"Millennials" Now are Global, Mobile

“Millennials” now represent a mobile-oriented demographic on a global scale, not a specifically U.S. generation, says Troy Brown, one50one founder and president. “Millennials globally are nearly identical in their thoughts, habits and values, worldwide.”

The Internet, and mobile, largely are responsible for a growing “psychographic” similarity, worldwide, for “working class” youth, especially in the 21 to 29 age range, he says.

All of that puts a new “spin” on “multicultural” marketing. In the mobile realm, when dealing with Millennials anywhere in the world. Whatever their specific circumstances, “multicultural mobile users generally over-index their use of SMS, mobile web, and mobile advertising, as well as smartphone adoption, says Brown.

“We have identified three market dynamics that will impact multicultural mobile targeting in the next 18 to 24 months,” Brown says.

Two of the trends are directly related to mobile services. Brown says 4G services and devices that can use 4G, location-based services and the need for brands to “blend” all digital, social and mobile campaign elements to drive a personalized experience, are the key trends.

4G networks represent higher speeds, and will drive usage among multicultural demographics in one primary area: video sharing and streaming.

Despite the generality that global Millennials over-index in the use of their mobile devices, each individual accesses the Internet in his or her own personalized way, says Brown. Thus, brands and marketers need to cover all the bases across digital, social, and mobile domains.