In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

5. Let Millennials share their stories. Make them feel that their voices are being heard.

Millennials want to not only acquire memories – they want to share their experiences – and brands should allow them to do so. Whether by allowing them to post videos on the company’s Facebook page or using their photos and testimonials in a commercial – the method does not matter. As long as their friends know what an awesome life they live.

So what should we take away? Millennials want just a few things while shopping:

Share their memories and experience, have their voice heard, multi-channel shopping experience, customization options and of course  – discounts. Let’s market WITH them.

Sources:

• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
• EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
• https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

4. Market with them, not to them

Marketers need to re-examine efforts to market “to” Millennials, and instead consider marketing “with Millennials.” The key is to identify Millennial advocates and work with them – because if you’re not working with them, you’re working against them. Identify a cause or a celebrity that connects with your Millennial audience.

Sources:

• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
• https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

3. Customization

Once Millennials complete their research, they want the item to become “theirs” by the way of customization. 51% are more likely to purchase an item if they can customize it. The look & feel of a customized product is important to Millennials, who grew up in a society far more diverse and embracing of diversity than preceding generations.

Sources:

• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
• EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
• https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

2. Multi-channel shopping experience

This ties to the way Millennials shop: with today’s technology at their fingertips (literally). They expect a connected, multi-channel shopping experience. They prefer goods or services that they can research on their phones, compare features and prices, find out what cause (if any) the company supports, and what celebrity uses or endorses their product or service.

Sources:

• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
• EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
• https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

1. Discounts drive sales.

As we told you, Millennials are cost-conscious and love a discount. According to Forbes, most of their social media interaction (especially Twitter) is driven by the desire to save via coupons and flash sales. Nearly nine in 10 millennials use coupons, according to a report by Valassis, the company behind the RedPlum coupon circular. Asked to describe their couponing habits, millennials told Bloomberg about checking for discount codes on such websites as RetailMeNot, using web-browser extensions such as Honey to highlight bargains, and seeking out cash-back programs like Ebates. Flash sales proffered by Groupon, pharmacy loyalty cards that trigger discounts at the register – all these approaches are seen by young shoppers as basically indistinguishable from the coupons of old.

However, Millennials still spend about $200 billion each year in the U.S.; and spend about $9.00 more per shopping trip than Baby Boomers. It is the reasoning behind their purchases that is a huge opportunity for companies; this generation is willing to spend on what matters to them, and what helps their voice to be heard – and preferably not for a full price.

Sources:

• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
• EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
• https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

Lately, marketers, the media, political strategists and pretty much everyone with an opinion has been obsessing over and courting the proverbial new kid on the block: Millennials.

In advertising, workforce, and even in popular culture, Millennials are the focus of many conversations. Everyone is tracking how they think, their opinions, how and where they shop and everything related to their lifestyles and politics.

So who exactly are Millennials in 2016, why are we so obsessive about them and what do they like?

THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION: Not kids anymore.

There are many definitions of the term “Millennial” (up to 5 years overlap with Generation X) but the majority of market research companies, such as Nielsen, Gallup, and Eventbrite’s research arm, define a Millennial as an individual born between the years 1976/77 and 1995/96. This means that as of today, the 83.1 million Millennials (24% of the U.S. population), are between 20 and 40 years old.

The fear of missing out is real.

Millennials are not satisfied with the traditional “American Dream” of a family, house and a car. They also want to go places, enjoy sports and culture, and be a part of something big. This desire to gather as many experiences and memories as possible, or The “Fear Of Missing Out”, experienced by 69% of Millennials, is the driving force behind their buying habits. Their money is spent on “experiences”, rather than “things”.

Millennials want to experience it all – at a discount

Millennials want to experience it all; however, at a price they can afford. More than half of the Millennial generation are willing to follow or like a company on social media, and share information with them, just to score a coupon or a discount, or catch the flash sale. Males, especially, who are 30% of the Millennial population, are more likely to take an advantage of a last-minute sale.

A 2016 Millennial: The elevator pitch

So who is this Millennial in 2016? To summarize, the Millennials are career people in their 20’s and 30’s, with dreams of traveling, starting a family and being part of something big – but only if they can buy it on a cell phone, customize it, and at a discount.

For a deeper examination on Millennials, download our white paper.

Sources:

• U.S. Census Bureau
• Nielsen – State of the African-American Consumer (2015)
• Nielsen – State of the African-American Consumer (2015)
• http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
• Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
• EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
• Pew Research (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/#racial-diversity)