What to expect from this paper? Our world is changing rapidly. Technology is developing faster than ever. Information is shared and made available everywhere. Generation Y is the first generation to grow up with Internet and is used to having everything at its fingertips. Therefore marketing will never be the same again. Merely pushing advertising doesn’t work anymore. One-way communication simply doesn’t do the trick anymore. Ignoring your failures will not make them go away. 21 global marketing executives from various industries (see list in appendix) provided us with insights on their definition of Generation Y, the main marketing challenges and some possible solutions to tackle these challenges. This paper is composed in this order: • How different is Generation Y as a target group according to marketing practitioners? • What challenges are marketing, branding and communication managers confronted with when dealing with this Millennial generation? • A 5-step plan to improve your marketing towards Gen Y customers. One remark: don’t expect to find all the solutions. After all, it’s about having the guts to do something you have never done before.
1 How different is Gen Y?
Defining characteristics Before defining the challenges marketers face when connecting with Gen Y, it is important to know how they define this generation. It is clear that coming up with one unilateral definition is a hard task. A lot of verbatim was used but brought us to four key characteristics.
ME = FREE
The free generation The overall trend when marketeers are talking about GenY is that the GenY youth have a high degree of freedom compared to the previous generation. Everything their parents and grandparents fought for finally paid off: youth today is finally free. No pressure to practise a given religion, no worries about being gay: let’s put it all on the table and talk about it. It’s [also] the first generation that didn’t need to rebel against former generations. Society became more liberal and parents more democratic. Mum and dad are pretty cool in a way: they are not an institution to fight against, rather a source of reliable advice. Up to GenY to make this advice their own. Parents treat their children on an equal level, like friends, and the kids today respond with more compusere towards their folks. That doesn’t mean that there are no issues anymore. For example: they really care about the environment and the economic crisis also affects them. They have a strong feeling for justice: it’s not fair that the banks profit from normal citizens and it is not okay that we are all polluting the planet we live on. Fortunately, they have the balls, the skills and the means to address and tackle these issues. And when they have issues with you as a brand, they will tackle those as well. Let’s go more into detail about the implications of these characteristics for the today’s marketeer.
PRAGMATIC
I want it all Looking for the best deal
Kuruma banare
As there is less stress about where to belong or how to behave, youngsters feel more confident. They have a realistic view on the state of the world and what their role in it can be. Therefore, they make choices which best fit their needs at that particular moment. They want everything as fast as possible and have no patience whatsoever. They’re annoyed when they can’t get what they want.
Let’s take transport as an example: the more convenient, the better. Improved infrastructure in the big cities, environment issues, the rising fuel costs and everlasting traffic jams make a car a luxury item rather than a necessity for youngsters. In Japan they use the phrase “kuruma banare” (demotorization), which means that youngsters fall out of love with cars. They prefer public transport, bicycles or even skateboards to go from A to B in big congested cities. It’s not that they don’t like these big cities, they just want to be as efficient as possible. Today’s youth is more interested in the latest gadgets rather than in acquiring an expensive car. City cars, like for example MINI, need to be convenient, smart and easy-to-use.
“They are not a generation that wants to wait; if they feel a need for change they'll immediately want that change. Everybody in this generation feels entitled to freedom, to deciding on their own terms and having a better and bigger life. Life became more rapid and this fast-paced age has changed their attitudes, their world perceptions and their whole life.“ Christophe Fellinger, Employer Branding & Talent Attraction, Beiersdorf
CONNECTED
I want to share it now Sharing is caring Connecting was never easier. There are no restraints which keep them from communicating exactly when, where and how they want it. They have Internet in their blood and are not afraid to use it. GenYers love to talk with each other online. They learn about products, situations, experiences by hearing from others. Not only are they sharing, but they also do it continuously. Being connected at any time has become more and more important: “Three quarters claim to never be offline for more than an hour. They are accustomed to working on numerous devices, gadgets, social networks and apps and thus live in a perpetually virtual world allowing them to maintain a consistent level of engagement.” Anita Caras, Head of Insights Global Agency & Accounts Microsoft
The success of the Tomorrowland after-movie “When the product is good, people start the campaign for you. And of course we have all these deejays from all around the world who have their own blogs or webpages and fans and they are the ambassadors of our event too. And we try to surprise them, like for instance the people flying in from Barcelona, experienced a party flight with deejays and dancers. They will talk about that.” Christophe Van den Brande, Marketing & Creative Manager Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland has been voted the best Dance Music Festival in the world in 2011. Everyone who was ever there agrees: Tomorrowland is quite an experience. That much an experience, that people want to re-live it. The success of the after-movie says it all: in 24 hours the movie already had 2 million unique views. One week later the video already had 10,000,000 unique views. Quite impressive, knowing that there were actually 180,000 people present.
