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.