Millennials with Kids, Marketing to This Powerful and Surprisingly Different Generation of Parents, by Jeff Fromm & Marissa Vidler, Amacon 2015
If you're a boomer parent, you may find yourself watching with some puzzlement as the Millennials take on "traditional" roles - marriage, parenting, house-buying, careers. It's just a little different.
But if you are a company selling to Millennials, understanding this generation becomes essential.
Let's look at the basic data.
Millennials number 80M Americans born between 1977 and 1996; they outnumber Boomers, and they represent triple the number of Gen Xers. The authors present five distinct Millennial parent types, ranging from thrifty, conservative "Family First" believers, to more progressive, more affluent, deeply committed parents who synthesize "Style and Substance."
1. Millennial parents can be brand-building partners with great loyalty and creativity that appeals to their craving for participation, belonging and customization.
2. Millennial parents appreciate a brand's "shareworthiness" when the brand is instilled with a higher purchase than profits and exhibits practical problem-solivng abilities.
3. Millennial parents appreciate technology that shows them the opportunity to personalize vs. accepting an already identified brand image.
4. Millennial parents appreciate a customer experience that allows them the freedom to access information and products from any platform. They do not want to be confined!
5. Millennial parents identify with products that speak in their own casual language that connects well and building their own-self identity.
For business to market well to Millennial parents, technology should be an assumption, an uncomplicated key to new experiences and services/products.
Examples that illustrate the Millennial approach include Cheerios, Hallmark, IKEA and StoryBots. Amazon, of course, is the perfect pioneering Millennial consumer concept. Amazon developed itself into a necessary consumer tool that made it easy to research and find the perfect product on line - no driving! It's open 24/7 - convenient! Further, the web experience offers consumer reviews that became trusted sources of cost and quality comparisons - quick decisions! Constant innovation - Prime deliveries, easy returns, worldwide content access, and drones!
One more fun and innovative feature to Millennials with Kids -- The Glossary! Five pages of new terms! For instance, what is the definition of "Brand Atom" or, "Conscious Capitalism, " "Storyliving (TM)," and digital natives who declare "Useful is the new cool (tm)?" You'll enjoy the Glossary as well as Millennials with Kids' great failure war stories, always a great starting point!