Guide
Millennial marketing
Tips, trends, strategies
Millennial marketing is a marketing strategy that brands can leverage to forge relationships with millennial consumers, especially their connection with technology, interest in brand values, and preference for experiences over products.
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What is millennial marketing?
Millennial marketing is a marketing strategy geared toward millennial consumers (born between 1981 and 1996 i, and also known as Generation Y) based on their unique characteristics, values, preferences, and behaviors.
This generation is often characterized by their connection to technology, their inclination toward social responsibility, as well as their desire for authentic and meaningful experiences.
Why is millennial marketing important?
Millennial marketing is important because millennials represent a large portion of the global consumer market and have considerable spending power. In 2023, millennials overtook boomers ii to become the largest generation group in the U.S., with an estimated population of 72.7 million Americans
Why is marketing to millennials difficult?
Unlike previous generations, such as Generation X (born between 1966 and 1981) and boomers (born between 1946 and 1965), millennials grew up with technology and are adept at navigating the digital world. Marketing to millennials can be difficult because they may be more skeptical of digital advertising and can easily spot inauthentic or overly promotional content. They are also more likely to prioritize values like sustainability, social responsibility, and authenticity, as seen in the 2023 Higher Impact report. They are more likely to support brands that align with their beliefs and are transparent about their practices.
In addition, like many consumers today, with the constant exposure to information, millennials have developed shorter attention spans. This means marketers need to create engaging and relevant content that can capture their attention quickly, which makes selective attention marketing even more crucial.
What marketing channels do millennials use?
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that uses creators, especially on social media, to promote products or services to their followers. They are typically individuals who have a large and engaged following, and particularly skilled at creating content—blog posts, video content, livestreams, to name a few—that resonates with their audiences due to the relationships and trust that they have built and nurtured. This can lead to a stronger connection as they talk about and recommend products, which is especially important to millennials who may participate in online communities. In From Ads to Zeitgeist, 70% of surveyed millennials report that they want to feel a greater sense of belonging.
Video marketing has proven to be exceptionally effective in reaching and engaging millennials. This generation is heavily reliant on visual content and prefers consuming information in a quick, digestible format, especially on social media apps and smartphones. Incorporating authentic storytelling from creators and influencers can be a powerful way to forge bonds with shoppers at all stages of the marketing funnel.
Experiential marketing is a type of marketing that connects brands with customers through experiences, such as pop-up stores or special events. They’re often held in person or live, and can include digital components, especially by leveraging social media, as an effective way for brands to create unique and memorable moments. In a survey from Eventbrite, 78% of millennial respondents said they prefer spending money on experiences over products, iii making experiential marketing an effective tool to reach millennial audiences.
Audio marketing helps brands extend campaign messaging beyond the screen, and includes a broad spectrum of content, including jingles, scores, and branded content. For example, since smart-speaker ownership has grown by 77% over the past two years, audio ads can help effectively engage audiences in new ways. Brands can use audio marketing to meet listeners where they’re listening to content at different points in their day, whether they’re listening to ads through their favorite music playlists at the gym, podcast episodes during their commute, or audiobook chapters while preparing dinner at home.
Interactive marketing is the process through which brands use video, comments, visuals, infographics, games, blogs, email, social media, audio, and other formats to have a bilateral exchange with consumers. If traditional marketing was once a one-way communication between a brand and consumers, interactive marketing transforms this into a two-way exchange that involves both parties. Rather than audiences simply viewing a message from a brand, interactive marketing lets audiences be part of the conversation to actively engage with brands through collaborative experiences.
Display ads are online ads that combine copy and visual elements with a call-to-action message that links to a landing page. Often located along the top or sides of a website—or sometimes, in the middle of the content you’re reading—display ads are visually appealing, cost-effective, and a measurable way for a brand to reach their marketing goals. Since they can be highly targeted, advertisers can reach specific demographics by their interests and behaviors to connect with the right shoppers at the right time, with attention-grabbing copy to interest shoppers.
Search engine optimization
Since millennials are digital natives who rely heavily on search engines for research and product discovery, search engine optimization (SEO) is a highly effective strategy to reach and engage them. By researching what keywords millennials are using to search, brands can optimize their content to appear at the top of a results page and earn trust with these shoppers by producing high-quality and informative content, such as blog posts, product reviews, or educational guides. Developing this customer trust and loyalty with consumers through search can help brands forge long-lasting relationships with millennials.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a defined audience. Instead of traditional advertising, content marketing aims to build relationships with potential customers by providing them with information that they find useful or interesting. Since millennials in particular put high value on authenticity and storytelling, content marketing allows brands to showcase their personality and values in a more natural way.
