When Derek Thompson, senior editor of The Atlantic, took the stage at the Canadian Media Directors’ Council’s conference on Tuesday morning and declared millenials to be the cheapest generation, cheers break out. It was not yet 9:00 a.m., but the room of marketers was so pent up with chasing this elusive, ever-changing (not to mention broke) demographic, that they loosened their grips on morning coffees and applauded. A woman to the left of the stage even let out a jovial “woot!”
Thompson spelled out the good and bads news about millenials. The bad: their alliances are perpetually up for sale. The good: their alliances are perpetually up for sale. The catch-22 poses both a challenge and an opportunity to marketers, he said. While they may be less loyal than older generations, young consumers’ dollars are always up for grabs.
Many of the brands that “generation internet” grew up with, from Motorola Razr to Abercrombie & Fitch, have since plummeted in value or disappeared altogether, Thompson said, illustrating how fickle millenials can be, tossing aside once-loved labels when new options become available.
Given their short attention span for brands, it’s little surprise millenials aren’t making long-term financial commitments either. In stark contrast to baby boomers, who associated cars with independence and dropped their salaries on mortgages, Thompson said young consumers prefer access to ownership, noting how streaming services like Netflix and car rental memberships like Zipcar are popular amongst millenials.
To appeal to youth, brands need to create value propositions that save them either time or money, Thompson said, citing examples like Mexican fast food chain Chipotle and fashion retailer Old Navy, which sells a heavily discounted version of the clothes made by its sister brands Banana Republic and the Gap.
“Ask consumers not what you can give them, but what you can take away,” he said.
Thompson said the key to reaching millenials in advertising is to be delightful or definitive, noting how Buzzfeed’s branded posts get upwards of 10,000 likes on Facebook, often receiving similar traction to the website’s non-branded content.
His suggestions were echoed by David Shing, a digital executive at AOL who said consumers don’t care whether content is branded or not – if it’s good, they’ll share it with their social circles. Like Thompson, Shing advocated for marketers to “be useful,” by providing information or entertainment to consumers.
Shing showcased an app made by Toyota that mimics the driving experience, allowing children to pretend to drive while in the car with their parents. “That’s value,” Shing said, noting the app captures the attention of both parent and child. “Attention is the currency you’re going to be judged on when it comes to marketing. Don’t worry about click-through rate, it’s all about attention,” he said.
