Conversation with Millennial Marketer, Carol Phillips

Carol Phillips answers seven questions posed by Pete Krainek of The CMO Club on advice for CMO's about marketing to Millennials.

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(Photo: Carol Phillips and friend, Emily Fleming. Carol is President of research and consulting firm, Brand Amplitude, and teaches marketing at University of Notre Dame.

1) More and more companies are looking to engage, market and sell more effectively to Millennials. What are the most important things CMO's should consider as they develop their marketing plans?

The most important thing is to take time to truly understand their core values. It’s easy to get caught up in studying their buying behavior, media use and latest-must-have technology. But if you study their values, you will have a better idea of how to connect with them. Obama and Apple won their hearts because they ‘think’ like Milllennials.

In study after study -- on beer, education, social media, philanthropy, workplace needs and news media -- we find that understanding Millennial values helps shed light on behavior. Taking the time to really ‘get’ the way they think is well worth the effort and pays dividends in how you manage, communicate and ultimately market to them. Without those insights, the paradoxes can be baffling.

2) Who does a good job in engaging millennials and why?

Millennials love brands, but are cynical about marketing. They distrust commercial messages, so any effort must be authentic and come from a trusted source. The absolute best way to engage them is through each other. Our advice to clients is to engage them by giving them ‘social currency’, in the form of experiences and information, and then make it easy to share. Starbuck’s Red promotion at the holidays, Taco Bell’s long running late night promotion, and the Ford Fiesta car giveaway contest all have great Millennial appeal because they are about sharing. In the entertainment area, ABC Family did a great job of repositioning ‘family entertainment’ to be more Millennial-friendly.

3) What are some examples of approaches that didn't work or miss the boat?

An iconic brand currently popular with Millennials, but is due for a makeover, is Corona. Millennials love sophisticated tastes in beer, wine and spirits, and they prefer imported beer. But their idea of relaxation is not going on vacation or sitting on a beach. Relaxation is something that needs to happen every day, like watching Family Guy, throwing a frisbee to a dog or making a great meal.

Beyond specific brands, there are whole categories that are missing the boat. Millennials are literally begging wine makers to market to them. Casual restaurants also are missing an opportunity to build community around their brands. Realtors, travel and financial services need to start clueing into their future target.

4) Any myths you think out there on Millennials that CMOs should not believe as fact?

Yes, there a lot of myths. Unfortunately some of them have a grain of truth to them so it can be hard to sort out what is real and what is not. The main caution is not to make the mistake of thinking Millennials are simply younger, more techo-savvy versions of Boomers and X’ers. If you have teenagers or young adult children, you know this is true. They simply ‘think different’. Their sheer numbers make it inevitable that they will shape us – marketers and managers – more than we will shape them.

5)How has the recent economic downturn impacted Millennials and what are the implications for marketers?

Like everyone, Millennials are scared. No one knows what all those billions being spent now mean for the future. Millennials still have discretionary income no matter how poor they claim to be. And they are spending on what they consider ‘necessities’ – education, eating out, transportation, technology. But they are making big adjustments in other areas like housing, transportation and philanthropy. They are inherently cautious shoppers, and research everything before they buy. Marketers need to keep a close eye on what is being said about their brands and address issues right away. With Millennials, the line between marketing and customer service is blurring.

7)When you are hired to help marketers learn about Millennials what specific things have you been asked to do?

Consumer research is our core offering. We do a lot of online focus groups, we also have a special expertise in decision-mapping (laddering research) for which we also leverage special online tools. The projects we prefer are those where the questions and approach are still undefined so we have an opportunity to frame an approach that involves research, consulting, facilitating client worksessions, and in-market experimentation. We are about to launch a syndicated study of Millennials, food, wine, spirits and dining out.

8) What final words of advice do you have for CMOs looking to improve engagement and sales results with Millennials?

Listen to your own Millennials, at home and in the office. They will give you the best advice about how to reach others like them. We learn from our younger colleagues, our own kids and my students every day. There are also a lot of great blogs written about marketing by Millennials. Finally, its not a challenge to talk to them online – they love to talk and they literally ‘live’ online.

