Generation Why?

Generation Why?

Millennials:  the latest hot topic in the market research industry is all about how those aged 18-34 are so different from other age groups, understanding their online behaviors, uncovering how to reach and market to them, etc.  Millennials are a unique generation; many of them have been online their entire lives and don’t remember mobile phones before smartphones existed. They’re also a very important generation representing almost 25% of the total US population, with $200 billion in annual buying power, and greatly influencing products and services during of our lifetimes.

Given their importance, it is imperative for brands and marketers to understand their opinions.  Brands that do not adequately collect Millennials opinions could be going down the wrong path and risk long-term harm.

Much has been written and spoken about Millennials’ online habits and how important it is to create device-agnostic surveys allowing everyone to take surveys on the device they prefer.   At EMI, we routinely see 35% of Millennials taking a survey on a mobile device while other age groups’ preference to mobile devices is growing as well.   A survey not designed for all devices could lose a large and very important segments opinion.

We have previously reviewed how sample partners are very different from each other on behavioral and attitudinal measures, even when weighting for key demographic variables.  This also holds true among Millennials.    Millennials from one panel differ greatly from other panels on a variety of measures including:

• Device behavior and usage
• Brand awareness and ratings
• Concept ratings

At EMI, we recommend our clients:

• Design surveys to be device-agnostic if not mobile first
• Create survey questions that are mobile device friendly
• Strategically blend multiple sample partners in order to reduce inherent bias