Report: Millennials are Media-Hungry, Multicultural, Opinionated & Loyal

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Report: Millennials are Media-Hungry, Multicultural, Opinionated & Loyal

By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC  |  March 06, 2017

A new report from Buzz Marketing Group offers detailed insight into the media consumption habits, news sources, opinions, and preferences of millennials today. It concludes that millennials are a diverse and opinionated bunch that consume media “at an astounding rate,” and that brands whose advertising and social campaigns cater to multicultural audiences will have the most success with this group.

The study, which notes that 43 percent of millennials are non-white (and Gen Z is even more diverse), is based on October online surveys of 400 21- to 36-year-old men and women from across the country.

Seventy-two percent of those surveyed said they prefer when brands speak directly and specifically to their respective ethnic group. Meanwhile, more than 82 percent said they would like more brands to focus their marketing and advertising on minorities.

Eighty-three percent said they prefer when consumer brands take a public stand for or against issues they also believe in, and that they’re more likely to buy from companies that espouse the causes with which they’re aligned. Many in this group said they actively voice their opinions about the issues of the day. In fact, according to the study, 61 percent of participants said they have used a specific hashtag to support a cause on social media in the last year, and 28 percent said they have participated in a boycott.

Ninety-five percent of those surveyed consider themselves influential to those around them, and the study indicates that social causes are just one area in which members of this group feel confident about sharing their opinions. In fact, 80 percent credit themselves with introducing artists, styles, and trends to their friends and family before they hit the mainstream; 78 percent say they are very trendy; 82 percent like to follow the latest trends; 60 percent say they know everything that happens in pop culture as soon as it happens; and 78 percent believe they have consumer power to influence brands.

“When it comes to loyalty, multicultural millennials give as much as they get,” said BMG CEO and founder Tina Wells. “They know what they like, and aren't shy about sharing that information with their friends and contacts.”

Although this group considers itself extremely trendy, 95 percent of those surveyed said they are loyal to the brands they prefer. And despite their confidence in voicing their opinions, this group is particularly sensitive to the idea of being talked down to. Millennials consume luxury goods at the same rate as the rest of the population, according to Buzz Marketing Group, which adds that 24 percent of those surveyed buy luxury items they can’t afford.

It should perhaps come as no surprise that 60 percent of those surveyed said technology is considered the most important aspect of their lives. That is illustrated by the fact that 93 percent of them download smartphone apps monthly, 89 percent watch TV daily, 87 percent read magazines monthly, 78 percent listen to the radio daily, and 77 percent read newspapers weekly.

Meanwhile, 40 percent said they rarely get their news from mainstream media, perhaps that’s because 80 percent consider mainstream media biased. However, multicultural millennials say they get their daily news: 81 percent from TV, 73 percent from Facebook (News - Alert), 66 percent from radio, 63 percent from friends, 60 percent from newspapers, 56 percent from family, 53 percent from phone apps, 46 percent from texting, 45 percent from Twitter (News - Alert), 41 percent from Instagram, 40 percent from magazines, 40 percent from blogs, 34 percent from newsletters, 30 percent from Snapchat, 25 percent from podcasts, and 21 percent from message boards.

While 94 percent of those surveyed said they hang out with friends weekly, 90 percent text people daily, 85 percent post or read Facebook posts, 82 percent post or read online product reviews weekly, 79 percent chat via an online messenger daily, 76 post or read posts on private message boards weekly, and 49 percent post or read posts on Twitter.

Participants of this survey were 60 percent female, 40 percent male; and 57 percent of the group was from urban areas, whereas a 37 percent share came from the suburbs, and 6 were rural. These individuals were from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other parts of the U.S.




Edited by Alicia Young
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