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Marketing to Generations.

Five different generations now have purchasing power, so how are companies figuring out how to best serve each of these generations individually? Mostly by conducting research to learn how behaviors among generations can impact marketing campaigns and purchasing habits. We attended a recent conference at the Carlson School of Management whose goal was to answer this question. Eight keynote speakers presented, including representatives from Target, Under Armour, Starbucks and Electronic Arts.

One part of the conference that particularly stood out to us was the talk by Linh Peters, vice president of brand marketing for Starbucks. In 2017, Starbucks was attempting to relaunch its Nitro Cold Brew coffee, trying to make it relevant nationwide. Through qualitative research, Starbucks found that the taste and texture of the coffee were what resonated with customers most strongly. However, at the same time customers were confused about how the nitro process connects to that taste and texture experience. So Starbucks had to build understanding and believability when relaunching the Nitro Cold Brew. Its strategy included bringing on Bill Nye (“the Science Guy”) as a spokesperson for the campaign, with hopes of educating customers on the nitro process in a less technical fashion. Nye was brought in also because he resonates with multiple generations, and Nitro Cold Brew was intended to appeal to the mass market.

This case study and others from this conference started us thinking about how our clients are figuring out the best ways to reach their core consumers and what research they might be conducting in order to improve their own strategy. How is your company tackling the ever-changing consumer market? Connect with us to continue the conversation.