The Millennials, part 2: Advertising To Us

Though the prevalent term for my generation is the "Millennial Generation," we're sometimes referred to as the Facebook Generation. Millennials have grown up with the Internet and basically live online; most Millennials at least have access to the Internet 24/7 and many are logged on for hours at a time every day. Some statistics:

• 97% own a computer
• 94% own a cell phone
• 76% use instant messaging
• 34% use Web sites as their primary source of news
• 28% own a blog; 44% read blogs
• 73% of university and college students have a Facebook account

Those numbers are based on a study involving Canadians born between 1981 and 1994, but they're probably quite similar for the U.S. Because of our online and communication habits, advertising methods for our generation are, and need to be, somewhat different than the approaches used for Gen X-ers or Baby Boomers.

Yet before companies rush to invest in only online advertising, take note of some other statistics:

• 58% use magazines to find out what's "cool and hip"
• 71% enjoy reading magazines, even if the same information is available online
• Magazine advertising, of all the major media, is viewed most favorably
• Millennials spend less money online than any other generation
• 70% find Internet advertising annoying

Millennials are skeptical, can see right through dishonest advertisers, control how they ingest messages, don't appreciate advertising shoved in their faces all the time, and want to participate and interact.

So, some tips on advertising Millennials:

In general, we record our TV shows, so TV commercials aren't the best way to reach us. If a company wants to use video, they should instead enable Millennials to create the video, using YouTube, Google Video, etc. Several companies have already had widely successful viral video campaigns at little to no expense for them.

We spend huge chunks of time on social networking sites, but pay absolutely no attention to the plethora of ugly, irrelevant, poorly executed ads all over MySpace and Facebook. (I go so far as to use Adblock in Firefox, so that the ads don't even show up.) Want to get our attention through these media? Then actually use them. Create a profile, group, or band page on MySpace. Make it attractive, make it interactive (songs to play, skins to use, games to play), and make it relevant. On Facebook, created a sponsored group, a regular group, a page, or an application (or all of them). Make it interesting, make it relevant, and make it interactive (forums, photos, free downloads, videos, coupons, games). Just look at the Apple student group on Facebook: 423,076 members, many of whom joined for the free downloads the group offered. Or the PostSecret group, which has 22,230 members who have uploaded 4,137 digital postsecrets.

Don't even bother with newspapers, because we don't read them. Well, not traditional print ones, at least. If you want to advertise to us alongside the news, advertise on the Web site for a non-local newspaper (though the Wall Street Journal probably isn't a good choice).

The best way to reach us?
Be where the action is and get people talking.
We might seem to live online, but we actually do get out sometimes. Hold your own events, or sponsor events. Promotions and freebies are always good; we tend to have an "it's free so I gotta take it" mentality. So, we'll take your freebie, realize it's pretty cool, and then tell everyone we know about it. And that's a lot of people: I have a Facebook network of 553. If a Millennial likes a TV show, Web site, or whatever, she'll tell an average of 18 people... who will each tell an average of 18 people... and so on. When I pass along an online service I like, 7 of my friends, on average, will then join the site.

References:
> "Five Tips on Successfully Advertising to Gen-Y" @ Marketing Breakthroughs
> "Give Your Campaign a Millennial Makeover" @ iMedia Connection
> "Millennials in the Marketplace" @ WKSU News
> "Millennials Like Traditional - Not Just New - Media" @ Marketing Analytics
> "On Millennials, Marketing and Money" @ Digital Design Blog
> "Podcasts and cell phones and blogs, oh my!" @ coloradobiz
> "Which Medium Most Impacts 'Millennials'?" @ CTI Advertising

The Millennials, part 1: Who We Are

Born in 1986, I'm part of the "Millennial Generation" (or Generation Y or the Baby Boom Echo). The birth years attributed to my generation vary and can be as early as 1978 and as late as 2002, but generally the Millennial Generation is considered to be from 1980 to 2000. Even though the youngest Millennials are still only 8 years old, there has already been extensive research and surveys into the generation.

The approximately 75 million Millennials are confident and hopeful, goal-oriented and civic-minded, and inclusive. We have no tolerance for delay and live on the Internet. We're considered individualistic, yet we're also known for being team-oriented. We desire leadership, expect regular feedback, and are used to negotiating. Our parents have always been and will remain actively involved in our lives; we're also closer to our parents than have been the members of any other generation. As a result, we influence 88% of household apparel purchases and are seen as the "prematurely affluent generation."

The lives of older Millennials have been molded by the Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine High School and the school-shootings trend, and 9/11—the catastrophic moment that defines and binds our generation.

For those of us born in 1986 and 1987, the Energize bunny has always been going... and going... and going... We've always seen large print ads for prescription drugs in magazines and condoms advertised on television. We did most of our college searching online, have always had the right to burn the flag, and have only ever lived in a single superpower world. In our lives, Bill Gates has always been worth at least a billion dollars, toll-free 800 numbers have always spelled out catchy phrase, and Pay-Per-View has always been available.

And we have always been told that we're "special."

Since almost all the research and studies have been done by non-Millennials, I didn't expect it to be very favorable or to feel very accurate to me. But, while most of the summaries of the Millennial Generation is somewhat unfavorable, it is surprisingly accurate. I pored over many, many articles and studies, and found myself nodding my head in agreement. While one or two characteristics may not apply specifically to me (I'm not exactly a big fan of working in teams), I can see how they fit my generation as a whole.

The terms applied to my generation make sense, too. I'm not really sure why Gen X was named Generation X, but the fact that the next generation, my generation, would be called Generation Y is logical. Our parents were Baby Boomers, for the most part, so Baby Boom Echo is accurate, too. Personally, I prefer the prevalent term, the Millennial Generation, since we were growing up at the turn of the millennium.

References:
> "Generation X and The Millennials" @ Law Practice TODAY
> "Is Your Firm Ready For The Millennials?" @ Knowledge@Emory
> "Managing Millennials" @ Generations at Work (Claire Raines Associates)
> "Millennial Generation" @ Word Spy
> "'Millennial Generation' Won't Be Much Like Baby Boomers" @ Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
> Mindset lists @ Beloit College
> "Who's Holding the Handbag?" @ TIME