Millennials: What the Cool Kids Want

Barbara Bylenga is President Outlaw Consulting, a highly successful San Francisco-based company specializing in spotting trends. They talk to trendsetters and predict which trends will go mainstream. Outlaw has been telling companies like Nike, Levi's and Diageo for years what the coolest of the cool kids want. In a recent exclusive interview for the Global Business Network(GBN), she affirmed that cool Millennials are indeed different from cool kids of the past. Here are a few highlights:

GBN: The bulk of your trendsetters are in their teens and 20's. We hear a lot about the Millennial Generation and how they are different. Is it hype or real?

BYLENGA: Millennials, or Gen Ys, are definitely different. They seem to feel more empowered - and more entitled-- than any generation before them. They have an innate team orientation that makes them excellent collaborators. And the ideas about issues like marriage and career are radically different. Their "American dream" isn't about the picket fence; it's a flexible freelance career and a life defined by passion. There's no doubt in my mind that they are poised to change society. And they're the biggest American generation ever -- even bigger than their parents, the Baby Boomers. In just a couple years, they'll be on-third of the U.S. population.

GBN: What are Gen Ys like as consumers?

BYLENGA: Gen Ys see themselves as change-makers. But they're also busy trying to have a middle-class life, so their protests take different form than youth protests of the past. They see corporation's as having lots of power but little heart, and they try to create change by using their dollars. The "aha" for corporations is to recognize that values and authenticity are important to this generation -- and that directly affects how they spend. American Apparel, for example, has been totally embraced by youth because of its labor practices. Shopping there make them feel like they're spending money in the right place. Companies that really "walk their talk" about cor values will be endeared. If you want to be relevant to Gen Ys, you need to understand their mindset. Understand what they're doing -- and why.

GBN: What's the hot new thing among Gen Y trendsetters? I assume they all have iPhones...

BYLENGA: Well, iPhones are still very popular, but they're not as cool as the MacBook Pro, which is the most powerful status symbol among our trendsetters right now. Some of them are living in squalor on 24th and Mission, eating Ramen noodles and shopping at the Goodwill - but they paid two grand for their MacBook Pro. An iPhone is nice for keeping in touch, but let's face it, it's yuppie accessory. Toms Shoes are also big right now. Every time we do a focus group wtih trendsetters, at least one of them shows up wearing a new pair of Toms. They're simply designed and very comfortable, and for every pair you purchase Toms donates one pair to a child in need in Argentina or South Africa. "one for one," they say on the box. It's a simple mission and the shoes are hip.

What Do Millennials Want? To Make a Difference.

Wendy Kopp is 40 years old, but she may be the ultimate Millennial. As founder of Teach for America, she understands the deep need of Millennials to make a difference in the world and has given them a way to do it. Each year, Teach for America selects about 3,700 college graduates to work in low-income public schools.

At Notre Dame, where I teach Marketing, 10% of seniors in each of the last three class years planned to join a service program upon graduation rather than accept employment or pursue a higher degree. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Fighting Irish are not unique: there has been a surge in applications at Teach for America and the Peace Corps. Teach for America saw applications jump 36% to 24,718 for its limited spots, spots that offer salaries of just $25,000-$44,000 but offer rich psychic rewards. The Peace Corps is expecting a 16% increase in applications, and is experiencing volumes last seen in the 70's. While some of the increase is no doubt dimmer job prospects, the Journal says it is something deeper - a generational desire to give back.

According to researchers, Millennials are among the most civic minded cohort in four generations. Our own recent focus group research among new hires at major marketing companies provides confirmation: many feel conflicted about their inability to "give back" in their current job. Here's how one responded to the question of how he feels about opportunities to give back at work:

"The last company I worked for went down to New Orleans to help with the Katrina clean-up effort.I know people really enjoyed that.In fairness, taking time out to do some good -- while great -- is a lot different than being in a career where each and every day you're supporting a cause or a purpose you believe in." "I lead the company in a fund raiser for a battered womens shelter,something small but makes a difference."

While some respondents were able to rationalize their work as doing good (or at least no harm), others are overt about seeing their current job as simply a stepping stone to a job that will provide more opportunities to give back. Most think that means a job at a non-profit, and lower pay. Moderator: Do you see a tradeoff between making a difference in the world and making a lot of money? Millennial: (There are) plenty of non-for-profits that would be fun to work for that make a difference but you can't earn the same there.

Marketers take heed, this may be a group that is motivated less by self-interest than the common interest. How refreshing. How Millennial.

Millennial Target: Grape Nuts!?!

Talk about an unlikely product for a Millennial target. Yet this campaign seems to be to be a direct hit for the give-it-to-me-straight-but-don't-bore-me Gen Y market. The billboard is from San Francisco. The web site, nograpesnonuts.com, is worth a visit: clever, charming and highly entertaining. (I actually watched it for 15 minutes) How to describe it? Stephen Colbert at his most deadpan? The Apple guy doing stand up? The message has inherent appeal: Grape Nuts, despite the unlikely sounding name, is just what it says it is. The campaign makes you think, which makes it advertising for the advertising averse. A++

Millennials: What's in a Name?

What defines a Millennial? A birthdate? A mindset? Whether you played Atari or Nintendo as a kid? How much your youth was shaped by the events of 9/11?

