Millennials represent one of the most complex and intriguing population of consumers that the world has ever seen. They represent nearly 1/4th of the U.S. population and are more diverse than Gen X or the Baby Boomers, making it the most educational generation in history. Add to this, is their remarkable purchasing power (over $220 billion) and their entrepreneurial spirit (35% of millennials have started their own business). It’s easy to see why they represent such an attractive audience for marketers.

They are born digital; they’re ‘cord cutters’ by default and they’re less reachable via TV advertising. They’re highly mobile, the first generation to sleep with their phones at night and the first to prefer text to email or by phone.

They consume media differently than any other generation. They expect content to be available when and where they want it, across their average of 2.4 connected media devices. They consume media nearly 24 hours per day and they sleep less than any previous generation.

This generation is motivated by 4 key themes:
• Connection – As a generation that has grown up in homes of divorce, or with two working parents, they have a strong need for connection with others.
• Membership – They have a strong need to be ‘in the know’ or part of the crowd, as evidenced by the emergence of such relatively new issues, such as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
• Journeying – While other generations were expected to enter the workforce immediately after school, this was the generation that introduced the ‘skip year’. This generation demonstrates a need for exploration, experimentation and discovery.
• Authenticity – As a generation growing up where everything is a copy of a copy of a copy, stuck in a 40-year trend cycle, millennials crave authenticity in everything they do and they need to see things as they truly are.

This generation lives at the intersection of technology and pop culture. When asked what makes millennials different, the number one answer was technology. The second most popular response was pop culture. This generation consumes entertainment and pop culture content throughout their day, peaking between the hours of 9am-5pm – times when traditional media can’t reach them.