Debunking the millennial myth
Have we got millennials all wrong? Initiative’s international research director, Hanna Chalmers, showcases the findings of a new study that suggests young people are not all selfie-obsessed narcissists.
Millennials are often perceived to be the ‘selfie generation’; shallow, entitled and arrogant. In contrast, Initiative’s 2014 global study of millennials has identified a generation that is resilient, highly creative, savvy and driven.
They have entered adulthood having to reset their expectations of life and adapt to an intensely competitive and tough economic environment. The economy and technology have shaped a common millennial character that brands need to engage with and collaborate with as equals.
In late Spring 2014 Initiative embarked upon the second wave of a global study of millennials, speaking to nearly 10,000 of them in 19 markets around the world – then supplementing it with focus groups in several markets and expert interviews.
Our first study, of millennials aged 18-24, took place in 2010 in the midst of the global recession. Unsurprisingly, it revealed that millennials had been adversely affected by the gloomy economic situation and that austerity effects had permeated all aspects of their lives and their outlook. This time round we focused on older millennials, aged 25-34, fully expecting the effects of recession to have dissipated.
Conversely, what we found was an entire generation profoundly affected and shaped by economic uncertainty. Three key global themes, (Adapt, Collaborate and Create) emerged through the research, all driven by this more competitive, less certain economic climate. And whilst there were differences by markets (Italy most affected and Germany least affected) these global themes were present across them all.
Adapt: Nearly three quarters (72%) of our sample described how they had suffered significant personal setbacks in the recession, 36% had seen an income reduction and 28% had suffered job loss.
Not only are they resetting their expectations, they are adapting their behaviour and embarking on new career paths. Nearly a quarter of millennials (23%) had taken a second job to get by financially.
They are delaying parenthood and a quarter had delayed moving out of the parental home for financial reasons. High numbers of millennials are also increasingly likely to return to higher education, with a significant proportion planning to set up their own business in the future (19% and 18%, respectively).
We asked millennials the same question in 2010 and again in 2014: How would you rate your level of anxiety based on the economic situation in your country? Incredibly, we saw a global increase of 61% for those that gave a ‘high’ or ‘severe’ answer.
It is an arresting figure and one which has real implications for how brands understand this audience. They are worrying about money and their future, they are feeling insecure and anxious, but they are cannily adapting to this environment in the life decisions they are making.
Brands need to acknowledge this new reality for millennials. It is important they are diverse in the way they present content, and that they speak to these consumers as equals. As the most highly educated, media and brand savvy generation yet, brands also need to be totally authentic in terms of how they communicate with this group.
Millennials are unimpressed when brands pretend to be something they are not – so stick to your brand purpose vigilantly. And be generous; millennials are bearing the brunt of economic shifts more keenly than we expected.
Collaborate: Brands need to understand and learn from how millennials are using social media and technology. Millennials understand the power of social media both in terms of how they project themselves, but also in terms of their consumer power in relation to brands. 68% have made product comments online.
Half of all millennials get uneasy if they can’t get online and the same amount would say they are ‘addicted to their devices’. They are omnipresent on social media platforms with sites such as Instagram dominated by millennial age groups.
Whilst millennials in their 20s use social media to build their personal brand, ‘me’, as they get older and start families, they shift to a more collaborative ‘we’. Importantly, they give their knowledge, expertise and opinions freely to help others.
Brands also need to have the confidence to give more freely. As an advertiser, you should help millennials in a way that is consistent with your brand purpose and don’t ask for anything or expect anything back. If you build a relationship, trust and a dialogue with millennials they are more likely to commit to you freely, and if they build an emotional attachment to you they will talk about it to their peers and through social media. The way millennials use technology platforms should inform how marketing evolves.
Millennials, as savvy consumers, have high expectations of powerful brands: they are cognizant of the symbiotic relationship between brand and customer and consequently they expect more of brands. Communicate and collaborate with millennials where they are online; if you don’t millennials will ignore you, or worse, forget about you.
Create: Millennials are arguably the most creative generation yet. The democratising effect of technology means it’s suddenly possibly to realise creative impulses in an easy, immediate way.
But millennials are also thinking creatively, to drive their careers and lives forward in a more autonomous and fulfilling way. The increasing confidence which millennials have in terms of being entrepreneurial also highlights this emphasis on creativity and innovation.
There is a growing realisation that being self-employed gives them more freedom to live the life they want to live. They understand how important being creative is, that it is creativity and innovation that sets companies and individuals apart in a global economy.
It is no surprise then that millennials also prize creativity in brands. It is one of the top three attributes they rate in brands alongside trustworthiness and authenticity. Brands need to take risks and embrace creativity; it is the brands that do this that stand out to millennials and also the brands that they love most.
Our study revealed a huge wealth of insights into millennials, which we can tailor by category and region when advising and working with our clients around the world. But one stand-out statistic for all marketers is that, globally, 30% of millennials are cynical about the way brands market to them.
Whilst it’s almost of no surprise – given the tough environment in which millennials have entered adulthood – the key question is; how do we as an industry counter this cynicism?
We need to respect millennials and appreciate how savvy and educated they are. We need to learn from how they use social media and give more freely to build loyalty and trust.
We need to take risks and be creative to make them interested in us and we should think from the smartphone out. Only then, will we give ourselves the chance to reap loyalty from this generation – the largest demographic in the world.