#8. Brand is a marathon, not a sprint
26 Days to 2021!
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Hi!
These past few weeks have been a whirlwind! I’ve got some interesting content planned for the weeks ahead, including a round-up of 2021 business and marketing predictions from some of my favorite thought leaders.
But for now, I wanted to expand on a topic I kind of previously covered. A few weeks ago I wrote about nostalgia and how businesses have been using it like crazy in their 2020 marketing. Particularly to target Millennials.
Last week I wrapped up a brand strategy project that required me to do an analysis of 2 global F&B brands. Part of that analysis was asking how they can make some major waves in today’s world.
What would make for some relevant modern campaigns that resonated with their primary target demographic (Millennials), as well as laying the groundwork for relationship with even younger consumers (Gen-Z)?
Read this complete post as a web page instead.
On a personal level, these brands were at one point for me extremely top of mind.
But sometime after college it felt like I outgrew them. They lost their appeal as my priorities changed and as my resources expanded.
I evolved, and they didn’t seem to evolve with me at the same rate.
Meanwhile new competitors popped up who seemed much more attuned to what mattered to me. And even in cases where these new competitors were pricier options, I still tended to repeatedly gravitate toward them over the original brands.
Topshop: Casualty of Digital Evolution
Remember Topshop?
A decade ago it was one of the hottest retail fashion brands around, especially for Millennials.
It brought a sense of high fashion and elite, celeb looks to cash-strapped young people. And boasted partnerships with big names like Beyonce and Kate Moss.
The brand became a shining example of youthful retail.
But this past week retail group Arcadia (which includes Topshop within its umbrella) filed for bankruptcy and shut down all Topshop physical stores in the US.
The pandemic played a large role, but Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group were in a downward spiral that began before 2020. A variety of factors contributed, from mismanagement to Arcadia Chairman Sir Philip Green’s resistance to most changes. Including embracing digital and online expansion.
Now it looks likely that an online brand, like Boohoo, will scoop up many of the Arcadia names, like Topshop. Ironic given that digital-first retailers like Boohoo offer a model of what works with today’s young buyers versus Topshop’s failed strategy.
(Read this post as a web page with embedded videos for your convenience by clicking here.)
Heineken Aims to Save Beer From Millennials
Apparently we’re not drinking as much beer as the Married-With-Children-Al-Bundy generation.
The beer industry steadily reported market share losses, as younger people turned more to wine and hard liquor instead.
A 2016 poll found that American Millennials were more likely to drink “spirits” than beer during the Super Bowl that year, with wine coming in close as well. (By the way, are we still running with use of the word spirits?)
Heineken, a Dutch-based beer brand that dates back to the 19th century, found itself on shaky ground leading into 2020. With a longstanding history established on tradition, they’ve struggled to connect with Millennials.
Brian Walsh, senior director of consumer and market insights at HEINEKEN USA, said the brand’s research shows that Millennials are (1) more multicultural, (2) less likely to make decisions on beer purchases ahead of shopping trips, and (3) constantly looking for what’s new and what’s next when it comes to picking a brand.
And in many regards, they consider Millennials and Gen-Z to be pretty similar. Both are digital natives for one. And both are more aware of the dangers of alcoholism than previous generations.
Which means Heineken has had to participate in what Global Senior Brand Director Gianluca Di Tondo calls the “digital revolution.” More consumers are dividing their attention between multiple screens, even at the same time.
In the case of Heineken, they need to be effectively taking advantage of each of those screens as a space for connection. They’ve ramped up use of multiple social media platforms, and especially Instagram and YouTube, as advertising and communication channels. With more content directly tackling key social issues.
Heineken also is looking to expand its no-alcohol offerings and evolving its overall branding.
Whether these moves prove effective remains to be seen. The pandemic impacted the brand’s ability to reach consumers in pubs, which was previously still an important part of the customer experience for them.
Brand Darwinism (Is That A Thing?)
Millennials have forced a lot of industries to take a hard look at their ability to evolve. (Hence the series of “Millennials destroyed the xyz industry” articles that publishers love to periodically release.)
Although it’s less about a generation and more about changes in the entire world. Technology, the pandemic, social media, globalization.
Brands that remain fixed in one moment in time will find themselves facing more challenges to survive than others.
So many of those crappy “All Millennials” articles have tried to point fingers. They claim that the real problem is we have no tendency for brand loyalty.
Or that you can sum up Millennial marketing with a few simple trends.
College debt, avocado toast, Instagram before you eat, ruining the world.
Give me a break.
Apparently I’m not the only Millennial who hates being painted with the typical, overused broad Millennial strokes.
I’d like to (unironically) share this Pew Research study on how each generation responds to generational categories to back up my claim that we Millennials as a whole hate labels. And we really don’t like being lumped into the Millennial bucket.
“Just 40% of adults [born between 1981 and 1996] consider themselves part of the ‘Millennial generation,’ while another 33% – mostly older Millennials – consider themselves part of the next older cohort, Generation X.”
Compare that to nearly 80% of those born in 1946 - 1964 who embrace the Baby Boomer term. And nearly 60% of those born between 1965 - 1980 who accept being called Generation X.
(Pause to insert here that in my opinion both Gen X and Gen Z sound very cool, like a superhero clan of some kind.)
Defined (And Not Defined) by Diversity
So let’s start there.
Brands looking to connect with Millennials and Gen-Z should avoid throwing around labels or trying to overgeneralize. A segmented approach gives more room for the differences among us.
And considering that both Millennials and Gen-Z are two of the most ethnically and racially diverse generations ever (half or more of all post-Millennials are non-white), I’m not sure one-size-meets-all brand and marketing strategy will work long term.
Step one to creating a modern Millennial marketing strategy is to ask yourself which specific Millennials or post-Millennials are you trying to reach?
I created a list of other ways that brands can modernize their marketing strategy and compete for brand loyalty among the upcoming demographic of buyers.
You can find those here on my website if you want to read more.
By the way, this is my 8th newsletter issue, and I'd love to get your input on how to plan for future content. What would you be interested in reading about?
Share your thoughts with me by replying to this email or here!
And thanks for reading -- I really appreciate you.
Other News in 3-2-1:
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