Retailers Go Shopping For Millennials
Tim Larson, vice president of marketing for Jostens, a leading marketer of recognition products such as class rings and yearbooks, says today’s high school kids, AKA millennials,
are different than previous generations.
“This generation really values stepping back, taking a moment, enjoying life,” Larson told the Star Tribune.
Today’s kids have lived through wars, terrorist attacks and seen a once-booming economy fall into a recession, according to the paper.
Marketing strategist Mary Van Note of Red Consulting said, “Millennials are very comfortable with teams and groups, and they want to maintain that. Back in the Generation X days,
people probably didn’t even want to have a class ring, because they didn’t want to associate with the class. The Gen Xers were a little more cynical and less idealistic.”
The idealism of millennials is matched by their spending power. “The average millennial has over $85 a week in disposable income,” said Ms. Van Note. “They are highly marketing-savvy
and influence a lot of family expenditures.”
Moderator’s Comment: What are your thoughts on the size of the millennial marketing opportunity? What marketing and merchandising strategies/tactics
would you use to attract this consumer segment?
The Star Tribune article says that this group of kids respects and wants their parents’ opinions.
As adult males, our personal experience tells us that this may very well be true. We’re sure there are many psycho-social reasons behind this but there
may be one that is overlooked.
Teens are more respectful of adult males today because they take them more seriously.
Why do they take us more seriously? We believe it is because we do not wear leisure suits with white shoes and matching belts. [George
Anderson – Moderator]