A guide for businesses and brands looking to innovate for Millennials

1. WHAT
MILLENNIALS
WANT
7 CORE OPPORTUNITIES
FOR BRAND INNOVATION

2. WHAT MILLENNIALS WANT
!
We have identified 7 innovation
opportunities based on a
signature set of Millennial needs,
desires and expectations as
defined by robust, peer reviewed
research (not just our opinion).
Born in the 1980s and 1990s,
‘Millennials’ (or Gen Y) are the
generation of ‘digital natives’ who
began to reach adulthood around
the turn of the new Millennium.
Insight into their attitudes, values,
behaviours and lifestyles - as
forged by digital connectivity and
globalised mass media - can offer
brands clear direction on how to
maximise their Millennial appeal.

3. Now Generation. Black Eyed Peas. We are the now 1. generation GIVE IT TO We ME… are the NOW!
generation This is the now generation This is the generation now I want money I want it want it want !
Fast internet Stay connected in a jet Wi-fi, podcast Blasting out an SMS Text me and I text
you back Check me on the iChat I'm all about that Sometimes h t t p You're called a PC the I'm a ‘Now
Mac I want Myspace in your space Facebook is a new place Generation’, Dip divin' socializin' Millennials I'll crave
be out in
cyberspace Google is my professor Wikipedia instant checker gratification1. Checkin my account They Loggin want it
in and
loggin out Baby I want it.. Now! This is the now generation fast and easy, This is and the they generation want it
now are the now generation I want I want I want it now now. I want Their the cold expectations hard cash I have
want I want want it now And I just can't wait I need it immediately been set by And immediate, I just can't wait intuitive
I want it
immediately Cause time can't wait and I sure can't and wait real-I time ain't got digital no patience technology,
I sure can't
wait We are the now generation We are the generation and amplified now This is by the an now uncertain
generation is the generation now I want money I want cold hard cash I'll take your dollar and your euro
world full of uncertain futures.
And you'll have a blast So take your day and your credit And stick it up your ass And do now! I want it now! Big money, give me mo' money With Yeah their I want Millennial it now! I motto
need cash oh need it bad I want it now! Quick in a hurry Like your YOLO*, name this is Flash generation I want it lives now! for
You make
me wait? And I m'a whip your ass I want it now! I want today it now and baby! wants Now! it all, I want now
it Now! want it Now! Now Fast, rapido Really quick like torpedo Need for !
speed is my credo You
need to feed this negrito Sender, buyer, brother boat Millennial Rapid like Opportunity a thunder bolt #1:
Activated
rock the boat Just ask Barack who broght the hope deliver to Now! fast It was and a easy now generation instant
And just can't wait I need it immediately And I Just can't wait I want it immediately Cause if time
gratification
can't wait then I sure can’t wait I ain't got no patience No I just can't wait Not again
Expedite No time for procrastination Expedite Improve my sensation
* You Only Live Once

4. BRAND
ADULTERY
2. CHANGE IT UP
!
Millennials are change-oriented.
Scoring more highly on openness
to change scales2, this generation
looks forwards and not back. Less
loyal to brands, borders and
traditions, the Millennial mindset
is forged by choice and change.
Irreverent and easily bored,
Millennials surf the Zeitgeist of fast
culture, fast fashion and fast
technology seeking out new
sources of excitement, satisfaction
and distraction
Millennial Opportunity #2:
champion the new and embody
ongoing change

5. 3. IT’S ALL ABOUT ME
!
Also known as ‘Generation Me’,
Millennial life is a game of ‘self-enhancement’
3. They want to get
on and get ahead - and feel
entitled to do so. Empowered with
technology and education, and
with ambitious egos boosted by
parental and social investment,
their self-belief and self-confidence
can border on
narcissism4
!
Millennial Opportunity #3:
support Millennials in their quest
for self-enhancement

6. 4. MAKE ME FAMOUS
!
The largest Millennial study yet
conducted found ‘extrinsic values’
such as fame, image and
appearance matter more to this
cohort than to past generations5.
Bathed in reality television,
celebrity culture and social media,
and born of an upbringing
promoting self-expression,
Millennials are a ‘show and tell’
generation that expects attention
and craves recognition
!
Millennial Opportunity #4:
give image-conscious Millennials
bragging rights & a fame-fix

7. 5. TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF
!
Millennials feel pressured to
succeed. Parents and society have
never invested so much on a
generation, and a return on
investment is expected. With
digital and mass media promising
Millennials that anything is
possible, the pressure is on. As a
result, anxiety, stress and
depression are on the rise for this
generation6
!
Millennial Opportunity #5:
help Millennials deal with the
pressure to succeed and the need
to please and achieve

