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Marketers should disregard common misconceptions regarding millennials: report

Some common generalizations about millennials are proving to be false, according to research by IRI, and marketers should readjust to connect to the demographic through mobile. 

Millennials are early adapters to technology, and therefore are constantly served an overload of content regarding brands and marketing. Social media and mobile have opened the door to connect with the various subsets of the demographic on a more intimate level, but marketers must fight to stand out as social media posts, product reviews, blogs and various mobile sources have made traditional marketing obsolete. 

"The most important note of the research is that millennials can not all be grouped into one bucket," said Shuli Lowy, marketing director at Ping Mobile. "Millennials comprise a massive audience and if marketers target them as one bucket they?ll miss out on the nuances that causes individuals to take actions. 

"IRI?s grouping of millennials into 6 different categories is a valuable tool to put marketers in the right mindset," she said. "Marketers who heretofore have classified their target audience as millennials need to ask themselves what kind of millennials their target audience is comprised of. 

"We can easily imagine how the Free Spirits would respond to very different material than the Concerned Aspirationalists."

Mobile millennials
Although the common perception associated with millennials is that they are addicted and constantly tethered to their mobile devices IRI?s research shows that this is not the cause. In fact, 48 percent of millennials claimed to be able to function without their devices. 

However, mobile is the primary location for these individuals. Digital is an important aspect of reaching the demographic, as 45 percent said they were early adopters of technology.  

Also, mobile payments have become more of a standard aspect of retail and millennials are the key demographic to its adoption, as 29 percent use mobile payment options. 

With the extensive options, deals and product information available through mobile, the millennial consumer has little brand loyalty. These individuals are stingy with which brands they decide they will be loyal to. 

These shoppers are looking for the best deal, but not sacrificing quality. Millennials that say they choose quality over price make up 52 percent of those IRI surveyed, but two-thirds have very limited grocery budgets. 

Demographic differences
The millennial generation is the largest group in the U.S. workforce, and their consumer behavior is vastly different from their predecessors. Due to mobile and the size of the demographic, consumer behavior within the generation differs as well. 

Mobile is a very personal platform, and each individual behaves differently on these devices, therefore marketers need to cover their bases in attempting to reach these consumers and focus on an omnichannel approach. 

There are several classifications of millennial consumers, and brands should note which facet they are catering to. 

Many individuals within the millennial generation believe in a free-spirit lifestyle and lean towards brands that adopt that sense of freedom in their brand image. These consumers make up 13 percent of the demographic. 

The other categories are Struggling Wanderers, New Traditionalists, Concerned Aspirationalists, Conscious Naturalists and Confident Connectors.

"The study also draws a much more authentic face to millennials than marketers often give them credit for," Ms. Lowy said. "Millennials are often portrayed as a fickle audience that jumps from one brand to the next and is hyper price sensitive.

"Millennials do have a lot of tools at their disposal and their visibility to see through price markups is far more advanced than what traditional brands are used to," she said. "That said, millennials still have values, standards, aspirations, emotions, and dreams. They are socially conscious, digitally connected, and are quick to provide their input. Brands must work hard to understand them and win them over.

"Millennials spend a massive on time on mobile devices and on social media, providing a key gateway for brands to engage their audience and win them over. Being a good marketer is not just about where you connect with consumers but also with what content."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer