
Marketers’ Fixation on the Millennial Generation - applecore
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/business/media/marketers-fixation-on-the-millennial-generation.html
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mwfunk
I may have missed the point of the article, but it seems like most consumer
marketers have always been hyperfocused on (roughly) the 18-30 segment for
various reasons. Some of those reasons would be flattering to people in that
age range (more likely to be trendsetters, for example) and some would not be
(more susceptible to marketing, or more likely to want to follow trends
established by perceived trendsetters). But it seems like it's been this way
my whole life.

Is the marketing focus on the Millenial Generation simply the fact that the
age demographics that marketers have always been fixated on now roughly
corresponds with the age range associated with Millenials? It seems that way
to me, and if so the article may be conflating stereotypes about capital-G
Generations with what consumer marketers have always done, which is to try to
squeeze as much money as possible out of twentysomethings before they wise up
to it.

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sgnelson
Because that age group in the past 100ish years is the group that generally
has the most disposable income, simple as that. However, that's probably not
so true of the millennial's due to the poor economy for the past 7 years, high
price of college education, and rather poor wages (and thus, less disposable
income).

~~~
rdl
It's more than 18-30 year olds don't have fixed preferences yet. Most 18-30
year olds are discovering "their favorite" beer, brand of car, toothpaste,
etc. Most 60 year olds, even though they have more disposable income, have
more established brand preference. Hence, it makes more sense to market to the
younger people, even if the older people actually spend more. The genius thing
is to have a ladder of products and bring people in at the bottom -- say, a
cheap Yaris or Echo to start, and then they move "naturally" upmarket as those
cars themselves move upmarket (remember when the Corolla was a low end car?
Now there are several models below it, if you include Scion, for new buyers).
People also tend to move upmarket within the same brand, say up to a Camry,
Avalon, Highlander, or even a Lexus.

(Obviously this varies by product/market, but generally for most consumer
purchases it is valid.)

~~~
analog31
I'm a baby boomer, and a few years ago had to buy a new car. I was shopping
for one of those entry level cars, and the marketing was millennial-oriented
to the point of being comical. I literally ordered the cheapest model in the
line, with zero options. As I signed the check, I asked the salesman: So, the
marketing for these cars is all hip hop and millennial, but who is actually
buying these things?

His answer: "Middle aged cheapskates like you."

~~~
MCRed
This is a real problem for Toyota. They created the entire Scion brand to
attract young people because the average age of a Toyota owner is getting
pretty high. And what's happened? A lot of the Scions are being bought by
cheapskate "oldsters" (like me) who know it's made by Toyota and want the low
end. (Alas, I didn't buy a Scion this time around but I sure looked at them a
lot.)

~~~
Retra
The only message I ever really got from Scion marketing is "CHEAP."

~~~
MCRed
I don't know what are you are, but when I was 18-26 that message was very
appealing to me!

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neuro_imager
Um, how is this news?

18-35 year olds have more marketeer-accessible expendable income (ie, most
don't have mortgages, large family expenditures and haven't racked up medical
bills), most are financially naive (made deliberately so by perverse
educational systems) and most are socially aspirational. This isn't unique to
millennials though.

~~~
opcvx
Can you elaborate on how does the educational system influences personal
finances, and what do you mean by that?

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toomuchtodo
There is almost zero information provided on proper personal financial
responsibility/management in formal education in the U.S. You'd get more
information from the /r/personalfinance Reddit subreddit FAQ.

~~~
opcvx
This isn't exclusive to US.

I remember having a class called "household" taking about an hour a week for a
year or two in my primary education, where we learned mostly about cooking.
Yes, I'm not joking. A class about finance could take the same amount of time,
since apparently there is time available in the school schedule, and be very
worthwhile.

~~~
reagency
Ironically, in the US that class was called "Home _Economics_ "

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serve_yay
"The Ad Contrarian" blog talks about this a lot. Marketers are apparently
obsessed with millennials, but their parents (and older) are the ones with the
money who really buy things. For example, the people targeted by car ads
constitute 12% of the market, the rest is people older than them.
[http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-youth-car-
delus...](http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-youth-car-
delusion.html)

~~~
tsotha
Sure, but the idea is the 18-34 set is developing brand loyalties, so when
they actually _do_ have money the marketing will pay off.

Cars are a good example. I'm pushing 50, and when I go to buy another car I'll
probably buy a Toyota, because I've had good luck with that brand. The other
carmakers can spent a trillion dollars on marketing and it's not going to
influence me in the slightest. But people who don't have any experience with
cars beyond dad's hand-me-down jalopy are going to be more receptive.

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moron4hire
Wait, since when is 1980 in the Millennial generation? 20 years seems really
rather broad to be dividing into generations. What does a 35 year old have in
common with a 15 year old?

That makes me a Millennial and my wife from 1979 a Gen Xer. Oh, she's not
going to like that one bit :P

And what ever happened to Gen X? They just seem to get universally lumped into
the Baby Boomers now, if they get mentioned at all.

~~~
reagency
Baby boomers are on 55+ now.

Gen X is middle age now, and they eventually got low paying jobs working for
the baby boomers.

Gen Y happened, but we were boring, so we got retroactively split up and
rolled into Gen X and Millenials.

~~~
Zaephyr
So... Ad researchers have rebranded Gen Y?? That's kind of funny.

(Also shows how much attention I was paying. I thought there were Boomers,
X's, Y's, and Millenials)

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anigbrowl
_24 /7 micropandering_

An alarmingly accurate characterization.

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WalterBright
I, for one, am just fine with marketers ignoring me.

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opcvx
But are you really ignored?

Quickly take a look around your office/home and take a look at the open tabs
in your browser and count the ads _and the brands_.

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the8472
What ads?

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technofiend
Though millennials are hailed as the first generation of “digital natives,”
the over-40 (and 50 and 60) sets have become pretty adept when it comes to
smartphones and other devices.

I always find this condescending if not outright insulting. Did the flipping
internet, smartphones and all the rest of it just spring fully formed into
existence with the birth of the first millennial?

We didn't become adept, we invented it! /rant off

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bitwize
Don't worry.

It won't be long before the marketers focus on us -- the marketers for
arthritis, incontinence, gout, and erectile dysfunction medication that is.

