Study after study has shown a dramatic shift, not in hours spent watching video, but where it is watched.

“Younger Viewers Watching More TV on the Web” – Retrevo 4.12.10 “According to a Retrevo “Pulse Report” of over 1,000 people regarding their TV viewing habits, 23% of people under the age of 25 watch most of their television content online compared with just 8% of people over the age of 25 watching most of their TV shows via the web.”

“Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-18 year old s” Kaiser Family Foundation Longitudinal research tracked changes in media use 1999-2009 via diary.  Loaded with great charts on total media usage and how it breaks out by medium over time. Total hours spent with media has increased by over 2 hours due to multitasking. TV accounts for 4 hours 29 minutes a day, but only 59% (2 hours 39 minutes) is watched live.

“How Teens Watch: The Future of Media is in Their Hands: Nielsen 6.16.10 “12-24 year olds are more connected, more tech savvy, and more likely to use personal devices such as smartphones, laptops and other gadgets for video viewing. They are also less likely to watch traditional television. Teens living at home tend to watch more TV overall than 18-24 year olds busy with college or their first jobs. But the “first screen,” TV, is less central to both.”

But will this behavior shift persist as Gen Y ages?

The Nielsen research raises some interesting questions regarding whether this pattern away from traditional TV and toward time shifted TV or third screen is age and lifestyle related or generational. This may seem like hairsplitting, but actually is important. If the behavior is age and lifestyle related, they may revert back to traditional viewing with age. If it’s generational, however, we’re seeing something more fundamental.

Nielsen suggests the changes may, in fact, be more due to age. But I think it’s generational.

Let’s look closer at the Nielsen analysis. This gets a little convoluted, but bear with me (it helps to look at the chart above as well).  According to Nielsen:

“The teens of 2001 watched less than 25 hours of television a week but by 2009 as they aged into 18-24s, they were watching 31 hours of television.

Even more dramatically, the young adults of 2001 watched less than 25 hours of television but watched more than 36 hours a week of television as they aged into the 25-35 cohort.”

This is compelling on the surface, but I think the comparisons are unfair. First, if you compare apples to apples –  P18-24 in 2009 vs. P18-24 in 2001 – you see that the total hours of viewing have increased from under 25 per week to 31 per week in 2009.  So the increase from P18-24 in 2001 to P25-34 in 2009 is consistent with the overall trend that indicates video watching in general is becoming more, not less, important.

Second, the Nielsen analysis doesn’t account for the fact that the media environment is exploding with options, making it difficult to predict how today’s 18-24′s will behave ten years from now.  If the pattern of increased television holds, they will watch more, but that does not necessarily mean it will be on traditional television.  ”Convergence” is something that has been predicted for a long time.  Given the dramatic changes in time shifted and third screen viewing by Gen Y, it may actually come true sooner than we think. In my opinion, the changes indicate a generational shift. Those in traditional television should take little comfort in the Nielsen analysis.

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.

One of the questions I hear a lot is ‘W

I have addressed this a few times, before in this blog (see “What’s a Millennial? Why Do Marketers Need a Label?”).  Just like the question ‘what is a brand‘ there is no easy agreed upon answer, although I generally answer that I subscribe to the definition used by Pew Research that a Millennial is someone currently age 18-29, born after 1980.

Just for fun, I decided to answer the question as definitively as I know how. Using Census data and Pew Research definitions, I created a chart that shows the number of people there are of each age, from 0-100 years, based on 2008 projections for 2010. (I also laid the actual birth years below so you can double check your identity.) No doubt this data will be updated when the new Census data becomes available, but for now, this may be as good as it gets.

Here are a few observations:

First it confirms that the big three are Millennials (including teens), Gen X’ers and Boomers. Millennials are 73 million strong. Boomers are still the largest cohort by a 3 million person margin and Gen X the smallest.  The bars become shorter and shorter past age 63 (yikes that’s a steep decline!) so we can reasonably project Boomers will shrink each year while Millennials and Gen X will be large for some years to come.

Another observation is that the Millennial population currently peaks at age 19-20. This explains the ultra competitiveness of college admissions the last few years with record applications, selectivity and enrollment. This peak is good news for the age groups that follow, those currently 18 or under, but bad news for those ahead them who are already struggling to find good jobs without the added stress of a peak number of new college grads hitting the market.

