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Sneakernomics: Marketing With Millennials

3/31/2015

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No—that’s not a typo. Brands used to market to Boomers; Successful brands market with Millennials. Read on:

Who are the Millennials?
Millennials are the generation born between 1977 and 1995. Gen X is the generation born between 1965-1976; Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964. Millennials as a group are larger than Boomers. Millennials will account for one third of all retail spending in 5 years. And soon Millennials will be 50% of the workforce. Goldman Sachs recently published a report called “Millennials: Coming of Age in Retail”.

Key findings on Millennials:

  •     Earning less than previous cohorts
  •     Hit hard by the recession
  •     Less likely to get married and to start households
  •     Much more health conscious
  •     Entering prime spend years
  •     Really like athletic brands
  •     Want to make the most of their leisure time.
  •     Much more tech savvy/Love social media
  •     Willing to share opinions and experiences via social media.
  •     Not brand loyal

Participatory Economy
Shopping behavior for Millennials is no longer passive. Millennials want to interact with brands, to co-create products and to participate in the brand experience. Millennials want to discover new and dynamic products from a proven name, approved by their peer group. Millennials today are looking for relevance and authenticity. They want to develop relationships with brands that deliver a personalized, customized experience. Brands that don’t understand and respond to these needs will fail.

“Mespoke”
The New York Times Magazine has a section called “That Should Be a Word”. Recently they made up:
MESPOKE: (me-SPOKE), adj. Tailored exactly to one’s lifestyle. “Dylan was a member of the mespoke generation: From his iPod playlist to his favorite shot of espresso at his neighborhood cafe, he never had to experience anything that wasn’t his explicit choice.”
Millennials seek out brands that feel unique to them (and make them feel unique). These brands have been vetted and approved by their peer set. They aren’t going to be loyal to your brand because they don’t have to be. Millennials have been taught to be curious their entire lives. They are incredibly smart and savvy. They know how to research a brand.
All these traits trump traditional ad campaigns. Millennials are constantly interviewing your brand, and your brand has to prove itself, every day. For Boomers, there were fewer shopping choices, fewer shopping outlets and fewer sources of product information. For Millennials, those elements are infinite. And these elements are all in their pocket, on their mobile devices.

Digital Natives
Millennials have never known a world without the Internet. Because of that, Millennials are more connected to each other than any previous generation. They share everything. When they want to know something or get an opinion, they consult their peer group. And Millennials’ groups are much, much larger than the Boomers’ groups are.
Consequently, Millennials are more engaged with products. They want to interact with brands and want to share feedback.
Mobile is preferred method of communication.
Because Millennials are internet trained, there is an expectation for instant gratification. Email is too slow and cumbersome. Text messaging is more immediate and can be used when a phone call is inconvenient. Twitter TWTR +1.94%, Instagram and Pinterest shares your thoughts in real time.

Early Adopters
Because Millennials are so digitally engaged, and have shared so much knowledge with their peers, they are much early adopters of new ideas, concepts and products. This will drive the speed of change even faster than what we’ve known. Leveraging early adopters will build brand equity.

Knowledge Based Economy
The concept of branding has changed in that the Millennials is so much more aware of a product’s attributes and issues and therefore consumers are much less brand loyal. If they perceive your competitor’s product to be better or to perform more in line with their needs, they will change in a heartbeat. Consequently, brands must keep their consumers well informed and up to date, not just on what’s in the market now, but what coming next .

Frugal, Not Cheap
Millennials have been hit hard by the Bush recession. Good paying jobs have been hard to find. Many are saddled with massive college debt. This has created a frugal generation. Millennials are always looking for value.
But don’t read frugal as cheap. Millennials may be cautious with their purchases, researching them extensively. But if they decide a more expensive option is the best solution, that’s the decision they will make. Millennials want value for their hard earned money.

Don’t talk, listen (and respond)
Boomer generation marketing was reactive. Brands ran an ad campaign and measured how many consumers responded. Millennials don’t react; they interact. They are a part of the branding process, from sharing a great YouTube ad, to advising friends on purchase experiences, to giving positive and negative feedback directly to a brand. Remember, just because it is easy to hit the “like” or “favorite” button, does not mean those recommendations are given out lightly. (And a “like” is just as easily reversed).

Physical stores have a role
Physical stores are no longer the place where you learn about products. Physical stores are places to try out products, not research; Millennials go to physical stores to see if products fit or if the color is right. Physical stores must adapt to this fundamental change.

Malls are in trouble
Malls are no longer where young people hang out. Now they hang out on their phones. Next time you are in a mall (and I’ll bet it will be a while), go to the food court. The only people who are there are retirees, nursing a cup of coffee. The good, top end malls will survive, but the rest are doomed.

Forget Omni-channel
“Omni” or “all” channel is old school thinking. Millennials don’t care about your businesses logistics or Chinese walls. They want what they want, whenever, wherever, and however they want it. If your brand can’t give it to them that way, they will move on. Your brand experience must be completely transparent and seamless, with no hidden quirks. There is only one channel: all of it.

Conclusion
Engage, don’t market. Listen well and respond. Provide value. Find out where your customers are living, digitally, and involve them there. Seek interaction, not reaction. Market with Millennials.
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Who is the experiential traveler and what do they care about?

3/11/2015

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Experiential travelers — also known as geotravelers, apparently — are those with a desire to escape outdoors without the pressure of an unexpected interruption due to a connected device.

So says a report by travel and outdoor marketing specialists MERCURYcsc in a new quarterly called the Pulse, which queries its Think T+O Forum, a panel of “more than 1,000 experience seekers.”

The survey asked:

Does technology and the ability to stay connected almost everywhere inhibit or enhance their leisure time? Is it a blessing or a curse, and have we come to peace with its role in our outdoor adventures and vacations? And, what does vacation mean in today’s connected world?