While there is no official definition, the birth rates suggest the line is somewhere around 1980-1982, roughly the high school graduating class of 2000 or later, hence the name "Millennial". Most marketers use the names 'Gen Y' and 'Millennial' interchangeably, but Millennial seems to be ascendant, perhaps because it is catchier, though undoubtedly harder to spell. According to the Washington Post in a July 6 article, "What Comes Next After Generation X"?, not all Millennials appreciate the label. Aside from the natural aversion to being labeled at all, they rightly point out that this generation is so varied that it is difficult to categorize the many 'niche' audiences that make it up. Some suggest that use of technology is a better way to define them than simply age:

"My sister is 32. We believe them to be generation X, but it's not that many years apart," said Giacomo Abrusci, 26, an American Chemical Society project coordinator. "But they managed to get through their education without technology.My sister thinks she's in gen X, but she's also super into Facebook and MySpace."

Ways to 'define' -- rather than label -- this generation include politics (liberal), social views (community oriented, tolerant), academic (lots of degrees) or lots of debt (to pay for the degrees). Ultimately, what will matter most to marketers is how the Millennials label themselves. Boomers considered themselves the 'Me Generation', a label Pepsi was able to leverage and exploit. Gen X'ers see themselves as entrepreneurial and independent, a self-image luxury marketers are doing their best to leverage.

Targeting Millennials: Amana

The rush is on to win over Gen Y. According to Mediapost, 6.18.08, Whirlpool is giving its tired Amana brand new life by targeting Millennials. Research revealed there is a 'gap' in the market -- surprise -- as no other appliance brand is providing 'top design' for 'less than top dollar'. Taking a page out of the affordable design experts, Target and Ikea, Amana's new mantra is, 'Affordable Design'.

So far we give Whirlpool an 'A' for strategy but 'C 'for execution. On the Amana web site, the affordable part is clear, but where is the design? It will take more than Thom Filicia videos, a hip voice and a refrigerator with a dry erase surface to make Amana the Scion, Apple or Herbal Essence of the appliance world. We'll stay tuned to see if Whirlpool can give Amana a true "millennial makeover".

The NASA Brand and Millennials: It IS Rocket Science

Here's an obvious idea anyone concerned about getting Millennials to engage with their brand should check out: Let them tell you how! Apparently, that's what NASA did, and the result is well worth reading. This 90-page PowerPoint slide show (don't let it scare you, lots of pictures) was created by Kristen, Aaron, Garrett and Nick, NASA employees, to tell NASA management who they are and how to make NASA relevant to them. Entitled "Gen Y Perspectives", it is full of insights about their generation and how they recommend going about connecting what should be an inherently cool brand to their generation. What makes this especially cool is that it is in the voice of the Millennials themselves, so it provides some great direction on how Millennials like to communicate about themselves. Some highlights:

• Gen Y is a completely NEW generation of over 70 million people.
• Gen Y will be 47% of the workforce by 2014, although only 25 % now (and less at NASA)
• Gen Y is defined as "mobile, interdependent, quickly bored, instant information, instant gratification, likes mentors, global, empowered, wired, multi-tasking, impatient if delayed, expecting NOW, (not 5 minutes from now), but highly adaptable."
• Gen Y were shaped by different experiences which makes them "extremely independent,empowered and optimistic, with no clear boundary between work and life, and a willingness to sacrifice economic rewards for worklife balance".
• Gen Y is not engaged with NASA because we "don't see the point, don't understand the facts and can't participate".
• NASA needs to facilitate a discussion with Gen Y that allows them to participate in the mission.

They go on to explain just how to do it. In fact, they do more than that, they talk about what they have already done! Who knew that you could follow NASA on Twitter? Cool stuff.

Millennials & iPhones: Where are the Advertisers?

The impact of the iPhone on the way Millennials communicate with each other and with commercial media is hard to overstate. Yet advertisers appear to be slow to catch on.

Here is some data for perspective:

1. iPhone users represent just 1% of the world's 2.7 Billion mobile devices, but iPhone users completely eclipse those using any other mobile device in their data use -- 95% of those who own an iphone regularly surf the Internet, and 65% of those browsing on mobile devices are using iphones.
2. Google sees 50 times the number of searches from iPhones than from any other mobile device!
3. iPhone owners are young. According to a March 2008 Rubicon study, half are under 30 and 15% are students.
4. iPhones account for up to 75 percent of the video impressions in recent advertising campaigns.
5. According to Simmons New Media Study, many consumers say they are ready for mobile advertising. Over a third of consumers who are online for at least one hour a week rate themselves as being interested in receiving ads via their mobile, provided there is a tangible incentive.

With such a young, video-enabled, advertising-tolerant target, one would think advertisers would be clamoring to develop campaigns just for Millennials and their iPhones, if not for the entire mobile market. This is in fact the opinion of Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO. He believes the iPhone will be responsible for exponential growth in the mobile advertising market:

"The iPhone was the first mobile device with a good Web browser, and more such devices will follow. Advertising will then become very personal. In a few years, mobile advertising will generate more revenue than advertising on the normal Web."

Yet from the cases available, it doesn't appear that more than a handful of advertisers -- Zagat and the Weather Channel come to mind -- share Schmidt's enthusiasm. Why aren't advertisers viewing the web-enabled mobile phone as a separate category of advertising, along with the PC, Radio and TV? I really have no idea.