Engaging Millennials in the Classroom

If you think engaging Millennials in marketing is hard, try engaging them in discussions about marketing in the classroom. Not only are they accomplished multi-taskers accustomed to high levels of visual stimulation, most are incredibly tired from their 24/7 lives.

Since I began teaching at Notre Dame in 2003, I've moved steadily from the traditional read/lecture approach I knew in the 70's to a more interactive classroom format. After all, in an era when top lecturers are posted online there needs to be more than a talking head to justify coming to class. This sounds easier than it is. Many students don't want to talk in class, and others (shockingly) are not always prepared to contribute. Fortunately, technology offers new ways to coax participation from sophotmores -- threaded conversations, online quizzes, extra posted material, and blogs have all helped enhance my 'pedagogy'.

Sidney Eve Matrix, Assistant Professor in the Department of Film and Media at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario Canada, takes technology in the class to new heights. @sidneyeve has brought many new ideas to my attention. To see the future of technology in the classroom, check out this slide share presentation, "Lectures That Stick: Digital Tools You can Use to Encourage Engagement and Retention." Even if you have no intention of stepping foot into a classroom soon, it's brimming with ideas for engaging Millennials that you may find useful in Millennial Marketing.

It helps of course, that her area of content, technology and culture, is well-suited to using technology to teach. Sydney Eve's blog, cyberpop is filled with great insights on mobile media use and gaming. Someday I want to take her course, FILM240: Mass Media & Pop Culture! It really sounds like it belongs in the marketing department:

"This course considers a variety of media and genres (including film, TV, gaming, music, magazines, advertising, news media, and online technologies). We study popculture productions, consumptions, and representations in order to better understand the importance of mass media in shaping our identities, choices, and imaginations."

What Millennials Want at Work (It's Not What You Think)

"They keep telling me, "here's what you get in five years, ten years, twenty years...I feel like -- what's that expression -- they are trying to sell me a bridge."-- Gen Y'er

"Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Gen Y" by Bruce Tulgan

What do Millennials want from a job? Not the bosses' job as it turns out. While it's true they are ambitious, their ambition is less about climbing the corporate ladder than making sure they are on the right ladder to learn and grow.

While Boomers and X'ers seek titles (and the responsibility and salary that go with them), Millennials are more likely to respond to increased challenge, unique experiences and recognition. Above all, they seek balance in their lives. 78% of high school students say that 'having close family relationship' is more important than money and fame in defining success.

Boomers and X'ers are prepared to compete and sacrifice to reach their goals. Most Millennials are not. This is often misinterpretted as 'laziness', but in reality reflects a different set of motivations, no less intense than that of Boomers.

From a young age, Millennials were taught group cooperation over individual competition. A colleague related a story to me earlier this week about her 15-year old son's race to be elected freshman class president. He prepared a speech, posters, a platform. But to her Boomer eyes, the degree of cooperation among the candidates was incomprehensible. Her son actually helped rewrite a competitors' speech, without considering that he was giving away a potential advantage. ("But Mom, it was lame!") When Millennials are asked to tackle something new at work, they are less likely to think of it an opportunity to shine individually as they are to wonder who they can involve to insure a better outcome and make it more fun.

Much as been made about the oh-so-Millennial ending of "The Devil Wears Prada". In the book as well as the movie, the protagonist, Andy, works hard to meet the unrelenting demands of her irrational boss. She triumphs, lands the promotion, then declines what appeared to be her goal and her dream job. This ending makes no sense to Boomers, but Gen Y find this ending quite satisfactory. The goal was to not to win, but to have a job you love enough to want to invest your life in. Andy realized early in the movie that the fashion world was not a good fit for her idea of a meaningful life. The only suspense for Gen Y was how she would quit, not whether.

