Despite millennials' reputation as “lazy, entitled narcissists” on account of their “incessant selfies”, they aren't all that difficult to engage with, according to 31st Second strategy director Taby Taylor-Ziane. You just need to roll the dice.
Millennials have somehow become the most scrutinised yet desired demographic for marketers and brands, as both continually attempt to tap into and engage with this elusive group.
However, engagement can often lead to awkward, ill-informed campaigns that fail to grasp their interests and diversity.
Rather than simply imitating slang, 31st Second strategy director Taby Taylor-Ziane says it's time to spend more time understanding the shopper journey of millennials, who she calls 'digital natives'.
“Millennials have reshaped the face of shopping. There is nothing left to surprise them, no serendipity... They care about experience over things and they are driving the whole change and shift in marketing,” she says.
Speaking at Future Unpacked, the Food & Drink Business + PKN L!VE event in Sydney this week, Taylor-Ziane used the acronym of 'DICE' for millennials, explaining that to understand the group's consumer habits, a brand needs to dissect its strategy in terms of; 'discovery and delight', 'immerse and integrate', 'care about consequences' and 'enhance experiences'.
She cited Citroen's DS3 Ines de la Fressange model as a sophisticated example of brands embracing millennials. Only 1000 of the bespoke cars were made, further tapping into millennial's love for “exclusivity and scarcity”.
Apparel brand Supreme is also a brand making waves in the world of millennials, thanks to its 'weekly drop day' which sees traffic on the Supreme site increased by more than 16,500 per cent.
“Thousands of trigger-happy street wear fans try to buy simultaneously. If you’ve failed to cop the drop through official channels, then your only option is to face the resellers,” Taylor-Ziane says.
In the 'immerse and integrate' space, the strategy director touts chatbots as the way of the future. Brands create bots you can converse with online; a tailored experience within a site you're already using which allows you to ask questions about a product, find out more information or simply have a chat.
“In the case of chatbots, it is this kind of seamless integration of brands which has been driven by millennials,” Taylor-Ziane says.
Tiger Beer is a brand that cares about consequences. The Singaporean beer-brand joined forced with WWF to fight the impending extinction of tigers due to poaching. For Taylor-Ziane, this partnership is both appealing to millennial consumers, as well as clever, as it perfectly aligns with the brand's identity.
Enhancing the shopper experience of millennial consumers is not difficult, says Taylor-Ziane. Delta's 'Dating Wall', saw the airline paint scenes of tourist attractions on a wall in Brooklyn for Tinder users to take photos in front of and then use on their profile. This gave the airline exposure while also engaging with millennials through a relevant and familiar brand; in this case a dating app.
Most of all, Taylor-Ziane encourages brands not to ignore the “digital omnipresence” of the generation.
“Use the digital omnipresence to your advantage, think frictionless and provide some experiential or utilitarian value to fully engage them,” Taylor-Ziane says.
