The Millennial Myth and the MediaKristal Ireland Head of Planning and Insight

@kristalsmile

WTF is a Millennial/Gen Y?Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe are widely credited with naming the Millennials.[They coined the term in 1987, around the time the children born in 1982 were entering preschool, and the media were first identifying their prospective link to the millennial year as the high school graduating class of the year 2000..

Wait...

Thats ME!

How do we define a Millennial? Anyone born after 1982 and before

2000 - so if you are under 34 youre in

Glued to our phones... 83% sleep with phones next to their beds

Live with parents/rented or alone... What a lonely bunch*

*I blame Tinder ...

Marriage Can Wait

Brand Loyalty - Technology Driven

Social Media Yep

Key Characteristics.

Narcissistic Self Aware

Key Characteristics.

Selfish Socialist

Key Characteristics.

Lazy and Entitled Limited access to jobs/ housing

Key Characteristics.

Fat Fit

We Need to Think in Millennial Tribes In a recent report Bauer Media identified x5 distinct tribes of Millennials 1. The Influencers, 1.7m (11%), have high media usage and are more likely to be male.

They have a unique voice and like it to be heard especially online2. The Adopters, 4.5m (28%), have high media usage and are more likely to be ABC1. Peer

respect is key; they use knowledge and appearance to stand out3. The Apprentices, 1.8m (12%), are younger and more likely to live in London. They are

focused on self-progression rather than keeping up with trends4. The Entertained, 5.0m (32%), are older, more likely to have children, and more likely to

be ABC1. Personal relationships are key, they look to media brands primarily to entertain5. The Contented, 2.7m (17%), are older, more likely to have children, and are more rural

living. They are satisfied with life and dont chase the latest trends

So Why Does Everybody Want Them?

The Money?

The Future of Technology Led Brand Interaction?

Slick Digital Experiences Are Demanded Providing millennials with slick user experiences is not just a matter of

appeasing them It is a necessity for the health of any tech businesss bottom

line. Industry research indicates that by 2017, the millennial generation will comprise the largest online audience and will have more buying power than any other generation that has come before it, including the baby boomers.

50 percent of e-commerce becoming m-commerce from smartphones and tablets by 2015

As marketers we crave delivering whats new and trend led. But innovation should be used at a product level not as a marketing strategy

Established players are facing and existential crisis

Overly schematized and ridiculously reductive, generation theory is a simplistic way of thinking about the relationship between individuals, society, and history. It encourages us to focus on vague generational personalities, rather than looking at the confusing diversity of social life.

Generational thinking is seductive and confirms preconceived prejudices, but its a bogus way to understand the world

Rebecca Onion

Stop viewing Millennials as The Other

They are the here and now

So What Can Brands Do?Be Authentic

1. 55% rank brands that stand for high quality as being authentic2. 44% said brands who talked to them as a real person seemed more

authentic3. 17% said a brand that has a long history and heritage has a strong

positive impact on purchase decisions

....

UK Millennials report Inkling and Censuswide

Ethical Buying 70% consider a brands ethics and values when making a purchase...

Sincerity Young people have always had a handy knack of being able to sniff out incenserity...

Make meaningful contributions, not hollow statements