When many of us were living at home, before college, we dreamt of getting out of the suburbs and into the city. A lot of us made it to the city and planted new roots, while others were soon abruptly uprooted and forced to move back to the suburbs. Now, some of us are dreaming about willingly going back to the suburbs, but cannot leave the city. Depending on where we are at this point in our lives, due to the economic regression (yes, regression), the notion of the Millennial dream is now divided between suburb and city.
And that divide is pretty big. "Eighty-five percent of college seniors planned to move back home with their parents after graduation in May 2010,” while around “180,000 people move into cities daily, adding roughly 60 million new urban dwellers each year.”
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So, this means it is important that brands recognize not all Millennials are living equal.
And it is equally important to consider that not all Millennials want the same things at the same time. While Millennials are Millennials, everyone goes through the coveted Marketing Lifestyle Triggers at different times … especially these days.
For example, think about the cast of “Jersey Shore.” They are a group of Millennials of different ages, at different points in their lives, with different living situations outside the MTV house. When the filming and fist pumping ends for the season, one of the few things they really have in common is their age bracket.
Thus, while some delays in adulthood are obvious and others not so much, brands need to think about how to help us stop said societal-induced delay, and shift the regression into progression, no matter where we are.
Here are some thoughts for brands on connecting with Millennials on both sides of the divide:
As soon as I read your vending machine comment I thought about a piece I saw on the local news yesterday, where some companies are selling meat out of vending machines. The meat stays cold akin to the way sodas and bottled water in vending machines do.
That said, I think efforts to market and sell to folks in their late teens and 20s may yield strong results if those efforts focus on how products provide heightened consumer "convenience".
Rhonda
www.writemoneyinc.com