Only a minority is so

BBC Advertising published a detailed analysis of the millennial generation on Thursday that dispels misconceptions about this target group and aims to make it easier for advertisers to reach the most desirable and accessible group of millennials for advertising. The study, entitled "Reaching Affluent Millennials", explains how brands can win over the most attractive and affluent segment within this group and what differences characterize "affluent" and non-affluent Millennials. The analysis also identifies the most valuable "supercharged" segment from an advertiser's perspective.

Only a minority exhibit millennial characteristics

Marketing experts have long considered millennials to be the most influential generation of all, as they decide what is new, cool and modern. However, the study by BBC Advertising shows that the views of a large majority (84%) of the 943 million millennials worldwide are not so different from those of older generations. The affluent millennials are clearly in the minority at 16 percent. It is they alone who exhibit the characteristic features of millennials that are often attributed to the entire generation.

Millennials with purchasing power are into sustainability

The study found that Millennials with high purchasing power have a special relationship with money - they are 36 percent more likely to consider themselves wealthier than rich people from previous generations. They are also very committed to the environment - 78% agree that they do all they can to help the environment. They are also much more likely than non-affluent millennials to demonstrate this through their purchasing behavior: 72% would spend more on sustainable products than the 57% of non-affluent millennials.

As a result, Millennials with high purchasing power have higher expectations of brands. 82% prefer brands that give something back to society, compared to only 67% of Millennials without purchasing power. In terms of the environment and corporate responsibility, the affluent part of this group expects the same behavior from brands. In order to stand out positively with this target group, brands must be authentic and put promises into practice.

Emotional brand loyalty

The study also found that Millennials with purchasing power have a greater emotional attachment to brands - 70% agree that their favorite brands are an important part of their lives. This group is 36% more likely to define themselves by the brand products they buy than Millennials without purchasing power.

According to the study and contrary to the prevailing opinion, Millennials with purchasing power also have a stronger connection to international news providers than to news channels on social media. Furthermore, the analysis concludes that this group prefers international news providers when it comes to better understanding world events and making important life decisions. For them, trust in news providers is the top priority at 83 percent. BBC emphasizes these findings for understandable reasons. BBC reaches 69 percent of Millennials with purchasing power every month, compared to just 18-24 percent of young online news.

Sean O'Hara, BBC Advertising SVP Sales, EMEA and Latin America: "In an increasingly competitive market where there is a growing choice of brands for consumers to buy or identify with, it is imperative that advertisers understand who their target audience is and how to reach them. The study goes beyond stereotyping different generations and provides advertisers with a completely new, detailed picture of the Millennial group, from their behavior to their views."

The most sought-after segment

The study also identifies the most valuable segment within the affluent millennial group: the so-called "supercharged" group has a strong international focus, is economically more influential and is considered an early adopter and brand ambassador. More importantly, they are opinion leaders of their generation.

Thanks to the results of the study, media agencies should be able to recognize and reach this "supercharged" group for the benefit of advertisers. The group is now part of the "Global Web Index" media planning tool, which allows campaigns to be optimized for this segment. The BBC emphasizes that it achieves top results in addressing this group and that special campaigns for this target group can be booked on BBC.com via BBC Advertising.

Further study results:

- 73 percent of Millennials with purchasing power prefer brands that provide them with content (59 percent of Millennials without purchasing power)

- 67 percent prefer it when brands tell a story (57 percent among those with less purchasing power)

- 74 percent of Millennials with purchasing power agree that news from other parts of the world is more relevant to them today than in the past (54 percent of those without purchasing power)

- 77 percent of Millennials with purchasing power are happy that their generation is taking responsibility for the future (64 percent of those without purchasing power)

About the study

The study was conducted in August and September 2016 by the video market research company Voxpopme with over 3,000 respondents from 31 countries. The respondents were selected from a Millennial pool from the industry-wide planning tool Global Web Index and are considered a benchmark for the entire Millennial base with purchasing power. The study also included surveys of Millennials with purchasing power from seven markets - Australia, Germany, USA, Canada, India, Singapore and South Africa.