Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever

by Jeff Fromm, Christie Garton

The numbers cannot be ignored: eighty million Millennials wielding $200 billion in buying power are entering their peak earning and spending years. Companies that think winning their business is a simple matter of creating a Twitter account and applying outdated notions of "cool" to their advertising are due for a rude awakening. "Marketing to Millennials "is both an enlightening look at this generation of consumers and a practical plan for earning their trust and loyalty. Based on original market research, the book reveals the eight attitudes shared by most Millennials, as well as the new rules for engaging them successfully. Millennials: - Value social networking and aren't shy about sharing opinions - Refuse to remain passive consumers--they expect to participate in product development and marketing - Demand authenticity and transparency - Are highly influential--swaying parents "and" peers - Are not all alike--understanding key segments is invaluable Featuring expert interviews and profiles of brands doing Millennial marketing right, this eye-opening book is the key to persuading the customers who will determine the bottom line for decades to come.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

218 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Although, not a millennial as defined by his age, Jeff Fromm is the Millennial Marketing Guy™. Jeff is President of FutureCast, a marketing consultancy that specializes in millennial trends, and is a contributing writer at Forbes.com. Jeff is a frequent speaker on marketing, consumer trends, and innovation. Jeff has published numerous research reports on the millennial consumer and is the co-author of Marketing to Millennials and Millennials with Kids.

Jeff has over 25 years of marketing consulting experience across dozens of brands ranging from Build-a-Bear Workshop to Whole Foods. He is a shareholder and Board Member at Three Dog Bakery, Service Management Group, Tickets For Less, and FutureCast. Jeff is a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was an exchange student at The London School of Economics

Reviews

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been interesting reading this book and I have found many ideas on how to run a marketing campaign to millennials. I'm a millennial as well, so nothing was really new to me; however, this book gave me the firm's point of view that I was looking for.

Even though the authors of the book didn't have added anything new, they summed up in a good way a series of concepts and examples. I thought about this book as an alternative to reading many articles on-line in order to have a clear view on how to promote a firm to new generations.

The only part I didn't like was in chapter 2, when I read about the six millennial segments. Those "segments" in my opinion are definitely not reliable; they are very specific and I am sure there are many millenials who don't feel they fit in any of those.

I think I will suggest this reading to anyone who has to work in the field of communication and marketing. Nowadays it is essential to know how to communicate with millennials. Even though it may seem obvious that what you have to do is to create a facebook page and so on, everything has to be done in the right way and this book certainly helps.

There is only one problem left: almost everything is about Internet and mobile apps. It is expensive to develop both websites and apps. For a start-up, whose primary customers are millennials, it is still very difficult to fulfill these Millennials' technological desires. Technological start-ups obviously don't have this problem, but the other ones without any technological expertise certainly suffer from this disadvantage.

[الزهْراء يحيى · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read the book because I recently started working on the digital marketing strategy for a brand that targets millennials. I think it gave me great insights on the matter, and I came up with couple of ideas while reading it. I love all the stats provided. Being a millennial I relate the things said in this book.

[Earla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the authors' research and the experience they brought to the table to write and share this book. I liked the visuals, case studies and especially learning the term 'Participation Economy'. I will dive deeper into learning about marketing because of this book. Jeff and Christie, thank you for sharing Millennial info with this Boomer. :)

[Melissa Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this. It has lots of good information on how millennials think, chose, and buy. It made me analyze my habits and perspectives on the consumer world. It is a bit out-dated now (8-ish years old) but the general concepts still hold true.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading in 2019, this book shows its age, but it is good as a reference for a general understanding of core ideas about interacting with millennial consumers based in professional market research.

[refine here · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book to read, though not all of it are new for me. There have been so many talks out there from the internet what are these millennials are. According to the book, they are heavily influenced by their peers, they have a lot of friends, they are digital native and into popular culture. I guess these are not new ... The young will always be in this category.

What I found interesting from the book, is how the author define or group the millennial. Let me share it here, this is based on American statistic.

Hip Ennial 29% - they think they can make the world a better place for all. They are cautious consumer, global oriented, charitable, information hungry, highly involve in social media however they don't contribute on content, they use content more for entertainment. Female dominated.

Old School Millennial 10% - They think connecting on facebook is too impersonal, they prefer meet for coffee. They are disconnected from social media, They are cautious buyer, confident, independent, self directed and spend the least online, they read printed media.

Gadget Guru 13% - for them it is the great day to be me. They are successful, wired, free spirit, confident, this they are at their best decade, own greatest devices, they contribute content, push for content. Male dominated.

Clean and Green Millennial 10%, their moto is to take care themselves and the world around them. They are cause driven, healthy, green, very positive, impressionable, great content contributor for their cause. Mostly are students.

Millennial Moms 22% - They love to work out, travel, pamper their babies, wealthy, family oriented, digital savvy, and high online user for shopping.

Anti Millennial 16% - They are too busy taking care of their business and family to worry about what is going on around them. They are locally minded, conservatives, does not spend more for green, seeking comfort and familiarity over excitement.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this was okay. It was a quick and interesting read. I found it slightly disappointing because I thought it was rather common sense filled and very general. I thought that it greatly lacked depth. I picked this book up because I was interested in learning more about millennials (as I am one) and how advertisers are trying to target us, but unfortunately, I don't feel enlightened after reading this. I was disappointed by how 'right' marketing and how essential corporations were portrayed as being and would have greatly appreciated some discussions of privacy and ethics related to modern data mining and 'infotainment' (information + entertainment).

[Jose Miranda-alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take and facts about Millennials. This generation will slowly dominate the economy the same way baby boomers did so we better start understanding how to cater to their needs.

As a millennial myself, there was not much new information here but it is good to have data back up everyday experience. Although not groundbreaking, I would recommend this book to marketers wanting to understand the rationale behind the way this generation acts.

[Alisa Haws · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so repetitive and boring I often stopped reading in frustration until I felt I could pick it up and try again. While it had some good points about millennialist and marketing strategies, it also used widesweeping overgeneralizations, and a lot of anecdotal evidence to support its claims. It frequently analyzed data points to support its claims rather than the other way around, and was about 150 pages longer than it needed to be.

[Abdi J Putra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very recommended book for all marketers!

Nice to have this book. Give me bold instruction what should I do in term of "marketing to millenials". A very recommended book for you to know deeper about millenials. The author write this book blended with their experiences. I give 5 from 5 stars. They do deserve it.

[Tony Moze · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's all about knowing what makes millennial a tick. Loyalty and consistency are two things. Building that trust foundation and being true to what you stand for is going to make millennial a and their tribes stay true to you.

[J Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful. Overview for understanding the variety and differentiating characteristics. Based on BCG research. Could be a bit dated but I got lots of good ideas.

[bookreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patently obvious insights recycled from an earlier BCG/Barkley report by the same authors.

[Sarah Toppins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a good book for people hoping to catch the Millennial market.

[Tanya Petrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a marketing professional to be the judge of the book's quality, but it's an interesting read.