New Findings from Nielsen NeuroFocus Uncovers Significant Differences between Millennial and Older Brains on Marketing Engagement and Retention
New findings from Nielsen NeuroFocus, a global leader in neurological testing for consumer research, reconfirm the multitasking and engagement theories of Millennial brains while showing how increased engagement and retention provide insights into how they interact with digital ads. Testing response to online advertising, Nielsen NeuroFocus found that Millennials responded stronger to dynamic ads than to static ads, compared with the Boomer age group.
Frequently deemed the social media generation, Millennials are second to Boomers in terms of strong purchasing power yet are shown to engage with ads far differently than the previous generations. According to the new findings from Nielsen NeuroFocus, there are several key insights that brands can consider when preparing marketing messages for this influential group.
· Compared to Boomers, Millennials rely more heavily on each other for validation of their brand and product choices. The pre-frontal cortex is still developing as late as our mid-twenties. Until that time, the brain tends to rely more heavily on the social group in decision making. Younger Millennials are still defining themselves in a fundamental, neurological way.
· Millennial brains can multitask. Millennials have grown up with the constant use of devices, and their brains have adapted to a rapid task-switching environment. According to Nielsen’s State of the Media Report released in Spring 2012, Millennials were more likely than the general population to watch TV while checking sports scores, looking up a deal seen on TV, looking up product information seen on TV, or visiting a social network. Millennial brains are better at suppressing distractions than are Boomer brains, so they can navigate more complex message delivery without losing focus and concentration.
· Millennials “friend-vertise”: Because the 18-to-24-year-old brain is still developing, Millennials rely heavily on each other for product and brand advice. According to Nielsen NeuroFocus, 68 percent won’t make a major decision without running it through their network first, and 85 percent said that user-generated content had some influence on what they purchased, especially larger purchases. This reliance on social media is unsurprising: according to Nielsen’s State of the Media report, Millennials are 82 percent more likely to build or update a personal blog than the average US adult, and 55 percent more likely to either become a fan or follow a brand. However, they are only 3 percent more likely to purchase online a product featured on TV.
· Millennial brains are developing new forms of condensed speech, have created a new type of slang vocabulary, and they expect rapid-fire responses. Marketers need to be attuned to how Millennials communicate in terms of speech, tone, and message delivery.
Millennials have increasingly become an important age group for brands and marketers. They’re expanding globally and according to some estimates will have more spending power than Boomers in less than five years. Because they are more informed and connected than their parents ever were, they expect to be in the middle of the media conversation about brands and products while demanding quick responses to their concerns and requests.
Further information about Nielsen NeuroFocus can be found at the company’s Web site at www.neurofocus.com.
