Smoking Gun's Millennial Mindset workshop

THE TEAM
Rick Guttridge
Smoking Gun:
An introduction to
Smoking Gun’s guide to
Marketing To Millennials

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BIG BULLETS & SUB HEADERS
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Why are millennials so divisive, intriguing and baffling for many who try to market to them
or engage them in employment? Today’s event challenges the very notion of the label, helps
decode them and provides some relevant and actionable insights for todays marketer and
employer.

THE TEAM
Dave McGlone
Founder @ Brand Edge
Looking Beyond Lazy
Labelling

Forgive me for being cynical, but…
Extensive research has “proven” that Millennials are…
➢ Proactive and results orientated
➢ Team focused
➢ Non-religious
➢ Multi-taskers
➢ Nomadic
➢ Impatient
➢ Adventurous
➢ Confident
➢ Progressive
➢ Compassionate
➢ Frugal
➢ Liberal

A focus group by Omnicom-owned consumer consultancy C Space
revealed, they only care about brands that fit seamlessly into their lives
and connect them to things they care about most. This means brands
need to dispel old forms of marketing
“Having grown up with mobile, they are immune to traditional forms of
mobile advertising, they appreciate experiences, and marketers have to
think outside traditional tactics to get their attention” (Evan Wray, co-
founder of branded emoji keyboard company Swyft Media)

“With Millennials, we’d started dumbing down content from 60 seconds to 30
seconds to 15 seconds and then 10-second snaps, six-second Vines and 140-
character tweets… with this generation (Centennials), we’re telling clients
to flip that model and make storytelling longer and more engaging” (Gayle
Troberman, CMO at iHeart Media)

Why we should be interested in the
generation, irrespective of label
They’re the largest living generation (although that in itself surely means they
can’t all be the same)
They’re now entering and in the workplace and will make up 50% of the global
workforce by 2020 (although they’ve been labelled the workshy generation)
Their (aggregated) spending power is huge (although they’re the first ever
generation that’s projected to be poorer than the one they followed)
They’re more educated and informed than previous generations (although this
means many are saddled with debt earlier in life than previous generations)

Why we should be cynical about
generalisations and labels

There are real contextual truths that
mark Millennials out as different…

But, attitudinally, in many ways they
are the same as the rest of us
➢ Mobile and internet access
➢ The levels of trust they have in institutions
➢ The importance they attach to brands
➢ Their broad social attitudes
➢ Their attention span
Ipsos – Millennial Myths 2017

And, throughout history, older people have
been scrutinising “the next generation”

Differences exist across generations
but also within them

And brand preferences are more the
same than they are different
A popular myth of modern
marketing is that Millennials are
pissed off with big brands and
are leaving them in droves
Well, what happens when you
look at the US Millennials’s Top
10 most relevant brands
compared to non-Millennials?
Seven of the top 10 are the
same…

Obsessing about Millennials is really
dangerous…
Targeting Millennials as a segment means missing out on the potential
of older generations who will increasingly take on the same habits

And assuming societal shifts are solely
driven by Millennials is nonsense
Of smartphone users, 52%
consult their phones while
they’re standing in a store
deciding which product to
buy
One in 10 of those end up
buying a different product
than they had planned
[Google]

And assuming societal shifts are solely
driven by Millennials is nonsense

So, where does this all leave us?
Making sweeping generalisations about attitudes and behaviours are
really dangerous
And to assign all changes to one (albeit big) chunk of the population is
misleading
Circumstantial and cultural changes provide important context for
marketers
But its mindset and attitude that unlock they potential for engagement and
activation
To underscore the point, take two Baby Boomers…

2 British males
Both 69
Both at the top end of the income spectrum
Both own dogs
They share a passion for cars
Both are partial to holidaying in the Alps
And they’re both pretty active on Twitter

