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Indianapolis Chapter of the American Marketing Association

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Event Recap: “It's Time for a Marketing Reboot"

By: Rachel Saltsgaver

There are currently 80 million millennials in the U.S alone. If that number isn’t staggering enough, Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers by 2020. The rise of these two dynamic generations are driving change, and marketers are scrambling as a result.

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AMA Indy’s October luncheon speaker, Dennis Devlin, CEO of Consumer Clarity, spoke to the group about the requirements—and demands—from both of these generations and their impact on the marketing world. Here are just a few of the valuable insights Dennis shared:

Underlying Values and Mindset

While Millennials and Gen Z are very close in age, they each have very distinguished values and mindsets.

Millennials:

  • High morals

  • Extremely spiritual

  • Highly tolerant

  • Believe they have a civic duty

  • Strong sense of empowerment

  • Seek work/life balance

Gen Z:

  • Value creativity and individuality

  • Cares about social justice and equality

  • Optimistic & self-assured

  • Adventurous

  • Seek flexibility

  • Traditional values

Dennis noted that “even within the scope of a generation, there are those who don’t fit within that generalization.” As marketers, it’s important to keep this mind to effectively market to segments and not generations as a whole.

Comparing the Generations

From attitudes to personal preferences, Millennials and Gen Z share a lot of commonalities. Generally speaking, both generations are passionate about their health, motivated by meaning, and drawn to unique experiences. Similarly, they are both likely to embrace new technology, expect frictionless experiences, and communicate using technology.

These qualities deeply impact what they want and what they expect from the brands they interact with. For instance, they strongly desire to be part of a three-way conversation and resonate with personalized marketing efforts. Brands that successfully give themselves and identity or feature cause-marketing are more likely to make a connection with consumers in both of these generations. Dennis also shared how these preferences translate to social media marketing and messaging.

Engagement Suggestions

So, how as marketers, do we take create messaging and experiences that attract, engage, and retain millennials and Gen Z? Start with these three strategies:

Millennials:

  • Create frictionless experiences

  • Personalize offers and recommendations

  • Offer free and new content

Gen Z:

  • Be innovated and reach out creatively 

  • Offer marketing at the right time and right place 

  • Be approachable and real

Alli Donovan