Message to Millennials: Many CMO's Think You Are Like Them

I had the pleasure yesterday of speaking to a group of 70+ CMO's in New York City on the topic of Millennials in marketing. Actually I did very little speaking and let three fabulous Millennials speak for themselves, Justin DeGraaf, Marketing Manager at Unilever, Adrienne Waldo of Ask a Millennial and Brian Rosenberg of Prophet. The presentation was Titled "10 Things Millennials Wish They Could Tell Their CMO's". The 10 key points are nicely summarized on The CMO Club blog today.

The speakers did a great job bringing the points to life, but apparently many in the audience just weren't buying it. The Q&A session was unusually tense. The gist of the comments were that Millennials need to understand the workplace will not change to accomodate them Their issues are simply "management 101" - if they had good managers, their issues would go away. One CMO went so far as to say they are actively avoiding hiring Millennials because of the high maintenance demands.

I disagree. There is data, lots of it, that suggests this generation has different needs and expectations than Boomers and Gen X'ers. Their values are likely to have a greater effect on the workplace than the workplace will have on their values. If companies are to get the best from them, they will need to show greater sensitivity to these differences.

Beyond Management 101, understanding Millennials is critical for effective marketing. Millennials are the 'target of the future' and what better way to start to understand them than to listen to the Millennials in your own organization. While many of their tastes and habits are age-related, many others are generational. These differences will shape their lives as consumers for many years. For their sake, I hope that the CMO's in the audience take time to do some investigating among the Millennials in their organization and keep an open mind that perhaps their young workers are not just younger versions of themselves.

Dentyne's 'Face Time' Campaign a Winner with Millennials

I love Dentyne's contrarian "Face Time" campaign. It leverages the current obsession with Facebook and virtual friending to make a point about the importance of face-to-face encounters. First launched in October, the campaign includes TV, a web site and remarkably, no NO Facebook group or application I could find! In fact the web site only gives you 3 minutes to find what you want and get out.

Last night, a new 'Face Time' commercial on The Colbert Report caught my attention. It features a charming couple who can't stop kissing. Adorable. And it makes the point: kissing is fun, do it more often (with Dentyne)! (I can't find the new spot on YouTube or I would have inserted it here).

I was pleased to see Millennials, not just boomers like me, enjoy this campaign. Adrienne Waldo, creator of the blog AskAMillennial, says she likes it for being 'genuine' and 'happy' (how Millennial of her!):

"I am absolutely crazy about the most recent Dentyne campaign.It is fun, warm, unique and targets Millennials without being patronizing. I think the essential goodness of this campaign comes from its genuine nature. ..The commercial ties in well with the print. The song selection, "Summer Day" by Coconut Records, comes across pleasantly quirky, the setting is beautiful, and the whole thing leaves me feeling happy."

Millennial Target: Ford Fiesta

Ford just announced it is seeding 100 German-built Fiestas with hand-selected Millennial 'agents'. In exchange for this largesse, the agents will be expected to Twitter, Facebook, Blog and Flickr their experience to their friends. According to the press release, the cars are rolling off the line today. Starting this spring, the agents will perform monthly 'missions' and report on them to their friends and to Ford for six months via social media.

Ford is the only one of the big three U.S. car-makers who is not looking to the government for bail out loans, which appears to be a good business decision. According to today's Wall Street Journal (Ford Benefits as GM Chrysler Tumble), they are also the only U.S. car-maker who has grown share in the past four months.

The car is designed to appeal to younger, Ecologically Conscious and Economically Challenged drivers. The giveaway effort is intended to both build buzz as well as provide Ford with feedback prior to the 2010 official launch. Ford claims to have already received 1500 applications on its www.fiestamovement.com web site. The application asks applicants to submit a two to five minute video explaining why they want the opportunity to become part of the Fiesta Movement. Applications will be accepted through March 13, 2009.

We’re looking for an elite crop of drivers to take the wheel: people with a strong presence on the web, an ability to craft a compelling story through video, and a hunger for adventure. As a driver, you’ll receive monthly secret assignments from Ford Mission Control that will take you to places you’ve never been, to meet people you’ve never met, and to experiences you’ll never forget. And you’ll bring your friends and followers along for the ride. We’ll hand you the keys to your own Fiesta for a six month period, and we’ll even handle the gas and insurance for you, too.

