Reaching a specific target audience has continued to change more frequently as individuals embrace a range of technology and digital innovations. In the past marketers relied largely on static mediums such as print media, direct mail, billboards, radio and television, but with the emergence of the millennial generation and their new habits on how they embrace feedback and make decisions, all traditional methods have been thrown out when it comes to reaching this audience.
According to comScores 2012 report Next-Generation Strategies for Advertising to Millennials there are around 79 million millennials and collectively they have a purchasing power of $170 billion per year. Factoring in the strength of their buying power this group of individuals has shown a comfort level and familiarity with new technologies and are accustomed to receiving decision-making information through various digital channels. With this audiences history defined savvy marketers have been able to achieve a much higher response rate by tailoring their efforts to the digital footprints these users are making.
Gone are the days of radio jingles that marketers tried to plant in your head. As a digital enthusiast I have seen first hand the way I am targeted with product placements in forms such as movies and TV shows, products placed in songs and lyrics along with celebrities using social media to endorse various products in what would seem like natural posts or engagements with fans.
I have also found myself responding to ads targeting me based on previous searches done on the web for a product or service that I am looking for. My purchase may not be instant but often times these ads serve as a reminder to something I had a previous interest in and I end up following through on my purchase.
Questions to the readers:
- What are some of the tricks marketers have used to get you to either make a purchase or brought awareness to something that you eventually purchased?
- Many marketers focus primarily on digital strategies to reach their audience. Do you agree that this is where their efforts should be concentrated or is traditional advertising on mediums such as print media, radio and television still a way to reach you effectively?
MMC 5427: Research Methods in Digital Communication 
I think you bring up a great point in regards to marketers embracing technologies to capture Millenials’ (et. al.) digital footprints to be able to present targeted marketing messages to Internet users. This is precisely the example that comes to mind when you asked the first question. It annoys, unsettles, and even delights me at times when I see a product advertised to me on Amazon, Google or Facebook after having looked up that very product on another site. Though it most often unsettles me, I do think I have purchased something after this sort of reminder advertisement. Amazon has been the most successful in getting me, because I am already in the “purchase” mindset when I am on that site.
To your second question, I don’t completely agree with your original statement that the traditional marketing has been thrown out in regard to the Millenial population, and don’t think they should throw these channels out either. I still see Millenials with magazines in hand, and singing jingles they heard on television ads. Though neither of these are likely to convert to immediate purchase (and I don’t think they are expected to for any target market), these mediums and methods do help brand awareness, recognition and recall. I think the key for marketers is still repeated exposure in several contexts (however much I, even as a “Marketer”, wish this were not so as I hate marketing clutter), so as to keep their brand in the minds of their target markets.
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Hi Shelley, I share the same sentiment. Amazon has worked their magic quite a bit and I tend to land there most of the time when completing a purchase. They have lost an edge though because as of May 2014 Amazon started collecting sales tax in Florida so the extra saving on some items that I used to skip getting in a store basically makes not much of a difference now.
On the second part of your answer I think targeting millennials via digital seems to be the best method that works as it meets in their comfort zone of what they use most and rely upon when making purchasing decisions.
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Supermarket shelves display more expensive products at eye level with the generic brands way down below. They often place freshly baked bread and fruit and veg at the start of the shop so you walk in to nice smells and bright fresh colours. Milk would be placed at the back of the isles to force me to pass every tempting product before reaching the essential buys. Small pop-up ads on currently playing tv sitcoms will show what’s coming up next and all too often I’ll stay to watch the next show then the next then the next… One really big example of buying things you normally would not would be the groupon deals. I’ve so often bought things I would never had even noticed and definitley don’t need before these kind of membership deal websites existed.
I agree digital is where efforts should be concentrated because they are the most economical and they are the quickest way to reach huge audiences. However, I don’t think more traditional ad mediums should be thrown to the curb. Traditional marketing still works in the mix. There are examples of this where you might see advertisements on tv that lead the viewer to visit the website or enter competitions on social media raising awareness of social media and online presence.
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I love the points you brought up. Some products on supermarket shelves are largely determined by the fees that a distributor pays. Other products like kids cereal are placed lower on the bottom to be in perfect view and reach for kids.
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Question 1 – I just had a baby, which means that pretty much every mother- or child-based company has been trying to get my business lately. (The “tricks” these companies used to find out I was having a baby is something I’d really like to understand – my guess is I signed up for something somewhere and that company sold my info to everyone else, but that’s neither here nor there.) One of the companies that I know I opted in for e-mails for was Destination Maternity – I signed up for their e-mail list while at the store because doing so got me a discount. Not too long after I did that, Destination Maternity sent me an e-mail offer for a “free” infant car seat cover from CarseatCanopy.com. So I went to the website to check it out. Despite the e-mail I received having no fine print, I discovered that the cover was not really free – there was a shipping charge of $14.99 that you had to pay to get it. There’s no way it costs $14.99 to ship a half-pound piece of fabric, so clearly the company is calling the product “free” and marking up the shipping costs to make money. I also did some searching for reviews of the product, and most people said they were very cheaply made and weren’t happy with them. While this “trick” didn’t result in me making a purchase, it definitely made me aware of a product I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Unfortunately, the trick left a bad taste in my mouth and I won’t purchase anything from CarseatCanopy.com or their long list of sister sites as a result. I was also pretty irritated with Destination Maternity for thinking that sending me a misleading e-mail was a good business practice.
2 – I personally am not a big fan of most digital marketing, with the exception of e-mail marketing. If I see a paid ad on Google or Facebook, or if there’s an ad before a video I want to watch, I generally skip it if that’s an option or I make a point not to click it. The mandatory ads before videos that you can’t skip really get on my nerves – you can find these a lot of times on local news websites. I feel like they are a barrier between me and the information I’m trying to get. For that reason, I do feel that print, radio and television ads are still a good way to reach me as a consumer. I am much more receptive to those more traditional forms of marketing because they feel less invasive to me.
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Hi Heather, your response to question one reminds me of watching an infomercial on TV. They have a cool product with a slick pitch that if you buy now get a second one free and then just pay shipping and handling or processing or packaging and whatever other gimmick they call it. So an item jumps from 19.99 to 50 bucks in a blink.
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In response to question #1…
I get anxiety about ALL of my purchase decisions. Consequently, I try to read as many product reviews as I can. I brought this up briefly in the classroom chat the other day, but I’ve wondered in the past if I’ve read and trusted reviews that have been strategically placed there by someone trying to promote a product. I think that I probably have, unfortunately. It is easy to spot some of the bogus reviews, but others I’m not so sure about. Having to worry about that kind of undermines the value of reviews all together.
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I absolutely do the same thing. 9 out 10 purchases that I make online I tend to look for real world reviews. I even tend to check on YouTube for personal reviews and feedback on items other users may have purchased.
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