Millennials Asked to Consider Marriage

In first century Rome, a lex julia de maritandis ordinibus aimed to addressed the low birthrate in the upper classes. The legislation set penalities for bachelors and childless couples, mainly limiting their right to inheritance under wills. After divorce or widowhood, women were expected to remarry within a fixed time. A father of one child was allowed to stand for public office one year earlier than the stipulated age. Siring children exempted a man from certain legal duties. Whether or not these measures were effective or not is unknown, but the combination of carrot and stick may have done the trick. The Roman empire didn't die out for lack of citizens, at least not for many centuries.

In an eerie, two-Millennia historical echo, USA Today reported yesterday that the U.S. Federal government is funding a 4-year, $5 million dollar, multi-media and social networking campaign aimed at encouraging marriage among Millennials. While this effort doesn't include penalties for remaining single, it does attempt to point out the benefits of marriage to a generation that lacks good marital role models and is delaying marriage.

"The average age at first marriage is now almost 26 for women and 28 for men. And a growing percentage of Americans aren't marrying at all. Provisional federal statistics released Tuesday report 7.1 marriages per 1,000 people in 2008, down from 10 per 1,000 in 1986...."We're not telling people 'Get married' but 'Don't underestimate the benefits of marriage,' " says Paul Amato, a Pennsylvania State University sociologist and adviser to the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center, which is spearheading the campaign. The resource center, a federally funded virtual clearinghouse, works under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families."

The drop in marriage rates may be a reflection of Millennial attitudes. Research by the youth research company, TRU, was commissioned prior to developing the campaign. They found just 22% of those 18-30 have a strong view of marriage. At the other end of the spectrum 14% express strong sentiments against it. Those in the middle have mostly a 'practical' view of marriage and plan to either wait a while or live with someone before committing.

The campaign will feature a web site (TwoOfUs.org) as well as ads on social networking sites Facebook and MySpace, videos on YouTube, spots on radio talk shows, ads in magazines and public transportation. The goal is to start a national conversation about marriage.

Will it work? Without the carrot and stick of the Roman ordinance, I am not so sure the independent minded-Millennials will listen or care. A quick look at the TwoOfUs.org web site didn't reveal anything you couldn't find about relationships that isn't easily available in any women's magazine. The tone is definitely not hip or cool, a serious handicap to starting a social media conversation. It also is strictly heterosexual, which may be a turnoff to many Millennials who take a broader view of 'marriage'.

However, the Federal effort may get an assist from the First Couple. Andrew Romano wrote a Valentine's Day cover article for Newsweek explaining that his Millennial friends think the Obama's are 'one of the swooniest couples around', akin to what the Twilight couple is to tweens. (Our Model Marriage The Obamas have the kind of relationship millennials aspire to.) According to Romano, Michelle and Barack are the dream couple to Millennials starved for appropriate marital role models.

"My hunch is that millennials are going gaga over Barack and Michelle because they want to be Barack and Michelle. It's not that other generations can't admire the Obamas' bond; their marriage -- a union of self-sufficient equals -- embodies the post-'60s ideal. But unlike their elders, most millennials have yet to experience marriage firsthand, and what they've experienced by proxy hasn't been particularly encouraging: a 50 percent divorce rate, a steep rise in single parenthood, a culture captivated by cheap celebrity hookups. Even America's most visible household hasn't offered much hope, veering from '50s-era subservience (the Reagans) to boomer dysfunction (the Clintons). But now the Obamas – two independent individuals who also appear to be (surprise!) in love – have filled the void. For young people who have rejected the tired "wife in the kitchen" template but resolved not to follow their parents to divorce court, it's a relief to see that the sort of marriage they hope to have – equal and devoted – can actually exist."

