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Things Are Getting Weird: The Friday Don’t Miss List
One brand leaning into the absurd to get young consumers' attention, travel Millennialized, and the Target kid who launched a thousand memes. It's all...
November 7th, 2014
Brands Co-Creating Their Futures With Millennials
87% of Millennials say that they think brands should get consumers like them to give opinions before creating products. But what does it look like when...
November 6th, 2014
How’s the Weather Out There? Customization Gets Climate Sensitive
Recommendations have become a regular part of how young consumers shop, find entertainment, and more. In fact, when we asked 14-32-year-olds if they ever...
November 5th, 2014
Gift Post: Holiday Shopping Insights & Data
Winter is coming...and so are the winter holidays. Luckily, our archive of Millennial data and insights is full of information on young consumers' holiday...
November 4th, 2014
Three Brands Putting Digital Stars In The Marketing Spotlight
Digital celebs have more sway over young consumers than traditional Hollywood stars. We've entered a new era, and the definition of celebrity spokespeople is...
November 3rd, 2014
Trends & Treats: The Friday Don’t Miss List
E-carve a pumpkin, drink a Franken Frappaccino, and put on your emoji mask, it’s your round-up of inspiration, trends, and marketing to know...
October 31st, 2014
Be Here Now: Using Tech To Escape From Tech
We've been tracking young consumers' growing desire to unplug and just "be here now" for some time. But now we see them turning to...
October 30th, 2014
Leaning Into Nostalgia: 3 Brands Profiting Off Millennial Wistfulness
Ok, so we know that Millennials and teens are nostalgic, but where do you go from there? Millennials nostalgia has at this point ...
October 29th, 2014
Halloween Marketing Tricks & Treats
Sometimes it seems that brands are so eager to get a jump on the winter holiday marketing that they miss what could be a pretty...
October 28th, 2014
Niche Networks to Watch
In the world of social networking, we've learned not to discount the niche networks. They can not only be hotbeds of creativity, but also grow into powerful cultural, and marketing, forces. Here are the ones to watch.
It’s easy to get tunnel vision and focus on just the major social networks that have acquired a ton of users. But over years of observing young consumers and social networking, we’ve learned not to discount the niche networks. For one, they can grow over time to become major cultural forces. Six years ago, we were explaining Twitter to brands and answering questions about whether the, at the time niche, network had staying power. Niche networks can also eventually surprise everyone by becoming profitable. Tumblr has been a hub of creative users and passionate fandoms, has never become as ubiquitous as Facebook, and not many who only saw it as a oddball GIF-factory would have guessed that the site could make $100 million this year.
Sure, there are stories of much-hyped networks going the way of the dinosaurs, or not making has much of an impact as promised. In 2010, four programmers from NYU made a huge splash by declaring that they were going to build a social network that was better than Facebook and that gave users more control over their information. They far-surpassed their funding goals on Kickstarter, and Mark Zuckerberg himself reportedly invested in the project. Flash-forward just a few years and that ambitious project has clearly not become the “Facebook killer” it wanted to be. But that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything to learn from Diaspora: mistrust of Facebook had become commonplace, and now we’ve seen that the desire to create a more secure place has led to the rise of privacy apps and anonymous social networking. Diaspora was in some ways a hint at the social media trends to come. Niche networks can be important—here are some to watch:
1. Ello
If you missed it, you might have been unplugged for a month, because this September new social network Ello made the internet go a little crazy. The ad-free, invite-only platform that launched March of this year had a surge of popularity so intense that they were receiving up to 30,000 invite requests an hour and had to temporarily limit users’ ability to send new ones. One invitation was sold on ebay for $500. Ello is being called “anti-Facebook” thanks to its manifesto, which declares, “Your social network is owned by advertisers” and that, “You are the product that’s bought and sold.” Now Ello has raised $5.5 million to expand, and has also reincorporated as a public benefit corporation, so they can legally never show ads.