Is this move into 'social media marketing' a smart move? A lot depends on execution, but the strategy seems sound. There are no guarantees that Ford will pick the right Millennials, that the missions will be of interest to other Millennials, and that they will even like the car. But, assuming $10,000 per car (a guess) the effort probably costs about what it would cost to make a commercial -- in other words, a pretty good deal and worth the risk.

The Gen Y Digital Divide: Natives vs. Immigrants

Millennials are different in ways large and small -- in upbringing, values, beverage and leisure preferences, work habits, social attitudes and more. But perhaps the difference that is most important for marketers is information savvy. Millennials prefer to think of themselves as the Internet Generation. Gen Y members could operate a mouse before they could read. They absorb each new innovation with lightening speed, speeding the innovation cycle to dizzying levels. They don't value information per se, because information is free. Instead, they value the ability to organize, create and share information. They don't search, they expect relevant information to come to them. Ultimately, technology may be the underlying driver of all the other differences. The Journal of Brand Management, in an insightful 2008 editorial eloquently described this generational divide:

"The under thirties 'are more savvy, more materialistic, more media-saturated and more impatient than any generation that's preceded them. Gen Y-- the so-called options generation -- wants the freedom to exercise choice. ... But the picture is more complicated than this: it isn't simply that the young are savvy and the old aren't. Indeed, many in the older generation are savvy and technologically sophisticated. Moreover, older consumers are striving to be younger....Perhaps the real difference between the generations is Gen Y and Gen M take digital, interactive technologies for granted -- they are cyberspace natives -- whereas older generations are like immigrants who have at differing rates and with differing abilities, had to learn about this brave new world. Superimposed on these generational differences are variations in gender socio-economic status, access to technology, educational attainment and ability -- the components that go to create, on the one hand, digital communities, and, on the other hand, digital divides."

Despite all my attempts to stay technologically current (hey, I use Twitter!), I was reminded of my 'immigrant' status yesterday in a conversation with Millennial, Connor McCue of Generation Think Tank in Boulder, CO. Connor had urged me to add an RSS feed to this blog, which I did and thanked him for suggesting. I went on to brag that I had also added bookmarking capability, but rather than being impressed, he asked me a few questions about my own use of technology that made it clear to me that I am still speaking pidgen Internet, relative to Gen Y, regardless of how fluent I may appear to others my age.

Here is the point: even the least technologically sophisticated Millennial is probably well beyond the skill level of the most sophisticated 50 year old. When building brand relationships, it is now critical to use access to and comfort with technology as a segmentation dimension, in addition to the usual behavioral and attitudinal factors. The technological factors may be more important to engaging with brands than demographics. This complicates the marketing challenge, but will lead to more nuanced marketing.

How Red Bull Leverages Social Media

While there are many contenders, Red Bull may be the ultimate Millennial brand. As Millennials became increasingly sleep deprived, energy drinks thrived. In 2007, 34% of all 12-24 year olds say they 'regularly drink energy drinks' (Mintel, July 2008). The reason given most often for drinking is 'for energy' and 'to stay awake', far out-pacing the number who say they mix it with alcohol.The energy drink category has more than quadrupled to $5 Billion in 2008 (est), up from $1 Billion in 2003. There can be no doubt that it is immensely profitable, at $2.27/16 oz vs. $.53 for sports drinks and $.36 for soft drinks.

Energy drinks are a Millennial-driven phenomenon, and with a 42% share, Red Bull is the driver. 61% of 18-24 year old energy drink users drink Red Bull, outpacing Monster Energy by a factor of 2:1.

Since its beginnings, Red Bull has shown that it 'gets' Millennials and especially their desire for a dialog with the brands they consume. This blurring of the social with channels of brand marketing is what NYT columnist,Rob Walker , dubbed 'murketing' in his great book, "Buying In: The Secret Dialog between What We Buy and Who We Are". He maintains that modern branding involves complicity between consumer and consumed, an embracing of commerical culture, not commercials. Red Bull was among the first to recognize and leverage "murketing", with its extreme sports competitions in extreme locations. Red Bull is also a great example of why Millennial-targeted brands should forgo making claims in favor of building affinity. Who knows or cares what guanine is, anyway? Certainly not my students.

Red Bull's Facebook group shows how effectively they have leveraged murketing online. The group boasts 282,286 fans. There is free music, a contest to find the next great hip hop artist, a webisode series, photos from events, profiles of Red Bull athletes, links to other great 'procrastination' sites, and many more ways to connect with Red Bull web sites. Perhaps the most unique feature is Red Bull's sharing of drunken phone messages they have received. Here is one of the top rated (yes, you can rate and share them): "Hi, I really like Red Bull a lot. Right now I'm pooping. In my parents bathroom. And I really like Red Bull a lot." Try that Monster Energy. While much of the same content can be found on Red Bull's web site, it doesn't have the same energy as when presented in social media. Count me in as a fan.

