5 Things you need to know about marketing to millennials
- Thu, January 26 2012
- Filed under: Marketing essentials
AdAge had a very useful article last week that summarized new millennial research from ComScore, based on nearly 1,000 TV tests and 35 digital advertising tests.
The key finding? Millennials react to marketing differently.
Here were the takeaways:
1. Millennials don’t respond to TV ads as much as their elders. Younger people have always measured as less responsive to TV ads than older people, but the gap has grown with Millennials.
2. With digital, you don’t see that difference. Millennials are about as responsive to digital ads as other generations.
3. Millennials respond to the same advertising approaches as prior generations. They care most about what makes a brand unique or better - and they react best to the product and brand shown clearly. In other stories, they’ve also been shown to put a premium on trust.
4. Millennials are more engaged in all kinds of media than older folks. For example, millennials had engagement scores that were 22.2% higher than boomers with digital media.
5. Millennials may respond less to TV ads, but at least they remember them longer. This finding was amusing to me - as someone with a fading memory, I think that’s just the gift of the young—total recall!
So what does this mean to you? If you’re seeking to engage younger supporters, the digital avenue is the best. Make clear what makes your cause special. Be authentic. And don’t be so creative you forget the basics: clear, simple communication and a memorable messaging wins the day, whatever the generation.