Creating Real Connections with
the Millennial Audience through
the Click of a Button

WHILE MOST COMPANIES TODAY have a cadre of digital assets and platforms engaging their consumers at multiple touch-points across the consumer engagement lifecycle, the primary question that is often left unanswered is, “How to drive brand love and connection with this Millennial audience?”

Our recent research has shown that while digital assets and functionality is key, it cannot stop there. What has in fact become more important with the Millennial generation is how your brand connects with their mindset and values.

Geppetto’s recent study, Answering the Millennial Call (or Click): Digital Engagement as seen through the eyes of Millennials deconstructs the 6 drivers of the Millennial audience that directly impact how they engage with the world and brands around them and then zeros in on what that means from a digital perspective for a brand.

What prompted the study was our realization that while there is a host of information out there on consumer digital engagement, the information seemed to only focus on the statistics and data describing what consumers were doing, and there was a real gap in the insights behind why consumers were engaging the way they engage digitally.

Geppetto has analyzed the consumer/digital experience from the consumer mindset and value perspective, rather than a technology and statistics viewpoint.

The study shows brands how to assess and optimize their own digital strategy across each of the 6 Millennial Need States to ensure each digital interaction creates a meaningful connection with this target and their brand:

The study is not yet available online, but we will be posting webinar times in the upcoming weeks. Those interested can contact The Geppetto Group’s Director of Consumer Strategy, Dana Ewing.

When Marketing to Boomers, Think Young

Baby boomers haven’t lost the desire to express themselves and be surprised and delighted by product choices, according to a recent study.

We’ve noted before the baby boomer generation’s intense dislike of the “A” word — that is, “aging.” Recent research is turning up surprising new facts about this demographic’s youthful delusions tendencies, facts that could and should color the way marketers address them. The potential rewards are large.

In March, The Geppetto Group commissioned a national survey to explore drivers of youthful thinking and brand selection — they call these “youth sparks” — among midlife and older consumers. Survey participants were half Gen X (ages 35 to 49) and half Boomers (ages 50 to 64).
Read full article…

Youthful Brands: Boomers Look For Optimism

With the financial crisis still looming over burnt-out adults looking for an escape, and mass media/technology making a play for 8 year-olds and 80-year olds alike, a new study shows that adults—especially Baby Boomers—are identifying with a more youthful mindset and seeking brands that mirror a sense of optimism back to them…
Read full article…

Boomers Value Brands That Champion ‘Youthful’ Style

Representing a clear marketing opportunity, 66% of boomers are on the lookout for brands to better express their “youthful” personalities, according to a new study conducted by WPP agency The Geppetto Group.

“Are [marketers] offering [boomers] optimism and social conscience, and are they identifying with inherent qualities of their youths?” asks Julie Halpin, founder and CEO of The Geppetto Group. “Think of the impact that kind of thinking could have for sports retailers or restaurant chains, for instance.”
Read full article…

Will Oscars Marketing Grab a Younger Audience?

“The Oscars are getting it right. The 18- to 34-year-old group is a boundary-less generation. They
expect exclusive access, insider points of view, information and details they can’t get elsewhere,”
says Emily Stern, director of integrated marketing at the Geppetto Group, a New York-based
marketing agency and strategic consultancy focused on the youth market.
Read full article…

Is It OK to Like Chris Brown Again—or Totally Not?

“From what I understand is the bloom is off the rose,” says Rachel Geller, chief strategic officer for the youth marketing company The Geppetto Group. “I think that it will be very hard for him to recover.”

Even the recent reports of Brown sexting it up with some lady haven’t helped him. That sort of thing can boost a star’s rep with the kids, Geller says. Sexting is cool. Sexting is funny. But not in this case.

“It sort of reminds fans of what he did,” Geller notes. “And whatever reminds them of that, it’s not OK.”

Hard data backs up Geller’s observations. E-Score Celebrity has been following hatred of Chris Brown since the Rihanna incident.
Read full article…

Advertising Experts Discuss 2011 Super Bowl Commercials

While some agencies go after viral campaigns during the Super Bowl, others use it to reinvent themselves and the Super Bowl is the perfect platform to unveil that new look. Josh Rogers, Executive Creative Director at Imagination, and Chris McKee, President/Chief Creative Officer at The Geppetto Group, share their thoughts on the state of commercials today and how Super Bowl XLV proved the future of advertising is under creative scrutiny.
Read full article…