A final observation is that while teens are currently separated out, they should probably be considered part of the Millennial generation once they turn 18. Most generations span a period of more than 12 years, and this one will most likely be no exception.

My biggest take away from this chart is a caution. A group of 73 million people (current teens and Millennials) should not be thought of as a single ‘market’ any more than Boomers can be thought of as a ‘market’.

The concept of the ‘Millennial market’ for marketers should probably represent more of a psychographic or starting point for segmentation. Millennial, like Boomer, will most likely come to represent a set of values and way of looking at the world. I have long maintained that when marketing to Gen Y, values and behaviors are most defining and useful than age.

Pew seems to agree with me.  For the last month or so, Pew has offered a How Millennial Are You? online quiz. If you haven’t taken it, I urge you to try it.  The questions are scored 1-100 with anyone scoring 73 or higher rated a “millennial”. The scoring mechanism seems to be pretty accurate based on the results of the quiz. Most Millennials in fact do score pretty high.   I scored an 81, well into Millennial territory, a fact I am proud of.

The actual answers from the 2010 Pew Millennials survey on which the quiz is based can be seen here.  Even among true age-defined Millennials, the answers are a matter of degree, not black and white.

Sorry for all the numbers, but I think they provide a useful caution for marketers: It’s less about your age,  than about young you feel and act.

One of the biggest changes is the sheer amount of information available to marketers about Gen Y.  Two years ago, there was little to draw on, so we did our primary research studies – on the workplace and on social media. No longer. There are mountains of free published information, and a lot of is is very good. Any marketer who needs to understand Gen Y (and who doesn’t?) should start with what is already published.  True much of it will not be exactly what you need. A syndicated study doesn’t ask that specific question about your category or brand. But for context, many of these studies are better than what any one firm could do on its own. 

Earlier this year we started keeping track of the best studies we ran across in a wiki, called Millennialmarketing.wikispaces.com. (Bookmark it!) Each study has been classified into one of a dozen categories. There are usually dozens of studies within each category, and new ones are being added nearly every day. (If you register, you can add your own finds as well.)

Millennial Consumer & Shopping Behavior

Millennial Health

Millennial Lifestyle, Attitudes & Values

Millennials & Financial Services

Millennials & Media

Millennials & Politics

Millennials & Religion

Millennial Demographics & Economics

Millennials in the Workplace

Presentations & Ebooks on Millennials

Millennials & EducationVideos

Millennial Marketing Cases

Generational marketing skeptics (yes, there are many) usually have two main objections.

The first objection is that Gen Y is really just like other generations at the same age. Any differences are due to stage of life – students and young adults naturally are different in their outlook, values and spending patterns. As they mature, marry, take on real jobs, have kids, etc. they will naturally lose some of their ‘distinctive’ qualities. 

The second objection is based on the concern that sweeping generalizations about any age group can obscure important individual differences and be misleading.

Of course, there is a grain of truth to both claims. Lifestage is part of the puzzle and an important marketing variable — young people are different from older consumers. That’s why age is one of the first bases of most segmentation schemes, along with gender and ethnicity.  BUT! It is a mistake to assume young people of your generation are the same as young people today. They grew up in a different time and were shaped by different cultural forces, not to mention different technology and prevailing parenting views.  Do you think your parents were the same as you at the same age?

If this logic isn’t compelling enough, longitudinal research studies provide evidence of generational shifts. Here are several studies worth checking out. They compare young adults of today with people the same age at different points in time.

As for stereotypes I have addressed this before. Stereotypes and ‘profiling’ are problematic in most areas of life, but they are essential for marketers. Until we have tools that can target people individually (and that day is coming faster than you might think), marketers must aggregate people based on characteristics into segments and create profiles (or if you prefer, ‘persona’s') to keep their products, messages relevant.

Which brings me back to the value and limitations of secondary research.  It provides an excellent starting point, but should be considered just that, a beginning. Marketers need specific information about how Gen Y thinks about their category, brand or marketing program. For that, there is no substitute for primary research. 

Longitudinal Study of Young Adult Mental Health

Pew Research Reports: How Are Millennials Different than their Parents at the Same Age?

Girl Scouts USA Longitudinal Study of Values

College Board Student Poll of Incoming Freshman

DEMOS: Economic State of Young America

Happy 300th to me! Hope you enjoy the gifts.

