Millennials are more influential than Baby Boomers thanks to the Internet and social media. They know more about the world at a younger age, and their voices are “amplified,” said Laura McEwen, publisher of Teen Vogue.
They also have tremendous purchasing power. In 2008, Millennials spent $733 billion. There are 75 million of them, ages 14 to 29 — as many as Baby Boomers.
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See a video highlight of Laura McEwen discussing the expanding influence of millennials>>
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Music and entertainment have always been important to youth. Now they are also into style, technology and politics.
“Youth have greater knowledge in key categories,” said McEwen. “They are more educated and informed about fashion and beauty, and they care about the environment. Because of social networking and being online, they hear about current events. News comes at them.”
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Teen Vogue is constantly listening to what they have to say through a panel of 120,000 “It” girls, who help out at Teen Vogue events and serve on focus groups. Twenty-eight percent of them own an iPhone or iPod Touch, a dramatic increase in the last few months, said McEwen.
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The panel told McEwen brands should be authentic and not try to sound younger and hipper than they are by using words such as “fly.” Treat Millennials like they’re special and important. And they love free stuff.
At Christmas, the magazine will release an iPhone application called HauteSpot. Girls will be able to snap photos of looks they like on the street and upload them to a virtual closet, then send them to Facebook. In 2010, HauteSpot will launch online as a community and store with branded interactive editors’ closets, e-commerce, video, e-mail and user-created looks.
Social media also plays a big role in special events with advertisers. For example, 3,000 girls have uploaded their photos to enter Clinique’s contest for the next “fresh face,” and they can vote online for 25 finalists.
Social media is participatory. According to McEwen, when Bloomingdale’s created a place where high school seniors could post their prom dress — to avoid duplicates — users installed 3,500 widgets, 85 percent of users rated a product and the click-through rate was 12 percent.