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Our world is changing rapidly. Technology is developing faster than ever. Information is shared and
made available everywhere. Generation Y is the first generation to grow up with Internet and is
used to having everything at its fingertips.
Therefore marketing will never be the same again. Merely pushing advertising doesn’t work
anymore. One-way communication simply doesn’t do the trick anymore. Ignoring your failures will
not make them go away.
21 global marketing executives from various industries (see list in appendix) provided us with
insights on their definition of Generation Y, the main marketing challenges and some possible
solutions to tackle these challenges. This paper is composed in this order:
• How different is Generation Y as a target group according to marketing practitioners?
• What challenges are marketing, branding and communication managers confronted with
when dealing with this Millennial generation?
• A 5-step plan to improve your marketing towards Gen Y customers.
One remark: don’t expect to find all the solutions. After all, it’s about having the guts to do
something you have never done before.
What to expect
from this paper?
Defining characteristics
Before defining the challenges
marketers face when connecting
with Gen Y, it is important to know
how they define this generation. It
is clear that coming up with one
unilateral definition is a hard task.
A lot of verbatim was used but
brought us to four key
characteristics.
ME = FREE
The free generation
The overall trend when marketeers are talking about GenY is that the GenY
youth have a high degree of freedom compared to the previous generation.
Everything their parents and grandparents fought for finally paid off: youth
today is finally free. No pressure to practise a given religion, no worries about
being gay: let’s put it all on the table and talk about it. It’s [also] the first
generation that didn’t need to rebel against former generations. Society
became more liberal and parents more democratic.
Mum and dad are pretty cool in a way: they are not an institution to fight
against, rather a source of reliable advice. Up to GenY to make this advice
their own. Parents treat their children on an equal level, like friends, and the
kids today respond with more compusere towards their folks.
That doesn’t mean that there are no issues anymore. For example: they really
care about the environment and the economic crisis also affects them. They
have a strong feeling for justice: it’s not fair that the banks profit from
normal citizens and it is not okay that we are all polluting the planet we live
on. Fortunately, they have the balls, the skills and the means to address and
tackle these issues. And when they have issues with you as a brand, they will
tackle those as well.
Let’s go more into detail about the implications of these characteristics for the
today’s marketeer.
Looking for the best deal
As there is less stress about where to belong or how to
behave, youngsters feel more confident. They have a
realistic view on the state of the world and what their role in
it can be. Therefore, they make choices which best fit their
needs at that particular moment. They want everything as
fast as possible and have no patience whatsoever. They’re
annoyed when they can’t get what they want.
“They are not a generation that wants to wait; if they feel a need
for change they'll immediately want that change. Everybody in this
generation feels entitled to freedom, to deciding on their own
terms and having a better and bigger life. Life became more rapid
and this fast-paced age has changed their attitudes, their world
perceptions and their whole life.“
Christophe Fellinger, Employer Branding & Talent Attraction,
Beiersdorf
PRAGMATIC
I want it all
Kuruma banare
Let’s take transport as an example: the more convenient, the
better. Improved infrastructure in the big cities, environment
issues, the rising fuel costs and everlasting traffic jams make
a car a luxury item rather than a necessity for youngsters.
In Japan they use the phrase “kuruma banare”
(demotorization), which means that youngsters fall out of
love with cars. They prefer public transport, bicycles or
even skateboards to go from A to B in big congested cities.
It’s not that they don’t like these big cities, they just want to
be as efficient as possible. Today’s youth is more
interested in the latest gadgets rather than in acquiring an
expensive car. City cars, like for example MINI, need to be
convenient, smart and easy-to-use.
CONNECTED
I want to share it now
Sharing is caring
Connecting was never easier. There are no
restraints which keep them from communicating
exactly when, where and how they want it. They
have Internet in their blood and are not afraid to
use it. GenYers love to talk with each other
online. They learn about products, situations,
experiences by hearing from others. Not only are
they sharing, but they also do it continuously.
Being connected at any time has become more
and more important:
“Three quarters claim to never be offline for more
than an hour. They are accustomed to working on
numerous devices, gadgets, social networks and apps
and thus live in a perpetually virtual world allowing
them to maintain a consistent level of engagement.”
Anita Caras, Head of Insights Global Agency &
Accounts Microsoft
The success of the Tomorrowland
after-movie
“When the product is good, people start the
campaign for you. And of course we have all these
deejays from all around the world who have their own
blogs or webpages and fans and they are the
ambassadors of our event too. And we try to surprise
them, like for instance the people flying in from
Barcelona, experienced a party flight with deejays
and dancers. They will talk about that.”
