Gen Y Brand Loyalty

On this blog, we generally refer to Gen Y as having been born between 1981 and 2001. However, Eldeman Consulting defines Gen Y as individuals born between 1980 and 1995, hence the name of their new Millennial consultancy group, 8095.

Eldeman wrote a white paper in which they interviewed Gen Y in eight countries, including the U.S., Brazil and China. Why?  To learn about what John Dingles, the Senior Vice President, called “the diversity of the group.”  In their view, Gen Y is a very diverse group, since within that age range some members of the generation are in high school and some are starting families.  Therefore, there are significant differences in their priorities.

The survey reveals some interesting stats.  In this blog post, I highlight a few, but click here to learn more about their research.

(1) Gen Y brand preferences is a big part of their personal identity. Eldeman found that along with race and religion, brand preference was among the most important factor influencing a person’s self-identity.

(2) Gen Y have a strong sense of brand loyalty.

(3) Brand preference is highly personal. This makes sense in the age where supporting a brand also means “Liking” it on Facebook, where the brand appears next to a personal profile.  As one participant said, “It’s not about helping a brand; it’s about helping my friends.”

(4) 70% take action on behalf of a brand they support (suggesting it to friends, liking it on a social network, etc).

(5) A staggering nine out of ten say they take weekly action on behalf of their preferred brands!

What is clear from the report is that as these Gen Y digital natives increasingly gain spending power, capturing and keeping their brand loyalty will be the most important job for marketers.

More on Eldeman’s Millennial work here: http://edelman8095.tumblr.com/