Concentric Marketing Releases New Study -- Everything You Thought You Knew About Millennials Might Not be True

CHARLOTTE, N.C, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Concentric Marketing, a consumer packaged goods marketing and research firm, today released the results of a recent study they conducted around brand attitudes, shopping habits and preferences of Millennial consumers. The results reveal some divergence from some of the commonly held beliefs surrounding this important and upcoming cohort. The report asserts some insights marketers will find helpful in understanding and micro targeting within this generation.

A few interesting findings from the study include:

• While over 96% of college-age Millennials have a Facebook account, nearly half of them stated they didn't believe brands should be on social media. Nearly 70% report following three or fewer brands across all social media channels.
• In the face of being dubbed a "brand agnostic" generation by former studies, 17-32 year old Millennials are surprisingly pragmatic in forming their perceptions around brands and are heavily influenced and loyal to brands introduced to them by their parents.
• Despite studies showing over 1/3 of this generation is considered obese, Millennials in this study were very nutritionally knowledgeable. Nearly 60% cited the importance of monitoring caloric intake, protein, fat grams and sugar grams in their diets. They are also eating out less and cooking at home 5 or more times per week. When they do eat out, they showed a preference for perceived healthier options such as Subway, Chick-Fil-A and Chipotle.
• Although this generation is digitally adept and shows a bias for convenience, they still prefer a traditional brick and mortar shopping experience over e-commerce for the majority of their regular purchases.  When asked for the type of store they prefer to shop the most, nearly 60% cited the traditional grocery store and mass merchants such as Target and Walmart.

"As marketers, we must find a reasonable level to cluster diverse populations like these into meaningful groups. We must recognize true differences and nod to the nuances to find the right balance of segmentation and generalization," states Bob Shaw, President of Concentric Marketing. "This study opened our eyes to some remarkable insights that provide a foundation for smart segmentation of Millennials. These insights lead to micro targeting, improved messaging and efficiencies in reaching this coveted consumer." 

This study was completed on behalf of Hago, an experiential and sampling firm with a specialization in reaching college students across the U.S. It was conducted through an online panel format and included nearly 900 respondents representing 54 college campuses. Respondents ranged from age 17-32.

The full study is available for digital download by visiting http://getconcentric.com/millennial-research/

About Concentric Marketing

Concentric Marketing is a brand development and research firm with a specialization in launch, re-launch and acceleration on CPG brands on a national scale in unconventional ways. Core to our business is research; gleaning actionable insights into how people think, communicate, make decisions and act, ultimately empowering brands around new product innovation, branding, single-strand creative and trade and channel success. In the span of 13 years, over 150 companies have entrusted Concentric to build and their unique brands.

About Hago

Hago - Have A Good One is a collegiate marketing program that connects brands to elite college millennials ages 18-30 where they live, learn and play at the time they are forging life-long brand loyalties. The 70 upscale Hago prime location properties are adjacent to 61 major colleges and universities near high traffic venues across the U.S. Unique brand engagement opportunities offered by Hago include: direct in-residence product sampling placements to 43,000 students; on-site tailor-made experiential events; exclusive sponsorships for daily brand impressions; web portal and social interaction promotion of all brand events; post-event student feedback; and Brand Ambassador liaison. Hago was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC in partnership with EdR real estate investment trust; Elauwit Campus Partners off-campus housing technology network provider; and, Concentric Marketing.

Contact: Danielle Durange 
Concentric Marketing
704-731-5115
[email protected]

SOURCE Concentric Marketing