Engaging millennials with TV advertising

We know what can happen when a company tries to market to millennials and misses the mark. Awkward at best, cringe-worthy at worst. What do marketers get wrong? They understand that to reach millennials, they need to speak their language, but that doesn’t mean launching an emoji-meme-cat campaign and hoping it translates into something meaningful.

It's worthwhile for brands to take the time to find what messages resonate with this demographic. Millennials are predicted to have a collective spending power of $1.4 trillion by 2020. Clearly it is more important than ever for brands to learn how to speak to, and convert, this vibrant audience.

Millennials, the most diverse generation in American history, are a multi-faceted and complex group. But there are a few things they all value.

Authenticity

Having been marketed to more than any previous generation, millennials are savvy, and they can smell a phony faster than Holden Caulfield. They value authenticity because they understand it’s a premium in today’s world. Authenticity means transparency and honesty, but it also includes understanding. Millennials want their needs to be understood and responded to. Brands can achieve this by speaking frankly about their product in a language free of jargon, hyperbole, and doublespeak. Be conversational – but be true to your brand – if you want to earn their trust.

Experience

Millennials have grown up expecting brand engagement to be a two-way street. They’ve come of age in a time when brand voice isn’t some ethereal construct; it’s an actual marketer responding on Twitter in real time. Millennials embrace the integrated and multi-channel experience offered by their favorite brands, moving seamlessly from one platform to the next. 68% of millennials demand an integrated, seamless shopping experience- regardless of the channel. Create journeys that follow millennials from app to SMS to purchase to follow-up seamlessly. Add in personalization and a dash of cleverness and you’re home free.

Mobile

Purchases from mobile devices will double by 2020, reaching $250 billion in transactions. Mobile is huge across demographics, but with millennials, it’s different. There is a level of trust in mobile marketing, perhaps born out of dependence, that is unique to their generation. Consider this: 63% of American millennial consumers hardly ever use cash. Millennials are now twice as likely to use alternative mobile payments than boomers who research online but purchase offline. You can see that you have a massive opportunity to capture conversions by targeting this audience through mobile.

Abbot® Speaks Millennial

Abbot, the Autonomous Buying Bot, can help you create consumer pathways that are perfect for marketing to the millennial audience. Abbot is an AI messaging platform that employs dynamic, custom experiences that can take your customer from website to chat to e-commerce without missing a beat. Here’s how Abbot^™ translates the millennial language into sales:

Mobile: Abbot is a messaging platform, so he’s always as close as your customer’s tablet, smart phone, or other mobile device.

Authenticity: Our brilliant creatives and data scientists will work with you to craft messages that are conversational, on-brand, and plain-spoken. As Abbot^™ continues to chat with your consumers, his artificial intelligence allows him to learn and optimize conversions.

Experience: Abbot can educate prospective customers and gather feedback about your content, product, or brand. You can capture insights on your customer’s wants and needs for marketing strategy or product development. Abbot can even offer upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells at exactly the right time.