Need data to support that? The percent of young adults answering 'yes' to the question, 'Would you like a job with more responsibility?' declined from 80% in 1992 to just 60% in 2002. That doesn't mean they wouldn't like a challenge, they just don't think their boss' job is 'worth it'.(Families and Work Institute)

What they do want is to make an impact while doing interesting meaningful work, in a job that allows them to lead a balanced life and doesn't box them in to a traditional career path. A survey across thirty-three countries showed that the top priorities were interesting work (29%), meaningful work (18%), and worklife balance (18%). ("Plugged In", Tamara Erickson, p.66)

Deloitte, one of the largest recruiters of top entry level talent, invested heavily in understanding what Gen Y wants from a job. At the Qualitative Research Consultants Association meeting in Chicago early this month, Tracey Scott of Deloitte Canada, shared the results of research conducted to provide strategic direction for their recruiting efforts. The resulting campaign, titled 'Truth', was based on the insight that Millennials have a different 'checklist' to evaluate their first job than those who recruit them. What Millennials want to hear is that 'everyone is willing to help you succeed'. They want to know that they will not be alone and they will have an impact. The Deloitte home page asks, "Will the business change you? Or will you change the business?". The next page challenges job seekers to "Find Yourself Among Our People" by profiling young professionals and telling their story.

While every generation brings a unique perspective, I suspect Millennials will shape the workplace more than the workplace will shape them.

Their attitudes are deeply rooted in the times and ways they were raised and unlikely to change.

Their sheer numbers will make them difficult to ignore for long.

Their propensity to look for greener pastures if they determine their needs aren't being met will cause companies to rethink what they have to offer.

They won't settle for higher salary and they aren't interested in waiting around or 'paying their dues'.

Consequently, the basic work 'contract' is likely to be fundamentally altered to accommodate the question 'what's in this for me?'. Bruce Tulgan, in his book, "Not Everyone Gets a Trophy" provides a the perfect quote:

"They keep telling me, "Here's what you get in five years, ten years, twenty years..." but they expect me to come back to work tomorrow. What do I get tomorrow?

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.

Who's Next for a Millennial Brand Makeover?

Gen Y is different, and not just because they are young. A 5.15.09 Christian Science Monitor article ("Do You Get The Millennial Generation?") drives this point home home: Don't "assume that the members of particular demographic groups, in this instance young people in their mid-teens through their mid-20s, behave the same and hold the same attitudes at all times." The authors of the article, Winograd and Hais, have extra credibility on this point: they were also co-authors of the prescient book, Millennial Makeover, that predicted the political shift that carried Obama and the Democrats into power last year. Their forecast was based on careful attention to changes in generational values.

Now marketers are finally catching on.

ABC Family understood the latest transformation as an opportunity, and re-directed its programming ago to better align with Millennial values. As a result, ABC Family is now attracting some of the largest Gen Y audiences on TV (see earlier post, "ABC Family, A Deft Millennial Makeover".

In contrast, MTV, the channel that literally invented youth programming 25 years ago, recognized the latest generational shift too late and now is playing catch up. According to CST, "MTV has acknowledged that its programming had become out of step with the progressive, service-oriented values of today's youth, the Millennial Generation. It was very clear we were at one of those transformational moments, when this new generation of Millennials [born between 1982 and 2003] were demanding a new MTV," a channel executive explained."

I expect this trend to accelerate, and restaurants, wine and food brands are the latest to catch on. Last week, even Kraft Foods is moving to reposition Miracle Whip to the Foodie Generation with the theme, "We are Miracle Whip. And we will not tone it down." (We will not be quiet. We will not blend in. And when we are in a salad or a sandwich or a panini or crostini, you'll know it. We are Miracle Whip." ) As might be expected from a campaign targeted to Gen Y, Adweek reports that this effort goes beyond TV advertising to incorporate social media. A Firefox plug in called 'Zingr' users to leave short, 160 character comments on various Web pages across the Internet. It's a nice play on Miracle Whip's brand promise, with the app being promoted as "the newest way to add your own flavor to the Web." Leaving a "zingr" on Kraft's site, for example, triggers this message to a user's Twitter network: "I just left a Zing! On brands.kraftfoods.com (Check it out.)

If Kraft can make Miracle Whipp relevant, who's next for a Millennial Brand Makeover? Here are some suggestions:

1. Hardware and Home Centers: As the earliest Millennials reach their thirties, home care can expected to become more of a focus for Gen Y. Hardware and home centers need to start capitalizing on Millennials' interest in eco-friendly products, green living, repair/reuse/recycle, organic gardening and more.

Financial Services: Charles Schwab is talking to Gen X, but we have seen few efforts to engage Gen Y. Gen Y will be looking for investments that align with their values of social entrepreneurism, environmental and political activism.