BOLD
I„m sharing it all Heart on the sleeve Having original and conversation-worthy experiences and opinions is key. If it’s not buzz-worthy, it’s not cool. Everything is shared, good and bad news. They have their own voice and they are not afraid of using it. They like to give their feedback to friends & family, but also to brands and companies. Review sites are more popular than ever. And you’d better be listening, because they won’t stop talking: “The challenge with this generation is that your organization should be ready to act rapidly as a response to their feedback. Social media are a good way to have feedback right away, but this generation has a high need of quick reactions to their feedback. If you want to satisfy them, you need to respond with product or campaign changes much faster than before and try to deliver what they are asking you.“ Clelia Morales, Head of Social Media & PR eBay Europe
Belvedere Vodka: not so smooth Past March, Belvedere placed a rather controversial commercial online. Within an hour, Belvedere had to take the ad down. Comments on Twitter and Facebook were furious, even after apologizing with the following tweet: “We apologize to any of our fans who were offended by our recent tweet. We continue to be an advocate of safe and responsible drinking.” Even more complaints came in after this apology, because the company only apologized for offending their fans, not going to the core of the case. Charles Gibb, president of Belvedere, wrote a personal message on Facebook: “My name is Charles Gibb and I am the President of Belvedere Vodka. I would like to personally apologize for the offensive post that recently appeared on our Facebook page. It should never have happened. I am currently investigating the matter to determine how this happened and to be sure it never does again. The content is contrary to our values and we deeply regret this lapse.” The company also made a donation to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, as an expression of their regret.
ECLECTIC
I want it my way Puzzle time
Karl Lagerfeld for Coca-Cola light
Today’s youth isn’t about predefined structures or rigid movements anymore, it’s about creating your own style dimension. Freedom implies freedom of choice: clothes, music, travel, hobbies… Instead of one main point of interest there are several smaller ones which construct their identity. Mixing and matching brands, expensive or non-expensive, hippie, chic or vintage: it makes them feel unique and original.
A special cooperation is the one between Karl Lagerfeld, the famous Chanel designer, and Coca-Cola light. The fashion legend has already signed twice for the design of special edition bottles for one of the most well-known drinks in the world. Not only do Coca-Cola and clothes not have that much in common, the high-end image of Chanel and the image of the mass-produced soft drink are also not an obvious match. It works, however: on all fashion blogs, the cooperation was a hot topic. The bottles were sold exclusively in only a few specific shops per country.
“Millennials break the traditional segmentation and marketing theories. They may buy a very expensive fashionable Louis Vuitton bag because of its badging value, but at the same time they’ll buy very cheap private label crisps simply to go for the cheapest. As consumers they are far less predictable than before. They may buy the gorgeous next Paul Smith dress for €1000 even, and the next day buy a €20 H&M copy of something fashionable, just to use it for a couple of months.” Mark Van Iterson, GlobalHead of Brand Design Heineken
2 Challenges in marketing to Gen Y
These characteristics create challenges
Pragmatic
“If you don‟t do what
you promised me I‟ll get bored, I‟ll go away and talk about Eclectic
my feelings (offline and online).” Bold Connected
But …
“If you do everything you promise me I’ll stay with you and share my thoughts (offline and online).” (until you no longer surprise me…)
The question is
HOW
“You constantly have to be up-to-date about what is actually moving in their heads, what
makes them happy, what makes them worried and what makes them prefer one company over another.” (Jörgen Andersson, SVP and global brand & new business director Esprit)
Challenges for the marketeer
PRAGMATIC
CONNECTED
Deliver value for money
Be where they are
Companies are obligated to deliver value for
If there are no restraints which keep them from
money. This doesn’t necessarily mean monetary
communicating exactly when, where and how they
value. Their personal needs (identification,
want it, there are none for your company either. It’s
experience, trust…) will influence their definition of
not about mass marketing anymore, but about
value for money. It has to be the whole package:
managing all different touch points.
it’s not about adding a nice design or giving a special experience, it’s about having both.