Millennial to Marketers: Be Meaningful, Be Quick, Be Shiny

I just read an amazing article from Marketing (May 26, 2008) by Naomi Wohl, a young strategic planner at Ogilvy in Toronto. Millennials have a unique sense of timelessness. They want it now, and 'forever' has little meaning. Naomi explains why. It's a little long, but I want to share most of it as it was written. I hope you enjoy it as much I did. She captures an essential truth of this generation that I haven't heard expressed this well anyplace else. Enjoy!

The concept of forever is lost-literally. Timelessnessgone. Moments that will last a lifetime-MIA. We are in the Age of The Here and Now. The Age of Moment to Moment. The Age of ADD. ....Nothing creates fleeting experiences like our current culture of technology. Why buy a car when you can lease it? Why sign a cellphone contract when you can pay as you go? The newest iPod and flat-screen TV models are being designed just as their predecessors arrive on shelves. We buy in anticipation of getting the upgrade. We revel in the current model's inadequacies because we're so amazed at how quickly they can be improved. We live in a time in which lifetime warranties are meaningless. ...

And who bears the brunt of this phenomenon? It's the very same people engineering it-Generation Y. We are aged 18 to 28, and possess or have access to amazing stores of knowledge -- though it is matched by an even greater indifference. We are a generation of silent overachievers (pretending we don't really care), genetically and culturally encoded to think fast, want more, and crave new. We were built for this time; an ephemeral culture created by us, for us.

We repel things that last longer, and as a result, our attention span is getting shorter. I'm emotionally attached to my PVR. My high-speed Internet isn't fast enough; I've had to upgrade to "Extreme." I multi-task. I have developed an uncontrollable jittering knee when other things and people move too slowly. Do I sound anxious? Irritable? Maybe some pharmaceutical company is working on the drug for my Gen Y disease. Dear marketers, if you want to reach me, you'll have to catch me. And please be quick about it.

For us, the concept of friendship has even changed from terms like "BFF," to join my entourage on Facebook. As for relationships, the success and growth rate of online dating sites suggests we're searching not for the partner who is a fit forever, but for the partner who is a fit nght now.

And yet, despite our current transient attitude, we are desperate to make the moment last. For those of us who want to try our hand at singing, dating, dancing, fashion designing, modeling, inventing, cooking or 5th grade math-prime-time programming can make us famous. In the wake of impermanence, fame enablers like reality TV, YouTube videos, or even Guitar Hero, give us a chance to be a rock star. Even if you only get to enjoy the fame for a moment, there's a chance to make that moment last.

And last and last. Because thanks to the environment, all of a sudden forever matters again to Gen Y. Our long-term temporary thinking has led us into a permanent crisis, scrambling to reverse our hardwired non-committal nature with an undying pledge to preservation and conservation. The environment is the quintessential cause rallying the masses today. Never have we collectively been so dedicated to sustainability. We can fill the blue box at home, join the MySpace group for alternative energy and buy organic. If everything else in our lives is so temporary, why is this cause so captivating? Maybe we long for something to matter. Maybe we fear our lives will come and go as inconsequentially as all the fleeting experiences that filled them. We're desperate to make something last. So we'll endorse the cause and work to create a world that will never know we were even here.

For you marketers, trying desperately to grab my Gen Y attention as I rush by, here are some tips.

Firstly, your brand needs to be the new transformer of our time-capable of renewal and regeneration while demonstrating that essential I-can't-live-without-you shiny feature. Next, don't linger. Tell me what you want to tell me, but tell me quickly, because I'm already looking in someone else's direction. And finally, be meaningful. Be the inside joke that only Gen Y gets; self deprecating but not insulting. Be Optimus Prime. Be my hero, and I'll be your rock star.

Millennial Marketing: Fun and Games

When David Carson at Mediapost said this week the "Nintendo Wii ad for "Wario-Land Shake It" on YouTube is the best ad I've seen all year, in any medium", it reminded me I have yet to address the topic of gaming among Millennials. (BTW, it really is a great ad, click here to see it.) I admit one reason I haven't written about gaming is tht we are not really a gaming household. Yes we have a Wii, Playstation 2, and PSP, but they don't seem to get much use. We just never got the heavy-duty gaming bug, aside from passing addictions to Bejeweled2, the Sims and Spider Solitaire.