The experiential/geotravelers in question take, on average, five leisure trips per year and are well-educated risk takers who avoid homogenized experiences at all costs.

Those surveyed in the report are also much more likely to take all of their vacation days: while 40% of Americans had unused vacation days last year, 72% of the customers of travel and adventure brands managed to take all of their days. 

The folks that this survey are concerned with are far less likely to allow those vacation days to go expired, and are extremely committed to using these vacation days for outdoor adventures. The report points to this as the primary reason for travel marketers to target this cohort.

In addition, those surveyed in this panel were far more likely to fully disconnect to enjoy the outdoor experience, with 75% planning to step away from those commitments to enjoy vacation time. Regardless of intent, these outdoor adventure seekers still end up seeking out connectivity in order to stay afloat at work and avoid that dreaded mountain of catch-up upon return.

Travel marketers looking to appeal to the needs of this group should consider this mixed message on connectivity and determine an approach that both excites the guest to get away while comforting them with the safety fall-back of connectivity if needed.

The conclusion is that those targeting this demographic must make their own strategies to appeal to this outdoor demographic’s love/hate relationship with technology and connectivity while also promoting what makes a destination, tour or adventure so memorable for a vacation getaway. The report recommends:

Travel and Outdoor brands should provide this audience with the emotional and tangible breaks they need to succeed— helping them stay connected while providing constraints to that connectivity, and letting them feel safe turning off their devices knowing they can connect when truly needed. These consumers are willing to turn to outside entities to help them balance immersive experiences with connectivity.

One approach is to choose one side for your brand to champion— acting as either the proverbial angel or devil upon the consumer’s shoulder as they struggle with decisions related to connectivity.

A travel brand might adopt the position that “You’re too connected. Here’s how we’re going to help you decide to unplug,” while an outdoor brand might say “Screw unplugging. Be 100% connected and leave your anxiety at home.” Success could lie at either of the strong points of view, but is unlikely to come from a soft position in the middle.

The full report is available for download (email required) here.
- See more ... 
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Strangest things left behind in hotel rooms...

3/4/2015

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This really made me smile... do you have any to add? - Wilna 

Article by Lee Currie 
Teddy bears often get left behind in hotel rooms, but more often than not the items left behind are not so sweet and innocent.Durban - Warning: Look behind you when you leave. People in the hotel industry are often privy to their guests’ little “foibles”, which can range from hilarious to downright scary.

So weird and wonderful are some of the stories that every year the Protea Hotel Group asks its general managers to submit a list of the most memorable. It makes fascinating and often mind-boggling reading.
“We know people are intrigued by some of the stories that come out of hotel rooms and we thought: why not share some of the best every year? While we do protect our guests’ privacy, some of the stories are so good you have to share them. You just can’t make them up,” says group marketing manager Nicholas Barenblatt.

From Protea’s 2013 list of weird and wonderful items left by guests in hotel rooms:

  • Tp of the list, says Barenblatt, was not something left behind, but someone.

“A stag party that spent the weekend at a hotel in KZN left the groom in the hotel room. He was passed out, stark naked, tied to a chair and painted Smurf blue from head to toe.”

  • Then there were the vampire fangs.

“The fangs weren't the cheap ones you find in fancy dress or novelty stores; these were dentist-fitted. The owner did come to collect them, but we didn't ask any questions,” says Barenblatt.

  • “A strange item was a beautiful Victorian dress left in a hotel room cupboard. When we contacted the guest, he swore there was no dress in the room when he stayed there.”

  • Other items included the back half of a pantomime horse, a hookah, a Batman suit and an assortment of false teeth.

Further afield, hotel groups in several countries were also happy to share their “weird” lists.

Forgotten items in bedrooms include:

  •  An inflatable lamb left behind at Travelodge (no, not New Zealand) Edinburgh, Scotland.
  •  Prosthetic limbs: an inexplicably high number of prosthetic limbs are left in hotel rooms. Even more baffling was a “leg” left at a New York Marriott that was never claimed.
  •  Breast implants were left at a hotel in Newcastle, the UK.
  •  A tribal wooden doll with a pop-up appendage was found in a room at the Quay Hotel in Wales – surely a challenge for the staff’s imagination.
  • A live shark was found swimming in the bathtub of a hotel room in the Algarve, Portugal. A guest had apparently gone fishing and left the poor shark behind in the bath. Fortunately, the shark was returned to the sea in time to head for the deep.
  • Other forgotten live creatures include dogs, birds, rabbits, kittens, a turtle (the turtle was rescued in time and became the hotel’s mascot) a pet python and a pet tarantula.

One can only admire the staff member who was given the task of removing the last two “pets”.

Items commonly left behind:

Books: More than 20 000 books were left behind at the UK group Travel Lodge, over a third of which were Fifty Shades of Grey. (LOL)

Forgotten teddy bears warrant a special mention. Travelodge UK reported that an amazing 76 500 teddy bears were reunited with their distraught owners in just one year – one can only imagine a long, homeward journey with a child pining for Teddy.

While there’s no shame in reclaiming lacy underwear, single male guests may not be in a hurry to have it returned. Risqué items include blow up dolls, various adult “toys”, handcuffs, nurse’s uniforms, intimate “potions” and such like. One hotelier who chose to remain anonymous said that judging by some of the items left in hotel rooms, partners and spouses of travellers have good reason to be worried.

Wayne Coetzer, general manager at the Oyster Box Hotel said:

“One family left their senile mother and father with us while they went on holiday, when they eventually picked them up they had packed the entire room contents in their bag, including a toilet brush!”

The next time you stay in a guest house or hotel it might be a good idea to make sure you haven’t left anything behind or you may end up on the weird list.

Sunday Tribune

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