ECLECTIC
ME = FREE
BOLD
Act like a chameleon…
Activate a conversation
…but don‟t become a lizard! Their eclectic nature
Youngsters talk about brands and decide what is
implies that companies nowadays should be flexible
said about them. Cool and interesting information
and able to react quickly to all sorts of new trends. Gen
could be fun to share, irritations and bad
Y has another way of consuming than the previous
experiences are also a conversation starter. Open
generation: harder, better, faster, stronger. Still,
the dialogue, participate (add value) and have a
consistency in time, channel & culture remains
honest conversation.
important.
3 Five steps to Gen Y-proof marketing
RELEVANCE GenYers won‟t take bullshit. They search for products which satisfy their needs the best way possible. Being relevant is key.
CONNECTED
PRAGMATIC
Step 1
Step 2 TOUCH POINTS So many possibilities, so difficult to manage them all. Reaching out to them and communicating with them requires good touch point management.
Step 4 LOYALTY Their constant hunger for new impulses makes it hard to keep them interested. How can you make them loyal?
BOLD
HAVE GUTS ECLECTIC
5-step plan
Step 5
Step 3 ENGAGEMENT You can‟t just expect them to swallow every message. Do you really tap into their minds? How can you really engage them?
1
Step
Make it relevant
1 It all starts with the product
Don‟t forget about the company
Creating the experience
“The first way to be cool and stay hot is to have a nice and differing product. These days you cannot build a brand just by marketing, you need a great product and adapt all the marketing to the core strengths of the product, not the other way around.”
“Corporate CSR became more important because Gen Y is also smarter and will spend and invest their money carefully, in a way that it actually reflects their value system and they will challenge companies to use their money in a conscious and social way.”
Renzo Rosso, Founder Diesel
Hubert Grealish, Global Head of Marketing Communications Diageo
“We used to focus on creating the best product benefits. Today that's not enough anymore, it's all about creating the best product EXPERIENCE. But creating a relevant experience is always related to understanding the world of your consumers and trying to be as close to them as possible.”
If your product isn’t doing what it promises, you may as well close up. Youngsters can find information anywhere and are asking feedback from peers all the time. It is all about price/quality: are you offering something valuable? That will cost a certain price. Finding exclusive promotions and getting even more value than expected is the top of the bill.
Of course, being true to who you are is key. It’s about wearing the company value glasses in everything you do. Storytelling, authenticity and uniqueness could add more than you would expect: they reflect their values and build up your corporate identity.
Mariken Kimmels, Marketing Director Heinz Continental
Stories will be stories, and the product should give your consumers what they’re expecting, nothing more and nothing less. Creating an actual experience around it, online and offline, is something intangible that could elevate your product and brand experience.
Step
1
Be cool
A cool product is innovative and surprising Being the first to do something new will certainly arouse the interest. Of course, your innovation should be clear and add an extra value to the product. After all, the pragmatic GenYer won’t like anything that seems irrelevant or doesn’t add some extra value.
A cool company is smart and reliable
A cool experience is exclusive
Making genuine efforts to be relevant to them is considered to be cool. It is showing them that you have done your homework and are willing to go beyond the obvious. Being cool nowadays means being smart: inventiveness and creativity create buzz.
Youngsters are afraid to be just like the rest. They want to stand out, have their own identity and experience things that are exceptional and exclusive. These moments are most likely to be shared with their closest friends. It is about having a moment they will never forget. ‘Remember that evening we had thanks to brand x?’ Instant coolness.
“It is about relevance, being meaningful and worth sharing. Like tweeting it to your friends. That’s a pretty good sign that it is cool. We’re not kidding ourselves into thinking that people are really going to talk about it: “Oh, I had a great experience when I paid with my debit card at the local pizza place”. What will get people to talk is when you tap into their emotion and add some sort of value, so some of them will say: “Oh, I got this through MasterCard. How cool is that?” Peter Jung, Senior Business Leader MasterCard
Step
1
Be real A real product is transparent and fair Be clear about what you are: what are the ingredients, where have you made your clothes, how environmentally friendly are you? Youngsters appreciate honesty: being clear about your intentions and your goals and living up to them is a huge asset.
A real company is approachable and open
A real experience is engaging (online and offline)
Authenticity is key. What does authenticity mean? First of all: you need to have a story to tell. Second: you should stay true to your brand values. It is all about being human. Social media is a perfect platform to have direct contact with your consumers. Brand ambassadors even more so are giving your brand a human face.
Captain Morgan is a very popular rum brand, named after a real 17th century pirate from Jamaica. This character is used as a real-life entertainer in bars and pubs, offline. People are then able to share their pictures and experiences online.