My 14-year old son is atypical. 44% of The gaming statistics, especially for males are staggering; 44% of 12-17 year old males say playing video games is one of the 'favorite activities' (Mintel, 3.07, see chart). That makes games big business; the Sims alone has sold 100 million copies, worth about $4 Billion (Fast Company, 9.08). The upcoming release of Spore is a media event that rivals the biggest blockbuster movies.

From a marketing perspective, it is important to note that up until now, gaming has been largely a male phenomenon, most likely due to the high levels of violence in many games. This is a problem Spore's marketers hope to change. Spore is reportedly more about creating and building than destroying. (Right now, young women are much more likely to blog, while both sexes are equally likely to be spending time social networking.) This makes gaming an especially targeted medium for marketers trying to reach young men. Little wonder product placement in video games is hot and getting hotter.

Millennial Target: Fat Bastard

With their above average earnings and sophisticated tastes, Millennials are an untapped market for 'luxury' goods -- you just can't call them luxuries. French Millennials are forgoing wine; U.S. Millennials are embracing it in large numbers. According to Nielsen, beer drinking among 21-30 year olds dropped 12 percentage points in the last 10 years, twice as much as those over 30. (Beer still accounts for 83% of Gen Y alcoholic beverage purchases, so don’t expect Beer Pong to lose popularity anytime soon.) Why are Millennials embracing wine? Well, it’s not because its hip or cool – wine is considered too elite to be cool. The answer is that Millennials have sophisticated tastes, a function of early exposure to the finer things in life by their boomer parents. (Most Millennials who like wine say they were introduced to it by their parents).

This is a huge opportunity for winemakers, and Fat Bastard is among the first to jump on it. Their irreverent web site does its best to take out the mystery and put in the fun:

The theme, “Are you Livin’ Large?”, strikes just the right note of luxury that doesn't take itself too seriously. The fifties motif gives the site a retro feel.

The 'hippo' logo is enough of an non-sequitur that it works to heighten the sense of whimsy; this is a wine brand that doesn't take itself too seriously. The hippo logo is nice extended into 'Hippo Couture' t-shirts and 'Hippo Culture'.

The site provides many opportunities to engage: a short fun survey, an invitation to 'share your story' and a contest to design a summer t-shirt. The tone is light and witty: "Tell us how you have reveled and regaled friends and family with the Fat bastard. Send photos of you and your fellow partygoers, enjoying Fat bastard in any lively (and legal!) scenario. Share with us your thoughts and impressions of the Fat bastard."

There is the obligatory advice on food pairings, recipe ideas and restaurant recommendations.

There's even a nice Breast Cancer cause marketing effort with $.25 donated for each bottle sold.

Above all, the site gives us a plausible back story for the product as well as the implausible brand name:

Thierry Boudinaud, a renowned winemaker who had crafted wines from California to France, from Chile to South Africa was sitting in a cold damp wine cellar one winter day when the door burst open. It was Guy Anderson his dear friend from London who had just arrived to sample the recent vintage. “It’s cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey” Guy was a rebel in the wine industry believing that quality was paramount in a wine but that the average consumer hated the traditional intimidation heaped on them by most of the wine industry..... Thierry thought he would have Guy try an experimental wine he had in a few barrels in the back of the cellar. “Dis is a experiment wine we left it on de lees. We try it no?” “Sure Thierry, you know how hard it is to get me to try a new wine.” Both friends had no idea that leaving the wine in barrel on the lees (yeast cells) would result is such a dramatic difference from the wine they tried the day before. It had a wonderful color and rich, round palate. Both men stood and stared at each other for what seemed like five minutes until Thierry exclaimed “now zat iz what you call eh phet bast-ard” Guy laughed with a belly laugh you could clearly hear in the neighboring town. He had used the expression Fat bastard often to describe things that were great but hearing it in a French accent made it so much funnier.

Millennial Target: Jamba Juice

Smoothies may be the quintessential Millennial category --- and Jamba Juice may be the quintessential Millennial brand. Forty percent of all 18-24 year olds, had a smoothie made fresh for them in the past month (Mintel, March 2008). That figure is more than 2X total adults (18%), and rivals past month penetration of Starbucks (44%, Mintel, April 2008). Mention Jamba Juice in one of my Notre Dame marketing classes and you get immediate smiles and conversation. Jamba Juice is a brand that is loved, not just respected.

