YouGov recently conducted a study?on millennials to find out which brands permeated their discussions with family and friendsover the past two weeks, resulting in a list mostly comprised of technology companies.
Netflix came firstin its top ten, with 73.8 per cent of millennials boosting the brand via word of mouth. It was followed by Facebook (73.5 per cent) and Apple (73.3 per cent). The iPhone proved so influential it came in fourth place’separate of its creator?(71.1 per cent), trailed by Airbnb (70.5 per cent) and Primark (70.4 per cent).
Other companies to make the ranking included Spotify (70.3 per cent), IKEA (69.1 per cent), Wetherspoon (67.3 per cent) and Playstation (65.3 per cent).
Obviously these businesses have’succeeded in more than marketing endeavours to be at the tip of the tongue of so many millennials, an age group bosses are trying to tap into given that they are?responsible for an estimated $200bn spending power.
But here’s the tricky part they engage with things in a different manner to other generations. They have greater demands in exchange for their loyaltyAnd traditional advertising doesn’t work either, so it’s no surprise companies often get it wrong. The question becomes:”how did the highest?three on the YouGov survey get it right?
(1) Netflix
The millennial demographic is just too broad. As?Mindy Winstein of Search Engine Journal pointed out:?A huge mistake to avoid when it comes to?understanding and marketing to millennialsis that they should never be viewed as one uniform group. Their ages can range from 21 to 35.”
Netflix is the shining example she points to, suggesting that it caters to growing needs and lifestyles. The reason for this is actually more simple than it sounds: personalisation. That, and tapping into the millennial habit of “going at your own pace”.
Millennial Marketing’s Greg Vodicka is quick to say: “A?’Primetime’ TV show airs during a time when we know, statistically, most people will watch. This allows big media companies to charge higher rates for ads during these programs. At the end of the day, everything feels watered down and disconnected.
“Netflix, on the other hand, has a different model. It empowers users to consume content on their own time in their own way without being restrained. It”has also capitalised on the desire for personalisation among the millennial audience. Diversity is, after all, encouraged by Netflix.
As a result, a combination of recommendations and related programmes, no one Netflix feed is the same.
Vodicka is convinced there’s more to Netflix’s success, and it involves the creation of original content, as well as advertising. Take the Worst Kind of RatAdvert for example. It features a man tied and tortured for having leaked information, a nod to those who go about spoiling story plots.
“It reminds users just how many people are die-hard Orange is the New Black fans,” Vodicka said. “This suggests Netflix is home to the best original content, and you’re clearly missing out if you don’t have access to it. Additionally, now Netflix ads are ‘original content’ themselves. This demonstratesit isn’t just a media house. It’s an entertainment company first and foremost.”
Read on to find out how Facebook and Apple engages millennials
(2) Facebook
June 2017 saw Facebook attract two billion users more than a quarter of the world’s population for a variety of reasons. While the platform has an advantage in being a tech company, one of the defining definitions of the millennial being an affinity to all things digital, it’s the ability to share and be part of a larger picture that boosts it it to the top of YouGov’s ranking.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg has actually made it his mission to get everyone online and not just for the sake of the company. Through the Internet.org scheme he has successfullyevolved the business beyond merely beingA’social platform.
His ambition to do right is one of the ways to secure loyalty among millennials given their socially-conscience behaviour. In fact,?”the platform has?becomeA breeding ground for social campaigns,”?BT’said in an analysis of the platform’s biggest draws.
A?previous brand survey?undertaken by Moosylvania points to its ability to create engaging content, and have users join in with the fun. The company’s CEO,?Norty Cohen, opined: “Entertainment provides a natural opportunity for a brand to connect as shareable content. These cohorts are marketing themselves, and when a brand doesn’t take itself too seriously but instead provides fun that can be shared, it works.”
It’s safe to presume Facebook knows its audience well. Writing for Entrepreneur, Ann Handley, CCO of MarketingProfs, highlighted the belief of numerous companies that Facebook was loosing its millennial audience.
“Younger users are typically the driving force behind a social platform’s popularity in the early stages, and incumbents can easily lose their attention when a new one pops up. As a result, mature platforms must fight to keep hold of this demographic.
“Facebook constantly winning this battle speaks to its ability to keep millennials engaged even as they are wooed by younger platforms like Snapchat. It simply understands where members?of which age group hang out online and how they behave there, soit can direct its efforts accordingly.”
(3) Apple
What few people forget is that innovation, and all that comes alongside it, is an appealing aspect of a company. Jeff Fromm and Cherryh Butler bore mention to it in PSFK, suggesting: “The truth of the matter is that what millennials love more than anything is owning unique products ad talking about their ‘uncommon’ experiences, which is why they are nearly obsessed with innovation.
According to a recent Deloitte Study, millennials?describe themselves as innovativeAnd want to work for and spend their money at innovative companies.”
Mark Logan,?SVP of innovation at Moonshot, went so far as to say millennials were steeped in innovation given what they had been witness to. “They saw?the rise of the PC, the Internet, the Web, social media and mobile some of the most transformative innovations in history. They?ve come to expect world-changing innovation as the norm.”
Apple is a company known for its innovation, so its hardly surprising that a demographic described by Fromm, Butler and Logan would be drawn to it. But its innovation goes beyond products alone,?kissmetrics CEO Brian Kellyconcludes.
Apple’s marketing has embraced the powers of scarcity and social proof,” he said. “TED speaker Simon Sinek discovered that Apple’s marketing, as well as the influence of countless other revolutionaries and inventors, from Martin Luther King to the Wright Brothers,”followed a different communicative process?than what we re used to hearing.
“He was able to demonstrate that even without the bottomless pockets, the network of people, or the sheer brilliance of the greatest minds money can buy, the leaders and companies that became household names did so by reversing the way they share their message with others. It all comes down to the fact that very few bosses know why they do what they do.”
That’s what makes Apple stand out. It’s different, understands its customers, knows what its doing and why.
