Over the past several decades, marketers have grouped consumers into different generations starting from the Silent generation (ages 70-87), Baby Boomers (aged 51 to 69)- a generation defined by the boom in U.S. births following World War II and Generation X (aged 35 to 50).
So why this fascination around Millennials, the new kids on the block?
Well, just to give you a perspective, the Millennial generation is currently the largest in the US (75.7 million people), between the ages of 19-36 and with a spending power of $1.68 Trillion!
If that doesn’t capture the attention of a marketer, I wonder what will!
And what is more interesting about this generation is that the triggers which appeal to them are very different from the ones which worked for their predecessors.
In a recent study, when asked about the one thing that they could not do without, 47% said ‘Internet’, 35% said ‘Mobile phone’ and 15% said ‘best friend’. ‘Trust’ in brands was invoked by ‘Closest friends’, followed by ‘News reports or friends on social media’, ‘Company websites‘ and lastly, through ‘Advertising or sales’. Couple this with their Media usage patterns, Digital media- 35.3% (websites), Social media- 22% (Twitter, Facebook & other social media) & Traditional media (TV- 20%, Magazines & Newspapers- 9%) and it looks like Marketing departments of major corporations may need to rethink their strategies on how to address this young, educated & online population.
To appeal to this segment, brands like Mac Cosmetics are giving makeup tutorials on its Youtube channels, which become viral. Or make efforts to learn what works and doesn’t with them, like in the case of the multi-billion dollar brand Taco Bell, which has a group of employees in their 20s sending out staff emails with the ‘Millennial Word of the Week’ and also puts it up on screens at their headquarters, for their brand to stay relevant to its young TG! Brands like Coca Cola have been successful by engaging their TG socially to co-create content, which is used in their marketing campaigns.
The Millennials in Europe (160 million in number) are the most educated but sadly, the most frustrated, given the current state of the economies there. However, being global nomads and thanks to their access to the internet, they are an ‘expert’ in everything and trust their own sources of research, which is where the importance of a well thought-out social media plan gains relevance.
Smartphone penetration among 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK is 88 percent, compared with 65 percent for other age groups. Young users spend on average 2.5 times more time on their smartphones every day than the rest of the UK’s adult population.
Based on our understanding of this new-age consumer and our constant endeavor to provide innovative services, Xpress Money recently launched XOPO, the world’s first international, social money transfer mobile app, which allows a person to send money from UK to anywhere in the world, share content and have a conversation, with any of their contacts on social media. The sender does not even need to know/ remember the bank account details of the receiver, who can also request for money and can choose the preferred mode of receiving money.
In today’s world, where technology is king, it is paramount for brands to effectively use mobile platforms to communicate their messages in a relevant, fun & engaging manner and provide services which further ease or empower their already mobile & connected world.
Written by – Rahul Krishnakumar, Manager – Marketing Communications & CSR
