Millennials: More Apps and Fewer Ads

For the next 10 years, at least, there is evidence that the market segment that luxury brands should pay maximum attention to are the millennials, since they are forcing brands to change the rules of the game, being themselves who now dictate them.

10 years ago, they didn’t even formed a group or had a name, but today they represent a group with a high power of influence that is forcing large corporations to take unquestionable positions a few years ago. Even today, many CEOs and executives have trouble accepting those changes, but it’s a matter of time to do so, or they will replaced by others that will accept them, as the Internet and mobile technology have completely changed the scenario.

The most successful marketing techniques from XX century have no place in the XXI century and even less when they are directed at millennials, since advertising is considered by many as SPAM and discomfort which they avoid at all costs. The prove is that most of them have installed ad blockers in their browsers.

In the United States, the younger generation of millennials, those between 18 and 34 years old spend an average of 91 hours per month in applications of smartphones, about 18 hours more than those between 35 and 44 and 33 hours more than those aged 45 to 54 years of age, according to a recent report by comScore.

Millennials spend an average of 30 hours a month on social apps. Mainly they spend more time on apps like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Snapchat, which offer ads, and choose messaging applications like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which do not yet have ads.

According to GSMA, there were 341 million mobile users in Latin America only by the end of 2014 and by 2017 they will be about 374 million. The countries with the highest penetration are Brazil which has 112 million mobile users, Mexico with 97 million and Argentina with 53 million.

In addition, Millennials are more difficult to reach since they tend to have short attention spans and quickly jump between smartphones, tablets and computers. Millennials spend more time watching on-demand tv shows or via web services and portals like Netflix or Amazon, because they flee from traditional advertising and they are looking for content and experiences.

Therefore, it is clear that investment in advertising should be redirected progressively towards investment in branded content through social apps and creating specific apps to immerse millennials into the brand experience with the aim of turning them into passionate evangelists.

Disclosure: The author is not responsible for the views expressed in the article. The text was written freely expressing ideas, without receiving any compensation. The author has no business relationship with any of the companies whose shares are listed in this article.