By Lauren Coates
In recent years, many marketers have believed that the best way to reach Millennials was to advertise in a brief, Twitter-esque fashion. Chris Giliberti, Chief of Staff at Gimlet Media, disagrees. In an article for Forbes, Giliberti discusses the developing trend among Millennials to desire longer, more complete information over “snackable” content that is short and catchy.
Some primary examples of this new movement are the podcast Serial and popular Netflix docu-series (who else binge-watched Making A Murderer like I did?). Millennials found both of these true-crime stories captivating, despite their lengthy, story-telling approach. Giliberti offers his insights into why Millennials are abandoning the 140-character content. One of his assertions is that Millennials crave companionship. Particularly with Serial, listeners felt that they had a relationship – even a friendship – with the narrator. Giliberti goes on to say that this type of narrative offers authenticity and trustworthiness, both of which matter greatly to Millennials. In both Serial and Making A Murderer, the audience was given incriminating evidence, as well as facts that showed reasonable doubt. As Giliberti notes, Millennials form their opinions based on information, and would not appreciate being told half-truths or only some of the story, even if it meant that the narrative would be more their speed.
Another surprising development from Millennials is their recent interest Walmart over trendier stores like Target or Whole Foods. According to statistics reported by Phil Wahba at Fortune, two-thirds of American Millennials report shopping at Walmart in the last month, and they are more likely to shop at Walmart than any other generation. So what’s drawing them in? Wahba suspects it’s Walmart’s low prices attracting this value-driven generation. Preference for long-stories and bargain shopping over quick content and chic boutiques? Maybe Millennials are growing up after all!
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