Connect with the Millennials

There are generational names for people born here in the U.S., starting with the Lost Generation (born between 1883 and 1900). Next came the G.I. Generation (born between 1901 and 1924). Then came the Silent Generation (born between 1925 and 1942). The Baby Boomers were next (born between 1943 to the early 1960s). The next generation was called Generation X (born between early 1960s and the early 1980s). Finally came the Millennials (born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s). The next generation is still in the making, but it is referred to as Generation Z.

It’s the members of the Millennial generation that are brought up in a world of modern technology those who have naturally learned to connect with society via their digital devices. They are constantly utilizing them, going from one screen to the next. In a recent study, it was revealed that the average Millennial has access to just over 7 devices. Of those polled, more than half claim that they utilize multiple screens on a daily basis.

Because of this, many of these Millennials have bid adieu to the traditional media, soaking up info, entertainment and videos when they have time on their device of preference, via whichever medium best suits them. For the Millennials, regular television viewing is a thing of the past. In fact, according to marketing reports, over 60% of Millennials shift the various times they spend watching programs, as it is inconvenient to watch it in accordance with the television networks’ regularly scheduled programming. In fact, few of the Millenniums even own televisions.

This Millennial shift from TV watching to digital devices carries with it implications for those marketers who use video as their ad platform. If you as a marketer are targeting the Millennial crowd, then now is the time to start personalizing your digital video. Genius Monkey specializes in this very strategy, employing their advanced technology to target your customers wherever they are across the entire sales funnel.

Because of the shift that has occurred with video watching routines, marketers are now targeting specific audiences, taking advantage of highly sophisticated programmatic technology to determine the target market and measure the results. According to recent polls, 97% of video marketers utilized this advanced targeting technology during the fourth quarter of 2014. That is a year-over-year increase of 38%. In the lead was geotargeting, with behavioral and domain targeting coming in a close second.

A recent study published by Adobe revealed that brand marketers are inclined to believe that the most important capability of the future will be “personalization.” This method of marketing incorporates online behavior (purchase habits), location, timing and demographics to send out individualized content, ads, offers, etc. Personalized creative is relevant to the wants and needs of targeted consumers. Millennials tend to be particularly receptive to this personalized targeting.

Advanced Targeting = Programmatic

A recent study conducted by Yahoo and IDG revealed that 55% of Internet purchasers are more likely to favor personalized ads over the traditional, ambiguous ads. Like anyone else, they are more likely to watch a commercial when it pertains to something they are interested in, or shopping for. Experts speculate that the reason is because these ads are not viewed so much as a nuisance, but as a tool to help consumers by saving them time and even educating them. Because they grew up in a tech savvy world, Millennials have actually grown to expect personalization over the traditional ads, and are very receptive to them. These ads are placed according to the findings of consumer data, such as age, location or past searches. According to a recent Yahoo study, 46% of the Millennials surveyed are more likely to engage with ads with branded content if it is relevant to their wants and needs. Even more pertinent is the fact that Millennials differ in the way that they engage with content and brands than that of previous generations. They react to these personalized, or “programmatic” ads in a far more extensive, personal and emotional way.

Make it Personal with Millennials

Personalization is the ideal strategy for the Millennials. This is because they are more tolerant of it, expecting nothing less than quality ads directed specifically at them. In addition, more than any other generation, they are continually in front of multiple screens. Here are a few ways that brand marketers can tap into the strength of personalization:

• Target Millennials based on geographical location by leveraging mobile user data. Customized ads can be provided based on data such as location, time of day, weather, calendar and even future plans. This provides them with instantaneous info regarding events, retail outlets, restaurants, promotions, etc.
• Visually and emotionally engage Millennials with brands and categories that they most enjoy. This can be content that is personalized towards social media callouts, pop culture references, and characters they are familiar with. There is practically no end to the social media outlets available in which to showcase a marketer’s ads.
• Advertisers should specifically tailor their ad messaging. Find out which publishers are attractive to the Millennial audience, and create singular messaging geared towards those sites. In addition, the behavioral data should be leveraged to retarget any Millennial who has previously visited their website, or who has previously purchased goods or services online. One of the best strategies to get the most out of each advertising budget dollar is to re-engage Millennials who have recently made an initial purchase, and up sell them with offers that are compatible, or of pertinence, to what they purchased.

When you take on Genius Monkey as your technological partner in a digital ad world, you can rest assured that your target audience will be reached, and that the carefully measured and monitored results will prove substantially positive for your ROI and bottom line.