Christophe Van den Brande, Marketing & Creative
Manager Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland has been voted the best Dance
Music Festival in the world in 2011. Everyone
who was ever there agrees: Tomorrowland is
quite an experience. That much an experience,
that people want to re-live it. The success of the
after-movie says it all: in 24 hours the movie
already had 2 million unique views. One week
later the video already had 10,000,000 unique
views. Quite impressive, knowing that there were
actually 180,000 people present.
BOLD
I„m sharing it all
Heart on the sleeve
Having original and conversation-worthy experiences and
opinions is key. If it’s not buzz-worthy, it’s not cool.
Everything is shared, good and bad news. They have their
own voice and they are not afraid of using it. They like to
give their feedback to friends & family, but also to brands
and companies. Review sites are more popular than ever.
And you’d better be listening, because they won’t stop
talking:
“The challenge with this generation is that your organization
should be ready to act rapidly as a response to their feedback.
Social media are a good way to have feedback right away, but
this generation has a high need of quick reactions to their
feedback. If you want to satisfy them, you need to respond with
product or campaign changes much faster than before and try
to deliver what they are asking you.“
Clelia Morales, Head of Social Media & PR eBay Europe
Belvedere Vodka:
not so smooth
Past March, Belvedere placed a
rather controversial commercial
online. Within an hour, Belvedere
had to take the ad down.
Comments on Twitter and
Facebook were furious, even after
apologizing with the following
tweet:
“We apologize to any of our fans who were offended by our recent
tweet. We continue to be an advocate of safe and responsible drinking.”
Even more complaints came in after this apology, because the
company only apologized for offending their fans, not going to the
core of the case. Charles Gibb, president of Belvedere, wrote a
personal message on Facebook:
“My name is Charles Gibb and I am the President of Belvedere Vodka. I
would like to personally apologize for the offensive post that recently
appeared on our Facebook page. It should never have happened. I am
currently investigating the matter to determine how this happened and to
be sure it never does again. The content is contrary to our values and we
deeply regret this lapse.”
The company also made a donation to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and
Incest National Network, as an expression of their regret.
ECLECTIC
I want it my way
Puzzle time
Today’s youth isn’t about predefined structures or rigid
movements anymore, it’s about creating your own style
dimension. Freedom implies freedom of choice: clothes,
music, travel, hobbies… Instead of one main point of
interest there are several smaller ones which construct
their identity. Mixing and matching brands, expensive or
non-expensive, hippie, chic or vintage: it makes them feel
unique and original.
“Millennials break the traditional segmentation and
marketing theories. They may buy a very expensive fashionable
Louis Vuitton bag because of its badging value, but at the same
time they’ll buy very cheap private label crisps simply to go for
the cheapest. As consumers they are far less predictable than
before. They may buy the gorgeous next Paul Smith dress for
€1000 even, and the next day buy a €20 H&M copy of something
fashionable, just to use it for a couple of months.”
Mark Van Iterson, GlobalHead of Brand Design Heineken
Karl Lagerfeld for Coca-Cola light
A special cooperation is the one between Karl Lagerfeld,
the famous Chanel designer, and Coca-Cola light. The
fashion legend has already signed twice for the design of
special edition bottles for one of the most well-known
drinks in the world. Not only do Coca-Cola and clothes
not have that much in common, the high-end image of
Chanel and the image of the mass-produced soft drink
are also not an obvious match. It works, however: on all
fashion blogs, the cooperation was a hot topic. The
bottles were sold exclusively in only a few specific shops
per country.
Challenges in marketing to Gen Y
2
“If you don‟t do what
you promised me
I‟ll get bored, I‟ll go
away and talk about
my feelings
(offline and online).”
Connected
These characteristics create challenges
Pragmatic
Eclectic
Bold
But
…
“If you do everything
you promise me
I’ll stay with you
and share my thoughts
(offline and online).”
(until you no
longer surprise me…)
HOW The question is
“You constantly have to be up-to-date about what is actually moving in their heads, what
makes them happy, what makes them worried and what makes them prefer one company over
another.” (Jörgen Andersson, SVP and global brand & new business director Esprit)
Deliver value for money
Companies are obligated to deliver value for
money. This doesn’t necessarily mean monetary
value. Their personal needs (identification,
experience, trust…) will influence their definition of
value for money. It has to be the whole package:
it’s not about adding a nice design or giving a special
experience, it’s about having both.
Be where they are
If there are no restraints which keep them from
communicating exactly when, where and how they
want it, there are none for your company either. It’s
not about mass marketing anymore, but about
managing all different touch points.
Act like a chameleon…
…but don‟t become a lizard! Their eclectic nature
implies that companies nowadays should be flexible
and able to react quickly to all sorts of new trends. Gen
Y has another way of consuming than the previous
generation: harder, better, faster, stronger. Still,
consistency in time, channel & culture remains
important.
Activate a conversation
Youngsters talk about brands and decide what is
said about them. Cool and interesting information
could be fun to share, irritations and bad
experiences are also a conversation starter. Open
the dialogue, participate (add value) and have a
honest conversation.