Brand marketing promotes a brand’s products or services in a way that elevates the brand as a whole. It involves creating and maintaining brand-consumer relationships and marketing brand attributes. Investing in brand-consumer relationships to create an emotional connection with consumers can be an effective way of converting consumers from one-time purchasers to lifelong brand advocates.
Millennial marketing tips
Prioritize authenticity
Millennials came of age during the nascent era of social media services like Facebook and Friendster as well as early blogging sites like Blogger or WordPress. At this time, users connected with like-minded individuals online by being vulnerable and embracing imperfections, which was considered relatable and genuine. By sharing opinions and expressing their individuality, millennials were able to build communities with values similar to theirs, which they also look for in brands they support.
Be transparent
Since millennials value authenticity, they’re more likely to trust brands that are open and honest about their practices, especially regarding subjects like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), sustainability, or brand trust. Even if brands are not perfect, more information about how companies run their operations or manufacture their products can help build trust and loyalty among their consumers, particularly if brands are continuously improving.
Build trust
Millennials today often view their relationship to brands as ongoing, whether they continue to purchase their favorite running shoes again and again or trust a skin care brand to release new products that are ethically sourced. Brands can nurture this relationship by listening to ongoing feedback from their customers and tailoring content to their preferences to show they are paying attention. Responding to reviews on a website, engaging with customers on social media, or addressing complaints in a timely manner can go a long way to encourage brand loyalty.
Examples of millennial marketing strategies
Case Study
When PepsiCo wanted to combine two of the most delicious foods—Cheetos, plus macaroni and cheese—into one snack, a top goal was to engage new-to-brand millennials. With insights that indicated that 70% of millennials prefer snacking to meals, Cheetos worked with Amazon Ads to connect with single young adults through a creative strategy that used modern Chester Cheetah imagery with recipe suggestions to lift purchase intent, brand favorability, and ad awareness.
Case Study
When the legacy chocolate brand wanted to reach new shoppers, KITKAT partnered with Twitch to build brand awareness and affinity within the gaming community. By incorporating “tilt mode,” a term often used to describe a state of emotional frustration that can affect a gamer’s performance, into their ads, KITKAT found an opportunity to include their well-known tagline (“Have a break; have a KITKAT”) to connect with these younger audiences.
Case Study
To drive awareness and consideration in the U.K. and Germany, the fitness brand implemented a video-first strategy to connect with Gen Z adults and millennials, who represented less than 18% of Reebok’s current Amazon shoppers. Because insights showed that this group engages most frequently with video content online, Reebok decided to focus on video ads as the primary medium for their campaign. Twitch played a pivotal role, with video ads achieving a video completion rate of 95%, and there were 11% and 40% increases in return on ad spend, in the U.K. and Germany, respectively.
News
When TD Bank saw that there was an uptick in new accounts by adult Gen Z and millennial audiences, they realized that there was an opportunity to introduce this younger adult cohort to the world of investing with their newly refreshed app, TD Easy Trade, in Canada. To help humanize the experience, TD Bank worked with Amazon Ads to create a campaign with Twitch ads and Streaming TV ads, which resulted in an uptick in ad awareness and brand awareness.
FAQs
Millennials are important because they represent the first generation to grow up with technology and feel very at ease with the internet. They are comfortable with online shopping, social media, and mobile devices, making them highly accessible to digital marketing campaigns.
Compared to previous generations, millennials are more likely to be socially conscious and support brands that align with their values. This means that brands need to be authentic and transparent in their messaging. Though millennials may be less loyal to traditional brands, they are more likely to be loyal to brands that they perceive as authentic and that resonate with their values. For example, according to the 2023 Higher Impact report, causes that matter to millennials include health care and health care access (31% of respondents), health and wellness (26% of respondents), and economic uncertainty (24% of respondents).
Millennials also often prioritize experiences over material possessions, so brands may need to offer unique and memorable experiences to attract their attention. Along with Gen Z adults who also came of age during a time of economic uncertainty, millennials are more likely than boomers or Gen X to spend on average more than an hour each week gathering information about products and prices before making a purchase.
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