I'm a Millennial, I'm a marketer, and I have some serious advice for corporations that are trying to get my attention.
It has been advised by some marketing professionals that corporations need to "hit pause" when marketing to Millennials. And while I agree that a few of the more recent marketing strategies aimed at my generation have fallen flat (i.e. emoji marketing - yes, please stop that), Millennials are still a vital market to both understand and tap into.
The main issue in a company's failure to get our attention is simple, and all too common among critics: they don't acknowledge that Millennials are typically more empathetic to viewpoints not their own. Despite the often negative connotation given to my generation, recent studies have shown that through social media use in particular, Millennials are forming a new type of empathy. This manifests in our growing investment of globally responsible businesses.
There's some serious power in marketing to Generation Y, even if we are the most underemployed generation currently in the job-market. Despite our lack of income, companies need to embrace the facts: we spend our money where we feel it is worth spending.
It doesn't matter if you have the coolest new smartphone on the market; if you're not making a difference in the community then we aren't going to care about it.
This is where brands need to recognize the true psychology of marketing to Millennials. By embracing sustainable design, responsible practices and showing authentic concern and empathy to customers on issues that matter to them, corporations can see a better acceptance of their image and "brand."
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) states that it's vital for businesses to invest in both environmentally and community conscious decisions - from employees to the local community to the world - when developing products.
"This didn't necessarily come from some great corporate "aha" moment." writes Andrew Boardman, founder of the design studio ManOverboard Inc, "It came about in large part because consumers began to make real brand choices based on the values of a company, not just the products themselves."
And this shift in consumer care for responsibility isn't all talk, there are numbers to back it up.
According to a Nielsen Global Survey focused on social responsibility in 2014, "Millennials (age 21-34) appear more responsive to sustainability actions". Among global respondents in Nielsen's survey who are responsive to sustainability actions, half are Millennials, representing 51% of those who will pay extra for sustainable products and 51% of those who check the packaging for sustainable labeling.
And those numbers appear to be going up - in a 2015 version of the same study, 66% of all consumers (not just Millennials) stated they were willing to pay more for brands that were committed to sustainability and a positive environmental impact. Luckily there's an ever-growing interest in sustainable production by large corporations according to the University of California, Riverside, so companies are beginning to take notice in their consumer's needs.
But the buck doesn't stop there. Millennials are also interested in brands that can follow up with their claims and show a sincere and honest desire to make a difference. We crave authenticity, and although some psychologists chalk this up to my generation witnessing a failed economy, I believe it's due to our use of social media.
In our age of technology and social exposure, corporations and individuals can no longer hide unethical practices. When companies mistreat their employees by forcing them to work overtime in literal sweatshops, we hear about it on social media.
Millennial support for authenticity can be seen in the youth support for Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Despite the end results of the elections, Sanders was the obvious favorite of the youth vote. He not only promised our generation a better economy, but he had the history to back up his claims. We appreciated the candidate that had a solid track record on his stances; something most other politicians seem to struggle with.
Corporations (and other politicians) could learn a thing or two from the trustworthiness and authenticity of Sanders.
The power of the Millennial market is worth tapping into, but corporations need to first focus on their impact within the community, the country, and the world. There's no need to put a halt on marketing to Millennials, there's just a need to better yourself before we start supporting you.
Improve your awareness and contributions, and maybe you'll no doubt see reward for your efforts.