PRAGMATIC CONNECTED
ECLECTIC BOLD
Ch
alle
ng
es
fo
r th
e m
ark
ete
er
ME = FREE
Five steps to Gen Y-proof marketing
3
5-s
tep
pla
n
PR
AG
MA
TIC
CO
NN
EC
TE
D
BO
LD
GenYers won‟t take bullshit. They
search for products which satisfy their
needs the best way possible. Being
relevant is key.
So many possibilities, so difficult to
manage them all. Reaching out to them
and communicating with them requires
good touch point management.
Their constant hunger for new
impulses makes it hard to keep
them interested. How can you
make them loyal?
You can‟t just expect them to
swallow every message. Do you
really tap into their minds? How
can you really engage them?
RELEVANCE Step 1
EC
LE
CT
IC
LOYALTY Step 4
TOUCH POINTS Step 2
ENGAGEMENT Step 3
HAVE GUTS
Step 5
1
It all starts
with the product
“The first way to be cool and stay hot
is to have a nice and differing product.
These days you cannot build a brand just
by marketing, you need a great product
and adapt all the marketing to the core
strengths of the product, not the other
way around.” Renzo Rosso, Founder Diesel
If your product isn’t doing what it
promises, you may as well close up.
Youngsters can find information
anywhere and are asking feedback
from peers all the time.
It is all about price/quality: are you
offering something valuable? That
will cost a certain price. Finding
exclusive promotions and getting
even more value than expected is the top of the bill.
Don‟t forget about
the company
“Corporate CSR became more
important because Gen Y is also smarter
and will spend and invest their money
carefully, in a way that it actually
reflects their value system and they will
challenge companies to use their money
in a conscious and social way.” Hubert Grealish, Global Head of
Marketing Communications Diageo
Of course, being true to who you are
is key. It’s about wearing the
company value glasses in everything
you do. Storytelling, authenticity
and uniqueness could add more
than you would expect: they reflect
their values and build up your
corporate identity.
Creating the
experience
“We used to focus on creating the best
product benefits. Today that's not enough
anymore, it's all about creating the best
product EXPERIENCE. But creating a
relevant experience is always related to
understanding the world of your
consumers and trying to be as close to
them as possible.” Mariken Kimmels, Marketing Director
Heinz Continental
Stories will be stories, and the
product should give your consumers
what they’re expecting, nothing more
and nothing less. Creating an actual
experience around it, online and
offline, is something intangible that
could elevate your product and
brand experience.
Be cool
A cool product
is innovative and
surprising
Being the first to do something new
will certainly arouse the interest. Of
course, your innovation should be
clear and add an extra value to the
product. After all, the pragmatic
GenYer won’t like anything that
seems irrelevant or doesn’t add
some extra value.
Be cool
A cool company is
smart and reliable
Making genuine efforts to be
relevant to them is considered to be
cool. It is showing them that you
have done your homework and are
willing to go beyond the obvious.
Being cool nowadays means being
smart: inventiveness and creativity
create buzz.
A cool experience
is exclusive
Youngsters are afraid to be just like
the rest. They want to stand out,
have their own identity and
experience things that are
exceptional and exclusive. These
moments are most likely to be
shared with their closest friends. It is
about having a moment they will
never forget. ‘Remember that
evening we had thanks to brand x?’
Instant coolness.
“It is about relevance, being meaningful and worth sharing. Like tweeting it to your
friends. That’s a pretty good sign that it is cool. We’re not kidding ourselves into
thinking that people are really going to talk about it: “Oh, I had a great experience
when I paid with my debit card at the local pizza place”. What will get people to talk is
when you tap into their emotion and add some sort of value, so some of them will say:
“Oh, I got this through MasterCard. How cool is that?” Peter Jung, Senior Business Leader MasterCard
1 Step
Be real
A real product is
transparent and fair
Be clear about what you are: what
are the ingredients, where have you
made your clothes, how
environmentally friendly are you?
Youngsters appreciate honesty:
being clear about your intentions
and your goals and living up to them
is a huge asset.
Be real
A real company is
approachable and
open
Authenticity is key. What does
authenticity mean? First of all: you
need to have a story to tell. Second:
you should stay true to your brand
values. It is all about being human.
Social media is a perfect platform to
have direct contact with your
consumers. Brand ambassadors
even more so are giving your brand
a human face.
A real experience is
engaging (online and
offline)
Captain Morgan is a very popular
rum brand, named after a real 17th
century pirate from Jamaica. This
character is used as a real-life
entertainer in bars and pubs, offline.
People are then able to share their
pictures and experiences online.
“It can bring so much fun and personality to those places in ways we’ve just not seen before.
