Millennials2020Part One: Understanding Millennials Nov 3rd, 2016

Part Two: Effective Communication with Millennials Nov 10th, 2016

@TomLaForge

Tom LaForgeMACROFORCES, INC.

Tom LaForge

Recently Coca-Cola’s Global Director of Human & Cultural Insights

VP at Cheskin Consulting (now WPP)

Serves on National Academy of Sciences Roundtable for Social &

Behavioral Sciences

Advisor to the Masters of Market Research Program at UGA

Keynote Speaker at 50+ conferences and companies on five

continents

Twitter @TomLaForge

MACROFORCES, INC.

Presentation Outline

Why Millennials

Cultural research

approach

Four environments

that shaped them

Key things to know

about them

Generational Cohorts Millennials: ages 19-35 1981 - 1997

Gen X: 36-51 1965 - 1980

Boomers: 52-70 1946 - 1964

Silent Generation: 71+ before 1946

Millennials in Workforce

Largest workforce cohort at 36%

50% by 2020

3M Boomers retire every year

More Millennials finishing college

every year

Urban is more normal

Non-white is more normal

Unmarried is more normal

Educated women more normal

Urban is more normal

Non-white is more normal

Unmarried is more normal

Educated women more normal

Urban is more normal

Non-white is more normal

Unmarried is more normal

Educated women more normal

Urban is more normal

Non-white is more normal

Unmarried is more normal

Educated women more normal

12

“Anything that’s in the world when

you’re born is normal and ordinary

and is just a natural part of the way

the world works.”

“Anything that’s invented between

when you’re 15 and 35 is new and

exciting and revolutionary and you

can probably get a career in it.”

Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

We Are a Product of Our Environment

Particularly the environment in

which we come of age

Identity, role in life: who am I?

What can I be?

Understanding the larger world

Our environments are changing

so fast cohort differences are

greater than ever.

plants, animals,

geography, air, water

roads, cities, vehicles,

technology, homes, public

spaces

wealth production, distribution,

businesses, government

friends, family, in-groups

and out-groups, conflict

Natural

Built

Economic

Social

1

2

3

4

Global Warming, Animal Rights,

Industrialize Food System

Electronics Revolution,

Urbanization, Clean Energy

Wealthiest Generation Ever,

Rich/Poor Divide

Connected to People Everywhere,

Terrorism, Gay Rights

Millennial Highlights

Natural

Built

Economic

Social

1

2

3

4

Natural EnvironmentEvents & Conversations that Shaped Millennials

15

1

16

59% of Millennials are involved in causes

#1 Cause: animal welfare, shelters, or animal protection (32%)

They see ordinary people taking individual & collective action as how

things will change – not government or business

12% are vegan (vs. 4% for Gen X, 1% for Boomers)

Key formative events Undercover videos by PETA and others

Slaughterhouses and science experiments on monkeys

Animal testing for cosmetics

Using live animals in crash tests

Dolphin safe tuna

Wild horse kills until banned in 2007

Marine animals & birds killed by plastic

17 Species Extinctions: seals, tigers, rhinos, bears, birds, toads, dolphins

Elephants and orcas in captivity

Forever 21 promises to stop selling fur

Millennials & Animals

17

Formative Events & Themes Rainforest Destruction

Ozone Depletion

Global Warming

Pollution (Great Pacific Garbage Patch)

GMOs in food and on labels

1989 Exxon Valdez

1990 Captain Planet & the Planeteers

1990 Clean Air Act

1991 Kuwaiti oil field fires

1991 Bush Rejects Kyoto protocols

2000 Earth Day

2005 Teens Turning Green founded

2006 Inconvenient Truth

2010 BP Oil Spill

Millennials & Planet

23

Millennials & Food 43% do not trust food companies

18% for older adults

Reshaping the food industry

Organic

“Plant Based”

“Clean label”

“Certified GMO-Free”

#1 food to avoid – sugar

Care how foods are sourced, produced

Humanely raised animals, no antibiotics

Fast food industry is faltering

24

They Still Smoke & Drink

25

2 Built EnvironmentManmade Stuff in the Millennial World

26

Built EnvironmentManmade Stuff in the Millennial World

Raised in SUVs and Minivans

SUV sales doubled from 1990 to 1998, with

more than three million sold in 1998 alone

Overscheduled kids

• Millennial countertrend: Free Range Kids

Soccer moms

Drive-thru QSR sales skyrocket

Gas station food growing

28

Expect to have an interactive experience

Shorter attention span

More boys than girls went into tech

Internet of (non-play) things will be embraced

Nostalgia for simple thingsLip Smacker, Scrunchies, Butterfly Hair Clips, Slap Bracelets, Rave Kandi Bracelets, Fanny Packs, Chocker

Necklaces, Pogs, Ring Pops, Jansport Backpacks, Gelly Roll Pens, Beanie Babies, Polly Pocket, Super

Soakers, Koosh Balls, Pokemon

29

Electronification Effect

Visually Sophisticated

30

Millennials grew up in a world where design was

increasingly used to differentiate consumer goods &

consumer spaces

They trust their piers

“Likes” are social capital and photos are top share

Your best advertising is the photos attendees share

Design events for one purpose: to be photographed

“From airport

terminals decorated

like Starbucks to the

popularity of hair dye

among teenage boys,

one thing is clear: we

have entered the Age

of Aesthetics.”