Little wonder then made to order smoothies are big business -- $591 million in 2007. The average smoothie price is over $5.00. Jamba Juice is far and away the leader with a whopping 56% share, despite its generally higher price (a strong indicator of brand strength by any measure). In September, Jamba Juice was included in Inc. magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing companies.

How did Jamba Juice become an iconic youth brand?

1. Authenticity: I met with a rep from Jamba Juice last spring. She told me JJ is uncompromising in its use of fresh fruit and quality ingredients, despite cost and competitive pressures.

2. Effective use of PR: Until recently, Jamba Juice had never made a TV commercial. Instead, it relies on great placement on shows like Dave Letterman. Click here to see his effort to see how many Spiderman can fit into a Jamba Juice store.

3. Innovative menu items: The addition of breakfast items gives customers another reason to visit.

4. Consistently fun personality: Whether you encounter JJ on the web, on YouTube, or in the store, the attitude is fun and a little quirky. I especially like the 'chalk' feature on JJ's web site. Purpose? Who cares?!

5. Simplicity: Jamba Juice isn't trying to be all things to all people. Research on top brands among trendsetting youth by Outlaw Consulting emphasizes simplicity of design and execution as a trademark of an iconic trendsetter brand.

Millennial Media: Campaign News Sources

What media do Millennials rely on for election news? Political marketers addressing the youth vote would be wise to avoid overreliance on Internet media. Among the 88% of Millennials who are actively seeking or at least paying attention to the 2008 election, there is as much reliance on old fashioned TV news as on flashy Internet web sites. According to a May 2008 study by Crawford, Johnson, Northcott, a respected audience research firm, “Even with all of the media options available to Americans, television still rules – at least as a source for presidential election information.” CJN's research shows National, Local and Cable TV News are the three most relied upon media sources for election news across every age group -- including 18-29 year olds.

What about Internet media, surely young people are more likely to turn to the web for news than their parents or Gen X’ers? Reliance on Internet media for election news across all four age groups polled reveals a surprisingly complex dynamic. It’s not as simple as 'young = Internet, old = TV'.

• Across all four age groups, news organization web sites are the most heavily relied upon. • Those under 45 are more likely to rely on ISP news pages than those 45 and older.

• There is no age difference in likelihood of relying on candidate email, political web sites and local TV web sites.

• The largest age differences are in reliance on YouTube and social networking sites, which skew strongly young, but have fairly low penetration even among 18-29 year olds (less than 1 in 5).

Taco Bell Rings the Bell with Millennials

Taco Bell announced this week it is extending its "Feed the Beat" Indie Rock Band promotion for its late night "Fourth Meal" for a third year. My thoughts on why this is a smart promotion were mentioned in Ad Age today. Why do I think it's smart? Well, it's reasonable to assume after two years, they must have a pretty good idea that the promo works. How could it not? This seems to hit multiple Millennial sweet spots all at once:

1. Simple and Undemanding. The rules are simple: register for $500 worth of late night coupons and a chance to a chance to be promoted by a record producer next spring, no strings whatsoever.

2. Immediate gratification. Winners will be announced in October.

3. Social. Bands have fans. Fans like to eat, too. Winners will be selected via online vote, which will encourage the bands to activate their networks.

4. Indie Rock Bands. Music is a top passion for Millennials, as blogger Charlie Moran points out in the Ad Age article.

5. Late Night. Millennials live 24/7 lives, as the time stamping on most papers they turn into me for class attests. A "Fourth Meal" makes sense to them. As I mentioned to Emily York, the Ad Age reporter who contacted me, "it's particularly savvy because members of that generation have round-the-clock opportunities we didn't dream of at their age."

Taco Bell's marketing investment in this promotion is modest: 100 bands X $500 in late night coupons ($50K), URL for registration and voting, placement on sauce packets, PR. The return is potentially great, if only in registered band member names and voters! The PR potential is big and very well-targeted. It all seems to point to a potentially huge ROI, as well as some terrific potential for brand-differentiation. I predict we'll see this promotion extended a fourth year.

