Last week I attended a series of conferences in New York titled “Millennial 2020”. My goal was to get a feeling of what is going on in the business world. As a coach, I feel it’s my obligation through lectures and conferences, to keep abreast of the tendencies and transformations in my clients’ world, be it finance, distribution, luxury goods, food-processing, etc.

Even though the title of the conferences focused on “Millennial”, the conferences dealt with diverse subjects, such as marketing tendencies, sales (both on and off-line), information, new food and other products, etc. Organized like a trade fair, the conference was attended by numerous businessmen and large enterprises that expressed their points of view on the conquest of new markets.

Some of the companies present were Eataly, the Italian grocery, Barilla and its pasta, Gillette, P&G razors, as well as Impossible Food, producers of foodstuff that has very little impact on the environment, MIC, a media company with a network of 65 million millennials, the Ideas and Inventions museum of Barcelona, Prelude, a company that deals with the freezing of embryos, and many others.

I would like to share some of the information on Millennials (intended as a generation) that I found interesting, even though it is only a small part of what was discussed at the two-day conferences.

About generations

First of all, I think it is important to place each generation in a time context. The following classification is merely a rough guide. Websites sometimes give slightly different dates. Our goal is simply to have a general idea.

X generation: those born between 1961 and 1981
Millennials or Y generation: those born between 1982 and 2002
Z generation: those born after the millennials, i.e. today’s adolescents and children

Source: Wikipedia

What Millennials want and need

• They want to have their social circle to share their experiences and to participate in their friends’ experiences.
• They want to feel an emotional connection to self: to what extent is this product/news/idea related to me and to my feelings.
• They want to reinvent the future trough innovative products and ideas.
• They need to trust the brands they use.
• Purpose is a strong trust factor. The product/idea/news has to serve a meaningful and useful objective.
• They want to have easy access to products/services and information through network operators.

Millennials want to make their experience digital so they can share it with their friends. They want to share their emotions and observe their friends’ reactions. “My experience is useless unless I can share it with someone else!”

There is a shift from Storytelling to Storyliving: Millennials want to share their experiences, not only their stories.

Don’t apply the Golden Rule: treat others as you want to be treated.
Apply THE rule: treat others as THEY want to be treated.

Useful/meaningful is the new cool.
TRUST + IMPACT (useful and meaningful) = brand value

Source: Jeff Fromm – Futurecast

What Millennials want as consumers

They…
– … want more choices (but read what is said further on: it’s not consistent!)
– … are not loyal
– … are skeptical about commercial messages
– … demand sustainable products
– … identify with their group

Uniqueness of millennials:

• Constantly stimulated
• Highly mobile
• Identity driven
• Connected
• Rapid ++

By 2020 85% of customer interaction will be managed without human interaction.
Up to 30% of web searches go to an e-commerce site.
87% of shoppers look for information online before visiting the store.
3% of online shoppers will purchase
More than 15% of shoppers will purchase in a store.

Source: H&M Foundation; Visenze.

Myths about young people

1. Young people like almost anything; they don’t have strong preferences. They are not particularly fond of fashionable products; if convinced, they will like just about anything!
2. Millennials care about their digital privacy. Most of them have private profiles on Instagram. Messaging apps have surpassed social media because, among other things, they are private.
3. The “hipster” Millennial stereotype is a myth. Young people migrate to cities: false! Most millennials live in suburbs, city living decreases. In the 25 – 32 age bracket, only 1 out of 3 has a college degree. Less than 10% are white.
4. Today young people consume less drugs and alcohol, have less sex, watch less television and fight less than the previous generation.
5. They don’t like to have a wide choice; they prefer to have a pre-selection of choices.
6. The most powerful campaigns are the ones with personal conversations in the real world.
7. 7% of word of mouth takes place online and more than 90% off-line!

Conclusion: we cannot stereotype Millennials. We need to understand all the diversities of this generation in order to better respond to their needs.

Source: Aria Finger CEO of dosomething.org

Traits of influencers

Millennials pay more attention than other generations to influencers (60%), BUT not all influencers are equal.

Common influencers’ traits

• Expert. This is the most important trait, it is 16 times weightier than any other trait, since it creates trust.
• Passionate
• Curious
• Early adopters

There are different kinds of influencers:

1. Shakers: traditional influencers, they have a large social network, give active advice, are confident, enjoy helping others, and generate awareness
2. Makers: they also have a large social network; they are more passionate, more knowledgeable, self-influential. They want to know more about the product/service/news but don’t look for feedback from others as Shakers do. Only 20% of influencers are makers.

True influencers generate action, not awareness.

Source: Time Out

Millennials are not equal vis-a-vis digital

Digital drivers’ models are:

– Pleasure: I use digital to satisfy my desire for immediate satisfaction and entertainment.
– Discovery: I use digital to learn.
– Connection: I use digital to connect on social media.
– Actualization: I use digital to take action in achieving my goals (ex buying).

Chinese Millennials

They spend 3,9 hours/day on the web, 45 minutes more than Americans.
Chinese millennials are digitally sophisticated; they have (the) 4 drivers.
30% share their experiences and knowledge online.
Chinese Millennials want to learn, Americans want to have fun.

Source: Labbrand

Millennials and media

What Millennials want in a web media…

… to be connected to the same value as the media in a relevant way
… more transparency and trust
… a human way to approach news. Share real stories in order to identify with people.
… a trusted relationship with an audience, which also means sharing the points of view of others (educational side of the media).