Canadian Retailer - Winter 2015 - 38

dEMogRaphIc TaRgETINg

Engaging differently

coming of age

adding to retailers' challenge of marketing
goldman Sachs recently published a report called "millennials: Coming of Age
to this fragmented and ever-growing generain Retail". Some key findings include the facts that millennials:
tion is the fact that Millennials do not interact
* Are earning less than previous cohorts
* Were hit hard by the recession
with traditional media such as live TV, print
* Are less likely to get married and to start households
and radio the way their parents did. "The effect* Are much more health-conscious
iveness of traditional broadcast advertising,
* Are entering prime spending years
and the ability to connect with our generation
* Really like athletic brands
using these tools, doesn't really matter to us
* Want to make the most of their leisure time
anymore," Coletto comments. "Smart brands
* Are much more tech-savvy and love social media
use social media, the Web and digital advertis* Are willing to share opinions and experiences via social media
* Are not brand loyal
ing to try to target us."
Retailers need to remember that Millennials
are a generation who were affected by the 2008 North american to a segment of the Millennial population that
financial crisis. There are still high levels of youth unemploy- has the discretionary income to spend a little bit
ment in Canada despite overall unemployment dropping, and more for groceries, but they are doing it because
this generation also has more student loans. "The amount we it says a little bit about who they are: "i shop at
have to spend is probably lower than those that have come into Whole Foods. i buy organic and i buy local."
adulthood," adds Coletto.
Millennials have never known a world withRecent research, conducted by abascus data, centres around out the Web, making their generation more
a phenomenon Coletto describes as Delayed Adulthood.
connected to each other than any previous
"My generation is staying in school longer, living at home generation. Millennials also share everything.
longer, have a higher student debt and are facing higher costs When they want to know something or get an
of housing, so we are delayed when it comes to achieving cer- opinion, they consult their peer group. and Miltain life milestones," he explains. "Getting married, moving in lennials' groups are much, much larger than the
with our life partner, and having children, is all happening later Boomers' groups are.
in part due to our financial circumstances and
in part because we are staying in school longer.
all these factors influence when we start buying certain types of products."
To illustrate, 20 years ago, an average 33-yearold had already put their roots down, started a
family and most likely had a couple of children.
Now, these Millennials may have just got married, they are trying to pay off their student debt
- DAVID COLETTO, Abacus Data
and haven't yet saved up enough for a down payment in an overinflated housing market.

"It's important that retailers find a way to
make connections with certain segments
of this generation, so that they feel proud
to share and let other people know this is
a brand they like."
privacy for perks

The Facebook generation: let's get personal

So, what works for this fragmented population? according to
Coletto, content marketing that is authentic and makes them feel
like they are part of the conversation. "it sounds like a cliché, but
we value authenticity in the brands we work with," he explains.
"We want to feel part of it. We are the Facebook generation. as
much as we care about the environment and a brand's impact on
it, we also care about our own personal brand. The things we buy
and the things we share in terms of content-whether it is a really
cool ad we saw, or a deal on something-the process of sharing
that content with others is part of our psychology of building our
own personal brand.
"it's important that retailers find a way to make connections
with certain segments of this generation, so that they feel proud
to share and let other people know this is a brand they like," Coletto adds.
Whole Foods is a good example of a retailer's ability to reach out
38 |

caNadIaN RETaIlER | Winter 2015

according to Fromm, Millennials will often
trade privacy for perks. "This means you will
have to be very agile in your use of customer, social and behavioral data streams," he explains.
"You are going to have to differentiate and
match customer information so you can personalize. Millennials expect you to know them."
at a base level, Fromm cites Panera and Starbucks as retailers who have done a good job
building loyalty programs. "They are not as
far along as they could be, but they are getting
more things right than wrong," he says. "loyalty is about creating some element of surprise
and delight. it could be in the product, it could
be in the content, or it could be in the personalization-a little surprise and delight can go a
long way. as companies get more comfortable

Canadian Retailer - Winter 2015

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