What TV Was for Boomers, Mobile Is for Millennials

Cue the sonic boom — the digital media industry has exploded. Building a multichannel media campaign today makes me think of cleaning up after my twins’ second birthday party: total chaos, bits of really cool things everywhere and millions of places to start with seemingly no end in sight. Devices, channels, formats, tactics, tools. Cross-channel strategies. Multiscreen plans. TV is out. Wait, no, connected TV is in. Data. Performance. ROI. And the list goes on and on. Does anyone really know how to piece all of this together? Conversely, this new path to purchase is the most convenient it has ever been for customers. Access to information is on demand. Wants, needs, dreams — all fulfilled within moments. Sometimes, the one thing we’re looking for appears before our very eyes. It’s magic, right? Well, not exactly. We’ve been here before. A Turning Point in Advertising The last time magic like this happened was on July 1, 1941. It was a Tuesday, and the Brooklyn Dodgers were playing the Philadelphia Phillies. But more importantly, it was the first full day of commercial television, and during that game, the first paid TV ad was aired. The ad was for Bulova clocks and watches and it cost the company $9 for the 20 seconds it ran. (To put that into perspective, during the 2014 Super Bowl, 30 seconds of airtime cost $4.2 million.) Television breathed visual life into brands. It offered unimaginable access to masses of people. It changed the way we consumed information and sought entertainment. This new medium also changed everything about the way advertising was done: the agency business model, the creative process and the metrics. Forget video — TV killed the radio star. And the generation that tuned into this new era of media was Baby Boomers — an original group of roughly 76 million people who, until now, held the title of the largest and most influential generation in history. Enter the Millennials. Born between 1981 and 1997, this group is a powerhouse. According to Pew Research Center, more than one in three American workers are Millennials, and this year, they became the largest share of the American workforce. More significantly, Millennials as a whole recently surpassed Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation, making their $200 billion in annual spending no surprise. As if the magnitude of their size and spend wasn’t enough, they’re also equipped with the next wave of technology that’s disrupting the media empire built (and once sustained) by commercial TV: mobile. Mobile Is the New TV Suddenly, the idea of being able to reach someone anytime, anywhere is reality. And this reality is a total game changer. The mighty Millennials have collided with mobile, and the results are astounding. The way content is consumed — whether it’s for education, entertainment, or essentials — has completely shifted. New screen, new rules. And while Millennials are leading this massive change, adoption is ubiquitous. In fact, this movement is so powerful that the trusty old marketing funnel is dead. The path to purchase is no longer defined by stages and phases, but mere moments. Opportunity now lives within split seconds throughout our day. These moments motivate and influence action for every generation on any medium. If your brand is present on mobile or in a social feed, is ranked in search, or appears in a compelling interstitial at just the right moment, it will reign supreme. Predictably, Google is leading the pack in this new school of thought and has parsed this customer journey into micro-moments. Here’s how Google frames it: I want to know: More than 5 billion Google searches are performed daily. From top news stories to the latest travel destinations, they’re in the moment, on demand and mostly mobile. I want to do: This is a DIY moment — show me, teach me, help me. The most popular “I want to do” searches are home improvement, beauty and cooking. I want to go: This moment is specific to location. What’s near me? Coffee, stores, restaurants, gas. How can I get to this store right now? I want to buy: These moments range from researching big-ticket items like homes and cars to standing in an aisle at the grocery store comparing products. Fueled by intent to purchase, searches include price comparisons, coupons, reviews and more. This transformation isn’t just about building brand awareness or advancements in digital media. Of course, that’s part of it. More than anything else, we’re living through a transformation in human behavior — powered by mobile. And we’re not talking about just one inflection point; we’re talking about millions upon millions of them. Each is an opportunity to connect, interact and inspire. As marketers, it’s important to adjust our strategies to reflect this new approach. It’s time to place the techniques and touchpoints we once hung our hats on in the “remember when” file and forge ahead — fast. The rate at which you pivot determines whether your brand is a pillar of performance or a pile of wasted time and money. This trajectory may be incredible to experience as a consumer — but it’s even better to capitalize on as a business. If you’re a Boomer, you know what’s coming. Whether you’re a member of Gen X, Gen Z, or a Millennial, get smart, find the right partners to help you succeed and strap in. It’s going to be one heck of a ride.

Performance Marketing

What TV Was for Boomers, Mobile Is for Millennials

Kelly Wenzel

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Kelly Wenzel