The first one is a Blueblood that we’ll
all recognise…

The second is also a Prince, but one
cut from a very different cloth…

Conclusions
There are some cultural and economic truths that create a different context
for communicating with Millennials
But whilst labels like “Millennial” are more useful than ones like
“Twentysomething”, all such labels are inherently dangerous since they
imply a degree of homogeneity that simply doesn’t exist
Much the same as any other generation, not all Millennials are the same
and, arguably, there are bigger differences in values and lifestyles within
generations than across them
Millennials’ attitudes are actually pretty similar to those of their Parents and
Grandparents at the same age, just under new and different circumstances

Conclusions
When it all comes down to it, and accepting that the way they interact
with brands might be different, the actual brand choices aren’t that
different between Millennials and non-Millennials
Millennials aren’t lazy, it’s the marketers who blindly rely on such
terminology who are. Sweeping generalisations around the “me-
generation” and a sense of entitlement are really unhelpful
Brands who see Millennials as their “target” are destined to fail… while
age and life stage will influence consumers, it’s their mindset that defines
them
So when used as context, trends around Millennials can be useful but
there’s no substitute for insight specific to a category or particular
segment

THE TEAM
Julie Wacker
Business Psychologist @
Robertson Cooper

TheGoodDayatWork…andmillennials
Harnessing wellbeing for everyone in your
organisation

Millennialsintheworkplace–ourquestions
1. Are Millennials having Good Days at Work?
2. Are the pressures reported at work different for millennials
compared to other groups?
3. What might be going on?
4. What can Generation X and the Baby Boomers do to manage
millennials successfully?
36

WhenpeoplearehavingaGoodDayatWork….
38
28%More
Productive
31%More
Creative
78%Morelikely
torecommend
theorganisation

40
AremillennialshavingaGDAW?
Number of Good Days at Work
Post-Millenials
Millennials
Generation X
Baby Boomers
3.3 3.45 3.6 3.75 3.9
Number of Good Days at Work

41
WhatispressuringMillennials?
Resourcesand
Communications
JobSecurityand
Change

42
Whatmightbegoingon?
Resourcesand
Communications
➢Millennials were brought up using technology
– “what is this fixed office hours thing?”
➢Unimportance of tech amongst the older
generations?
➢Used to instant communication – the monthly
update might not be enough

43
Whatmightbegoingon?
JobSecurityand
Change
➢Recession and post-recession times are the norm –
less optimism for ‘boom times’ and job security
-– they are redefining job insecurity – the
portfolio way – different to other generations
➢This encourages job hopping (only in the first 5
years post university / college)
- Job hopping does lead to more money
- There is less stigma to job hopping
- They have less responsibility so are more
flexible
BUT…..they are more pressured than other groups by
this situation

44
Whatcanwedotomanagemillennials?
Useandembracethe
tech!
➢ Millennials don’t just use tech for social connection –
they know how to apply it in the workplace
- methods of having meetings
- Ways of working (agile)
▪ Can you use technology to fulfil the work/life balance
desires?
▪ Do you take the time to understand how technology
could improve / change your working environment?
BUT this must be done in line with…

45
Use yourcompany
culturetocreate
organisational
commitment
➢ Articulate clear organisational values
and the ‘Greater Good’ they are part
of
(One study found that 84% of millennials care
more about making a difference in the world than about
professional recognition)
➢ 2. Communicate their contribution to
this greater good
(less than 20% of millennials say they receive
routine feedback.)