Why You Should Know It: No one can tell at the moment if Ello is a passing fad, but some are calling it a “haven” from commercialized social networking—and based on the clamor to join, clearly that's something that is truly appealing right now. The site reportedly currently has 1 million users and another impressive 3 million on the waiting list—so it could still be something big. At the same time, some brands, like Netflix, have already created a presence on the site so though advertising will not likely be a part of its future, it could be a space to have a different kind of conversation with young consumers.
2. NewHive
In the days of MySpace’s popularity, young consumers flocked to the site thanks in part to the ability to customize their profiles (usually with a lot if Blingees) and express themselves visually on the network. A lot of that customization and creativity has disappeared from profile-based social network
Millennial News Feed
Quote of the Day: "I get ideas about what to buy for others for the holidays from websites with best of lists (like top ten gifts for mom).” –Male, 27, CA
Trolls, bullies, flame wars—comment sections online have them all. Is the solution simply to turn off the comments? PewDiePie, one of the biggest stars of YouTube, has done just that. In a recent video he posted expressing his happiness with the decision, the video game vlogger said, “It's been making me really happy, and it's been making me really enjoy what I do. Which is really important to me.” The fight for positivity in social media is clearly continuing. (Business Insider)
Cartoons might not just be for kids anymore, but Millennial tastes have reshaped the way that humor in the genre is approached. For Gen Xers growing up, comedy was often driven by irony. Shows on the Cartoon Network, like Adventure Time—which is successful with both young and old Millennials—make emotion a central part of the story, instead of satire or sarcasm. For young viewers, “sincerity and humor” should “co-exist.” (Fast Company)
For Millennials, finances can be a scary concept. Between debt, trying to save, and the risk of investments, there is a lot to overwhelm and stress them out. The Society For Grownups wants to be the “safe place” where they can learn about money and have even complicated financial concepts “demystified.” The company calls themselves a “master’s program for adulthood” and provides group classes, one-on-one “check-ups” with advisors, and a host of pleasantly-designed digital tools to manage their money. (Wired)
In 2015, emojis will get more diverse. In response to user complaints, five more shades of skin will be added by the Unicode Consortium (they’re the people in charge of all things emoji) to reflect “the variety of people who use smartphones.” Millennials are the most diverse generation to date, and Plurals are even more so—as they age up we’ll continue to see examples of them demanding that their own images are reflected in the media they use and consume. (NPR)
Millennials want to save the world on the side, and look for ways to integrate social good into the things they already do. Nike, Bank of America, and (Red) have teamed up to get college students involved in the fight for an AIDS-free generation in a campaign that does just that. Turn Your Miles (Red) asks students to pledge the miles they run and use the Nike+ Running App to track their activity. For every mile they run or walk, Bank of America will donate 40 cents to fight HIV/AIDS. (Red)
It’s Friday, which means there is probably plenty of news about young consumers that you missed this week. But that’s ok! Every Friday, Ypulse’s Friday Don’t Miss List goes over all the trends we covered that week, more insights you should know, and any viral content you shouldn’t miss. It’s the best way to end the week, and Gold and Silver subscribers have access to it all. (Ypulse)
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Millennials are asking...
I have never seen a bigger cry for help in a man's eyes.. ;)
I love genealogy! Who else likes knowing where you come from?
Are u a AAA member? Wondering if I should get? Got a flat this morning :/
I couldn't make it to my boss Charles's party Saturday night. My wife stepped in for me and went :)
The number one rule. Then you can love freely...!!!!!!
Time to turn Left, I'd say.. Right????
I think its to early for stores to be playing xmas music. Do you?
Do you have unlimited data?
Are you ready for thanksgiving?
I couldn't make it to my boss's party Saturday night.. Glad my wife Hayley made it tho :)
My wife Hayley :) married almost 2 years now. Love this weather
Terrible thighs
I just did this with my fingernail and I have no way of washing it for a while. Is that a safety hazard?
Nothing you will do today will change the fact that it's Monday. Enjoy it.