“It can bring so much fun and personality to those places in ways we’ve just not seen before. And to think that all of that is brought together again with the digital background is so important because it allows people to share their pictures, share their stories and it allows the Captain to say where and when he will be in different places. It creates a whole new type of engagement opportunities for Millennials based not only on branding but actually on personality.” Hubert Grealish, Global Head Brand Communications Diageo
Step
1
Be unique Every company, product, service, commercial… has to be unique in some way. The time of one single USP is over. Having a combination of several USPs is what every company strives for.
A unique product is personal
A unique company has a story to tell
A unique experience is memorable
Personalisation is still key. The clue is to go beyond personalisation: it’s not only about adding or changing something to the layout of a product, but also about being open to cocreation and co-ownership.
A unique company has a story to tell: they talk about heritage, consumer experiences, employees and company culture.
For Gen Y, creativity is also very important. There is so much to choose from that you have to stand out in the crowd. Abercrombie&Fitch are doing a great job in giving their customers the ultimate in-store experience:
“When people enter an A&F shop, they expect high energy, a cool fun environment with shop staff with a great sense of style and appearance. We bring that same consistent shop experience in all countries. We are cool on many levels: songs, music, lyrics, feel, smell, taste, touch, in the shop, how we look. It's important that our staff humanizes our brand and experience of walking in the shop. When you walk in people will talk to you and help you.” Todd Corley, Senior VP, Abercrombie&Fitch
Step
1
Make them happy The product fulfils my needs
The company believes I‟m important
It’s all about managing expectations. Don’t promise what you can’t make happen. Listen to the needs of your consumer and try to adapt your product to these needs.
It’s about truly engaging with your consumers: are you listening? Are you reacting to what they’re saying? Only when you’re showing your honest interest and link actions to this, the consumer will really feel that they make a difference.
The experience met or even exceeded my expectations For this generation, it’s all about fun, happiness, excitement, feeling part of something, feeling empowered. It‟s about living the light life. Let’s again take the example of Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland is a dance festival in Belgium which has captured the hearts of youngsters all around the world in no time. In only four years time the visitor count went from 50,000 to 180,000 this year. Tomorrowland is more than just concerts, it is a total concept:
“We work on exceeding the expectations. We want to create an atmosphere of phantasy, a separate imaginative world, everything must be part of that experience: from high quality food (Michelin starred chefs cooking, fresh vegetables and good meat even at the burger stall...), over comfortable entrances, showers and luxury cabins for overnight stay, some of them with Jacuzzi and sauna and butler. We build an experience comparable to the good feeling after a long holiday with memories to cherish for life, the ability to get in touch with new people, start a relationship. It's more than just people watching a good show and then leaving again, we want to bring them a creative and sexy unique experience.” Christophe Van den Brande, Marketing & Creative Manager Tomorrowland
Step
1
Let them identify! A product I can identify with
A company I can identify with
While globalisation no longer left youngsters clueless about each other and styles are a mixture of several influences, GenYers still want to have their own identity. They want to be proud of the products they are using. Tapping into their personal atmosphere and adding a local touch stays important:
Values are a reflection of a consumer’s identity. Identifying these values and responding to them makes consumers feel connected with the company.
Xerud the fortune teller Despite the liberal mind-set of Taiwan, talking about safe sex is still a sensitive subject. How to adapt to this cultural threshold if your brand is called Durex? In Taiwan, fortune tellers are very common. Durex decided to develop an unbranded fortune-telling automaton that provides love/life predictions. They let her tour in bars and clubs over the country. With their prediction comes a condom and a message. An example: "In a relationship it is vital to just be your free self. Don't worry. With Durex your romantic undertakings are in safe hands... For more predictions go to durexfu.com.tw of look for Xerud on Facebook.“
“For Esprit last Christmas we did the "make your wish" campaign around the world with the Facehunter (famous street style fashion photographed/blogger). Urban people were holding a card with their personal wish in the pictures and some candid movies were shot too. Everything was posted on Facebook and people could add their own wishes and then a jury would select wishes relevant to the Esprit brand and make them come true. So instead of just showing clothes, we were showing the values and expressing that we care about people and the world around us.” Jörgen Andersson, SVP and global brand & new business director, Esprit
An experience I can identify with An experience should have a personal approach and elaborate on a person’s interest. Involving peers in the experience will make it more valuable and memorable. When being connected with each other, youngsters will share interesting content. Add a local experience to your global campaign and you already have the right mix to approach a diverse audience.
To stay relevant for Millennials, marketers should take inclusiveness AND exclusiveness into account.