Millennial Media: Magazines and Radio Deserve A Second Look

Want to reach Millennials? Don't assume you can only find them online. According to MRI (Fall 2007), 18-24 year olds are more likely than older adults to be in the top 40% of Radio listeners and Magazine readers. (See chart)

Many magazines are more than twice as likely to be read by 18-24 year olds than by adults in other age groups. Cosmopolitan enjoys penetration of 21% among this age group (and most likely even higher penetration of among just women). Magazines other than Cosmopolitan with penetration among both genders of over 10% include: Maxim, ESPN the magazine, Seventeen, Vibe, Rolling Stone, Glamour, US Weekly, Babies and Bridal (in that order). Other magazines indexing over 200 (2x higher than average) include Sports Illustrated, Game Informer, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Cosmo Girl, American Baby, Allure, In Touch Weekly, Men's Fitness, Game Pro, Teen Vogue, Modern Bride, Fuse, WWE Magazine, Elle, PC Gamer, Marie Claire, Penthouse, Latina, Lucky, Spin, and Dirt Rider. Likewise, radio is a natural choice for mobile Millennials.

This is good news for marketers. While newspapers, TV and outdoor are all problematic, there are good traditional media alternatives other than the Internet for reaching young adults. The ability to target narrowly by interest makes radio and magazines a great deal for Millennial marketers, and worth a second look.

Millennial Target: Bill Gates & Jerry Seinfeld

Today's Ad Age discusses the first spot in a new campaign for Microsoft that features Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. In an earlier post, I speculated the pairing would appeal to Millennial's fondness for underappreciated, surprisingly talented nerds. The first spot does not disappoint. While the Ad Age article calls Gates' performance 'hokey', that is precisely the point. The agency, Crispin should be applauded for celebrating the awkwardness of its biggest brand asset, Bill Gates, rather than ignoring it or trying to be as cool as Apple. I predict Millennials will embrace this new campaign. Now whether it causes them to rethink their fanatic love of Apple is another question, but this is a good first step. I look forward to seeing where they take it next.

Buy Cool Stuff, Do Good

Many brands have incorporated social responsibility into their marketing, and this approach is known to influence at least a portion of Millennials. In most cases (Tom's Shoes being an exception), customers are required to DO something -- like recycle their old sweats -- to contribute. With what RetailHitsandMisses blogger, Judy Hopelain, calls 'Millennial perfect pitch', EBAY announced today the launch of a new shopping site, WorldofGood.com, that makes doing good as painless as shopping online. With the tagline, "Where Your Shopping Shapes the World", this new site makes it easy to support whatever cause you like! Want to buy products that are made of eco-friendly materials, support local community services, preserve native plans and native trditions, adhere to fair trade practices, conserve energy and do not harm animals in production? You can find them here. Want to join a community that shares your passion for a cause? EBAY uses its formidable community building skills to make it easy to do just that. There's even a Facebook link and easy way to tell others about WorldofGood.

While WorldofGood will appeal to more than just Millennials, it indeed seems custom made for a generation that has money to spend and seeks to make a difference. Already this site has attracted hundreds of bloggers. We predict that word of mouth will move this site to the forefront of Gen Y's consciousness very quickly.

Millennial Target: Hot PINK

Victoria's Secret's PINK brand is hot. With sales approaching $1 Billion, it is growing faster than VS overall according to Ad Age (7/7/08). PINK's Facebook Group boasts 509,478 fans, one of the largest on the site. This fall, PINK started directly targeting the collegiate crowd with a COMPREHENSIVE approach that leaves no stone unturned, with apps for your facebook page, style guides, videos of favorite bands, logowear from 33 universities, video personality profiles, events (PINKAPOLOOZA) text messaging sign up, free customizable goodies for your myspace page or computer, insider blogs, a maglog, cause marketing, a $5 planner promotional offer -- even horoscopes. Nothing was left out. And the overall sense is that they won't stop here, there's lots more to come. (I was interested to note that Notre Dame is not one of the participating schools, you can see a list click here; be sure to click Roll Call to hear the charming Behati from Namibia read the school names to you, definitely worth watching).

Overall, the site feels more like a social network than a comercial site, and that apparently is the intent and its appeal. I admit I found 30 minutes of total entertainment. It makes college look so COOL! Who wouldn't want to be part of this scene? Cool is apparently is the goal, according to Sara Tervo, PR Director:

With fickle teens jumping from one fashion brand to another, it's a balancing art to stay relevant and "cool" in the eyes of this consumer group. "What VS Pink does is it listens to the customer, pays attention to the fashion trends, and stays true to the brand," says Tervo. (PR Week, 2/11)

Brands who want to approach the college market would do well to look at VSPINK.

