Via Marty Swant in AdWeek comes a new infographic that tries to answer the question: Just how much marketers are spending trying to reach millennials? The answer is: a lot. A helluva lot.
According to the infographic, created by and based on data gathered from Turn, an advertising technology company, marketers are spending 500% more on millennials than every other group combined. As Swant puts it, "there are 75 million millennials in the U.S., and everyone knows advertisers are infatuated with the idea of winning over the biggest buying bloc."
Why are marketers so obsessed with capturing them? The simple fact, as explicated in an accompanying video by Turn, is that young people have disposable income, are more inclined to buy things, and are still settling in on products and companies they might be loyal to, so it's only natural that brands would want to get in on that action.
But, it is important to remember, millennials aren't a monolithic bloc. Turn's infographic breaks down millennial buying patterns and brand interest by level of income (a very useful metric for marketers), lifestyle, cultural interests, and, in one of the biggest factors as the group moves from adolescence into adulthood, home ownership. This leads to four distinct groups, including "Struggling Aspirationals," (the largest group at 57%), "Successful Homeowners," "Active Affluents," and "Comfortable TV Watchers."
Group distinction is very important because, as Swant observed there are, you know, 75 million millennials. The idea that advertisers could market to such a large group with a shotgun-blast approach is pretty absurd. And while the grouping and typing of millennials isn't like the drilled-down, individualized advertising they may prefer, it certainly can give marketers a solid idea of where to start.