On a corporate and brand level, they should make sure their brand is including as many Millennials as possible. Gen X marketing was all about creating an exclusive brand. To approach the social Gen Y, brands should be involved in all lifestyles and segments of Millennials. Brands must be innovative, surprising and inspirational for all of them. This is the only way Gen Y will identify with the brand.
On a product level, it is important to be accessible for everyone (inclusive) on the one hand but to create stimulating exclusive novelties, limited editions, higher priced temporary items or innovations on the other. The latter will keep the attention of the fickle stimulation-junkie generation.
In marketing campaigns, activations, events and retail experience, successful Gen Y brands know how to create extraordinary, exceptional experiences. They should feel like exclusive and personalized experiences that Millennials find worth sharing with their friends.
Abercrombie&Fitch Being an inclusive company becomes more and more important. After a racist scandal, where potential employees were discriminated because of their skin colour, hipster shop Abercrombie&Fitch decided to focus on an inclusiveness program, creating a special function which would be occupied following up this program. “We rolled out a programme to make our staff more dexterous, more flexible with different cultural styles or different ways of looking at thing, to help them figure out the common ground and meet someone who is perhaps more passive or less direct, somewhere in the middle. In 2004, when I started this office/new function, A&F had 400 shops, based in the US only, in 2011 we had grown to 1,000 shops, the majority still in the US but also in many other nations. We moved from a 90% white in-store population to a 50% white and 50% non-white population. With that evolution came an increased level of awareness and dealing with not only issues of race but also nationality.” Todd Corley, Senior Vice President & Global Chief Diversity Officer A&F
MasterCard & Exclusive experiences MasterCard, a difficult product for youngsters to really engage with, tries to connect with consumers through exclusive experiences. By surprising their consumers and tapping into their true interests, MasterCard becomes more relevant. “An example of engaging young consumers in conversations: a pilot project in Mexico built around one of the core passions: music. We've invested in mobile apps which actually profile consumers based on their listening behaviour. So, for instance, if you like Coldplay and you live in Mexico, you will receive an invitation to post something or share something and then get an invite for a VIP cocktail reception before the concert. Or you will get access to presales of tickets exclusively for MasterCard holders so that you will be guaranteed to get a ticket before the mass sales start... So exclusive, experiential offers based on your preferences.” Peter Jung, Senior Business Leader MasterCard
2
Step
The touch point mix
Step
2 Point of sale
Media & Advertising
Look at your (web) shop as if it‟s your own home: when you invite people to your home, you want everything to be in order. You want people to have a nice impression of you and you want to make them feel comfortable. Hopefully they will spread the word and will be eager to come back. Don’t forget about social shopping either: it’s an important trend that will emerge more in the future. Offline and online go hand in hand: GenYers have the tendency to ask feedback from a friend when shopping offline or online. The faster, the better!
What about good old-fashioned above-the-line campaigns? Of course they’re not dead. You just need to know that you won’t make it with a single TV advert. Actually, campaigns are great to create global awareness. But it not enough to just leave it at that. Integration with social media is a must. The campaign should trigger some kind of interaction with your consumer.
"One of the new services we are testing now with eBay is all about this instant gratification. It is called "help me find". For instance, if you see a bag you like, you can immediately take a picture, tag your friends and ask them to help you find out which brand it is and where you can buy it. It is this type of instant services allowing you to connect with your friends that are endorsing the social shopping trend among Gen Y“ Clelia Morales, Head of Social Media & PR eBay EU
“Gen Y understands very well what marketing and advertising is about and that marketing people paid big sums of money to put their logo on TV. If the content is not entertaining or relevant it's useless. Of course TV commercials are still important but it's all the digital marketing around it, the extra content like in films or behind the scenes, the challenges and little games make the commercial more talkeable and interesting. So it's all about understanding the context of a touch point.” Mark Van Iterson, Head of Global Brand Design Heineken
Step
2 Website
Social media
Mobile integration
A website is more than just an information stall about your product. It is what you are: you can share your past, your present and your future and get feedback from your consumers. You can engage and connect on a deeper level than for instance on your Facebook page (which is obviously linked to your website and vice versa). Contests, games or advertising often refer to the website. Make sure you keep your new visitors connected by making them more curious: hide a riddle, reveal a secret or show exclusive footage! Don’t make it overcomplicated though: your website should be a portal where everything your consumer needs to know is presented in an intuitive and engaging way.