Millennial Target: Hamlet 2

To see or not to see Hamlet 2? If you are interested in Millennials, the answer is definitely 'see'. The humor and pacing are wildly uneven, the outcome is telegraphed from the outset and the vulgar language is not at all what you would find in Disney's High School Musical. But the insight about what will appeal to Millennials was on target from beginning to end, proving the real Hamlet correct in saying, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

While the story appears to be about a failed actor, failed high school drama teacher and failed husband, the real story, as Millennials will no doubt discern immediately, is about the students. The movie first presents this hapless bunch as disrespectful, illiterate, racially and class-divided, drug using, losers. But this is just a cover. They choose to present themselves this way, of course. In fact, they have amazing talents -- for singing, stage production, choreography, musical composition, technology, organization, persuasion, and more -- which only needed to be given a chance and an inspiration to thrive. They don't need good material, a competent teacher or even much knowledge of the real Hamlet. With the students' help, the truly hapless teacher's laughably uninspired and ridiculous script is transformed and transplanted to yes, Broadway. (Sorry to give it away for those of you who have not seen the movie, but you would have guessed anyway).

Steve Coogan, as the Boomer drama 'teacher', is pitied and loved, but not respected. He is harmless, but ineffective. He doesn't even wear underwear. He succeeds because of the students, despite his lack of talent and self-destructive qualities.

It is also significant to note that none of the young wunderkinds stands out as the 'star'. They work, and succeed, as a team. Everyone is included -- including the nerdy, sexually confused teacher's pet and the bad girl 'wanna-be'. It is the students' pooled gifts, and ability to pull together, that make them successful, a true Millennial value.

I have written before of Millennial personas, archetypes and 'secretly gifted' fantasies. Hamlet 2 wraps them all into one package.

Millennial Target: Samsung Instinct

Ordinarily I would have no room for sympathy for Sprint. Last spring I had to pay $800 to switch to an iPhone before my 4-line Sprint contract was complete. However, I do pity them for having to compete with the most Millennial of all brands/products/services rolled into one: the Apple iPhone. According to twenty-something, Sarah Ewing, (recent MBA grad, former Google employee, self-proclaimed Millennial) all may not be lost. Sprint may have a chance of breaking through to Millennials, after all. Here's what Sara had to say about the "Movie Trailer" campaign that has been running on behalf of Instinct since early last summer:

CP: What campaigns have you seen lately that really stand out?

SE: Samsung Instinct, the greatest product placement movie of all time! What is there not to love about this brand campaign? I know it might be hard to believe, but Millennials are on to marketers' product placement game. Since we are on to it, why not publicly call a spade a spade in an entertaining way? It humorously acknowledges the target's intelligence.

CP: What is so engaging about this spot? Can you be more specific?

SE: Instinct's cinema quality film production enables the brand to penetrate at a low level of frequency. The action film characteristics initially attract the audience, who expect a film preview, engaging them with the ad. Once engaged, it is difficult for to tune out. The featured selling points are treated like film stars. I.e. "featuring turn by turn GPS navigation." As one contribution to film attendance is stars, people pay specific attention to the 'features,' thus remembering the selling points.

CP: Is there anything you don't like about it?

SE: The only critique is that I can remember 'Instinct,' but cannot recall if it is Sprint or Samsung. The partnership branding was not consistently communicated, reducing brand equity. But provided one can remember one or the other, one should be able to find the phone.

I suspect one reason the "Movie Trailer" approach is successful for Instinct, is that its attitude is anti-marketing: it pokes fun at 'serious' marketers at the same time as it gets its points across. This approach, dubbed 'murketing' by Rob Walker, NYT journalist , and author of "Buying In", seems to be particularly effective with Millennials. Millennials are acutely aware that they are a target. Acknowledging their 'intelligence', as Sarah indicates, with an insider's wink, is a smart move on Sprint's (or was it Samsung's?) part.

Why Target Hits the Bullesye: Cheap but still Chic

While we are on the subject of retail appeal for Millennials, there is no question that Target is still number one with the right combination of low prices and style. Target has done a great job of staying in the zone of what Millennials value:

Social responsibility: Target donates millions of dollars each year to local schools. Target also sponsors learning opportunities and internships at unversities and colleges, including my marketing classes at University of Notre Dame.

Stylish advertising: Judy Hopelain, who blogs about retail at Retail Hits and Misses, tells me Target is a hit with her 17-year old daughter. They both enjoy this Target spot, running on the Olympics. "It’s got the multi-culti thing going for it, great music, no boring talking heads reading lame copy written by some old guy, and fun bedroom decor you can actually imagine these kids choosing for their rooms."

Sexy in-store experience: My 17-year daughter's disdain for Wal-Mart lighting, layout, and listless looking employees is apparent each time we shop there (which is too often for her. In contrast, she feels fine shopping at Target.