New Mobile Media Apps Keep Millennials Moving

In past blog posts I have pointed out that Millennials are big users of radio, the original 'mobile media' (9.09.08, Millennial Media: Radio and Magazine Deserve a Second Look). Last year, time spent with radio by 14-24 year olds increased 11% while time spent listening to iPods decreased 13% (Age Age, 10.20.08). Now I read that Microsoft's Zune is partnering with the radio industry to leverage the popularity of both FM radio and MP3 players. The idea, called 'song tagging', is very cool. An FM radio tuner is incorporated into a cell phone or MP3 player so when consumers hear a song on the radio, they can buy it right from their device. So far, it has rolled out to just 450 stations nationwide, but there is a push to sign up more.

Whether Apple adds FM and social tagging to the iPod and iPhone remains to be seen. However, according to digital media expert, Adam Broitman of Crayonville, new apps for the iPhone that leverage the social media capabilities of the PHONE itself are coming. Broitman writes this week in imediaconnection article, "The Best Branded iPhone App Available", that Obama Team hit all the core elements an iPhone App should posses: Added Value Content, Localized Content, Localized Social Networking and use of the phone's core functionalities like GPS and text. Here's what Broitman has to say:

"The Obama application allows users to call other people (from within the application itself) in order to urge people to vote for Obama. The application records the number of calls made and displays them in the app and on the web. It integrates your phone book right into the app, truly exploiting the most basic function of the iPhone—making calls. Seeing this application was and “ah-ha” moment, as well as “duh-why didn’t I think of that” moment. With the coming of Android applications and the growth in the social networking sector, we are going to see a great deal of innovation in the space—keep an eye on it." (Adam also blogs at amediacircus )

What, you may ask, is an 'Android' application? Android is a year old open mobile software platform that has been subscribed to by 34 handset manufacturers. I also saw it mentioned by Antonio Lucia, CMO of Visa. "...Some of the first reiterations of the user interface will be featured with Android." Android is the basis of the G1 "Google Phone" introduced last week by T-Mobile. I also hear Android mentioned in a report this morning on NPR and in an article about Visa in last week's Ad Age. Get ready for a flood of more articles showing how Android is supporting Millennials' desire for extreme mobility.

The Word of the Day: "It's Generational"

"There's no doubt that we represent the kind of change Senator Clinton can't deliver on. And part of it's generational," Barack Obama on Fox News November 2007.

"I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain." -- Colin Powell on Meet the Press Sunday.

Obama's Gen Y appeal has accelerated public awareness that Millennials are not just younger versions of their Boomer parents and Gen X siblings, but the result of a massive generational shift. Obama was named "Marketer of the Year" by Ad Age today largely because of his savvy use of his knowledge of Millennials. I agree with Winograd and Hais that Millennials are not politically motivated this year because of the appearance of Obama. They would have been involved regardless. But Obama's marketing has been pitched perfectly to this group in everything from message to medium, and that is not an accident. Team Obama did careful research, created focused brand messages and showed clear strategic understanding that Millennials matter. Here is what Winograd and Hais, authors of Millennial Makeover, had to say on their blog Oct 8:

...the political attitudes and identifications of Millennials were clearly evident long before the Obama candidacy gained widespread visibility. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March 2007 indicated that Millennials identified as Democrats over Republicans by nearly a 2:1 ratio (52% vs. 30%). And, a study conducted at about the same time by the Millennial Strategy Program of communication research and consultation firm Frank N. Magid Associates showed that Millennials were the first generation since at least the GI Generation to contain a greater number of self-perceived liberals than conservatives. All of this at least raises the possibility that the high level of Millennial political involvement is significantly based on the Democratic and liberal affinities of the generation and would be strong even without Obama's strong candidacy....Millennials are intent on working together to create a better America than the one Boomers have left them as an inheritance. Their confidence, political activism, and unity will begin to initiate that change on Election Day this year thanks to a record turnout of young voters. The 1.7 million vote plurality given to John Kerry by young voters in 2004 will grow to between 8 and 10 million for Barack Obama when this involved and unified generation goes to the polls on November 4.

