The paradox of the millennial brand
The word ‘millennials’ is one that is often bandied about too readily among marketers, but grouping such a wide and diverse group of people under one term can be problematic.
An event held last week by global brand strategy and design firm, Landor, aimed to tackle this particular problem by highlighting the paradoxes of the millennial group, and their relationships with brands.
The Paradox of The Millennials event revealed the results of a study on millennial attitudes to the world’s leading brands. The research relied on qualitative data gathered from a global online research community of 142 people aged between 18 and 34 and living in the US, UK, France or China, all of whom posted content on a daily basis, contributing to 4,500 pieces of data overall.
The results were, naturally mixed. The study found that millennials are often contradictory in their preferences and patterns of behaviour; they love brands, but they also hate brands, they are virtuous, but also indulgent, they are futurists, yet they’re also nostalgic, they want brands that constantly change, while remaining true to their identity and that are personalised, yet inclusive.
Brands who are popular with the millennial demographic recognise their own strengths, without pretending to be something they’re not. The demonstration of honesty and transparency is particularly important for brands that aim to appeal to this, sometimes cynical, age group.
