Millennial Cause Study The Millennial Generation: Pro-Social and Empowered to Change the World

Transcription

1 Th 2006 Con Millnnial Caus Study Th Millnnial Gnration: Pro-Social and Empowrd to Chang th World By Con Inc. in collaboration with AMP Insights.

2 rld k this wo ility to ma ib s n o p s st) al r from th W has an qu old fmal Evryon r a y 5 (1 lac. a bttr p A compa ny [should ] do vry th laws a thing in it nd giv ba s powr to ck to th co a saf and follow mmunity njoyabl whil pro plac to w (23 yar o v iding o r k for its ld fmal mploys from th M. idwst) singl an a h t t on rn diff vry prs rt s no i y t p a n u po mpa v th tim to s A co. I bli r ould on or h mpany sh outh) s s r i h p k co th S ld ta so a from shou nity, l u a m ld m om th c 19 yar o (. also Tragic world vnts such as 9/11, coupld with rcnt natural disastrs hav motivatd th Millnnial Gnration to dvlop a strong social conscinc. Tchnology has givn thm a loud and powrful voic. As a rsult, Caus Branding has mrgd as a valuabl tool for raching Millnnials. Caus Branding is a businss stratgy that intgrats a social issu or caus into an organization s brand quity and idntity. If authntically mbracd and sustaind, it allows that businss to gain significant bottom lin and community impacts. To bttr undrstand th motional link that conncts Millnnials to causs and Millnnials to companis that support causs, Con Inc., a pionr in Caus Branding and Corporat Rsponsibility, collaboratd on this study with AMP Insights, th Consumr Insights and Planning division of AMP Agncy, a ladr in youth markting and promotions. Th goal of th rsarch was to undrstand th rol that causs play in a Millnnial s lif as an individual, mploy and a consumr.

3 Millnnials: Civic-Mindd Individuals and Consumrs Millnnials hav bn rfrrd to as th most civic-mindd gnration sinc World War II. This study suggsts that Millnnials ar th most socially-conscious consumrs to dat. In fact, 61% of rspondnts ar currntly worrid about th stat of th world today and fl prsonally rsponsibl to mak a diffrnc. Thy ar attmpting to liv up to that rsponsibility by voluntring, rcycling, ducating frinds and family on social and nvironmntal causs and donating mony. In th past yar, 81% of rspondnts hav voluntrd in som way (ithr wkly, monthly or onc or twic a yar). Millnnials ar trying to mak a diffrnc in th world and xpct othrs to do th sam. This rational xtnds to thir prs, parnts, nighbors, communitis and to companis. Thir xpctations ar high and thy valuat companis on a whol host of factors xtnding byond products or srvics and pric, to how th company oprats within th local, national and global communitis. Whn thos xpctations ar mt th rwards ar grat. This is spcially tru for companis that ar socially and nvironmntally rsponsibl. Millnnials ar mor likly to trust ths companis, sk thir mploymnt and buy or rcommnd thir products/srvics to othrs. 83% will trust a company mor if it is socially/nvironmntally rsponsibl 66% will rcommnd products/srvics if th company is socially rsponsibl 69% considr a company s social and nvironmntal commitmnt whn dciding whr to shop 89% ar likly or vry likly to switch from on brand to anothr (pric and quality bing qual) if th scond brand is associatd with a good caus 74% of Millnnials ar mor likly to pay attntion to a company s mssags if th company has a dp commitmnt to a caus

4 Millnnials as Employs This trnd also xtnds to Millnnials profssional livs. Th oldst Millnnials ar bginning to ntr th work forc, xtnding thir xpctations to thir mployrs. Of th 28% of rspondnts who dscrib thmslvs as mployd full tim: 79% want to work for a company that cars about how it impacts or contributs to socity 69% fl that thir company s social and /or nvironmntal activitis mak thm fl proud to work thr 64% rport that thir company s social and/or nvironmntal activitis mak thm fl loyal to thir company Caus Intrsts Whthr thy ar acting as consumrs or mploys, Millnnials support of causs is broad. Causs that toppd th list includ: ducation, povrty, th nvironmnt and halth and disas.

5 Harnssing th Powr of th Engagd Millnnials a.k.a. Th Dors Millnnials who ar activly ngagd with causs rspond vry diffrntly to th world around thm than thos who ar not as ngagd. Dors ar voluntring at last onc a wk and rprsnt clos to 20% of th Millnnials survyd. Millnnials dirct participation with causs unlashs a mor ngagd citizn, consumr and mploy. Thy not only hav a mor positiv outlook and attitud toward rsponsibl corporations, thy actually go out of thir way to support companis and products that giv back. Thr ar an stimatd 15.6 million Dors in th Unitd Stats alon, rprsnting a hug potntial opportunity for companis mbracing Caus Branding. Th Dors ar not only th most loyal brand ambassadors a company can hav, but thy ar also rady to listn and ndors companis that hav put a stak in th ground within an issu. To support th causs thy car about, th Dors will rward a company that mts its standards and ar not afraid to rfus to work for an mployr that dos not. 87% of th Dors hav purchasd a product that supports a caus in th past yar s as opposd to 48% of non-voluntrs 68% would actually rfus to work for an mployr that is not socially rsponsibl 56% ar likly to pursu working at a company that is socially rsponsibl

