If you’re a millennial who remembers your childhood, then you probably remember the sappy commercials from the ’80s and ’90s that were found on almost every network television station. You know, the ones with the lame music in the background that showed a family coming together. Take this Velveeta commercial from 1986 for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE0lhdIR278
Since then, commercials and advertising have become very different. What used to be a sentimental scene depicting a family enjoying a meal, has now become a bald eagle swooping down and picking up a bald guy with Skittles shooting out of his mouth. Look at this Old Spice commercial for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_hWeN249fs
Yeah… I’m just speechless.
Beyond that, the industry itself has changed as a result of this new advertising and marketing mindset. As time elapses and trends change, advertisers and marketers also need to change. Millennials are now the largest generation in the labor force, comprising ⅓ of it in the US with 53.5 million workers. And as Baby Boomers and Generation Xers begin to retire, there comes a larger percentage of millennials working in every industry. In advertising, millennials comprise 44% of workers. While older generations still fill most executive roles, the input of Millennials is shaping not only the ads but the way the ad agency works.
New Platforms
Leveraging technical skills has always been a competitive advantage in anyone’s career. The difference here is that advertising platforms, namely ones that can be found on the web, are inherently taught to many millennials. Prior to the birth of mass internet usage, most technical skills were developed as a part of your education, or in many cases a specific technical school. Millennials utilize the web for both leisure and work and this integration makes certain skills inherent.
According the the US Bureau of Labor, 3/4th of millennials have an account on a social networking site compared to only half of Generation Xers and ⅓ of Baby Boomers. Additionally, many of those in their 20s to mid 30s had social media account before they attended college. This growth with the technology gives skills to millennials who have a greater understanding of their interfaces which have become natural to use for many. The fact that Baby Boomers and Generation Xers have to “learn” the technology puts them at an immediate disadvantage. Social media and search engine optimization have become crucial tools to the advertising industry. As we move away from traditional mediums like TV, newspaper, and print, advertisers need to embrace the new technology or lag behind. In fact, according to Forbes, online ad revenue exceeds television revenue, with 42.8 billion dollars, chiming in a new way to advertise.
A Sense of Social Good
The tendency for millennials to want their jobs to contribute to the overall good of society, means that advertisers need to follow suit in order to retain them. Over 60% of Millennials want to contribute to society, and so having a positive social stand on certain issues will attract Millennials to your agency and the ads that you put out. According to a Deloitte survey, 75% of Millennials believe companies are concentrated on their own agendas rather than the greater good. So while some commercials and ad strategies such as Old Spice or Skittles concentrate on seemingly random humor, there is another, perhaps more effective strategy of pushing for the greater good of society in ads and advertising business models.
A great example of an ad campaign and a company who has fully embraced this is Dove, with their #likeagirl campaign, which uncovers gender bias and stereotyping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhB3l1gCz2E
Like every generation, advertising, marketing and their firms, will evolve over time. Historically advertisers were behind on picking up the newest trends or habits of consumers, and had to had to react retroactively. Perhaps the greatest tool to a millennial is our ability to adapt and evolve with the market. If we utilize this at ad agencies and firms, advertising will no longer be playing catch up, but will actually set the tone for the society around us. If marketers are able to determine trends before they are trending, the possibility for lucrative and meaningful advertising will become a reality.
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