And to think that all of that is brought together again with the digital background is so important
because it allows people to share their pictures, share their stories and it allows the Captain to
say where and when he will be in different places. It creates a whole new type of engagement
opportunities for Millennials based not only on branding but actually on personality.” Hubert Grealish, Global Head Brand Communications Diageo
1 Step
Be unique
A unique product is
personal
Personalisation is still key. The clue
is to go beyond personalisation: it’s
not only about adding or changing
something to the layout of a product,
but also about being open to co-
creation and co-ownership.
Be unique
A unique company has
a story to tell
A unique company has a story to
tell: they talk about heritage,
consumer experiences, employees
and company culture.
A unique experience is
memorable
For Gen Y, creativity is also very
important. There is so much to
choose from that you have to stand
out in the crowd. Abercrombie&Fitch
are doing a great job in giving their
customers the ultimate in-store
experience:
1 Every company, product, service,
commercial… has to be unique in
some way. The time of one single
USP is over. Having a combination
of several USPs is what every
company strives for.
“When people enter an A&F shop, they expect high energy, a cool fun environment with
shop staff with a great sense of style and appearance. We bring that same consistent shop
experience in all countries. We are cool on many levels: songs, music, lyrics, feel, smell, taste,
touch, in the shop, how we look. It's important that our staff humanizes our brand and
experience of walking in the shop. When you walk in people will talk to you and help you.”
Todd Corley, Senior VP, Abercrombie&Fitch
Step
Make them happy
The product fulfils
my needs
It’s all about managing expectations.
Don’t promise what you can’t make
happen. Listen to the needs of your
consumer and try to adapt your
product to these needs.
Make them happy
The company believes
I‟m important
It’s about truly engaging with your
consumers: are you listening? Are
you reacting to what they’re saying?
Only when you’re showing your
honest interest and link actions to
this, the consumer will really feel
that they make a difference.
The experience met or
even exceeded my
expectations
For this generation, it’s all about fun,
happiness, excitement, feeling part
of something, feeling empowered.
It‟s about living the light life. Let’s
again take the example of
Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland is a
dance festival in Belgium which has
captured the hearts of youngsters all
around the world in no time. In only
four years time the visitor count
went from 50,000 to 180,000 this
year. Tomorrowland is more than
just concerts, it is a total concept:
1
“We work on exceeding the expectations. We want to create an atmosphere of phantasy, a separate imaginative world, everything must be
part of that experience: from high quality food (Michelin starred chefs cooking, fresh vegetables and good meat even at the burger stall...),
over comfortable entrances, showers and luxury cabins for overnight stay, some of them with Jacuzzi and sauna and butler. We build an
experience comparable to the good feeling after a long holiday with memories to cherish for life, the ability to get in touch with new people,
start a relationship. It's more than just people watching a good show and then leaving again, we want to bring them a creative and sexy
unique experience.” Christophe Van den Brande, Marketing & Creative Manager Tomorrowland
Step
Let them identify!
A product I can
identify with
While globalisation no longer left youngsters
clueless about each other and styles are a
mixture of several influences, GenYers still
want to have their own identity. They want to
be proud of the products they are using.
Tapping into their personal atmosphere and
adding a local touch stays important:
Xerud the fortune teller
Despite the liberal mind-set of Taiwan, talking
about safe sex is still a sensitive subject.
How to adapt to this cultural threshold if your
brand is called Durex? In Taiwan, fortune
tellers are very common. Durex decided to
develop an unbranded fortune-telling
automaton that provides love/life predictions.
They let her tour in bars and clubs over the
country. With their prediction comes a
condom and a message. An example:
"In a relationship it is vital to just be your free
self. Don't worry. With Durex your romantic
undertakings are in safe hands... For more
predictions go to durexfu.com.tw of look for
Xerud on Facebook.“
Let them identify! 1
A company I can
identify with
Values are a reflection of a consumer’s
identity. Identifying these values and
responding to them makes consumers feel
connected with the company.
“For Esprit last Christmas we did the "make
your wish" campaign around the world with the
Facehunter (famous street style fashion
photographed/blogger). Urban people were
holding a card with their personal wish in the
pictures and some candid movies were shot too.
Everything was posted on Facebook and people
could add their own wishes and then a jury would
select wishes relevant to the Esprit brand and
make them come true. So instead of just showing
clothes, we were showing the values and
expressing that we care about people and the
world around us.” Jörgen Andersson, SVP and global brand & new
business director, Esprit
An experience I can
identify with
An experience should have a personal
approach and elaborate on a person’s
interest. Involving peers in the experience will
make it more valuable and memorable. When
being connected with each other, youngsters
will share interesting content. Add a local
experience to your global campaign and you
already have the right mix to approach a
diverse audience.
