Businesses compete for next generation’s spending
By Ashley Oñoz-Wright, Las Vegas Sun
The largest consumer group in history is entering the marketplace. Their wallets bulge with $1.68 trillion in buying power, and by 2020, they are expected to make up one-third of the adult population.
They’re the millennials, the generation generally defined as being born between the early 1980s and early 2000s.
Unlike Baby Boomers, who marketers typically target with print ads, billboards and television commercials, millennials get their messaging through social media. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram influence them to try a restaurant, visit a music venue or check out a nightclub. Recommendations can come from friends or total strangers.
Reaching a millennial audience demands new marketing sensibilities and approaches. Local public relations professionals have had to learn how to use social media as a promotional tool. It’s not as easy as it might sound.