The popularity of brands like Toms Shoes among the millennial generation is no coincidence. Millennials want to associate with companies and brands that are involved in the community and that make them feel good (Sujansky & Ferri-Reed, 2009, pg. 45).
As the first generation required to complete community service to graduate from high school, millennials are experts on volunteering, and they often extend the mindset to their purchases, which has attracted marketers eager to woo "social-aware shoppers" (Davidson, 2010, para. 5).
Recently, Microsoft's Bing search engine has been profiling Krochet Kids International, an organization launched by three friends who wanted to make a difference, in their television advertisements.
"Buy a hat, change a life."
Thirty-second Bing/Krochet Kids spot airing now
The ad is part of a series of Bing Originals that go behind the scenes to tell various stories, all of which feature the Bing website.
The Bing/Krochet Kids commercials attract attention because they feel somewhat out of character for Microsoft, a company who has been ridiculed for being out-of-touch (see any Mac/PC advertisement by Apple.) The collaboration with Krochet Kids promotes Bing in a positive light while keeping the focus on a company created by millennials that exhibits many of the key qualities the generation values.
Microsoft is currently working with Razorfish and Co Collective to evaluate re-positioning the brand, and feedback on the evaluation isn't expected until next year (Patel & Parekh, 2011, para. 1-2). How and if Bing continues to court the demographic remains to be seen.
Given millennials' expertise using technology, they should be kept top of mind. Persuading millennials to move away from Google would certainly be a difficult task, but should Bing position themselves as a search engine that offers 'more' than Google, they may be able to capture the generation's attention.
______________________________________________________________
Davidson, S. (2010, December 1). Have yourself a merry millennial Christmas.
Millennial Marketing. Retrieved on October 15, 2011 from
http://millennialmarketing.com/2010/12/have-yourself-a-merry-millennial-christmas/
Patel, K. & Parekh, R. (2011, September 23). Bing may ax its "decision engine"
positioning. Advertising Age. Retrieved on October 15, 2011 from http://adage.com
/article/digital/microsoft-s-bing-ax-decision-engine-positioning/230011/
Sujansky, J. & Ferri-Reed, J. (2009). Keeping the Millennials. (pg. 45). Retrieved
October 15, 2011 from http://books.google.com/books?id=nG_jJWOzhHMC&
pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=millennials+charity&source=bl&ots=mVSgcTufTY&
sig=CZqVp1Ow- hgp7zyWSs9qPlSJqA8&hl=en&ei=a7qYTue5IKH-sQK25aCpBA&
sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&
q=millennials%20charity&f=false
No comments:
Post a Comment