Step
On a corporate and brand level, they
should make sure their brand is
including as many Millennials as
possible. Gen X marketing was all
about creating an exclusive brand. To
approach the social Gen Y, brands
should be involved in all lifestyles and
segments of Millennials. Brands must be
innovative, surprising and
inspirational for all of them. This is the
only way Gen Y will identify with the
brand.
On a product level, it is important to be
accessible for everyone (inclusive) on
the one hand but to create stimulating
exclusive novelties, limited editions,
higher priced temporary items or
innovations on the other. The latter will
keep the attention of the fickle
stimulation-junkie generation.
In marketing campaigns, activations,
events and retail experience, successful
Gen Y brands know how to create
extraordinary, exceptional
experiences. They should feel like
exclusive and personalized experiences
that Millennials find worth sharing with
their friends.
To stay relevant for Millennials, marketers should take
inclusiveness AND exclusiveness into account.
Abercrombie&Fitch
Being an inclusive company becomes more and more
important. After a racist scandal, where potential employees
were discriminated because of their skin colour, hipster shop
Abercrombie&Fitch decided to focus on an inclusiveness
program, creating a special function which would be
occupied following up this program.
“We rolled out a programme to make our staff more dexterous,
more flexible with different cultural styles or different ways of
looking at thing, to help them figure out the common ground and
meet someone who is perhaps more passive or less direct,
somewhere in the middle. In 2004, when I started this office/new
function, A&F had 400 shops, based in the US only, in 2011 we had
grown to 1,000 shops, the majority still in the US but also in many
other nations. We moved from a 90% white in-store population to
a 50% white and 50% non-white population. With that evolution
came an increased level of awareness and dealing with not only
issues of race but also nationality.” Todd Corley, Senior Vice President & Global Chief Diversity Officer A&F
MasterCard & Exclusive experiences
MasterCard, a difficult product for youngsters to really
engage with, tries to connect with consumers through exclusive
experiences. By surprising their consumers and tapping into
their true interests, MasterCard becomes more relevant.
“An example of engaging young consumers in conversations: a
pilot project in Mexico built around one of the core passions: music.
We've invested in mobile apps which actually profile consumers based
on their listening behaviour. So, for instance, if you like Coldplay and
you live in Mexico, you will receive an invitation to post something or
share something and then get an invite for a VIP cocktail reception
before the concert. Or you will get access to presales of tickets
exclusively for MasterCard holders so that you will be guaranteed to
get a ticket before the mass sales start... So exclusive, experiential
offers based on your preferences.” Peter Jung, Senior Business Leader MasterCard
2
Point of sale
Look at your (web) shop as if it‟s your own home: when
you invite people to your home, you want everything to be in
order. You want people to have a nice impression of you and
you want to make them feel comfortable. Hopefully they will
spread the word and will be eager to come back. Don’t forget
about social shopping either: it’s an important trend that will
emerge more in the future. Offline and online go hand in
hand: GenYers have the tendency to ask feedback from a
friend when shopping offline or online. The faster, the better!
"One of the new services we are testing now with eBay is all
about this instant gratification. It is called "help me find". For
instance, if you see a bag you like, you can immediately take a
picture, tag your friends and ask them to help you find out which
brand it is and where you can buy it. It is this type of instant
services allowing you to connect with your friends that are
endorsing the social shopping trend among Gen Y“ Clelia Morales, Head of Social Media & PR eBay EU
Media & Advertising
What about good old-fashioned above-the-line campaigns?
Of course they’re not dead. You just need to know that you
won’t make it with a single TV advert. Actually, campaigns
are great to create global awareness. But it not enough to just
leave it at that. Integration with social media is a must. The
campaign should trigger some kind of interaction with your
consumer.
“Gen Y understands very well what marketing and advertising is
about and that marketing people paid big sums of money to put
their logo on TV. If the content is not entertaining or relevant it's
useless. Of course TV commercials are still important but it's all the
digital marketing around it, the extra content like in films or behind
the scenes, the challenges and little games make the commercial
more talkeable and interesting. So it's all about understanding the
context of a touch point.” Mark Van Iterson, Head of Global Brand Design Heineken
Step
2 Website
A website is more than just an
information stall about your product. It is
what you are: you can share your past,
your present and your future and get
feedback from your consumers. You can
engage and connect on a deeper level
than for instance on your Facebook page
(which is obviously linked to your website
and vice versa). Contests, games or
advertising often refer to the website.
Make sure you keep your new visitors
connected by making them more curious:
hide a riddle, reveal a secret or show
exclusive footage! Don’t make it
overcomplicated though: your website
should be a portal where everything your
consumer needs to know is presented in
an intuitive and engaging way.
“Mobile and web is not a differentiating
factor, it is just something you have to have.” Christoph Fellinger, Talent Relationship
Manager Beiersdorf
Social media
Of course, social media are a must.
