There’s a little bit of irony here. It was at the turn of the new millennium when management guru, the late Dr CK Prahalad, put out the concept of the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). As the theory goes, the pyramid has small niches of the population at the top, large masses at the middle and even larger populations at the bottom. The base of the pyramid is a giant segment of the world’s poorest population and supposedly the most aspirational that represents an opportunity for marketers like no other. Corporates, particularly from FMCG, were quick to seize this opportunity and the theory became the trigger for the sachet phenomenon — resulting in several of them laughing all the way to the bank.
Fast forward to present times — millennials or the ‘Me Me’ generation is provoking a recalibration of this marketing mantra. It would seem that the importance of ‘pester power’ in marketers’ arsenals has been usurped by a now more potent group. Millennials, loosely put, consist of people born from 1980 to 2000, who grew up feeling empowered and also entitled thanks to computers, internet and then smartphones. This group is the Holy Grail for every marketer, as it influences many purchase decisions. And since millennials live constantly under ‘peer pressure’ or the influence of their friends, marketers are compelled to devise new strategies to target them.
Millennials’ spending power is reportedly set to surpass a formidable $1 trillion by the end of 2020. Also, it is predicted that by 2020, millennials and generation Z will comprise more than half of the workforce. The bonus is that they are more innovative and willing to try new things as the internet has democratised opportunities for many young people, giving them access and information that once belonged to a select few. So, how exactly should we as marketers be talking to them? From daily v-logs or video logs to Instagram posts to Snapchat — there is a veritable wealth of content marketing possibilities out there.
You may also like to watch:
[jwplayer 8o4pmas9]
Let’s take a look at brands who have best captured the millennial’s brief attention span, which as we all know is briefer than the time between their selfies or social media updates. Nike is one brand that immediately springs to mind. As we marketers have now learnt — millennials go beyond the usual and demand communication that is more focussed and engaging — all about memorable experiences. Nike has cleverly tapped into their not-so-latent quest for the next big thing — be it fitness, wellness or simply how they think or feel. It has proselytised the experience of exercise as much as the sports gear itself using the massive 45.3 million followers on its Instagram page to engage its audience with compelling content and captivating images. Recently, the brand went one step further and targeted female millennials specifically with the Better for It campaign. This in itself is a bold departure because barring certain cosmetic brands, marketers prefer to play safe and bunch all millennials into one amorphous group.
Domino’s, meanwhile, has successfully endeared itself to millennials, though we Indians tend to look askance at, only because here in India, it has been consistent about sticking to the tried and tested routes. It has aggressively courted millennial stomachs by upping its online game and allowing young people to order via texts and also tweets. And it evidently invested in this early enough as it launched voice ordering technology in October 2014 and emoji ordering on Twitter in May 2015. It was the first brand to use Tinder as part of its Valentine’s Day push in 2015 and Snapchat in January 2016 with a short film, Dough to Door. This was followed by the option of ordering via Apple watches in February 2016. There’s no millennial who can resist this onslaught of clever marketing through multiple social media channels. And forget pizza delivery by drones — soon, there may be a Domino’s pizza delivery robot ringing your doorbell! Now that will certainly send social media into a viral tailspin.
Undoubtedly, marketers can no longer afford to ignore online platforms and in-app messaging, considering that social media users are exchanging over 30 billion pieces of content monthly. Since a millennial is no longer intimidated by fame or power, s/he is going to like what a friend talks about, far more than what an ad campaign does, even if that friend is just trying to make money and that friendship is just a response to one tweet. Millennials respond best to an omni-channel content experience, with most of them expecting their experience to be consistent across all devices. Also, to inject a note of caution here — marketers often get carried away by their own products and tend to plumb for adding too many frills. It would do good to remember that trust is big for this generation; millennials are far more likely to give personal information to a trusted brand and share their data in return for a more relevant, personalised experience.
These are exciting times. As millennials evolve, they will continue to push us marketers to craft strategies which will shape up the next wave of consumer marketing. In India, telecom and technology players are undoubtedly leading the charge of devising new ways to reach these millennials in a manner that is meaningful, relevant and engaging.
Atul Jain
The author is COO, LeEco India