Technology has allowed
'Millennials' to expect immediate and impulsive interactions with organizations. Smartphones
and mobile devices are clearly making a major impact on how this generation
interacts with brands and organizations and must become a critical part of engagement strategies moving forward.
Generation Y, (also known
as the Millennial Generation and Echo Boomers,) are now 18 to
34-years old, and represent more than 80 million consumers potentially
eligible to drive. This represents about 40 percent of the car-buying public.
Traditional brand experience techniques—relying on advertising to position
yourself, or scattering press releases to the wind, hoping for coverage—just
don’t work with Millennials. The nearly incomprehensible glut of voices
struggling to be heard makes it more difficult than ever to be noticed.
Interruptive methods fall on deaf ears. Hard sells fail.
You can fix that with a
little knowledge—and a ton of innovation.
A brand’s ability to reach Millennials requires an understanding of the
social and psychological factors that shaped the generation. Being connected to
the entire world from an early age has given them an uncanny ability to ignore
the noise of useless information. Technology has literally shaped their brains,
and interruptions are painful: easily brushed away. Your offers are
automatically irrelevant unless you prove yourself attention-worthy.
Brands are spending more
on media buys but seeing less ROI. Messages just don’t cut through like they
used to. Brands must develop innovative brand experiences via tools that a
consumer will actually use. And they should be free. And these gifts must be
optimized for the web, mobile, social media and whatever comes next.
Useful, engaging,
well-designed, thought-provoking, original, integrated tools all have the
potential to position your brand as knowledgeable, trustworthy and cool. These
are the kinds of things that make people want to hang out with you in real
life. Don’t think for a second that Millennials don’t judge your brand by the same
criteria. You have to give them a better brand experience than they can get
anywhere else.
Here are few tips on how
to stand out:
- Give them a better process, not another product. Millennials view car brands through three lenses: familiarity, quality and interactivity. A sexy new model will not guarantee success. Brands need to integrate across platforms Gen Y uses most—web, mobile apps, social media. Millennials have important lives to live, and it’s your duty to adapt.
- Make sure your content has something to say and that your tools do something real. Gen Y will not be buying what you’re selling. They’ll buy what you make and what you stand for.
To be successful, brands
must therefore reflect an understanding of these insights, keep clutter and
messaging noise to a minimum, and never lose sight of groundbreaking design,
innovation and utility. The right way to do this requires a visionary approach,
along with strategies that provide users with innovative experiences across
multiple platforms. Brand experiences must now demonstrate utility to consumers
and integrate with their lifestyles and values.
The ultimate goal? Building meaningful relationships
with consumers through useful, integrative and innovative brand
experiences. Today, what’s extremely
clear is that effective marketing experiences mean interaction and meaningful
consumer engagement. As the complex and ever-shifting landscape of online,
offline and hybrid experiences transforms users’ lives, creative advertising
messages and trendy digital functionality are not enough to sustain a brand.
Consumers demand
innovative, integrative tools that make their lives easier and more enjoyable.
They want meaningful interactions optimized for multi-screen lifestyles. Brands
must cut through the noise and offer them real utility in order to be noticed.
In today’s unpredictive media environment, brand messaging alone fails.
Need some help? Give Goodbuzz a shout.
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