The Biggest Youth Marketing Campaign of 2008

The undecided bloc has shrunk from 14% to 7% and the polls are showing Obama ahead by a furlong as the race rounds the final bend. Both sides know that the biggest risk to Obama's election is youth voter complacency. We are about to see the the biggest youth marketing campaign of the year: Get Out the Vote. Many of these efforts rely on celebrity influence: Comedienne Sarah Silverman is asking young voters to visit or call their relatives in an imaginative effort called The Great Schlep. Her video calls for young people to visit their relatives in Florida and convince them to vote for Obama. If you can't visit, call (mini-Schlep). The Great Schelp was featured on Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood and on Facebook. Hip hop artists, The Beastie Boys, are staging a series of get out the vote concerts featuring Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Ben Harper and Crosby & Nash. The concerts will be held in three swing states: WI, MN and VA. T.I., Ludacris and Ne-Yo will tour the country to educate potential young voters for two special episodes of 106 and Park that are scheduled to air in October. A MySpace- and HeadCount-sponsored contest among colleges to see which can sign up the most voters. Death Cab will perform on the winning campus.

Will all this effort make a difference? We won't know until election day. What is apparent is that getting out the vote could make the difference in who wins.

Gallup figures released today (10.19.08) look at the race according to two scenarios. In the traditional approach, voters' intention to participate in the current election as well as their voting history in previous presidential elections is considered. This method shows Obama leading McCain by just three points, 49% to 46%. The second approach considers only voters' self-professed likelihood to vote in 2008, and does not factor in whether they voted in past elections. This approach assumes new registrants and infrequent voters will turn out on Election Day to a greater extent than has been the case historically. Using this approach, Obama leads by seven points, 51% to 44%, twice the margin as the first scenario. No wonder Obama is concerned about complacency, despite his clear lead in the polls.

What Do Millennials Think of Sarah Palin?

Evidence is mounting that Sarah Palin is making an impact on young voters. While it's not clear whether he selection changed anyone's mind about the candidates, she seems to have emboldened those who already favored McCain to speak out.

Gallup data has shown for months that about a third of 18-24 year old voters are for McCain. However, youthful McCain supporters have been, at least until now, less passionate about their candidate than Obama supporters. A quick glance at the candidates' friends tallies on Facebook shows Obama leading that 'race' by nearly a million friends. However, Sarah Palin has already gathered two-thirds as many friends as McCain. Nancy Meinhardt of Miami, wrote on her 'wall' on August 30, "I think that Sarah Palin is a great choice. McCain was not my 1st choice but after seeing his choice for VP I am sold and ready to work full time on his campaign."

The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "Palin's Entry Gives GOP Ticket Shot at Capturing the Youth Vote" (9.11.08), reports that 32% of 18-34 year old voters say that McCain's choice of a running mate makes them more likely to vote for him, compared to just 17% who say the same thing of Obama's running mate choice. The Journal goes on to say that Palin makes supporting McCain 'cool' -- or at least less uncool:

"She reminds me of my friends", said Allyson Wartick, 20, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Just two weeks ago, the mood on campus "was definitely, 'Obama is the cool place to be,'" said Jennifer Kacerosky, 21, senior a the University of Florida. This past weekend, though, she went to a football game sporting a McCain-Palin button, and "it was, 'Where'd you get that? I need that!'"

What makes Palin appealing to Millennials? Here are some hypotheses:

First, Sarah is an overnight celebrity and Millennials relate to that -- after all they have grown up believing anyone with talent can become a star (see earlier post "I want to be a star" for more on that subject).

Second, it may be that Palin reminds Millennials of their Moms. This generation is remarkable for its good relationships with their parents, they respect what their Moms have accomplished.

Another hypothesis is her social conservatism is appealing, at least to some young voters. Pew says 46% of 18-30 year olds believe abortion should be banned or limited.