Of course, social media are a must. Facebook for example should be integrated in all communication actions. Don’t think of it as a one-way communication platform though: the most valuable feature of Facebook is the fact that it enables interaction and inspiration (by brands, celebrities and friends). Not only with the brand, but also with their peers. It is a great platform to try new things and to innovate. Playing with trending topics, asking them about the latest news and using humour are successful ways to connect with your Gen Y audience.
Use mobile efforts to connect with your consumers and connect them with each other. Don’t create just another app: make it relevant.
“Mobile and web is not a differentiating factor, it is just something you have to have.” Christoph Fellinger, Talent Relationship Manager Beiersdorf
“Brands have to be more social today and that doesn't just mean adding a Facebook tab and Twitter account. It's about investing in community management and establish a strong social voice. It means that you have to respond and syndicate conversations about your brand and payments and create real twoway dialogues. It takes serious commitment and engagement to get people to talk about your brand or service - you should ask yourself: why should they care, why should they share?” Peter Jung, Senior Business Leader MasterCard
• Take location-based marketing to the next level: it’s not about knowing where your customer is, but about customizing your communication in the right context. If you know your customer is working out at the gym, you might as well communicate about your energy drink. • When are your customers the most active? Maybe during lunch? Maybe just before or after school? Link certain actions to these timings! • It’s not about culture, but about services: where are the good restaurants, where are the other people around here who have the same product as I have? How can I connect with them as quickly as possible? • Don’t make a rip-off of your website, but do something unique. An app is a perfect platform for branded utility.
Step
2 Event Being relevant is defined on three levels: product level, company level and experience level. Events are the way to go when you want to create the ultimate customer experience. Not only can you connect with your consumers, but consumers can also connect with each other. This results in WOM, sharing stories online and long-lasting memories. “When it comes to touch points, although we have the right product in the right shops and successful social media networks, we believe connecting with consumers in real life, physically, is still very important. So skateboarding events like Coastal Carnage at Huntington beach are important because we bring 10,000s of people together to interact socially with each other and it's an exceptional experience that they will discuss with their friends both on- and offline. (see also 100 club events in London)” Geoff Cottrill, CMO Converse
Managing touch points nowadays means having a well-balanced mix of online and offline channels. Take a good look and bear in mind the tips and tricks of the previous chapter when choosing the appropriate way to communicate with Generation Y. “The true CEO of the company is the consumer. And it is all about his/her emotions, what he/she feels when coming into a shop: it's not just the clothes or colours: it's also about feeling inspired. So with every touch point of the brand, you have to feel something. If you're passionate about something, you become engaged.” Jörgen Andersson, SVP and Global Brand & New Business Director Esprit
3
Step
The engagement toolbox
Step
3
Step
3
Top users You probably have some true brand lovers. Those consumers are crazy about your product, love to talk about it and share their experiences with others. So why not connect with your top users and engage them to engage others? "It's not only about selling stuff to them, it's about getting into a relevant conversation with them related to their interests in daily life and get involved. For instance: eBay's spring&summer fashion campaign in the UK ( #mymix). We had a meeting with the 20 most influential fashion bloggers and through a Twitter party everyone could connect, ask questions and make live comments. Three bloggers created their own style with eBay items -and became a model of their own look! It's an example of how we engage with our clients through different channels.“ Clelia Morales, Head of Social Media & PR eBay EU
Step
3 The engagement toolbox Ok, so now you have used your relevance checklist, you checked the touch point mix and you involved your top users. How can you now engage with consumers? Look in the toolbox and choose an engagement technique.
Co-creation
Collaboration
Consumers are no longer waiting for an invitation to co-create brands. They are building their own brands with other consumers, involving your brand whether invited or not, and expecting their influence to be rewarded. So it is not a question of incorporating co-creation or not, it is a question of how far you want to go.
Co-creation is evolving more towards collaboration. The pragmatic, eclectic and bold GenYer wants to have a say in the products he uses. How should you facilitate this? Create a platform where they can share their thoughts and ideas. Act upon these thoughts and involve them in the early stages of the creation process.
“Many companies are still afraid of what I would call the real co-creation. Not just using co-creation as a one-off shot for marketing purposes but really involving consumers in an early stage of developing new products, concepts and ideas. At Heinz, we are now experimenting with the Talking Labels: people can order their own label with a personalized text but the next phase should be collaborating with them in an earlier phase.”
“I do think brands are co-owned. Companies need to learn to let control of the brand by consumers. Before it was more centralized and more, small groups making decisions on how the brand acted, and what type of campaigns you portray, activate and what type of platforms you use. I think now we are shifting towards more co-ownership of the brand.”