Travel Services: Millennials have a passion for seeing the world. As their spending power increases, they will be looking for unique travel experiences that align with their values, of 'giving back', mixing their desire to see the world with opportunities to contribute to the places they visit.

Post-Graduate Training & Education: Millennials will take lifelong learning seriously. Many Millennials see advanced degrees and training as an alternative to 'paying their dues' at work. Educational institutions would be wise to maintain relationships with alumni and stay tuned to their ambitions and desire for self-improvement even beyond college.

Connecting Millennials to Causes with Social Media

While they individually are not significant donors (60% give $100 or less a year), collectively Millennials represent a significant source of new revenue for not-for-profits. Here's evidence: 3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations online to Campaign Obama, which added up to a total of more than $500 million. Of those 6.5 million donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less.

Gen Y is are literally 'pre-wired' to support causes. First, they are connected. According to Harris Interactive, 75% of Millennials have a Facebook account, 29% check it every day (or more frequently) and 8% use Twitter. Second they are motivated. Gen Y's volunteer rates are unprecedented, with 80% of high school seniors volunteering their time. They are passionate about preserving the environment, enhancing educational opportunities, serving the needy, and 'giving back'. Little wonder professional fundraisers are taking a close look at social media as a means of mobilizing supporters.

Here are ten suggestions for connecting Gen Y with causes via social media. :

1. Invite them to join the Team.

Millennials relate to heroes and young people with ideas. (Think 911, NBC's Heroes, Harry Potter). DO: Show them how they can get involved and contribute in ways other than money. Like other segments, Millennials are more likely to give when they have a personal connection. Feature team members who are having an impact.

2. Give them a Voice.

Generation Y wants to be heard so help them tell their story. Make it easy to join the conversation. DO: Use blogs to encourage two-way conversation. Blogs are usually less formal and more dynamic than a regular websites. Good blogs invite comments and discussion and repeat visits. DON’T FILTER: Allow the negative and positive comments to remain.

3. Make It Personal.

Millennials use social media to connect to people, not institutions. DO: Feature real people. Be authentic. DON’T: Don’t be afraid to be transparent and have a little fun.

4. Use Facebook with Caution.

Facebook is about connecting with friends, not making friends. Use Facebook to continue a conversation you started someplace else. DO: Create a company page or a group or a fan page for your organization or event. Use Facebook to seek volunteers, donors and fundraisers (who find other donors). DON’T OVER DO IT: When people join your group or become your fans, you can send them messages, but not too many. Make them useful.

5. Embrace Twitter.

Twitter an ideal place to to begin cultivating future donors. Do: DO: Start ‘following’ people!! Participate – ask questions and respond. Don’t: Underestimate Twitter. Yes, it's true that Millennials are underrepresented among Twitters 17 million users (Techcrunch, 5.12). Yet we don't think it will be long before they start to literally and figuratively 'get it.' Nearly one in five online adults ages 18 to 34 have ever used Twitter or another microblogging platform. The number of users is doubling every month.

6. Offer lots of ways to contribute.

According to Yankelovich Monitor, 50% of Millennials agree that regularly donating your time to help others in need is a sign of success and accomplishment. DO: Make it easy and fun to participate – flexibility is key. Don’t Over-organize: Millennials will tell you what they want –think Twestivals and ‘groundswells’ vs. big events.

7. Enable directed giving.

Millennials want to know that their giving, whatever the size, matters. Do: Provide options that allow Millennials to ‘customize’ their giving. One size fits all is not appealing. Personalize the appeal. Don’t: Expect them to contribute to the general fund. Don’t put them on the spot. Avoid direct appeal phone calls or too persistent requests.

8. Emphasize quantity over quality.

Focus on building long-term supportive relationships. DO: Re-orient to a model that encourages thousands of $25 gifts, rather than twenty-five $1,000 gifts. Don’t: Wait for them to pay off their college loans – they can make small gestures now.

9.Tailor the media to the target.

Know your audiences (current and future) and ‘court’ them appropriately using multiple touch points, including both conventional and social media. DO: Have a strategy that fits the media to the target. If you neglect conventional media, you might leave out your core supporters. Social media is for the most ‘techie’. Don’t: Over-rely on social media or expect immediate results. You may never see results. Even Twitter hasn’t figured out how it’s going to make money yet.

