What Does Millennial Really Mean? They change constantly, and the names are always created by marketers. Baby boomers, gen X, the silent generation, and millennials were all coined by writers and marketers with the sole intent of making money off these groups. This makes sense, as many of the common associations with millennials are almost universal within the generation: raised in the technology boom, avid social media users, and generally burdened with a lot of debt coupled with slow wage growth (hence the millennial reluctance to move out of their parents’ houses and buy homes). These stereotypes, although true in some senses, often lead down a dangerous road that generalizes and alienates this young audience. As marketers, we have to break this generational mold other marketers have been trying to sell us for years. The real identity of millennials Although the term ‘millennials’ is often used for marketing tactics, there are some facts that can be attributed as truth about the younger generation. As you grow older that view changes and adjusts, often breaking your own personal narcissistic tendencies. Obviously your business—whether big or small—will want to reach out to this large demographic of young and eager shoppers. Break your understanding of generational concepts, and market to people as people.
Adam Conover is a YouTube-personality-turned-TV-celebrity that is known for blowing minds and destroying everything we hold dear and true through humor and facts in his show Adam Ruins Everything.
As a marketer, I loved hearing his insights on old marketing tactics that have shaped many of our strongest cultural concepts. Listerine, for example, was originally a floor cleaner until the company invented the term ‘halitosis’ in the ‘20s and marketed the product as the only cure.
Conover’s insights into our modern culture have always been fascinating, but I was floored when he broke the concept of millennials during his speech at Deep Shift in early 2016. In it, he proclaimed that Millennials Don’t Exist. You mean the generation that I ‘specialize’ in discussing isn’t real? The group that I tout as my own, doesn’t exist?
But he was right: millennials don’t exist, and marketing to them through the special lens of ‘millennial’ could make our attempts at reaching them pointless.
Breaking the ‘generation’ mindset
Generational names are not scientific. As Conover describes in his video, even the Census Bureau doesn’t use generational names on the U.S. Census.
Why? Because the dates and associations are always arbitrary. They change constantly, and the names are always created by marketers. Baby boomers, gen X, the silent generation, and millennials were all coined by writers and marketers with the sole intent of making money off these groups.
The very people we are trying to reach are simply a concept in our head. We do this so we can clump them together and make them easier to understand, with the sole intent of selling them our product in whatever way this new generation might find appealing.
This makes sense, as many of the common associations with millennials are almost universal within the generation: raised in the technology boom, avid social media users, and generally burdened with a lot of debt coupled with slow wage growth (hence the millennial reluctance to move out of their parents’ houses and buy homes).
Yet this can also be really dangerous to use as a basis for a marketing campaign. These stereotypes, although true in some senses, often lead down a dangerous road that generalizes and alienates this young audience. As marketers, we have to break this generational mold other marketers have been trying to sell us for years.
The real identity of millennials
Although the term ‘millennials’ is often used for marketing tactics, there are some facts that can be attributed as truth…
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