I first became aware of the issue of campus binge drinking when I read the terrifying 2005 novel by Tom Wolfe, “I Am Charlotte Simmons“. As with most of Wolfe’s books, it is anthropological exploration disguised as fiction. The book was based on years of research on elite college campuses. The documentation of the ‘student-athlete, hook-up and drinking culture was an eye-opener.

Academic research on the culture of college drinking is not hard to find: “It is far more pervasive and destructive than many think” was the conclusion of an extensive 3-year investigation by the Task Force on College Drinking, commissioned by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism(NIAAA). The problem begins in high school, with thirty percent of 12th graders, reporting heavy episodic drinking.  (Slightly more report having ”been drunk”, and almost three-quarters report drinking in the past year.)

By the time they get to college,  alcohol consumption is considered a necessary “rite of passage. Traditions and beliefs handed down through generations of college drinkers serve to reinforce students’ expectations that alcohol is a necessary component of social success.”

• Approximately 70 percent of college students consumed some alcohol in the past month.
• 31 percent reported symptoms associated with alcohol abuse (e.g., drinking in hazardous situations and alcohol-related school problems).
• 6 percent reported 3 or more symptoms of alcohol dependence (e.g., drinking more or longer than initially planned and experiencing increased tolerance to alcohol’s effects).

The immediate consequences of alcohol abuse in college are troubling, and include death, injury, assault, unsafe sex, suicide, health problems, and more.  Immediate consequences also include negative impact on academic performance. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.

The short-term impact extends even to ‘second-hand effects’ on other students, and the campus community. “Students who do not drink or engage in low-risk drinking are affected by the problem drinking of their fellow students. These problems can range from disrupted sleep or study to caring for an intoxicated roommate to even being humiliated or assaulted.”

There are also longer term consequences.   While most high-risk college student drinkers reduce their consumption of alcohol after leaving college, others may continue frequent, excessive drinking, leading to alcoholism or medical problems associated with chronic alcohol abuse.   A 2008 CDC Report, “Health United States with a Special Report on Young Adults 18-29,” notes “The period between ages 18 and 29 sets the foundation for future health behaviors and health status, and may be the time in life when health education and preventive care may arguably have their greatest impact”. This report provides troubling details that suggest that ‘foundation’ may not be all that solid.

Last February, Lesley Stahl reported on the problem for CBS 60 Minutes. The student interviews reveal a high degree of peer pressure to drink. Drinking is equated with having a good time, and not drinking means you are nowhere socially.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

The problem appears to be peculiar to college students. The NYT reported last June that information collected over a 27-year period by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, found “binge drinking by men between 18 and 20 years old who did not attend college dropped by more than 30 percent over that period but remained statistically unchanged among similar-aged men on campus. There was no difference between college and noncollege women in the 18- to 20-year age group but a big upsurge in binge drinking by older college women.”

No one seems to know why this problem has been particularly difficult to address among college students.  Millennial have proven remarkably prepared to make good choices in other areas of their lives, but appear to resist efforts to break the culture of college drinking.

By this definition, Millennials are a subculture.

While they share many of the myths, customs and rituals of the larger culture, they have language, preferences and customs that are distinct to their generation.  They have a unique set of reference groups and opinion leaders.  These cultural factors exert enormous influence over Gen Y buying decisions, and are crucial for establishing relevance.

Learning about Millennial culture can be a tricky business if you are not a Millennial yourself. Even within the Millennial subculture, there is diversity. In fact, this generation is notable for it’s multi-culturalism.

Two of the best Millennial culture sleuths I have discovered are Tim Stock, Head of Planning at scenarioDNA, and Kevin Walker of Culture Labs Creative.

I found both Stock and Walker on Twitter and have spoken with each of them ‘live’ (proof Twitter works!). They are both passionate about understanding cultural influences on consumer behavior among youth.

ScenarioDNA describes itself as a ‘consumer insights think tank.’ Stock, who is also adjunct faculty at Parson’s School of Design, urges marketers to think in terms of ‘culture networks’ and ‘culture codes’. This philosophy is based on the idea that “values are shaped at critical points of the maturation process”, and that “our image of what products mean is dictated by this imprinting“. In other words, generations are shaped by common experiences peculiar to that point in time.