6 Whr is th Impact? Though Millnnials giv back, thr is somthing important missing from thir xprincs. Th missing link is that thy do not undrstand th impact of thir fforts. This is a major challng for companis. Millnnials ar rcycling, purchasing products, donating mony, participating in fund raising vnts, writing lttrs, boycotting companis and attnding protsts, yt qustion th impact of thir fforts supporting a particular issu ( as sn in th chart blow ). As a gnration accustomd to instantanous fdback and gratification, Millnnials ar frustratd bcaus thy ar not shown th dirct impact of thir fforts. This lack of communication from companis is causing thm to qustion if thy ar making a diffrnc. To kp Millnnials informd, companis nd to utiliz varid communications to hlp thm bttr undrstand thir rol as a part of th solution. Rcycld. Educatd family/frinds/community on social /nvironmntal causs. Purchasd products that support a social /nvironmntal caus. Donatd mony to a social /nvironmntal caus. Voluntrd my tim towards a social /nvironmntal caus. Usd th Intrnt to support social /nvironmntal causs. Participatd in a fund raising vnt for a social/nvironmntal caus. Wrot a lttr to th govrnmnt or a company in support of a social /nvironmntal caus. Boycottd. Attndd a protst or rally prcnt

7 Millnnials ar Changing th Ruls Caus Branding is Emrging as a Loyalty Stratgy With such trmndous rsourcs at thir fingrtips, Millnnials ar skptical of th advrtising thy ncountr on a daily basis. This savvy gnration will not rspond to products/srvics or companis that ar not gnuin. Products/srvics nd to b pricd fairly, b of good quality and most importantly hav motional rlvanc to Millnnials. A significant way to gain Millnnials trust is by walking th walk through substantial caus alignmnt. Yt, fw companis ar doing so. 70% of Millnnials bliv that companis ar NOT doing nough to support th causs that thy car about. Companis ar only in th arly adoptr stag whn it coms to ffctivly mbdding causs into thir brand and ngaging young popl in a largr social purpos. Only a handful of pionrs, such as ALDO, Mudd, MAC, Cartoon Ntwork and MTV ar activly ngaging Millnnials and communicating thir impacts. Millnnial Caus Engagmnt Paradigm COMPANY ENGAGEMENT CONSUMER CAUSE To bst rach ths consumrs, traditional markting must volv. A third dimnsion nds to b addd to th brand markting xprinc. This is spcially tru with Caus Branding. To b truly ffctiv, th caus rlatd campaign also nds to fostr a rlationship btwn th caus and th consumr. By making an ffort to ngag th Millnnial Gnration, companis hav th opportunity to crat a nw gnration of fircly loyal customrs who ar passionat about working with corporations to chang th world. Millnnials ar rady to rward and punish companis whn it coms to thir commitmnts to caus. This is a call to action for companis to rais th bar and mt this gnration s xpctations by providing thm with hands-on caus-rlatd xprincs, as wll as sufficint communication for thm to fl ngagd. Sharing th impact with Millnnials will crat a gnration of brand ambassadors rady to stand up and conqur prssing world issus, whil bing loyal to th brands, companis and mployrs that thy trust most.

8 About Th 2006 Con Millnnial Caus Study Th 2006 Con Caus Millnnial Study prsnts th findings of an onlin survy conductd among a national probability sampl of 1,800 rspondnts comprisd of 895 mals and 905 fmals, btwn th ags of 13 and 25 yars old. This survy capturd th opinions, prcptions and blifs of thr distinct sgmnts; Tns (13-17), Collg (18-22) and Young Adults (23-25). This survy was compltd during th priod 5/16/06 and 5/27/06. Th margin of rror is +/ prcntag points. This Excutiv Summary cannot b rproducd without prmission from Con Inc. For additional information or a customizd prsntation of th findings, plas contact Kiva Starr at Con: or Allison Bacon at AMP Insights: About Con Inc. Con ( is a Boston-basd brand stratgy and communications agncy that builds brand trust. Con crats stakholdr loyalty and long-trm rlationships through Caus Branding, Corporat Rsponsibility, Brand Markting and Issus/ Crisis Managmnt. Con s tam of xprts spcializs in working with corporat stratgy, markting, communications and philanthropy profssionals to maximiz th businss and community bnfits of intgrating social commitmnts into companis and brands. As a pionr in th fild of Caus Branding, Con has partnrd with lading organizations to crat and implmnt som of th nation s most impactful caus initiativs, including: th Avon Brast Cancr Crusad, Rbok Human Rights Awards, PNC Grow Up Grat, Amrican Hart Association s Go Rd For Womn and ConAgra Foods Fding Childrn Bttr. About AMP Insights AMP Insights, th stratgic planning and consumr insights division of AMP Agncy, focuss on providing targtd knowldg and insights to organizations intrstd in bttr undrstanding mor about kids, tns, and young adults. W mploy talntd tam rsarchrs and plannrs with divrs backgrounds and xprinc. This tam has cratd and dvlopd innovativ and custom mthodologis that nabl us to truly larn how tns and young adults ar communicating, uncovr thir ky influncrs and stablish what motivats thm bst. W undrstand th businss challngs facing our clints and work with thm to uncovr th ky consumr insights so that thy ar bst abl to answr thos challngs. Our clints includ companis such as M.A.D.D., Lvi s, Amrican Eagl,Bn & Jrry s, Girl Scouts, Kllog s, Burt s Bs and Disny.