8. 6. CONNECT ME
!
Sometimes called Gen C - the
connected generation - this
cohort craves connectivity with
people and purpose like no
other7. Whilst digital connectivity
connects, it also atomises;
experiences and emotions are
shared online rather than in real
life, screens are touched more
than skin, emotions become
emojis. A single node in a vast
network, point and purpose is
diluted
!
Millennial Opportunity #6:
help Millennials re-connect with
real people and purpose

9. 7. RE-ENCHANT ME
!
Growing up in an accelerated
culture, Millennials experience
things earlier and faster than
previous generations. Unlimited
information and technology have
stripped magic and mystery from
the world, whilst relentless mass
media coverage of disaster,
conflict and corruption has led to
generational disenchantment with
politics, institutions and
corporations8
!
Millennial Opportunity #7:
re-enchant the lives of Millennials
with magic, mystery or hope

10. WHAT MILLENNIALS WANT
1. Give it to me, Now… Fast and
easy instant gratification
2. Change it up… Embody
change, stand for change
3. It’s all about me… Promise self-enhancement
4. Make me famous… Offer me
fame, make me look good
5. Take the pressure off… Deal
with need to please and achieve
6. Connect me… Re-connect with
people and purpose
7. Re-enchant me… Add magic
and mystery

11. WHY MILLENNIALS MATTER
!
Generations, like people, have
personalities. While there are many
differences within generations, not
least across cultures and regions, our
connected world means global cohorts
increasingly share key influences; from
a common life-stage, to global media
stories, to their experience of major
events and trends. The result is a
generational mindset that is more
global than ever before: Millennials -
the first ‘digital natives’ - are at the
cutting edge of this shift.
We believe that by collaborating with
lead Millennial (& Gen Z) thinkers and
influencers, future-focused brands can
identify exciting new opportunities that
are internationally relevant & scalable.

12. REFERENCES
Alsop, Ron. The trophy kids grow up. How the millennial generation is shaking up the workplace, 2008.
Bergman, Shawn M., et al. "Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why."
Personality and Individual Differences 50.5 (2011): 706-711.
Burstein, David D. Fast future: How the millennial generation is shaping our world. Beacon Press, 2013.
Carr, Nicholas. The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. WW Norton & Company, 2011.
Doherty, Jacqueline On the rise: Here come the Millennials, Barron’s magazine, Dow Jones Financial, 2013
Geraci, John C., and Judit Nagy. "Millennials-the new media generation." Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible
Marketers 5.2 (2004): 17-24.
Heath, Ryan. Please Just F* Off: It's Our Turn Now: Holding Baby Boomers to Account. Pluto Press Australia, 2006.
Howe, Neil, and William Strauss. Millennials rising: The next great generation. Random House LLC, 2009.
Lyons, Sean T., Linda Duxbury, and Christopher Higgins. "An empirical assessment of generational differences in basic human
values 1, 2." Psychological reports 101.2 (2007): 339-352. (Refs. 2, 3)
Pew Research Center Millennials: a portrait of generation next: Confident, connected, open to change. Pew Research Center, 2010.
Pew Research Center Millennials in adulthood Detached from Institutions, Networked with Friends 2014
Patota, Nancy, Deborah Schwartz, and Theodore Schwartz. "Leveraging generational differences for productivity gains." Journal of
American Academy of Business 11.2 (2007): 1-10.
Prensky, Marc. "H. sapiens digital: From digital immigrants and digital natives to digital wisdom." Innovate: journal of online
education 5.3 (2009).
Stein, Joel. "Millennials: The me me me generation." TIME! Magazine 20 (2013).
Sweeney, Richard. "Millennial behaviors and demographics." NJ Institute of Technology. (2006): 10. (Ref. 1)
Twenge, Jean M. Generation me: Why today's young Americans are more confident, assertive, entitled--and more miserable than
ever before. Simon and Schuster, 2006. (Refs. 6, 7, 8)
Twenge, Jean M., W. Keith Campbell, and Elise C. Freeman. "Generational differences in young adults' life goals, concern for
others, and civic orientation, 1966–2009." Journal of personality and social psychology 102.5 (2012): 1045 (ref. 5)
Twenge, Jean M., et al. "Egos Inflating Over Time: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory."
Journal of personality 76.4 (2008): 875-902. (Ref. 4)
Yarrow, Kit, and Jayne O'Donnell. Gen buy: How tweens, teens and twenty-somethings are revolutionizing retail. John Wiley and
Sons, 2009.

13. If you're interested in how we can help you understand how
Millennial consumers are changing markets & what this means
for your brands, we'd be delighted to talk further
!
Tom Ellis
tom.ellis@brandgenetics.com
+44 (0) 7815 896 098
!
Andrew Christophers
andrew.christophers@brandgenetics.com
+44 (0) 7967 175 623