How millennials are influencing the marketing norms

Ever thought why there is suddenly so much craze for chatbots and Artificial Intelligence? 

Why did facebook come up with facebook live?

Why are all the companies in the world spending so much money on analytics and digital marketing?

The new age companies are now more focused than ever before to reach out to the social animals, chat junkies and the gadget gizmos who are more popularly known as the Millennials.

The Millennial generation is also transforming the way in which companies market their products both online and offline in order to stay relevant.The generation of people now 18-34 years old engage with brands far more extensively and personally than older generations. They expect the brands to behave the same way as they do.

They are driving a transformation of consumer marketing across four elements:

reach, relevance, relation and referral:

§  Reach -- Millennials engage much more extensively with brands through social media and mobile devices than older generations. Millennials check prices, look up product information or search for promotions on their mobile devices while in a store.

§  Relevance -- Millennials say they are most influenced by family, friends, and strangers. They are also twice as likely as Gen-Xers (ages 35-49) to say that they are influenced by celebrities and four times more likely than boomers.

§  Relation -- Nearly twice as many Millennials as boomers cite "availability 24-7" as the most important thing that brands can do to engage them.

§  Referral – Millennials believe in the concept of referrals and influencers play a big role in their decisions to purchase any product.

Bourbon, India’s first premium chocolate biscuit from Britannia had lost its charm, in the sixty years of its existence. The brand wanted to bring back the lost charm and connect with today’s millennial generation.

It announced the launch of a new smartphone called the Bon. The smartphone reportedly ran on Chocolatey 2.0 and had features like power pack, friend finder, auto charge, etc. User participation was boosted with the help of fun contests where the new Bon6 phone was up for grabs.

When the buzz was at its peak during the unboxing, the duo revealed it as the new Bourbon biscuit. Each of the features was also explained: Chocolaty 2.0 because the new Bourbon was ‘thoda aur chocolaty’, Friend Finder because sharing a Bourbon helps you find new friends instantly, Power Pack because it Is available in Hangout pack as well as in a Pocket pack, and more.

Hence going forward brands need to represent the voice of the millennials, speak in their language and also respond in the same manner.

Virtual shall become reality and reality will become virtual.

IIM Raipur explores ‘Infinite Dimensions’, hosts fourth edition of TEDx

From artists and authors to record holders and ideapreneurs, speakers from diverse walks of life graced the fourth edition of TEDx IIM Raipur.Drawing on the theme of ‘Infinite dimensions’, the speakers spoke about how all around us are infinite opportunities, ideas and challenges that need to be solved and brought to realization. The attendees witnessed the prolific speakers and thinkers talk about how they reshaped their own boundaries with their wisdom and experiences.

The event kicked off with a few mesmerizing performances by the students. The first speaker of the day, celebrated photographer and speaker Mr. Arvind Chenji gave a thought-provoking talk on the things he learned from his journey as a photographer. He also spoke about the next part of his journey, where he intends to meet and celebrate the lesser known but fabulous people of India. “When someone comes up with a novel or different idea, people laugh at that person, killing his or her morale. It is those who don’t let their morale die out who create wonders“, said Mr. Chenji.

The next speaker, author and life coach Mr. Achal Rangaswamy, gave a talk on the ‘Joy of Selling’. He gave the students valuable lessons on sales from his vast experience. ‘When you want to sell, don’t sell’ was his mantra that he shared with the audience. “Everyone sells. Politicians, lawyers, doctors – all of them sell. Yet, there is an unnecessary stigma associated with a sales guy, which needs to change” said Mr. Rangaswamy

Iconic international model and artist Ms. Ninja Singh, gave a talk on ‘Life with a purpose and the ultimate secret to success’. She spoke about how women are beaten down for being who they want to be and also described her venture which aims encouraging modeling among women irrespective of their skin colour. “Women need to start dreaming to come out of stereotypes. They need to be heard. No one is self-made, it has to be a collective effort", said Ms. Singh.

Noted actor and songwriter Mr. Zeeshan Ayyub also gave a motivating talk on the topic ‘The world is yours to explore’. He spoke about how failures are stepping stones to success and how satisfaction and contentment stop people from exploring their options.

Miss World Asia Ms. Koyal Rana, spoke on the topic ‘Impress yourself’. A well-known philanthropist, her talk focused on how to achieve internal happiness. “We tie our happiness to how many compliments, likes or followers we get. There are infinite such people and we would never be able to impress each one of them. The only true way of being happy is by impressing yourself", said the beauty pageant titleholder.

Renowned producer and director, Mr. Gajendra Singh, spoke on the topic ‘Be positive, think positive, live positive’. His talk focussed on the challenges he faced while conceptualizing and implementing his TV shows Antakshari and SaReGaMaPa and how keeping a positive attitude helped him achieve success.

Founder of the paperless postcards, Ms. Bistriti Poddar, spoke about how we need to give up things to achieve success. The ideapreneur and writer said “Do not be scared of giving up because the moment you break cliché, you are hoisted to achieve success”. She gave examples of how she gave up her comfort zone, fears and possessions in order to achieve success.

The last speaker of the day, bestseller author and songwriter, Mr. Divya Prakash Dubey, spoke on the topic ‘Why should you never write a book’. He urged the students to find a strong reason before attempting to write a book and change the world.

Every speaker left an impression on every mind present in the auditorium. It definitely gave them a food for thought. Perhaps it is time for all of us to explore the infinite dimensions surrounding us and surpass the boundaries that restrict us.

Keep Calm and Visit South Korea

Marcel Proust, the French novelist, observed that "the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new lands but in seeing with new eyes".I understood the significance of this statement as a member of the Youth delegation from IIM Raipur.

The delegation to South Korea was my first international experience and it couldn't have been better. Be it the arrangements regarding the journey or the stay, kudos to Indian Ministry as well as the South Korean Government. The entire 9-day programme gave us an opportunity to meet and interact with South Korean students, officials in the Ministry as well as South Korean families. The diversity of experience was enormous. Not just in South Korea, but also within the Indian delegation, students had come from diverse backgrounds which further enlivened the experience of being a part of the team.

My favourite part throughout the trip was 'stay with a Korean Family', as we got a chance to observe their lifestyle and way of living.We got a chance to grab bites of delicious South Korean home-made food and also share our own tastes from India. Besides, the organized and beautiful streets, their usage of high-end technologies motivated us to bring similar changes in our country. The people were quite friendly and had very calm demeanour. The beaches were serene and the pleasant weather complemented the feel.

We visited multiple cities in South Korea via bus and also got to experience the traditions at a South Korean village. Be it the joy of posing in native outfits or the awe of visiting High-tech Samsung Innovation Centre, South Korea had it all.

The Indian and South Korea governments are open to strengthening the Indo-South Korean relations beyond just diplomatic efforts. The two governments have taken sincere efforts in revitalizing the historical relationship through people-to-people contacts, which is an effective initiative. The complete programme was meticulously planned and seamlessly executed and the hospitality, friendly attitude and the affection shown to us throughout the 9-day trip will be etched in my mind for the rest of my life.

Author :

Monika Vasvani

Class of PGP 16-18

IIM Raipur

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official view.