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.

Social Media: Not Just Facebook and MySpace

On the occasion of my 50th post about Millennials (wow, can hardly believe it myself), I did some digging on the social media phenomenon. While many believe it is values that define Millennials. Millennials themselves believe it is their use of the Internet, nothing defines Millennials on the Internet more than their use of social media. In March 08, McCann released Wave 3 of its Social Media Tracking Report based on a survey of 17,000 Internet users in 29 countries. Here are a few findings worth noting:

1. Social media is much broader than social networking. McCann defines social media as “Online applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate interaction, collaboration and the sharing of content”. That includes blogs, photo and video sharing, podcasts, microblogs (Twitter), widgets, chat rooms and message boards, and more.

2. Social media's reach is surprisingly high.. 83% of active Internet users watch videos, 73% read blogs. 39% have started their own blog (I am sure the number is even higher for Millennials, especially young women who are more into blogging than similarly aged guys, who favor gaming. In fact, McCann believes blogging rivals traditional media with a 70% weekly reach. 33% have a favorite blog they read regularly. "As a collective, the blogosphere rivals any mass media in terms of reach, time spent and wider cultural, social and political impact."

3. Social Networks have evolved into platforms to organise users’ internet experience. 74% use them to message friends. Social networks are becoming a 'one stop shop' for all internet needs: messaging friends, posting photos and videos, and unique applications. Consequently, they are becoming one of the most powerful ways to disseminate information.

The blurring of media and creators is nearly complete, as the popularity of Engadget with trendsetting Millennials makes clear. The 'citizen' journalist has become a reality and bloggers are becoming mainstream personalities. Need evidence? The NYT and Entertainment Weekly had this to say about www.pinkisthenewblog.com/home/:

“Pink is the new Blog: Must Star Hazer — Why This: Trent Vanegas may run the uproarious gossip roundup from his home outside Detroit, but he doesn’t need proximity to make riotous observations about celebs — often typed directly onto scary paparazzi photos.” — Entertainment Weekly “Anyone looking for a case study in the convergence of homespun blog culture and market-driven mainstream media need look no further than pinkisthenewblog.com and its creator, Trent Vanegas … It’s Not Just a Blog, It’s a Brand”. — The New York Times

Finally, we have prospect of 'Facebook: The Movie'. The New York Times reports today that West Wing creator, Aaron Sorkin, and Columbia Pictures producer Scott Rudin, are collaborating on a film about the creation of Facebook. They have set up a place on Facebook to participate. (Talk about media coming 'full circle'!) Where did I read about it first? A blog of course!

Get to Know Millennials: Watch YouTube

Enter "Millennials" in the YouTube search window and you will get an hour's worth of entertainment. (That is both a promise and a warning). Millennials are speaking out about their generation in their own special medium: video. I especially like the way this one captures both the spirit and the facts of Millennials in just 1:30 seconds. Enjoy!

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.

How Gen Y Sees Itself

Very interesting new poll data by Harris Interactive provides insights on what Gen Y thinks of itself and other generations. The results show Gen Y may the most self-critical: they tend to rate themselves lowest on the positive attributes (most admired, most generous) and highest on the negative attributes (most greedy, most self-indulgent). While they admire their parents and grandparents most overall, they reserve their highest ratings for Gen X who they see as the 'most productive', 'most socially conscious', 'most innovative' and having the 'most positive effect overall on society'. This insight is consistent with our research findings: while Millennials respect Boomers, they prefer to work for Gen X, who they perceive as having more to offer them in the way of learning.

What to make of the self-criticism? Look to see this change as they mature. Some of the low marks may simply be due to higher respect for their elders, rather than low opinions of themselves.

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.

Millennials: I'm Gonna Be A Star!

Celebrities have a special appeal to Millennials. Many Millennials aspire to be famous themselves -- and being famous actually seems within their reach -- so they pay special attention to those who are already famous. We have noted before how many tween TV shows now feature ordinary kids with celebrity careers, thereby 'normalizing' the experience. Furthermore, Millennials have been told from a young age they can be anything they want to be. USA Today, in a Jan 2007 article, titled "Generation Y's goal? Wealth and fame" observes that half of Millennials expect to become rich, and many expect to become famous in their field, though not as famous as Jessica and Nick. They attribute this to being raised with a camera pointed at them and now the ability to put themselves on the Internet. A 24-year old woman who aspires to being a college professor summarizes Millennials motives neatly: "Fame doesn't necessarily mean being on TV. I personally hope to become an influential figure and to be a prominent researcher in my field...it's famous, but it's much less than stardom. I want to affect society."

Several retailers, including Macy's and Wal-Mart, have leveraged this preoccupation nicely. Wal-Mart cleverly leverages Hannah Montana's superstardom in its current back-to-school commercial with a repeated musical refrain 'want to be rock star' to which the Hannah-wanna-be replies "Bring it on!" The message? 'I've become and star and so can you!'

Pauline Hwa, a former Notre Dame MBA student of mine, who is now helping ogplanet.com market video games, says she and her friends enjoy Macy's celebrity-filled commercials featuring Mariah Carey, Gabriel Aubrey, Carlos Santana, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Kenneth Cole, Jessica Simpson and more.

When I asked my friends, the best response I got was for the recent Macy's commercials... the Macy's commercial was very appealing for her and her friends. What made the Macy's commercials resonate with them is not just that (it had celebrities). One person said while she's not a fan of the celebrities featured in the commercials, she knows who each of them are, and she was surprised that they all had products in Macy's stores, which she didn't know about since she doesn't shop there typically. I have seen the commercial she was talking about, and I somewhat agree with her about its success.