Maybe it's because, at 44, Sarah is young herself. Her achievements don't seem that out of reach, and her particular brand of feminism, which features life-work balance, is in sync with young women's own aspirations for having it all - marriage, family and career.

Whatever the reason, the Sarah factor has made predictions of Obama's lock on the youth vote a little less certain.

Do Millennials Love Mass Brands?

Perhaps the most intriguing assertion in this week's Ad Age article on What Marketers Can Learn from Obama is this one:

Mr. Obama's packaging might discomfit older generations, who may think of themselves as immune to mass marketing. But it is "no problem" for millennials, whom Mr. Howe sees as averse to chaos and unpredictability (a trouble spot for both the Hillary Clinton and John McCain campaigns), and are "very comfortable with a very smooth brand that has minimal turmoil."

I happen to agree. I agree both that Millennials are comfortable with mass brands and also that a certain corporate smoothness may be part of Obama's appeal, or at least make his brand of 'change' more palatabale than one would expect of a Presidential candidate promising 'reform.' On the first point, Millennials are comfortable with mass brands, I can offer evidence. At the beginning of each term, I ask students to name some of their favorite brands. Out of a typical class of 40, 39 will name a mass brand like Apple, Nike, Budweiser, Gatorade, Starbucks, or Jamba Juice. Outlaw Consulting published a list of the top 15 brands among their panel of Gen Y trendsetters. The favorite 15 included Apple, Jet Blue, Whole Foods, H&M, Levi's, Volkswagen, Vitamin Water, Ben & Jerry's, In N Out Burger, Trader Joe's, Target, Adidas, Converse and American Apparel and Red Stripe.

A contrary view is offered by Rob Walker, author of Buying In, in his 'murketing' blog post, "Gen Y and mass brands: Made for each other?" What makes this worth reading is the response it evoked from Millennials themselves, who reject the idea that their generation likes mass brands. Here's a sample:

As a millennial myself, big brands don’t do it for me. We’re a generation that needs constant stimulation, which can be seen in the diverse trends and niches today. That also means lots of niche brands. We also like things to be fast and are always searching for the new. Big brands have a big image, and they usually keep that image constant. So we get bored. I know I do. And we’re also more discerning then previous brands. Some people don’t like the way big brands do their business, so they chose to support local or smaller businesses. Or they may question their marketing tactics, like do they really believe in my well-being or are they just trying to make money off of me? - Kaitlin

While I am sure Kaitlin, like my students, is sincere in her belief that she is bored and suspicious of mass brands, I only need to point out the number of brands they are wearing and carrying to make my point. There is something endearing about someone rejecting brands who is toting an iphone, wearing a Notre Dame hat, wearing Adidas shoes, and sipping a Starbucks latte. Millennials may relate to brands differently -- they may not think of these brands as 'their brands' or make lifelong attachements. But it would be misguded to say they are not influenced by mass brand techniques, like the 'smoothness' and 360 consistency exhibited by Obama.

Brand McCain: What Will It Take to Win Millennials?

The latest Gallup poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain 56% to 35% among 18-29 year olds. By now, Obama's strategy of mobilizing youth is generally acknowledged to be the edge that can/will win the election. Recent articles in Ad Age and Newsweek do a great job of analyzing Brand Obama's singular appeal to Millennials. Andrew Romano, a 25 year old associate editor for Newsweek traveling with the candidates, first wrote about Obama and Millennials back in February, in an article titled, "He's one of us now," he wrote, ""how fully and seamlessly he embodies the attitudes, aspirations and shortcomings of the generation that's rallied around him." Today, Ad Age features an article, "What Obama Can Teach You About Millennial Marketing" that praises Obama's 'brand management': "Mr. Obama's brand management, unprecedented in presidential politics, shows pitch-perfect understanding of the keys to appealing to the youngest voters."

Where does this leave Brand McCain? Well, he needs to play catch up for sure, but all is not lost. Fortunately, there is more than one way to appeal to Millennials, as many marketers are discovering. Here are some ideas for Brand McCain as it attempts a "Millennial Makeover".

