The saying in the media and brand world claims that the people you most need will leave you first, and then the rest will follow. I guess that the first to leave / let go of the traditional media tools as well as the digital publishers – are the millennials and generation Z.
The US industry is currently witnessing a revolution. For the first time, the millennials have become the largest demographic segment, and in terms of business potential, they are more significant than the X and the baby generation.
Let’s redraw these generations map, in terms of marketing and media:
Baby boomers – born between 1946-1964. This generation is associated with the age of plenty – they were the first to be born to home television, and witnessed the initial entry of technology into the average house.
The X Generation – born from the early 60s to the end of the 70s of the 20th century. This generation, unlike its predecessors spends much more time at home and therefore is exposed to a multitude of media channels and marketing messages.
The Y Generation – the Millennials. Born in the 80s and 90s of the 20th century, they are the digital natives, who have been exposed to global stimuli from an early age: Music, fast food, global news broadcasts, the internet and so on. They have no qualms when it comes to returning to live at their parents’ home even as grownups. They also average seven jobs by the age of thirty and marry late.
The Z Generation – born to 4-5 screens – computer, TV, smartphone, tablet, laptop. A technological, visual and involved generation, which is more digital, more calculated, more apt to online purchasing – primarily mobile shopping, but still has, compared to the Millennials, limited purchasing capability. In a few years, they are going to become more significant.
Therefore, the Millennials – the first generation born to digital – is the most important one for brands and media companies. They, as well as the following generation present a different and elusive consumer profile – less linear television, less loyalty to brands, sharing products and content, impatient and intolerant of unpleasant buying experiences, and requirement for interaction and involvement.
These two younger generations are similar in terms of the difficulty they pose to brands and media companies, but still differ significantly.
Pay close attention to the following differences:
The Z Generation
is not just a sophisticated content consumer but also a content producer. Most of the successful Influencers belong to this generation. Generation Z, more than the millennial one, was born to online shopping (primarily mobile). It, more than any other generation, has adopted and demands visual communication.
Amazon, for example, studied this segment and launched Amazon TEENS – a platform that allows its young audience to shop with its own personal budget. The service and the way Amazon promotes it were influenced by a recent HRC study which showed that 61% of screen-purchasing decisions are influenced by friends with 13% by bloggers. Most of these youth are not influenced by traditional advertising and use social networks while shopping.
The millennials and the Z generation are the segments you should invest your money in. They do not spend time in the areas where most marketing managers invest in, and do not wait for celebrities to tell them what to buy. One other important point – the millennials are the new leaders. They are the ones sitting in the drivers’ seat now (or very soon). From here, the real change will begin with the implementation of smarter, more accurate and measurable digital marketing programs.The end of spray and pray.