A Note To Brands: Thanks For The Givings, Everyday

by Cori Ferman, Dec 2, 2011, 8:07 AM

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Millennials are a tough crowd.

Millennials are hard to please, with consumption patterns as predictable as the mental state of the woman in the holiday Target ads (off the treadmill but in her red leisure suit) must have been on the day of the Target Missoni launch. We want what we want, when we want it… our way. And if there is even the slightest possibility someone or something may thwart our efforts, lock your doors and hide your children. Because, as many of our parents taught us, we will find a way to make it happen (because we are that talented).  Note: this really applies to everything including food, movies, deals, music, access to people, etc.

But, you are listening.

It seems, you caught wind of our frenetic ways and finally adapted your strategies accordingly. We reached that point in time where our demands are being met, with supplies. And, most importantly, they are met with the right supplies.

2011 has been a year full of thanks, from brands to Millennials.

As a result of inadvertent or intentional brand facilitations through daily deals through companies like Groupon or Gilt Local, coupon codes as seen on retailmenot.com, exclusive discounts through magazines like InStyle, and social media, every day has been Black Thursday, Cyber Monday, Magenta Saturday, etc.

and adapting your approaches to connecting with Millennials.

While some have argued in the past it is not possible, apologies to the Rolling Stones, brands have found some clever new moves unlike Jagger’s. You discovered and utilized ways to appease and make it possible for Millennials to get what they want AND what they need, by optimizing and elevating Burger King’s wise strategic efforts around “having it your way.”

And you recognized this Millennial behavior is not just a result of hard economic times, it is a lifestyle. And it is not going to change.

Because, at the end of the day, you realized Brands and Millennials are very similar.

Brands and Millennials are all kinds of entrepreneurs, just going about our business each day… personal or professional. As noted in a recent New York Times article, Millennials are…“all in showbiz now, walking on eggshells, relentlessly tending our customer base. We’re all selling something today, because even if we aren’t literally selling something (though thanks to the Internet as well as the entrepreneurial ideal, more and more of us are), we’re always selling ourselves. We use social media to create a product — to create a brand — and the product is us. We treat ourselves like little businesses, something to be managed and promoted.”

So, Brands, thank you for finally giving in to our demands. And, for giving us what we want and need… whenever (one of them may include the business of sending that poor Target woman on a vacation to a far away land, for a very long time… depends who you ask).

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