Facebook for example should be
integrated in all communication actions.
Don’t think of it as a one-way
communication platform though: the most
valuable feature of Facebook is the fact
that it enables interaction and
inspiration (by brands, celebrities and
friends). Not only with the brand, but also
with their peers. It is a great platform to try
new things and to innovate. Playing with
trending topics, asking them about the
latest news and using humour are
successful ways to connect with your Gen
Y audience.
“Brands have to be more social today and that doesn't just mean adding a Facebook tab and Twitter account. It's about investing in community management and establish a strong social voice. It means that you have to respond and syndicate conversations about your brand and payments and create real two-way dialogues. It takes serious commitment and engagement to get people to talk about your brand or service - you should ask yourself: why should they care, why should they share?” Peter Jung, Senior Business Leader MasterCard
Mobile integration
Use mobile efforts to connect with your
consumers and connect them with each
other. Don’t create just another app:
make it relevant.
• Take location-based marketing to
the next level: it’s not about knowing
where your customer is, but about
customizing your communication in
the right context. If you know your
customer is working out at the gym,
you might as well communicate about
your energy drink.
• When are your customers the most
active? Maybe during lunch? Maybe
just before or after school? Link
certain actions to these timings!
• It’s not about culture, but about
services: where are the good
restaurants, where are the other
people around here who have the
same product as I have? How can I
connect with them as quickly as
possible?
• Don’t make a rip-off of your website,
but do something unique. An app is
a perfect platform for branded utility.
Step
2 Event
Being relevant is defined on three levels: product level, company level and
experience level. Events are the way to go when you want to create the
ultimate customer experience. Not only can you connect with your
consumers, but consumers can also connect with each other. This results
in WOM, sharing stories online and long-lasting memories.
“When it comes to touch points, although we have the right product in the right
shops and successful social media networks, we believe connecting with
consumers in real life, physically, is still very important. So skateboarding events
like Coastal Carnage at Huntington beach are important because we bring
10,000s of people together to interact socially with each other and it's an
exceptional experience that they will discuss with their friends both on- and
offline. (see also 100 club events in London)” Geoff Cottrill, CMO Converse
Managing touch points nowadays means having a well-balanced mix of
online and offline channels. Take a good look and bear in mind the tips
and tricks of the previous chapter when choosing the appropriate way to
communicate with Generation Y.
“The true CEO of the company is the consumer. And it is all about his/her
emotions, what he/she feels when coming into a shop: it's not just the clothes or
colours: it's also about feeling inspired. So with every touch point of the brand,
you have to feel something. If you're passionate about something, you become
engaged.” Jörgen Andersson, SVP and Global Brand & New Business Director Esprit
Step
3
Top users
You probably have some true brand lovers. Those consumers are crazy
about your product, love to talk about it and share their experiences with
others. So why not connect with your top users and engage them to
engage others?
"It's not only about selling stuff to them, it's about getting into a relevant
conversation with them related to their interests in daily life and get involved.
For instance: eBay's spring&summer fashion campaign in the UK ( #mymix).
We had a meeting with the 20 most influential fashion bloggers and through a
Twitter party everyone could connect, ask questions and make live comments.
Three bloggers created their own style with eBay items -and became a model of
their own look! It's an example of how we engage with our clients through
different channels.“ Clelia Morales, Head of Social Media & PR eBay EU
Step
3
Collaboration Co-creation is evolving more towards
collaboration. The pragmatic, eclectic
and bold GenYer wants to have a say
in the products he uses. How should
you facilitate this? Create a platform
where they can share their thoughts
and ideas. Act upon these thoughts
and involve them in the early stages of
the creation process.
“I do think brands are co-owned.
Companies need to learn to let control of
the brand by consumers. Before it was more
centralized and more, small groups making
decisions on how the brand acted, and what
type of campaigns you portray, activate and
what type of platforms you use. I think now
we are shifting towards more co-ownership
of the brand.” Francisco Bethencourt, Director Strategy &
Marketing PepsiCo
Co-creation Consumers are no longer waiting for
an invitation to co-create brands.
They are building their own brands
with other consumers, involving your
brand whether invited or not, and
expecting their influence to be
rewarded. So it is not a question of
incorporating co-creation or not, it is a
question of how far you want to go.
“Many companies are still afraid of
what I would call the real co-creation.
Not just using co-creation as a one-off
shot for marketing purposes but really
involving consumers in an early stage of
developing new products, concepts and
ideas. At Heinz, we are now
experimenting with the Talking Labels:
people can order their own label with a
personalized text but the next phase
should be collaborating with them in an
earlier phase.” Mariken Kimmels, Marketing Director
Heinz Continental
The
engagement
toolbox
Ok, so now you have
used your relevance
checklist, you checked
the touch point mix and
you involved your top
users. How can you now
engage with consumers?