46
Use yourcompany
culturetocreate
organisational
commitment
➢Give them the opportunity to learn (feeding
the portfolio mindset)
➢Demonstrate clear achievement paths 87
percent of millennials say professional development was a
critical aspect when evaluating the desirability of a job
“Engaged” millennials were nearly 65% less likely
to move on to another job than “unengaged”
millennial workers

Summary
✓ Millennials have differing pressures than other groups
✓ The delayed responsibility and job insecurity of their reality means
organisations face a challenge in retaining millennials and ‘getting
the best of them’
✓ Embracing tech and new ways of working in your organisational
culture is key to encourage commitment
✓ Their needs are not that different to other generations!
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P.S TheSnowflakes
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Watch out for the younger
generation – the post-
millennials.
➢ The ‘Coddling’ of their
minds and ‘trigger
warnings’
➢ The attacks on free speech

THE TEAM
DAVID BARROWCLIFF AND PHIL LYNCH: NEWTON MEDIA
How do we make the Millennial market accessible to brands
and marcomms?

Relevance, Values and
Community
Phil Lynch & Dave Barrowcliff

They have no attention span
They do not trust brands
They put the ‘Me’ in Millennial
We’re not even sure how old they are
Millennials
2

But what the hell, let’s market 
to them anyway.
3
Millennials

A google search on “marketing 
to millennials” yields around 500k results. 
 
It’s also why we are here today.
Marketers are still
looking for answers
4

Why is this relevant to me? 
 
Why should I care? 
 
Why should I buy?
Millennials 
want answers too
5

Some brands fail to answer the ‘why?’
question 
 
They struggle to remain relevant 
So that’s where we’ll start
A challenge to brands
6

The first challenge is to be recognised 
 
Your biggest enemy isn’t your closest
competitor
It’s swipes and scrolls
1. Relevance
7

Getting noticed isn’t easy 
 
Engagement down 50% this year 
 
Brands continue to publish more 
90k brand posts per day(+25% this year) 
 
More content to ignore 
 
[Buzzsumo / Buffer]
8
1. Relevance

Listen & Learn
 
Understand what people are interested 
in and excited by 
Discover new topics 
Inspire new content & conversations
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1. Relevance

11
Marketing for millennials not to them 
 
Give them reasons to trust you, 
based on what they care about 
 
Involve your audience – joint action makes
them feel good
2. Shared values

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Causes and actions relatable to your brand 
 
Build over time 
 
Unilever reports sustainable brands 
growing 50% faster
2. Shared values

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“I think it's a great message for millennials, 
because we can be seen as being self-serving 
and self-centered, and this is the opposite of that ....” 
Carl Schneider, 28
2. Shared values

14
Who can speak on your behalf? 
 
95% of millennials say that friends 
are the most credible source 
for product information. (SocialChorus) 
 
UGC is 50% more trustworthy and 35% more
memorable than branded content (AdWeek)
3. Communities

15
Half of Millennials trust social media influencers less than they
used to
Macro-influencers increasingly resemble commercialised media
companies, with agents and press kits (Venturebeat)
“Human brains
really aren’t
designed to be
interacting with
hundreds of
people 
every day”
3. Communities

16
Micro-influencers – small is beautiful and more effective
Networks for WOM not broadcasting
Micro influencers are up to 7x more effective (AdWeek)
Social proof
3. Communities

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4. Use the right tech
• visual
• bite-sized
• mobile first
• channel relevant 
 
Video gains twice the level 
of engagement that other posts 
on average (Buzzsumo)

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5. Stay Agile
Adapt on the hoof. Don’t expect long lead-times
Simplify approval processes
Use relatable opportunities to avoid accusations of
misappropriation
And focus, focus, focus on what’s playing in
people’s minds

21
We’re tempted to view Millennials 
as a precious lot 
 
But they do also like to laugh 
at themselves. Brands that carefully 
mock themselves are well regarded 
 
Being too controlling of the 
conversation doesn’t work 
 
BrewDog sums this up – Open, 
funny, knowing & honest
5. Stay Agile

VIEW SPEAKER VIDEOS AND DOWNLOAD SMOKING
GUN’S GUIDE TO MARKETING TO MILLENNIALS AT
https://www.smokinggunpr.co.uk/the-millennial-
mindset-event/

Smoking Gun's Millennial Mindset workshop

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Smoking Gun's Millennial Mindset workshop