10. Market with them, not to them.

Think of your efforts as multiplying and activating advocates. Do: Work for ‘retweets’ - Encourage donors and fundraisers to publicize their support and progress to their friends. Find ways to give them ‘social currency’ to spend with their friends. Don’t: Wait until you have it all figured out. Put your advocates to work on your behalf. They are in the best position to know how to talk to their peers.

Why I Love Teaching Marketing to Millennials

People sometimes ask how I came to be so interested in Millennial Marketing. It wasn't a conscious thing, I started teaching Marketing at University of Notre Dame in 2003 and was struck by how different the students were from my generation. I didn't even know they were called Millennials, I just knew I couldn't teach them the way I was taught. In 2007, I wrote about my experience for Ad Age, "Clued In or Clueless: What Marketing Students Don't Know About Marketing" and "Get the Best Out of Millennials by Tweaking Habits". After nearly 200 Millennial Marketing blog posts , I am still learning and writing new things about Millennials every day. (For links to pdf versions of the articles, visit brandamplitude.com/whitepapers

An article, titled 'How Tweet It is To Teach at Notre Dame', appeared today in ND Today, an internal magazine for Notre Dame employees. I am printing it in entirety for those who might be interested in my reflections on what a privelege it is to teach Millennials marketing:

If you want to talk to this generation of young people, you’ve got to speak their language. That’s why Carol Phillips, a marketing instructor in the undergraduate and MBA programs in the Mendoza College of Business, blogs, tweets and texts like a 20-something.

“The Millennials are a passion of mine,” says Phillips, referring to the term that has replaced “Generation Y” to describe the offspring of Baby Boomers. “This generation is so different. They’re very civic-minded. Their values are not like ours; they are very team-oriented, social and cause-oriented. They are about making a difference and giving back. It is so admirable.”

They also, of course, are quite tech-savvy, which is why Phillips stays almost constantly plugged in to social media via her own blog, Twitter (@Carol_Phillips for those who tweet), Facebook and other new media as an avenue to reach the younger set.

How she came to teach millennials at Notre Dame was “a total accident,” says Phillips, who has also kept her “day job” as president and owner of the Michigan-based brand strategy consulting firm Brand Amplitude, LLC. Her teaching career was launched in 2003 after she was asked by longtime Mendoza faculty member Jack Kennedy to serve as a judge for a project in one of his courses. The two struck up a friendship and Kennedy suggested that she and Notre Dame might benefit from having her on the faculty.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Phillips says of her work in the classroom, admitting that in the beginning she, the teacher, had a lot to learn. “I thought we were going to interact the way we interact in business.”

Not so, especially, as she first found out, when it comes to the dress code. “I learned very quickly that it’s different. I was going to require business attire,” she laughs. “That went by the wayside in the first class.”

Phillips teaches two courses, an introduction to marketing for sophomores, and brand strategy for MBA students. She enjoys both, but for different reasons. “With the MBAs, most of them have some work experience, so they give back to me in the sense of ideas and an exchange,” she says of the graduate students. “With the sophomores, it’s more the reward of watching them get it. Most of them aren’t going to be marketing majors, but every semester a couple of them go, ‘Wow, I had no idea; I thought marketing was just advertising,’ and that’s exciting.”

For Phillips, teaching has very much been a two-way street. Her students benefit from her expertise as a businesswoman, as well as her connections. She’s brought in such classroom speakers as the chief operating officers of Blockbuster and Orbitz, as well as higher-ups from such success stories as Facebook, thanks to her outside working relationships. In return, she has access to her own focus groups in the form of these Notre Dame Millennials. “I gain a line of sight into young people,” she explains, “which is very beneficial in my work.”

Acknowledging that Notre Dame students are somewhat uniquely talented and ambitious among young people, what she’s learned here in the classroom gives her cause for optimism about this generation. “I think it’s going to just be fascinating to watch them,” she says. “And I wouldn’t have known any of this without teaching. It’s a privilege to be here.”

For those who might be interested, you can still see the class blog my MBA Brand Strategy class created last semester.

Go Irish!