Marketing to the Millenials

The digital natives or Millennials as we call them are kids born between 1990 and 2000. They are a unique bunch. They surprise their boomer parents, bosses and marketers. As millennials start careers and enter the work force, this generation is having a huge impact on American life – culture, politics, media, retailing and technology. They are the most informed, empowered generation to date. They are also the most socially connected generation. They are the biggest consumer segment to date – about 20% bigger in size than the baby boomers.

They think differently from any other generation we have seen. They are born with an external hard drive. They do not know what 5 and 1/4” floppy disks look like and they certainly cannot imagine a world without the internet. They form a big, significantly different and a strong consumer segment that we cannot afford to ignore. Companies that align their product design and marketing efforts to this segment’s desires have thrived. Apple, Google, Facebook and twitter are all examples of companies that have thrived by designing and marketing their offering to suit the millennials. In my term paper, I would like to evaluate how marketing and designing for the millennials is different from marketing to any other demographic segment.

This segment does not know the dark pre-internet era. They have spent all their life surrounded by more than one device. They feel entitled and value their online life more than any other generation can ever understand. Marketers cannot afford to continue marketing the same way to Millennials as they do to Generation X or older age groups. Even preteen millennials spend about $43 billion each year and those in their twenties spend thousands each month. In light of all of the above facts, I find marketing to millennials to be a very interesting and formidable challenge. I would like to research over this topic and write my term paper.

This topic is most interesting for me because this is the segment of population that is least understood. Every company is trying to figure out a strategy to court this segment and is looking to new marketers to provide some insight as the college population is most likely to have contacts in this segment.  As a new marketer, this is the most valuable piece of insight I could possess. Also, this segment has already changed the marketing landscape. Traditional print media advertising has been replaced by online advertising. Social media marketing has become a key piece of marketing strategy in any firm. Right from accounting software to potato chips, every product is advertised, talked about and critiqued on social media platforms. Companies employ people to keep an eye on what is being said about their products on social media platforms. Every tech product has a mobile version. I would attribute all these changes to the Millennials and their gadget studded lifestyle. Due to sheer size and uniqueness, I expect this generation to influence the way we do business for a good 30-40 years. It is very likely that the prime target for any business I work in throughout my career would be this broad segment. So understanding them and figuring out what strategies worked with them and what did not adds value to my learning experience.

I would like to research on companies and products that successfully marketed to this segment with an emphasis on how they gained customer insights and how that information helped them design their product offering, their social media presence, and their overall message. This will help me understand and further appreciate the relevance of my “design thinking as marketing strategy” class.

In my term paper, here are the questions I would seek answers to:

1)      How cost conscious is this segment?

2)      Do these guys comparison shop?

3)      Are they brand-loyal?

4)   Who do they listen to when making purchase decisions? Ads? Friends? Parents? Blogs?

5)      What do they like to do in their free time?

6)      What do they aspire to achieve in their life?

7)      Do they prefer green products? Will they pay more for it?

8)      What will they listen to? How to get them to try your product?

9)      Are they savers or spenders?

10)   How much do they influence other segments?

11)   What influences them positively? Social responsibility? Sustainability? Quality?

Here is the set of articles that I can use to get data:

1.  http://millennialmarketing.com/
2. http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news/wire/2012/11/15/state-of-millennials-across-the-globe.html?s=image_gallery
3. http://www.inboundmarketingagents.com/inbound-marketing-agents-blog/bid/249233/Infographic-9-Data-Backed-Ways-to-Sell-Stuff-to-Millennials
4. http://socialmediatoday.com/tara-hornor/1197741/marketing-millennials-do-you-speak-our-language
5. http://www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com/2013/02/13/marketing-to-millennials-with-social-media/
6. http://www.c-e.com/work/cases

Millennials are unique and require special attention from marketers. They also have high radar for being singled out and stereotyped. While their passions may be similar in some ways to those of older generations, the way they express and pursue those passions is very different. Their overall goal is to express themselves in a way that is true to who they really are. Millennials are especially passionate about things that impact others. 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. They love brands that involve them. They like to broadcast themselves, express themselves and share views. They like humor and companies that get humor. It will be interesting to delve further into the mind of a millennial and into the marketing strategy of a company that successfully used the customer insights it gained from its social media platforms to gain the acceptance of this powerful segment.