Look in the toolbox and
choose an engagement
technique.
Step
3 Surprises
Surprising your consumers is the best
way to give them a shake and make
sure they stay focused. A surprise can
be anything: send them a birthday
card, post a video that nobody has
ever seen before, show up
unexpectedly at an event… As long as
it is relevant (see previous chapter)
and you don’t stalk them, they’ll love it:
“When the product is good, people want
to be part of it, share movies and pictures
on YouTube and Facebook and start the
campaign for you. And we have of course
numerous deejays from all around the
world who have their own blogs or
webpages and fans and they are the
ambassadors of our event too. And we try
to surprise them, like for instance the
people flying in from Barcelona,
experienced a party flight with deejays and
dancers. They will talk about that.”
Christophe Van den Brande, Marketing &
Creative Manager Tommorowland
Stories
Do not underestimate the power of
stories. Tell a story about yourself, let
your consumers share stories about
their personal life, or even better:
combine both. People want something
to talk about. What kind of stories?
Cool, real, unique, personal and
emotional stories!
“Red Bull is a good example of a brand
which represents 'experience life to the
full', with adrenaline kicks. Maybe the
biggest fear of Gen Y is to lead a dull and
boring life. So Red Bull does all this
exciting interesting stuff with adrenaline
kicks, stuff worth uploading and sharing
on FB or through Twitter.”
Mark Vaniterson, Global Head of l Brand
Design Heineken
Step
3 Games
Games are engaging, no question about that. The problem is:
everyone is doing it already. So how can you stay relevant and stand
out in the crowd? First of all: link it to your product and try to make it
cool, real, unique and relevant. Second: don’t make it too difficult so
your consumers can still feel good about themselves. Most of the
time they are playing for attention and achievement. And last: don’t
forget to leverage on the social potential: your target group probably
has a wide social network. Try to engage your gamers to activate
that network as well!
“Achieving something and feeling happy (in a social context) is utterly
important to Gen Y. Gamification can fit into this aspiration to achieve and
self-improve but in the same time you gain feedback and comments of your
social circle.”
Anita Caras, Head of Insights Microsoft
“To develop the new cap of the Heinz bottle we used some gamification
elements. For instance the first 57 visitors of a new website to develop a
new cap were invited to share their ideas. (57 refers to the 57 varieties of
Heinz also mentioned on the bottle). They could create their own content
and share it with their friends. It really worked and we found out that mire
young people participated because of these gamification elements.”
Mariken Kimmels, Marketing Director Heinz Continental
Step
4
Want fame? Be FAIR!
How to keep them involved, for more
than just 15 minutes of fame?
Great that you managed to create a
good campaign which receives a lot of
positive reactions. But it doesn’t end
there. A frequent mistake is to take a
break whenever something goes well.
Wrong: you have to keep your young
consumers involved. If not, you just had
your fifteen minutes of fame, but you
want to be legend, or not? Follow the
FAIR model:
Be fast
Let’s get Famous – have a continuous conversation with your Gen Y
consumers
Famous is the first advertising agency which truly connects with consumers,
in order to make their campaigns more relevant. For consumers and for their
clients. Via an on-going online research community, Famous has a constant
connection with consumers. Not only campaigns, but also trends, brand
positioning and strategy are discussed. Famous is always in touch with
consumers and can ask questions at any moment of the day.
The faster you react towards your consumers, the more likely you are to have
a bond with them. It’s all about conversations: the more fluent you
communicate with each other, the better you will understand each other. Fast
action shows them that you actually listen and care. And it’s not only about
literally acting fast on Facebook or Twitter, it’s also about monitoring their
behaviour and keeping on learning more about them. Go out and talk! As
their world is so rapidly changing, an on-going approach is the most
successful way for keeping up:
“Research now is done online, both qualitative and quantitative. Companies that
are more forward-thinking and are starting to embrace those ideas, will understand
much better what is up and coming in the new generation, engaging with them on an
on-going basis.”
Francisco Bethencourt, Director Strategy and Marketing PepsiCo
Step
4
Innovate (or let them innovate)
Standing still is going backwards. By innovation you
are showing interest, creativity and proactivity. Always
question your product with the end-user in mind. And
very important: involve your users in the innovation
process. They will feel heard, appreciated and will stay
loyal to the brand they helped building.
“Apple's communication is very much about innovations,
improvements and simplicity, but always clearly linked to
daily life. Their strength is that they don't bother too much
about dominating technologies but are able to imagine what
the future will bring.” Mark Van Iterson, Global Brand Designer Heineken
“Who creates the content? Historically this was done by
the agencies. Companies engage with agencies to create a
new marketing campaign based on a big idea. That content
was pretty much created internally, within the four walls of
the company. Together with the agency, but in that internal
environment. I do think we are seeing more and more
examples and we will see more successful companies and
brands engage in that two-way dialogue and create content
together with their consumers.” Francisco Bethencourt, Director Strategy and Marketing
PepsiCo
Reward them for their loyalty
The pragmatic GenYer won’t do anything for free.
