Marketing to the millennial

The term ‘millennial’ generally refers to the generation of people born in 1980s to 2000.

At more than 600 million, the Indian millennials form a sizeable chunk of the Indian consumer market. They are the people who have entered or are about to enter their prime spending years and offer a lot of potential for most of the businesses. Brands are increasingly investing more funds and time to gain insights into a millennial’s buying behavior.
Here are a few points that brands consider important while marketing to the millennial consumer-

• The purchasing power of the millennials has been increasing. Hence they are on the radar of most marketers
• Millennials are open to trying new brands. They do not mind experimenting.
• They put convenience at the top in the list of priorities.
• While making a purchase decision, they rely heavily on reviews from friends or peers.
• They do not mind paying an incremental amount for comfort and quality. They would rather choose a marginally expensive but superior quality product over a lesser expensive mediocre product.
• Millennials are keen to provide their families with the best of products and facilities. They participate enthusiastically in identifying the finest brands and making the best purchase decisions for their families.
• Indian millennials are living in a world cluttered with brands. They have a wide choice with a range of products offering competing benefits and prices.

Keeping all this in mind, marketers are designing communication strategies to lure the millenials to their brands. They need to bear in mind that in order to grab the attention of this segment, they have to stand out from the crowd. They have to engage the millennial in a unique way in order to be heard and to find a place in the millenial’s consideration set.

The cinema business is not isolated from this new wave of buying behaviour pattern of its most loyal patrons – the millenials. They realise that this segment is their biggest market.

A few points to ponder about the millennial movie-goer-

• Millennial movie-going audience is growing steadily.
• Study of millennials’ movie-going habits can offer some great insights for advertisers.
• Millennials make up the largest frequent movie-going age group, and this generation is highly invested in the overall movie-going process.
• Most millennials aim to go to the movies on a film’s opening weekend itself.
• Features like highest quality 2K digital cinema technology & 7.1 dolby surround sound, coupled with luxury amenities like recliner seating and gourmet food options are key drivers for pulling in the millennial audience.
• They are most likely to participate in any engagement activities at the cinemas undertaken by the marketer
• They form a ready target for the sumptuous goodies available at the F&B counters.

Cinema advertising agencies in India need to focus on this lucrative target market and weave their communications around this alluring millennial group.