Marketing to Millennials
Millennials refer to the generation of people born in early 1980’s to 2000’s. The Millennialgeneration is so named because this demographic cohort was born near the dawn of the new millennium. We the generation Y took over the mantle from generation X. The millennial generation is often referred to as the hippies or the selfie generation to differentiate from the previous generations. But are we different from them altogether? Is the generation different from the previous ones? The answer is both yes and no.
There are certain characteristics and traits which are binding for each. Every generation has the feeling that we are more progressive and smarter than our predecessor and the previous generation people also feel that they worked harder than the current crop. When generation X came into existence they made deafening noise demanding the world to bend in their direction. And they raised
their kids with even more expectations because of which the millennials are giving them a run for their money. In an organizational setup the baby boomers are characterized for working in a structured manner whereas the millennials can be unstructured and nonlinear but get the job done. Baby boomers had a sense of loyalty and wanted job security. The baby boomers are go getter and don’t mind shuffling jobs in order to reach to the top. The baby boomers preferred to work in teams rather than individuals whereas the millennials also called the selfie generation can be seeking personal glory at times. At present the size of the millennial generation is more than any generation in the world. The impact they have on marketing is also huge. A good marketer has to gauge the differences between the two generations in the right amount and change its strategies accordingly.
Like for example Parle g biscuits boomed during the 1980’s and has been doing great business ever since. With its new marketing strategy it is further driving the point that the quality of the product has not changed at all and continues to drive revenue for the company. The millennial generation has been equipped with the latest technological developments which their predecessors didn’t enjoy. They have seen the internet boom due to which any information is just a click away for them. In order to make optimum use of the situation the marketers have to constantly deploy new strategies to meet their demand. Domino’s has delivered on this front by being open minded and acceptable to changes. They have launched their mobile apps to tap the potential of the growing Smartphone market. The application like pizza tracker provides the user the information about the present state of their order. This way they successfully connected with their customers and increased their brand value. Social media has played a paramount role in the impact of millennial generation. This generation is more outspoken and does not restrain from opining. Various blog spaces and review sites are filled with praises and criticisms of the various products. Zomato the restaurant discovery site and mobile app allows the user to share their experience of various restaurants, hotels and food joints of the cities which helps the readers to make their choices on the basis of the ratings. Because of the connect it made with the users of the site and its credible review system the big players of the food market and various restaurants post their advertisements on the site. This has been the main source of their revenue and they owe the social media space big-time for this.
Zomato App Online shopping is another aspect of the technical advancement which has enhanced the experience of the millennial generation. It enables the user to buy the product of his choice front the multiple brands on offer and also provides hassle free transactions. The timely gratification which the users get from online shopping leads them to choose it over the conventional shopping. The online retail sites like Amazon, Ebay, Flipkart etc… also stores the data of the user and provides them customized suggestions enabling the millennial generation to make a informed choice.The millennial generation has been the most educated one and as a result has more buying power. With time more and more baby boomers would be retiring and would be replaced with the millennials. This would further result in rising income with this section and that’s why it is imperative for the marketers to satisfy their needs. The millennials are concerned with the quality of the product. They want the product to be customized as per their requirement and is ready to pay the price for it. Customer satisfaction further results in word-of-mouth advertising for the product thus leading to more business
for the marketer. The millennial generation is also fickle minded in nature because of flurry of choices being offered to them. The marketers need to go the extra mile in order to gauge their attention. It is the creative advertisements that millennials respond to than the conventional ads. In spite of fierce competition in the apparel market Levi’s has been the trend setter for so many years. Customer engagement has been one of its core values and being receptive they are always able to build stronger relationship with their customers. This helps them in understanding their target audience and enables them to improvise as per the current trend. The Millennials are also known as the ‘selfie’ generation because they love to love themselves. But they are also sensitive to the society’s wellbeing. Our generation has grown in the time of people being socially active. The common mass has joined hands to fight the evil of poverty and this message is ingrained in this generation. Down the line consumers would opt for the companies who brand themselves as socially responsible. ITC’s philosophy of “Let’s put India first” has promoted the sustainable development and inclusive growth. With purchase of every product of ITC it provides Re1 for it rural betterment
initiatives and has been able to successfully sensitize the current generation for social good.
