claire nuttal web

How do you influence a millennial? That was a big question posed in last week’s issue. 

These young bods are fickle. They know their own minds, and satisfaction in every experience is key to them as every single penny they spend matters. It’s great for the food industry because they love food and yet 88% feel uninspired by supermarkets. We need to inspire them.

They are not buying as we expect, but want to be heard and have feedback for brands. Given the opportunity, once they trust you, they will hand over every detail about how they think and behave. How good’s that?

So when it comes to how to influence them and gain that trust, much more effort is required to demonstrate care, give detailed attention to their needs, and make them feel valued. They need to feel the love. A rethink is needed about how this huge and often overlooked consumer group is approached and looked after.

A key aspect is respect for their views and what they do and believe in. I was really impressed last week to hear about a brand called Digin, which delivers sampling boxes to students.

The Student Welcome Parcels are a route for brands wishing to get samples to this influential group who are shopping for themselves for the first time, and are notoriously active in giving direct feedback to everyone. Whatever they say, wouldn’t that feedback be worth its weight in gold?

In 2016, Digin will deliver a Welcome Box to more than 350,000 students on their very first day on campus, packed with a mix of exciting and much-loved brands. Potentially the beginning of a longlasting relationship, if you get it right. 

Brands could very much benefit from hearing detailed feedback and likelihood of purchase from these millennials along with authentic social noise and dedicated hashtags and incentives to share and review. 

Sampling can also be made much more tailored if the brands choose to do so.

With 15% of participants feeding back in the first 10 days, I think if anyone was looking to acquire this vital audience they should look out. Big brands are getting involved, but small entrepreneurial brands could also get access to these fresh-thinking, value-driven individuals and gain fundamentally honest feedback at a vital stage of their development to shape and hone their brand offers. 

I think Chris Platt, managing director of Digin, is on to a good thing. Just look at the success and impact of Bounty packs for new mums. 

Now I’m showing my age!

Claire Nuttall is founder of the Brand Incubator

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