It’s difficult to imagine the Coachella crowd at Chuck E. Cheese’s or to picture tattooed 20-somethings at a parent-teacher conference. But pop by just about any playground today and you’ll find a tribe of new Millennial moms and dads pushing strollers packed with organic snacks, hosting Pinterest-inspired birthday parties, and (of course) snapping photos for the Gram.
But here’s the thing: the attitudes and behaviors of Millennial parents are a strong contrast to the more common (and often misinformed) characterizations of the Millennial generation overall. As these hip trendsetters become parents, it’s time to start thinking about them differently.
At Barkley, our research into the Millennial Mindset has surfaced ways this unpredictable generation of consumers relates to brands. Now we’ve taken a deep dive into the Millennial parent and the findings are revealing. We’re seeing a rise of a new American pragmatism in which Millennial parents look much more moderate and traditional than you might have thought.
Organic diapers, gender reveal parties, and free-range parenting aside, Millennial parents aren’t a heck of a lot different than the generations of parents that have come before them. What’s changed is the context in which they are raising their kids. Parenting hasn’t changed much, but the world certainly has. And much like how the Millennial Mindset transcends and influences surrounding generations of consumers, you can expect to see this new generation of Millennial parents leave an unmistakable impression.
Here are a few lessons from our Millennial parents study. Some of these things are already clearly happening, and others we believe will emerge in the not-so-distant future:
1. Millennial idealism will shape a new global-citizen parenting mentality
Millennial parents will instill in their children an unprecedented sense of individual tolerance, inclusivity and social responsibility. Ethnic diversity will be the new normal and a true melting pot will emerge. This will change our politics and our social interactions considerably and we’ll begin to see how this progressive worldview becomes mainstream and redefines what it means to be “moderate.”
2. From food to fitness, a broadened definition of ‘healthy’ will influence key parenting decisions
A core group of millennial parents—though by no means all—will set a new standard when it comes to health, nutrition and fitness. Millennials view wellness as an active pursuit and a lifestyle commitment. They will insist on a new level of quality and purity in the products they use. And, perhaps more importantly, they’ll set a new standard for corporate brand transparency. Separately, we can expect to see mental health take a more significant seat at the table when discussing health and wellness among modern families.
3. The post-digital era will accelerate media consolidation and a new kind of tech disruption
Technology will become largely invisible. Devices will, of course, always have their lure, but this generation of parents will continually expect brands to push the limitations of technology to achieve a frictionless, customer-centric brand experience. As emerging technologies substantiate themselves within the modern marketing ecosystem, look for the same to be true for emerging media. Armed with information and digitally connected to a vast and growing community of parenting resources, Millennial parents are quickly becoming the savviest generation. For some time now, we have been living in a very noisy world, where clear signals fight to break through legacy media constructs. Look for that to change as media consolidation occurs, edging out those outlets that resist innovation. As a new media order takes hold, the world will experience the real power of the age of information.
4. Consumer-centered brands that stand for more than the bottom line will inspire a bright future for conscious capitalism
Millennial parents will support brands that reflect their values and think beyond profit. “Cause branding” will no longer be a sidebar activity. It will become integral to success as purpose-driven brands set a new standard for conscious capitalism. They will extend and expand the idea of the “participation economy,” forcing brands to strive for a consumer-centered corporate strategy as they’re constantly working to prove their value to customers to achieve loyalty.
Where to go from here: Parental ideology is only partly about social and political issues. In our full study, we looked at a larger range of issues, with a special emphasis on ones that have a direct bearing on how Millennial parents are raising their kids. The overall sentiment was a strong mix of idealism and harsh realism.
Our interpretation of this goes back to our core argument: Millennial parents are building a new kind of pragmatism. Pragmatism does not preclude or negate holding high ideals. In fact, the contrary is actually true; it makes it possible for ideals to turn into new realities—it’s how change comes about.