The marketers need to continuously rebrand themselves and come up with innovative ways to engage its customers. They need to provide experiences to the customers to have a lasting experience. The “Open Happiness” campaign of Coke linked the experience of the consumers with their product. The new and innovative packaging campaign “Share a Coke” allowed the users to send a bottle to their friends with their name printed on it. It spiked the sales of coke in various countries and allowed the users to share their happy experiences and connect to the brand in a much better way. On the other side there have been certain instances where cause marketing was tried to engage with the millennials
but the campaigns backfired. Kellogg’s retweet for a meal is an example of it wherein Kellogg had intended to donate meal to the needy children but by some error one of its PR staff posted on the net that for every retweet that they receive they will donate a meal. They were totally misinterpreted and were considered inauthentic and power hungry. KFC’s Buckets for the Cure was a similar case wherein KFC decided to donate $0.50 to Susan G. Komen or every bucket of chicken it sold. The message that got spread was that KFC and SusanG. Komen are raising money for medical research by promoting unhealthy food. This did not go well with the millennials and they spread their distaste on the social media causing negative publicity for the two brands. Community experience is another trend that is picking pace when it comes to millennial marketing. Reebok organizes its group exercises named Crossfit which engages the group of people to participate together. In this way it promotes the importance of exercising and simultaneously makes its consumer loyal towards the brand. The company which creates a perfect working environment for its employees is the one which is most loved by the general users as well. Take for example the case of Google. It is the
most loved brand of the world. The employees of Google are so satisfied working there that they always go the extra mile to improve its services to the users. With the shift in generation there has been a noticeable shift in the marketing strategies of the brands as well. Change is the only constant. And the companies who have adopted according to the changes have been successful in marketing to the millennials. The brands which cater to the needs of the millennials and position its products accordingly will only be able to sail and the rest will just float.
The marketers need to continuously rebrand themselves and come up with innovative ways to engage its customers. They need to provide experiences to the customers to have a lasting experience. The “Open Happiness” campaign of Coke linked the experience of the consumers with their product. The new and innovative packaging campaign “Share a Coke” allowed the users to send a bottle to their friends with their name printed on it. It spiked the sales of coke in various countries and allowed the users to share their happy experiences and connect to the brand in a much better way. On the other side there have been certain instances where cause marketing was tried to engage with the millennials
but the campaigns backfired. Kellogg’s retweet for a meal is an example of it wherein Kellogg had intended to donate meal to the needy children but by some error one of its PR staff posted on the net that for every retweet that they receive they will donate a meal. They were totally misinterpreted and were considered inauthentic and power hungry. KFC’s Buckets for the Cure was a similar case wherein KFC decided to donate $0.50 to Susan G. Komen or every bucket of chicken it sold. The message that got spread was that KFC and SusanG. Komen are raising money for medical research by promoting unhealthy food. This did not go well with the millennials and they spread their distaste on the social media causing negative publicity for the two brands. Community experience is another trend that is picking pace when it comes to millennial marketing. Reebok organizes its group exercises named Crossfit which engages the group of people to participate together. In this way it promotes the importance of exercising and simultaneously makes its consumer loyal towards the brand. The company which creates a perfect working environment for its employees is the one which is most loved by the general users as well. Take for example the case of Google. It is the
most loved brand of the world. The employees of Google are so satisfied working there that they always go the extra mile to improve its services to the users. With the shift in generation there has been a noticeable shift in the marketing strategies of the brands as well. Change is the only constant. And the companies who have adopted according to the changes have been successful in marketing to the millennials. The brands which cater to the needs of the millennials and position its products accordingly will only be able to sail and the rest will just float.
BY SHUBHAM BADKUR JAIN
IIFT
PERSPECTIVE SEPTEMBER 2014
2 comments:
These piece of information is very useful. Thanks you very much for sharing.
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