Super Deals: David Patrick, our fabulous client at Westlake Ace Hardware, reports "My 17 year old daughter is price conscious and takes pride in finding deals. Target is her favorite store"

Given those attributes, it doesn't matter that most Target merchandise can be found elsewhere -- like Wal-Mart -- and sometimes for less. Evidence? Target's sales grew 5.7 percent to $15 billion in 2Q, while sales declined at JC Penney, which like Target derives much of its revenue from clothing and home goods rather than groceries. Demographic profiles of Target shoppers show they skew younger and higher income. BIGresearch(8.19.08) shows Target and Macy's shoppers favor Obama, while Wal-mart and Kohl's shoppers skew toward McCain, a finding totally consistent with the demographic profile. This profile should serve Target well as Millennials graduate, start families, and furnish homes. Our bet is that they will keep Millennials' enthusiasm well beyond their 20's. Target is Pepsi to Wal-Mart's Coke -- The Choice of a New Generation.

Millennial Target: Zipcar

Zipcar may be the ultimate Millennial brand. Green. Cool. Affordable. Here's what Marty Predd, 20-something Millennial, says about his Zipcar experience:

CP: Why do you like Zipcar?

MP:ZipCar is a concept (and a brand - tagline, "Wheels When You Want Them") that is very appealing to me and seems to fit well into the stereotypical millennial experience - on the go, desiring to be always connected, but not 'attached', and of course, 'green'. Within a matter of 15 minutes, I can literally locate and reserve anything from a MiniCooper to a minivan, all for $10/hr or less. Gas and insurance are included, so it offers the full functionality of a car without the strings of ownership. Also available by the day with rates that are competitive with your traditional car rental companies, which I associate with boring rentals like a Ford Taurus (do they even make that any more?) They recently merged with the other major car sharing service (Flexcar) so they've got a good representation in the major markets, and even some not-so-major ones...meaning it's as easy for a milliennial on the move to reserve a car in his base city (i.e. Portland) as it is to reserve one when he's visiting friends in Chicago or LA.

CP: Beyond functionality, what makes Zipcars cool?

MP: Zipcars tend to be young, fun and functional - Mazdas, Subarus, Honda hybrids, even Scion (another millennial targeted brand) - and integrate technology in the kind of seamless way millennials have come to love in companies like Apple. Each member has his/her own Zipcar card and after reserving your car (on your iPhone, naturally) you simply swipe your card to a GPS-enabled receiver on the front windshield and the vehicle unlocks.

CP: Are there any downsides?

MP: The only downsides are that you have to book the car for a set number of hours in advance (doesn't lend itself to impromptu decision making) and the vehicles have to be returned to the same parking spot from which you picked them up - no one way road trips!

Appealing to Millennials: Cool, Authentic -- or Dorky?

According to Outlaw Consulting's brand report, some brands, like Converse’s Chuck Taylor shoes, are cool because they’re grounded in the past. Others, like Apple and Nike are cool for the opposite reason: they embody change and constantly reach towards the future. But there is a third category of cool brands, those that appeal to Millennials' inner nerd. Pop culture has celebrated the nerd/geek culture for many years (Napoleon Dynamite, Jimmy Neutron, Sand Lot). Millennials are not afraid to admit to a dorky side and they admire brands that can do the same. According to Outlaw, Trader Joe's, Jet Blue and In N Out Burger have won the love of Millennial trendsetters simply by being their quirky selves, doing things they own way and never apologizing: “(Trader Joe's employees) wear these tacky Hawaiian shirts and publish that ridiculous newsletter. But it’s their own style. And it’s so much more inviting than the normal rigid grocery store.”

Given Millennials' soft spot for the nerdy, it shouldn't be a surprise that Microsoft is enlisting the ultimate nerd's nerd, Bill Gates, to turn around its battered image. Bill Gates appealing? Well, for starters check out the adorable video, "Bill's Last Day", from January's CES. Self-deprecating sense of humor was clearly on display (along with some pretty cool cameos by Millennial darlings Al Gore, Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, George Clooney, and more).

According to today's Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is now launching a new $300 million campaign (that's big) that will feature Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. The campaign theme is said to be "Windows, not Walls", stressing the need to break down the barrier that prevent people and ideas from connecting. Now there's an idea designed to win Millennials' hearts! The campaign is said to break Sept 4. We'll be watching to see if Mic Guy can compete with the charms of Mac Guy among Gen Y.