y shoppers was their reliance on peers. Unlike older cohorts Gen X and Boomers, Gen Y wants assurance that their decisions will help them fit in and ‘conform with the crowd’.  Research conducted this year by Kansas City-based agency, Barkley, confirmed that Millennials shop for fun and relaxation, and they are twice as likely to shop with friends.

It’s interesting to note that female Millennials are twice as likely to shop with friends or significant others and they’re significantly more likely than older generations to see shopping as a pathway to relaxation. They’re also much more likely to consider access to shopping areas to be important in deciding on vacation destinations. Male Millennials appear to be much more comfortable with shopping than their predecessors; 30 percent say they shop for apparel two or three times per month, and 8 percent shop once or more per week.

Impact: If shopping is a social event, smart retailers should find ways to make it as fun and social as possible. Barber recommends greater use of peer-sharing tools, online and via mobile:

Barber recommends companies focus on attracting Generation Yers through peer interactions. Websites should be optimized with social networking, blogs, and live chat customer service. The mobile Web also plays an important role in how Generation Y socializes. “Because Generation Y is media savvy and conscious of being the target of marketing, brands that succeed will be those that open a dialogue, admit their mistakes, and essentially become more transparent.”

Post by Guest Blogger, Judy Hopelain

Brand managers have historically aimed for consistency in the online experience and have aimed to deliver a largely uniform presentation of their brands. Their websites house most, if not all, of their content and serve as the one-stop-shop for accessing it. This approach to online brand management has been possible as long as users could access a brand’s online assets through just one platform, the computer (whether desktop, laptop or netbook), and only a handful of operating systems.

Prepare for the Mobile Transformation of Brands

Brands are in for a thrill  — and brand management will be redefined — as Gartner forecasts that mobile will overtake the PC by 2013 as the main way users access the Internet. As Beth Murphy, CMO of the born-mobile site HotelTonight, told the audience at a recent SVAMA panel discussion on mobile marketing, “Mobile users have different expectations of their experience than their computer-based counterparts: they want it to be tactile and much more engaging.” Meeting these expectations will require redesigning the brand’s mobile experience, not just porting the computer-based web experience over to mobile platforms

Today, less than 30% of company websites are optimized for mobile access. Doing so requires understanding each mobile platform’s unique advantages and constraints — from text messaging on mobile phones to wireless roaming and apps on smartphones and tablets.  Google’s brand new gomo initiative is a reflection of the importance of optimizing for mobile, and the size of the opportunity.

New Demands for Brand Management

Brand management will mushroom as brand teams are called on to define the brand experience for specific mobile platforms, and to develop mobile style guides that define the user interaction and depth of experience on each one. They will also need to specify how the brand’s messaging hierarchy and overall brand positioning are expressed through mobile. In the process, mobile may afford new opportunities for brand meaning that had not previously been understood. So, mobile may well inform brand strategy as well as be informed by it.

Brand managers will also have to ensure their existing websites are optimized for mobile. To make the case to management, they might want to run a few mobile promotions first so they have the numbers to justify the request.

Mobile is going to make user experiences and brand management a lot more interesting. They should also be a lot more fun!

Judy Hopelain is a brand strategy consultant and lecturer at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.

Contact her directly at judy@brandamplitude.com

By 2009, that had changed with the growing awareness that Millennials were different and important. From 2009 on there has been a steady stream of free reports, many of them very good.  In July 2009 I  listed what I thought were the best eight studies and provided a more comprehensive list in December. Since then, I’ve maintained a wiki (millennialmarketing.wikispaces.com) to keep track of the latest research as it comes out. It’s time to once again highlight the best studies of the past 12 months.

Here’s my list of studies from the past 12 months worth reading (in no particular order):

Pew Research: “The State of Millennials“ July 2011 (slide presentation)

McCann World Group: “The Truth About Youth” June 2011 (slide presentation)

Kiplinger: “Make Way for Generation Y” December, 2010 (article and slide show)

Euro RSCG: “Gender Shift: Are Women the New Men?” December 2010 (pdf)

Higher Education Research Institute: “The American Freshman: National Norms 2010″ January 2011 (pdf)

Chronicle of Higher Ed: “Who Are the Undergraduates?“ December 2010 (interactive graphic)

Center for American Progress: “The College Conundrum” December 2010 (pdf)

MacArthur Foundation: “BluePrint for the Millennial America” 2011

Mr. Youth Agency: “Meet the Class of 2015,” October 2011 (video and pdf)

Edelman: “Millennials 8095“, October 2010 (pdf)

JGA and Achieve: “Millennial Donors 2011″

Want more? Check out our wiki: millennialmarketing.wikispaces.com

Did I miss something cool? Email me: carol@brandamplitude.com

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?

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…