Stock has developed a strategic methodology for segmenting consumers based on their ‘culture code’ and for  ’mapping’ the corresponding networks. He offers a fabulous lecture on culture networks (via slideshare), and another look at one particular network, the ‘Transformer Generation”. Both are well worth viewing.

Culture Labs Creative is a research-focused digital agency with special expertise in urban youth culture. Walker, who comes from a marketing communications and research background, emphasizes immersion techniques. 15-20 members of the target audience are invited to share their experience and ideas in a live workshop that is part event, part research.  Sample output from a Global Trends event is provided on the Culture Labs site.

To identify the ‘Top 10 Trends, Culture Labs ‘monitored social media chatter during the last quarter of 2009′ and conducted in-market explorations in Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York as well as a ‘Trend Summit’ in Dallas in December. Among the 10 Trends were these observational ‘gems’ I haven’t seen anywhere else:

Vans Sneakers

“Take note of the Classic Americana fashion trend developing. We also predict that Vans sneakers will be the hot brand of 2010. Vans are classic, inexpensive and are offered in many colors and styles….  As times remain challenged and serious, people are going to dress up more in 2010. The era of sloppiness in dress and casual Fridays is so ’00’s. Young people are rediscovering “dressing up” and it is driven by a new pragmatic sense that to make progress, get a job, and be taken seriously you have to look the part. As one of our speakers at the Trend Summit, Michael Hastings-Black, mentioned, it is the “grown ass man” syndrome that is inspiring people to dress up more.”

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.

Of the big three, Sex and Religion get more digital ink than Politics. While Millennials are hailed as possibly the next ‘civic generation’, their engagement seems to be more with making a difference through social causes than via political action.

Two new studies each purport to know where Gen Y’s partisan sympathies lie at this moment in our political history.  To my surprise, the results appear to be diametrically opposed.

The first study, by the ever-reliable Pew Research Center, shows support for the Democrats among Millennials took a nosedive in 2009 following the outpouring of support for Obama in ’08.

“The Democratic advantage over the Republicans in party affiliation among young voters, including those who “lean” to a party, reached a whopping 62% to 30% margin in 2008. But by the end of 2009 this 32-point margin had shrunk to just 14 points: 54% Democrat, 40% Republican.”

A quick look at the Pew chart above shows that the ‘shift’  is actually a return to the baseline level of 37% Republican/53% Democrat for Gen Y that was seen in 2007. This ‘bounce’ suggests that the Obama campaign represented an anomaly in Millennial’s political sentiments, not a fundamental shift in affiliation. According to Pew, the weakening may have a lot to do with diminished support for Obama and his policies among Millennials, similar to the waning seen for the general population.

“Obama’s job approval rating slipped substantially over the past year among Millennials as well as among older age groups.  … in February 2009, 73% of Millennials approved of Obama’s job performance — the highest percentage in any age group. One year later, in February 2010, just 57% of Millennials give Obama a positive rating.”

The second study by Frank Magid and Associates, which provided much of the data underlying Winograd and Hais’s book, Millennial Makeover, shows Gen Y’s Democrat leaning solidifying in 2009.

“In 2008, Millennials voted more than 2:1 for Obama over McCain (66% vs. 32%) and by roughly the same percentage (63% vs. 34%) for Democratic congressional candidates. Magid’s 2010 data shows this same level of Democratic identification persisting among Millennials who are attending college. Twice as many college students call themselves Democrats as Republicans (47% vs. 24%). Only 15% are independents, with a similar percentage unwilling to identify with any of those three choices.

The key difference here may be the words “Millennials who are attending college”. Indeed, if this is the case and student affiliation is stable, it suggests an even greater decline for the Dem’s among non-college educated Millennials.

While the two studies do not appear to agree on political party affiliation, they do agree on liberal-conservative self-identification.

According to Pew, ideologically, 29 percent of Millennials describe themselves as liberals, 28 percent say they are conservatives and 40 percent identify themselves as moderates.

Similar numbers are reported by Winograd and Hais in the Huffington Post for the Frank Magid study:  31 percent of college students 18 and older call themselves liberals or progressives, 20 percent say they are conservative and 30 percent  describe their political philosophy as moderate, while “20% haven’t learned enough in college yet to say just what their ideological orientation is.”

What this tells me is that both parties have some work to do.