Mariken Kimmels, Marketing Director Heinz Continental
Francisco Bethencourt, Director Strategy & Marketing PepsiCo
Step
3 Surprises
Stories
Surprising your consumers is the best way to give them a shake and make sure they stay focused. A surprise can be anything: send them a birthday card, post a video that nobody has ever seen before, show up unexpectedly at an event… As long as it is relevant (see previous chapter) and you don’t stalk them, they’ll love it:
Do not underestimate the power of stories. Tell a story about yourself, let your consumers share stories about their personal life, or even better: combine both. People want something to talk about. What kind of stories? Cool, real, unique, personal and emotional stories!
“When the product is good, people want to be part of it, share movies and pictures on YouTube and Facebook and start the campaign for you. And we have of course numerous deejays from all around the world who have their own blogs or webpages and fans and they are the ambassadors of our event too. And we try to surprise them, like for instance the people flying in from Barcelona, experienced a party flight with deejays and dancers. They will talk about that.” Christophe Van den Brande, Marketing & Creative Manager Tommorowland
“Red Bull is a good example of a brand which represents 'experience life to the full', with adrenaline kicks. Maybe the biggest fear of Gen Y is to lead a dull and boring life. So Red Bull does all this exciting interesting stuff with adrenaline kicks, stuff worth uploading and sharing on FB or through Twitter.” Mark Vaniterson, Global Head of l Brand Design Heineken
Step
3 Games Games are engaging, no question about that. The problem is: everyone is doing it already. So how can you stay relevant and stand out in the crowd? First of all: link it to your product and try to make it cool, real, unique and relevant. Second: don’t make it too difficult so your consumers can still feel good about themselves. Most of the time they are playing for attention and achievement. And last: don’t forget to leverage on the social potential: your target group probably has a wide social network. Try to engage your gamers to activate that network as well! “Achieving something and feeling happy (in a social context) is utterly important to Gen Y. Gamification can fit into this aspiration to achieve and self-improve but in the same time you gain feedback and comments of your social circle.” Anita Caras, Head of Insights Microsoft
“To develop the new cap of the Heinz bottle we used some gamification elements. For instance the first 57 visitors of a new website to develop a new cap were invited to share their ideas. (57 refers to the 57 varieties of Heinz also mentioned on the bottle). They could create their own content and share it with their friends. It really worked and we found out that mire young people participated because of these gamification elements.” Mariken Kimmels, Marketing Director Heinz Continental
4
Step
Enhance Loyalty: be FAIR
Step
4 Want fame? Be FAIR!
Be fast
How to keep them involved, for more than just 15 minutes of fame? Great that you managed to create a good campaign which receives a lot of positive reactions. But it doesn’t end there. A frequent mistake is to take a break whenever something goes well. Wrong: you have to keep your young consumers involved. If not, you just had your fifteen minutes of fame, but you want to be legend, or not? Follow the FAIR model:
Let’s get Famous – have a continuous conversation with your Gen Y consumers Famous is the first advertising agency which truly connects with consumers, in order to make their campaigns more relevant. For consumers and for their clients. Via an on-going online research community, Famous has a constant connection with consumers. Not only campaigns, but also trends, brand positioning and strategy are discussed. Famous is always in touch with consumers and can ask questions at any moment of the day. The faster you react towards your consumers, the more likely you are to have a bond with them. It’s all about conversations: the more fluent you communicate with each other, the better you will understand each other. Fast action shows them that you actually listen and care. And it’s not only about literally acting fast on Facebook or Twitter, it’s also about monitoring their behaviour and keeping on learning more about them. Go out and talk! As their world is so rapidly changing, an on-going approach is the most successful way for keeping up: “Research now is done online, both qualitative and quantitative. Companies that are more forward-thinking and are starting to embrace those ideas, will understand much better what is up and coming in the new generation, engaging with them on an on-going basis.” Francisco Bethencourt, Director Strategy and Marketing PepsiCo
Step
4 Innovate (or let them innovate)
Reward them for their loyalty
Standing still is going backwards. By innovation you are showing interest, creativity and proactivity. Always question your product with the end-user in mind. And very important: involve your users in the innovation process. They will feel heard, appreciated and will stay loyal to the brand they helped building.
The pragmatic GenYer won’t do anything for free. Showing them your appreciation for the fact that they choose you is key. Compare it with a relationship: you also like appreciation for the fact that you’re committed, no? Some nice words, a little surprise, a gift… It makes you feel appreciated and motivates you to go on! Going beyond the obvious could even make your consumers happier: a random act of kindness is an instant satisfier.