Less Cable, More Streaming

Turn on the TV seven days a week 52% Millennials

83% Boomers

Have Cable TV 77% Millennials (dropping to 50% by 2025)

89% Boomers

Use streaming services like Netflix & Hulu 61% Millennials

39% Boomers

32

Economic EnvironmentMoney & Work

3

Wealthiest Generation Ever

$8,000 $13,000

$24,000

$36,000

$53,000

$-

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

Silent Gen(1930)

Boomers(1950)

Gen X(1970)

Millennials(1990)

Today

Income per Person when 20-35 Years Old (2009 dollars)

GDP Growth Rates - Working Years

Gre

ates

t G

ener

atio

nSi

len

t G

ener

atio

nB

oo

mer

Gen

erat

ion

Gen

X G

ener

atio

nM

illen

nia

l Gen

erat

ion

Millennials are on track to be the least entrepreneurial generation in recent history John Lettieri, Economic Innovation Group testifying before US Senate

The share of people under 30 who own a business has fallen by 65% since the 1980s Wall Street Journal analysis of Federal Reserve data

35

Millennial entrepreneurs have launched about twice as many businesses as Boomers. Fortune Magazine 2016

They’re…starting more companies, managing bigger staffs, and targeting higher profits than their baby boomer predecessors. 2016 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report

Entrepreneur Myth

Most Struggle

While conference attendees are likely to be better off…

More than half of all Millennials would not be able to pay an unexpected bill of $400

61% of those making minimum wage

are Millennials

20% of Millennials live in poverty, up

from 14% (of 18-35yr olds) in 1980

13% unemployment vs. 5% overall

65% have debt, usually student loans

with an average balance $40,000

Young people making less than $25k

per year at highest point in 25 years

Rich-Poor Hurts Millennials Hardest

Their Outlook Is Bleak

Only 19% identify as “capitalist”

Only 42% say they “support capitalism”

Don’t Call Them Capitalists

Millennial Only Election

PHOTO CFREDIT: NICK UT

Economic EnvironmentSummary & Implications

There is a lot of variance in how well Millennials are doing

economically

Millennials attending conferences are employed and better

off than most of their peers

They struggle with money

Their outlook for their own future is brighter than their

outlook for the country as a whole

42

4 Social EnvironmentHow Other People Influence Millennials

Social Environmentin every way

55% say a parent is their best friend

95% are on Facebook averaging more than half an

hour a day

Instagram, LinkedIn & Twitter all surpass 50%

Millennial moms account for almost 90% of the 1.5

million new mothers last year

Dining out with friends is favorite leisure time

activity

At work, 88% prefer a collaborative culture rather

than a competitive one

Buying fewer Cars

Houses

Household items

Red meat & soda

“Dematerialized” items

Buying more Experiences

Electronics

High quality and fresh food

Customized or crafted items

More Social, Less Stuff

The poor want more But cant afford it

Unequal societies are not good

for business

Economists are considering revising GDP in order to include:

Job quality

Wellbeing

Health

Environment

Fairness

Values

vs.

Means

“We’ve probably hit peak stuff. We talk about peak oil. I’d say

we’ve hit peak red meat, peak sugar, peak automobiles, peak

home furnishings.”

~ Steve Howard, IKEA 2016

Exposed to Adult World Early 1991 Rodney King 1995 Oklahoma City bombing 1997 Princess Di 1999 Columbine, Kosovo 2000 9/11 2001 Anthrax Scare 2002 Dept. Homeland Security 2003 Darfur 2004 Tsunami, Rwandan genocide 2005 Katrina 2007 Virginia Tech shooting 2011 Arab Spring, Occupy

Porn Violent, misogynistic videogames Cyberstalking & cyberbullying Malware & ransomware Government surveillance Hackers & identity theft

Racial diversity

Other Social Macroforces

IBM CEO

Ginni Rometty

GM CEO

Mary T. Barra

More women in positions of power

More people 40 or older

Nerds are now celebrated, cool, respected

A Product of Their Environment

More Normal Values

More open-minded

More “other oriented”

Social business models, sustainability, CSR

Collaboration over competition, shareholder value isn’t everything

More time with friends & family vs. work

Big is not trusted, government, business, & religious organizations

Macroforces changes in our shared environment

Rich/Poor Divide

Education

Environmentalists

Connected World

Women in Power

Racially Diverse

Nerds Are Cool

Elders All Around

ThankYou Questions?Part One: Understanding Millennials Nov 3rd, 2016

Part Two: Effective Communication with Millennials Nov 10th, 2016

@TomLaForge

Tom LaForgeMACROFORCES, INC.