The Republicans have an opportunity perhaps to win over some of the moderates and undecided’s, or at least give them pause about voting Democrat in the mid-terms. The Democrats need to recapture their appeal by reinvigorating their party with some of the faded glow of the Obama victory.  The stakes are high. As Morley and Winograd wrote in their excellent 2007 book, Millennial Makeover, political affiliations tend to persist well beyond young adult years.

“Political behavior resarch has consistently indicated that once most individual, and hence most generations, take on a party identification, they maintain it throughout their lives. As sociologist J.V. Namenorth noted, “Value orientations do not change much during a generation’s life time. Committed during its early stages a generation most often carried its value commitments into the grave”. If the Democrats can maintain this initial generational allegiance during the next two presidential elections, they should gain a decisive electoral edge for decades to come.”

For both groups, the bigger issue is that partisan politics is simply not the biggest issue in the lives of Millennials, at least right now. They are preoccupied today with understanding what their place will be in this changed world, not which party offers the most ‘hope’ for change.

Millennials are a high potential target for banks and credit unions.

According to a September 2009 report by Mintel on “Echo Boomers and Finance”,  just 56% of 18-24 year olds own any banking product, usually a savings account (41%). But this figure jumps to 70% among those 25-29.

Credit Unions have been making the most of their historic opportunity to attract Millennials.

According to Mintel, several credit unions have launched “Young & Free” sites. These sites feature young spokespeople and include blogs, listings of “free items” or promotions available in the credit union’s local area. They also provide calendars of events, and financial literacy tools on topics thought to be of special relevance to Echo Boomers. These topics include:

• car buying versus leasing
• establishing and maintaining good credit scores
• saving money tips
• finding an apartment.

It only took a quick Google search to turn up several of these “young and free” initiatives, like this one in Alberta from Servus Credit Union. The site features spokesperson, Myles Peterson, who tweets, blogs and creates videos all focused on what’s happening in Alberta and with the Young and Free account at Servus. The site seems to have done its Gen Y homework: it is up to date, provides useful information and apps in a Millennial-friendly format.

There are other Young and Free efforts in Alabama (Listerhill Credit Union), South Carolina (South Carolina Federal), and Texas (TDECU). While the format is similar, each has its own spokesperson and unique content. There is substance as well. For example, South Carolina Federal offers special deals for 18-25 year olds:

• fee refunds—the idea is that young people make mistakes with managing their checking accounts and the credit union gives them one free fee refund per quarter in recognition that they are still learning how to manage their accounts
• online budgeting tools
• mobile access
• debit cards
• no monthly maintenance fees
• additional dividends on deposits.

Analyst, researcher and Millennial, Dane Coalson on CreditUnion.com provides a “Personal Gen Y Perspective” on which features are most meaningful:

Personal recommendations: “The first place I turn to before I purchase a product or utilize a service would be my friends and family for recommendations. I want feedback directly from someone who can tell me about their personal experience, and I’m not alone.”

Help establishing credit: “Helping us build credit is a great opportunity for credit unions to actually differentiate themselves and provide a service that Gen Y needs!”

A fresh, well-designed web site: “If your website looks like it is stuck in the past, this can leave a bad impression.” (Duh!)

Plain English: “Don’t get wrapped up in using what you consider to be the coolest, hippest jargon.  Gen Y does not want to be pandered to, they just want easy access to straightforward, clear information.”

Details matter: “I believe that younger members can be easily swayed by seemingly insignificant details such as the ability to exert some control over how their personal card looks.”

Financial Institutions will never be ‘cool’ – this should not be your goal: “Instead, focus on showing them how you can provide better rates, help them build their credit, and actually are an honest institution that genuinely has their best interests in mind. Like anyone else, younger individuals are simply looking for a safe, efficient, non-problematic institution that they can trust with their money.”

Focus on what could draw Millennials into a financial institution today: “High interest products include direct deposit and bill pay,  good rates on individual product offerings, such as an auto loan, CD, high-interest checking or savings accounts.”

This is great advice for any marketer, not just financial services.

Coalson concludes by emphasizing his belief that there is “a window of opportunity” to attract members as they leave college.  But cautions that “once they start their jobs, set up multiple accounts, and become comfortable, it becomes much harder to entice them to switch.”

Kudo’s to Credit Unions for getting ahead of the curve.

