Why Millennials matter

Needless to say, there's a lot of chatter about Millennials lately. It's not the generation itself that's so newsworthy, but rather how their lifestyle and preferences are affecting the young, the old, the everything in lasting ways. Here are 7 reasons why they are changing us in lasting ways:

1. Size: “By 2015, almost half (47%) of the world population will be under the age of 25.”

2. Influence: “Two-thirds of Millennials are now over the age of 21, and many have established careers, families and an incredible amount of influence.”

3. Digital Prowess: “They were raised digital. This fact alone makes Millennials unlike anything the world has seen.”

4. Global Reach: “Technology knocks down borders. Multiculturalism is the norm and new trends and opinions spread quickly.”

5. Brand-Happy: “Brand preference was the #1 personal identifier that Millennials were willing to share about themselves online.”

6. See Themselves as Influencers: “76 percent of Millennials think they are highly depended on for their opinions.

7. Active Advocates (and Detractors): ”Millennials are taking action on behalf of brands, both online and offline, every week. And, those actions aren’t just for high profile lifestyle brands.”

Source: A huge report on these folks from Edelman here.

Brands Are Part of Millennials' Core Values

Earlier in our branding exploration we were tossing around the importance of creating a PacSun initiative that our Millennial customers could get behind. While we haven't acted on it yet, Edleman recently published a study indicating that "taking action on behalf of brands" is part of Millennials' (born 1980-1995) core values. "Taking action" includes sharing brand experiences with others, joining online communities, and posting reviews online. According to the study, more than 8 in 10 have acted on behalf of a brand they support. Here are the study's key findings:

Brand relationships are a form of self expression: Brand preference ranks with religion and ethnicity as top personal identifiers that 8095ers are willing to share about themselves online.

Information is a key to influence: In addition to 8095ers that use four or more sources of information to help them make brand purchase decisions, thirty-one percent use seven or more sources of information.

Taking action on behalf of brands is a core value: Fifty-seven percent of 8095ers would volunteer to try new products from a preferred brand and most would post an online review of the experience.

Reverberation is online, offline and increasingly mobile: For those brands that Millennials love, 68 percent have recommended their products to friends and family and 44 percent have friended/followed that brand on their social network

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I wonder, in the ever-evolving brandscape, what acting in support of a brand can mean in a myriad of ways. What about sponsor or partnerships? For example, I love Tour de Fat, I've been in San Francisco, I'll go in LA. I love bikes and I love festivals. But, as the Tour is sponsored and promoted by New Belgium, does it also mean that I'm acting on behalf of the brand? How conscious of our "brand actions" do we need to be in order for it to count in a study? Does it help or hurt the brand when people are lured to support something they're not aware of? Well, I don't think Edleman answers these questions, but there's more information about the study here.

Happy ponderings!