Showing them your appreciation for the fact that they
choose you is key. Compare it with a relationship: you
also like appreciation for the fact that you’re
committed, no? Some nice words, a little surprise, a
gift… It makes you feel appreciated and motivates you
to go on! Going beyond the obvious could even make
your consumers happier: a random act of kindness is
an instant satisfier.
“Durex sponsors Valtifest, a festival in Amsterdam. The
theme of one of the previous editions was religion. A sign
dropped from the sky upon the festival visitors when Durex
dropped 3,000 condoms on the festival terrain. A random
act of kindness.” Ilse Westerik, Senior Brand Manager Personal Care Reckitt
Benckiser
FAIR= FAst, Innovative, Rewarding
Step
5 Go out there and
create a daring but
relevant appeal
“Keeping the Heineken brand cool and stay hot… in the
end it’s a couple of people who had the imagination and the
guts and thought “okay, let’s do it”. Because this is typically
how cool stuff happens, not by endless business meetings
and calculations on return of investments. That will come
later, you know. If you’re cool, people will buy it.
I think that in the end it’s about having guts. It’s daring
to do stuff that’s never been done before. This Milan club
is a brilliant example of it. We didn’t know at all what this
was going to bring, my boss and his boss thought: Okay,
wow, this sounds like a great adventure, it’s probably going
to cost quite a lot of money… we cannot calculate the return
of investment up-front but somehow it fits the brand, it’s a
territory in which we must start experimenting.”
Mark Vaniterson, Global Head of Design Heineken
Step
5-step plan Key take-aways
1 2 3 4 The shop in your
favourite city is linked
to Facebook, where
you can find the latest
collection you can
buy online and share
with your friends and
wear afterwards on
the event the brand
organizes:
integration is
everything.
One of the biggest
fears of a GenYer is to
lead a boring life.
Bring in your toolbox
to keep it exciting and
use your top
consumers to spread
the word.
Keep your consumers
involved by acting
fast in everything you
do and show your
appreciation for their
loyalty by doing
random acts of
kindness.
Being relevant goes
beyond the product:
it‟s about the
combination of
product, company
and experience
creation. Use the
relevance checklist
and make sure you
have what it takes.
1 2 3 4 5 Have guts!
Go out there and
create a daring
but relevant
appeal.
5
Joeri
Van den Bergh Gen Y expert & speaker
Author of ‘How Cool Brands Stay Hot – Branding to Generation Y’
Co-founder InSites Consulting
@joeri_insites
www.linkedin.com/in/joerivandenbergh
+32 496 232 919
Hear the key take-aways first hand from author
Joeri Van den Bergh in a workshop or presentation
More information on www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com/speech
Anneleen
Boullart Research
Consultant
+32 472747659
@anneleenboullar
http://www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com/book
Meet Joeri Van den Bergh: watch an intro movie Test your Gen Y knowledge: do the interactive YouTube quiz
http://www.youtube.com/HowCoolBrandsStayHot
Heineken Mark Van Iterson Global Brand Designer
Durex Ilse Westerik Senior Brand Manager Personal Care & Sexual Wellbeing
Esprit Jorgen Andersson Global Brand Manager
Eastpak Jean-Jacques Maartense Ex-Marketing Director
KFC Michaël Werner Chief Marketing Officer
Nivea (Beiersdorf) Christophe Fellinger Employer Branding Responsible
ex-Mexx/Crumpler Christophe Krick Head of Marketing
PepsiCo Francisco Bethencourt Director Strategy & Marketing
MasterCard Peter Jung Senior Business Leader
Abercrombie&Fitch Todd Corley Senior Vice President & Global Chief Diversity Officer
ID&T Christophe Van den Brande Marketing & Creative Manager Tomorrowland
BBC Ishita Roy Marketing Head, BBC Worldwide Channels, South Asia
LUTA Luke Dowdney Founder & Director at Fight for Peace / LUTA Limited
Diageo Hubert Grealish Global Head of Brand Communication
Heinz Mariken Kimmels Marketing Director Heinz Continental Europe
UCB Samantha Clarke Associate Director Global Marketing Excellence
eBay Clelia Morales Head of EU Social Media and ROE PR at eBay Europe
Microsoft Anita Caras Head of Insights - Global Agency & Accounts at Microsoft
Diesel Renzo Rosso Founder of Diesel
Converse Geoff Cottrill Chief Marketing Officer
Mini Wim Verbeurgt Marketing Manager MINI Belux
Special thanks to the interviewees for sharing their knowledge
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