Source: CDC/NCHS National Health and Nutrition Study

On two occasions in the past year, when remarking on my observations about Millennials and their evolved food preferences, I was challenged by senior executives who quite reasonable asked, ‘If Millennials are so much more sophisticated about their food choices, shouldn’t it follow that they are less obese?” On both occasions I had no ready answer.

Are Millennials healthier than previous generations, or is all the talk about fresh and nutritious foods, gourmet tastes and healthy lifestyles, just that: talk?

The data to address this question is surprisingly hard to find. There is a lot of research on kids and obesity, but adults tend to be lumped together by the CDC and other government health reporting groups. Now, just in time for New Year’s Resolutions, I have the answer, thanks to my new Twitter friend, Rick McGuire, a writer and expert on health and medical issues. He provided a link to a 600+ page report with the intimidating title, “Health, United States, 2008, with a special feature on the Health of Young Adults.” This report draws on a wide variety of sources to paint a most comprehensive picture, based on what I can only call ‘a ton of data’.

Unfortunately, the trends suggest the opposite of what I would have predicted: Gen Y, defined as young adults 18-29, are less active and more obese than earlier generations.

“The proportion of young adults 18–29 years of age who were obese more than tripled from 8% in 1971–1974 to 24% in 2003–2004.”

“Nearly two-thirds of young adults did not have regular leisure-time physical activity and three-quarters did not report strength-training at least twice a week.”

Beyond obesity, there are other reasons to be concerned about the Millennial generation’s health. Overall, the report makes for alarming reading. The statistics on risk factors such as cigarette smoking, drug and alcohol use, unmarried pregnancy, and infectious disease rates among 18-29 year olds all suggest a generation who’s health is in serious danger.  These facts are not well understood and important to consider as country is about to take on the enormous challenge of insuring a greater proportion of the population.

Alcohol: “Trends in heavy drinking remained constant for both men and women during the period, with about 6%–8% of young men and 3%–5% of young women reporting heavy drinking. Heavy drinking is defined as more than 14 drinks per week for men and more than seven drinks per week for women, on average. One-fifth reported 5 or more drinks in a day on at least 12 days in the past year.”

Illicit Drugs: “Almost 40% of young adults 18–20 years of age, about one-third of 21–25 year-olds, and one-quarter of 26–29 year-olds reported using an illicit drug in the past year.”

Tobacco: “In 2006, nearly 30% of young adults were current cigarette smokers. Between 1997 and 2006, the current smoking rate declined nearly 20% among young adult women but did not decline significantly among young adult men.”

Sex: “Twenty-one percent of women reported forced sexual intercourse before age 30.”

HPV: “45% of women age 20–24 years tested positive for HPV infection.”

Overall Health: “Eighteen percent of young women and 12% of young men reported at least one of six selected serious health conditions in 2004–2006, and 4%–5% of young women and young men reported overall fair or poor health or an activity limitation due to a chronic health condition.”

Mental Disorders: “An estimated 7% of young adults 20–29 years of age had a diagnosis of major depression in the past 12 months. 9% of young adults 20–29 years of age had one or more of these three illnesses major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or panic disorder)  in the past 12 months. Young women (11%) were almost twice as likely as young men (6%) to have major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or a panic disorder in the past 12 months.”

Unmarried Pregnancy: “Between 1990 and 2005, the proportion of births that are to unmarried women was highest for women under age 20. Between 1990 and 2005, the proportion of births to unmarried women rose from 66% to 84% for women age 18 years, from 58% to 77% for women age 19, from 37% to 56% for women age 20–24, and from 18% to 29% for women age 25–29.”

Health issues and health care are likely to be the single biggest issue of Gen Y’s lives.  Already, the desire to maintain work-related benefits is contributing to keeping them in place on the job, according to a report by Fidelity (“Gen Y Workers Under Financial Stress Value Their Benefits”).  Although they are healthier than older adults, young adults are still subject to chronic diseases, activity limitations, and death, and need health care for various reasons. As this report points out, however, “they are the age group least likely to have health insurance, and when they do need health care, they experience problems accessing the health care system.”

Looking ahead, the cost of health care overhaul will mostly be borne by Gen Y. The single biggest thing they can do to keep the overall cost of health care down in the future is to change the choices they make now. It’s a new year and a new decade. Let’s hope for their sakes Gen Y makes a resolution to take the health care debate and their own health care seriously.