1. Emphasize Authenticity. Many Millennials voted for the first time four years ago, and many of them voted for McCain. Millennials value authenticity above all. Obama, according to Ad Age may have the smoothest brand, but McCain should emphasize his willingness to take the unpopular stand, when it is true to his values.

2. Downplay Age. The age jokes have to go. The lack of technology, the fact he is proud of never having done a Google search. Vietnam for these voters is what WWII is for Baby Boomers -- WAAAY before my time. Half of all Millennials aren't even aware that their generation has been labeled. They don't think of themselves as a 'generation' yet, just as young people working on their resume and figuring out what impact they want to make on the world.

3. Tell Stories of Personal Altruism: Focus on John and Cindy McCain's personal rather than only political efforts to make a difference: John and Cindy McCain have real track record of jumping in when their personal money or compassion can make a difference, as they did when they adopted a child from India and encouraged others to do so. They need to stop being modest about these deeds, or let someone else tell their stories.

4. Talk About Economic Opportunity. Millennials are deeply concerned about their personal economic future and ability to maintain the standard of living their parents enjoyed. As they begin to make paychecks, they are experiencing the real impact of high taxes. As a business owning, wealthy, successful American family that has managed to do good while making a personal fortune, John and Cindy McCain should in a good position to speak to Millennials' economic aspirations.

5. Show Them Your Team: Millennials are famously collaborative and team-oriented. They understand that leadership is about who is 'on the bus' and how they are managed. By making wise choices and allow Millennials to peek inside the inner workings of Team McCain, the leadership story will resonate more deeply.

Obama & Facebook - What's the Buzz?

As a general marketer, I have the sense we will be learning a lot from political marketers this year about how to use social media to influence brands. Social media played a key role in several of the 2006 midterm elections. (See Millennial Makeover for an interesting description of the early use of newsfeeds and groups in campaigning). Social networks are expected to play an even bigger role in the 2008 Presidential campaign, especially given the importance of the Millennial vote to the election outcome. Will social media be just another channel, like radio or TV? Or will its interactivity transform the dialog into something never seen before?

As a first step to nabbing an invitation to the 'netroots' marketing party, I set out to see what Obama is doing with Facebook. I checked out his profile, joined a group and downloaded the Barack Obama Facebook app.

Obama's profile shows 992,564 'supporters'. Reading the profile and seeing photos of his 'supporters' isn't that involving, as I am sure he doesn't update it himself.

There are many Obama specialty groups, such as 'Notre Dame Students for Barack Obama'. The biggest group, 'Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Obama)', has 564M members. This seems like a lot of members, as the largest corporate sponsored group,'Apple Students' has just 432M members, more than even the PINK Victoria's Secret group's 348M members. However, it pales when compared to the group, '1,000,000 Strong for Stephen Colbert', which really is one million strong with 1,249M members.

The Obama group site at first glance is more like a portal than an interactive experience, displaying links to events, videos, t-shirts, the official donation site, sites explaining Obama's stand on issues, etc. While useful to have aggregated in one place, they aren't anything I couldn't have found with a Google search. More interesting were the 32,322 discussion threads. Tonight's rally in Detroit appears to have many posts, the excitement the difficulty of getting tickets, the prospects of actually posting a video. Before we leave the group, I should note that there seem to be nearly as many anti-Obama groups as there are pro-Obama groups. Stop Barack Obama (One million strong and growing), has 65M members.

Meanwhile, the Obama Facebook app makes content more accessible than the group. Recent videos, news articles, speeches are rated in terms of number of member reader 'thumbs ups'. There are also links to other users’ via the Facebook network and the ability to leave a comment, blogger-style. The content can all be sorted by recency, popularity, and friend's favorites. There are clear links for donating, volunteering and getting involved. This feels more user friendly than the groups.

How these applications, groups and profiles influence the campaign remains to be seen. I plan to keep an eye on things.