Millennials tend to get grouped into a single homogenous group, but ratings research firm Numeris says Canada’s 18-34 demographic can actually be divided into three sub-groups, each possessing distinct viewing habits.
According to Numeris, the country’s approximately 8.4 millennials fall into three buckets: 53% are dependents who still live with their parents; 28% are independents who live in their own home and have no kids, and 19% are parents who live in their own home with children.
According to Numeris, Montreal has the highest concentration of both millennial dependents and independents, while Calgary is home to the most millennial parents.
“These tech-savvy millennials show different video consumption patterns at different life stages, yet they are often treated like a homogenous group,” said a recent research note from Numeris. “Understanding these differences can aid advertisers, agencies and broadcasters in their continual search on how to best reach and communicate their advertising message to millennial consumers.”
While TV reaches an estimated 94% of Canadians 18-34 each week, consumption – both in terms of hours watched and how they watch – varies among the three key sub-groups.
According to Numeris, TV has both the greatest reach (96.3%) and the highest average weekly viewing hours (19.5) among millennial dependents, compared with 94.7% and 15.8 hours per week for independents and 95.3% and 19.1 hours per week for parents.
A reported 30% of millennial parents watch TV on their mobile device, while nearly two-thirds (62%) of millennial independents view non-TV video on their mobile device. Fourteen per cent of independents watch TV at work, and 40% watch TV in out-of-home locations such as cafes and bars.