“Apple's communication is very much about innovations, improvements and simplicity, but always clearly linked to daily life. Their strength is that they don't bother too much about dominating technologies but are able to imagine what the future will bring.” Mark Van Iterson, Global Brand Designer Heineken
“Who creates the content? Historically this was done by the agencies. Companies engage with agencies to create a new marketing campaign based on a big idea. That content was pretty much created internally, within the four walls of the company. Together with the agency, but in that internal environment. I do think we are seeing more and more examples and we will see more successful companies and brands engage in that two-way dialogue and create content together with their consumers.” Francisco Bethencourt, Director Strategy and Marketing PepsiCo
“Durex sponsors Valtifest, a festival in Amsterdam. The theme of one of the previous editions was religion. A sign dropped from the sky upon the festival visitors when Durex dropped 3,000 condoms on the festival terrain. A random act of kindness.” Ilse Westerik, Senior Brand Manager Personal Care Reckitt Benckiser
FAIR= FAst, Innovative, Rewarding
5
Step
Have guts
Step
5
Go out there and create a daring but relevant appeal “Keeping the Heineken brand cool and stay hot… in the end it’s a couple of people who had the imagination and the guts and thought “okay, let’s do it”. Because this is typically how cool stuff happens, not by endless business meetings and calculations on return of investments. That will come later, you know. If you’re cool, people will buy it. I think that in the end it’s about having guts. It’s daring to do stuff that’s never been done before. This Milan club is a brilliant example of it. We didn’t know at all what this was going to bring, my boss and his boss thought: Okay, wow, this sounds like a great adventure, it’s probably going to cost quite a lot of money… we cannot calculate the return of investment up-front but somehow it fits the brand, it’s a territory in which we must start experimenting.” Mark Vaniterson, Global Head of Design Heineken
5-step plan Key take-aways
1 Being relevant goes beyond the product: it‟s about the
combination of product, company and experience creation. Use the relevance checklist and make sure you have what it takes.
2 The shop in your favourite city is linked to Facebook, where you can find the latest collection you can buy online and share with your friends and wear afterwards on the event the brand organizes:
integration is everything.
3 One of the biggest fears of a GenYer is to lead a boring life. Bring in your toolbox to keep it exciting and use your top consumers to spread the word.
4 Keep your consumers involved by acting fast in everything you do and show your appreciation for their loyalty by doing
random acts of kindness.
5 Have guts! Go out there and create a daring but relevant appeal.
Joeri Van den Bergh
Anneleen Boullart
Gen Y expert & speaker Author of ‘How Cool Brands Stay Hot – Branding to Generation Y’ Co-founder InSites Consulting
Research Consultant
Hear the key take-aways first hand from author Joeri Van den Bergh in a workshop or presentation More information on www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com/speech
+32 496 232 919
+32 472747659
joeri@insites-consulting.com
anneleen@insites-consulting.com
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Special thanks to the interviewees for sharing their knowledge
Heineken
Mark Van Iterson
Global Brand Designer
Durex
Ilse Westerik
Senior Brand Manager Personal Care & Sexual Wellbeing
Esprit
Jorgen Andersson
Global Brand Manager
Eastpak
Jean-Jacques Maartense
Ex-Marketing Director
KFC
Michaël Werner
Chief Marketing Officer
Nivea (Beiersdorf)
Christophe Fellinger
Employer Branding Responsible
ex-Mexx/Crumpler PepsiCo
Christophe Krick Francisco Bethencourt
Head of Marketing Director Strategy & Marketing
MasterCard
Peter Jung
Senior Business Leader
Abercrombie&Fitch
Todd Corley
Senior Vice President & Global Chief Diversity Officer
ID&T
Christophe Van den Brande
Marketing & Creative Manager Tomorrowland
BBC
Ishita Roy
Marketing Head, BBC Worldwide Channels, South Asia
LUTA Diageo
Luke Dowdney Hubert Grealish
Founder & Director at Fight for Peace / LUTA Limited Global Head of Brand Communication
Heinz UCB eBay
Mariken Kimmels Samantha Clarke Clelia Morales
Marketing Director Heinz Continental Europe Associate Director Global Marketing Excellence Head of EU Social Media and ROE PR at eBay Europe
Microsoft
Anita Caras
Head of Insights - Global Agency & Accounts at Microsoft
Diesel
Renzo Rosso
Founder of Diesel
Converse
Geoff Cottrill
Chief Marketing Officer
Mini
Wim Verbeurgt
Marketing Manager MINI Belux
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