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Last year’s
media coverage
of the Gulf
Coast hurricanes
helped re-define
the domestic
political agenda
leading into
this year’s
mid-term
elections.
But it wasn’t
just storm
coverage.
Political damage
control was in
full effect,
with elected
officials from
all sides of the
political
spectrum
flocking to
cable news
channels to
assuage public
fears, tamp down
public outrage
and cover their
backsides.
Most of these
politicians
probably didn’t
even realize
their message
likely missed an
entire
generation of
Americans. Why?
Because there’s
a new generation
of Americans
that is
depending on
television and
other
“traditional”
media less and
less and going
one place more
and more for
news and
information --
the Internet.
They’re called
the Millennial
generation, or
Millennials, for
short. Aged
9-28, they are
the largest
generation in
American
history. There
are one million
more Millennials
than Baby
Boomers, and
nearly twice as
many Millennials
as Gen Xers.
While their
influence is
just beginning
to be felt
throughout our
culture,
Millennials are
on their way to
becoming the
deciding factor
in all things
related to
business, media
and politics
within a few
short years.
Many of the
world’s leading
media and
consumer
companies are
now beginning to
recognize the
influence this
generation will
yield. Guided by
ongoing research
conducted by the
Millennial
Strategy Program
at Frank N.
Magid
Associates,
private
enterprise is
planning for the
future. The
political world
would do well to
stand up and
take note as
well. To do so,
most politicians
will have to
learn new
skills,
communicate in
new ways on new
platforms, and
understand that
they’re moving
away from the
30-second
television spot
and toward
searchable,
sharable content
most likely
delivered and
viewed over
broadband
Internet and
watched whenever
it’s
convenient.
Millennials are
growing up with
great and highly
personal
expectations.
Cable channels
just for them,
phones with
their own ring
tones, and
t-shirts with
their own
personal
messages are
just a hint of
how Millennials
see the world as
theirs to shape
and mold. As
many as eight in
10 Millennials
have access to
the Internet at
home, work or
school. And they
use it. Most
have access to
the Web in
several
different
locations. This
everywhere/anytime
access is
leading to the
increased
adoption of the
device that will
champion the
change from TV
to the Internet
-- the laptop
computer. A
majority of
adult
Millennials owns
a laptop, which,
in today’s
increasingly
wireless
environment,
allows them to
connect to the
Internet
virtually
anywhere and
anytime.
This has
turbocharged the
Millennial’s
transition to
Internetbased
information
acquisition.
In fact, for the
youngest current
voting block in
the Millennial
generation, 18
to 28 year-olds,
the Internet is
their first
media choice,
twice as popular
as television.
When Magid asked
Millennials how
frequently they
use specific
news sources,
they placed Web
portals like
Yahoo! at the
top of the list
instead of NBC
or ABC. Nearly
half of adult
Millennials
access a Web
portal for news
everyday, and
two-thirds use
one at least
once a week. To
think that this
is just a fad
would be a gross
miscalculation.The
greatest number
of Millennials
says they expect
to use the
Internet for
news even more
in the future
than they do
now. Millennials’
use of
television for
news is expected
to stay flat, at
best.
Equally as
important as
reaching
Millennials
where they are
is communicating
in a way that
resonates with
them. A critical
element in
determining
what’s relevant
and important to
Millennials is
to understand
the environment
in which they’ve
been raised.
The Millennial
Generation is
the most diverse
generation ever,
with four in 10
claiming an
ethnicity other
that white or
Caucasian. Given
the cultural and
athletic
opportunities
provided to both
males and
females in this
generation,
Magid’s
Millennial
Strategy
research
suggests that
the gender gap
is less of a
factor for
Millennials than
for older
generations. In
addition to
their diversity,
the Millennials
are also a
generation with
a highly
developed view
of community and
sense of service
that makes last
year’s boomer-
driven Katrina
fiasco even more
potentially
powerful in
waking and
making this
generational
giant.
Indeed, last
year’s hurricane
season, as
influential as
it was in
helping shape
the domestic
political
agenda, will
look like a blip
compared to the
influence this
generation will
exert in shaping
both American
politics and
American culture
for decades to
come.
Effectively
communicating
with this
generation is an
imperative, in
both Corporate
America and
American
politics.
It means getting
into the
Millennial’s
communications
value chain by
engaging them
where they are
always “on” --
the Internet.
But getting
their attention
is only half the
battle. Once
you’ve done
that, your
message has to
resonate, and to
resonate you
have to be
relevant to
their unique way
of thinking.
If you’re not
relevant, you’re
old news.
RF
Michael Hais
recently retired
as Vice
President of
Entertainment
Research at
Frank N. Magid
Associates. Jack
MacKenzie
created the
Millennial
Strategy Program
at Frank N.
Magid Associates
and is a Senior
Vice President
at the firm. |
