You learn from what you watch according to some very interesting research by Google and partner organisations, the results debunking some long-held marketing myths.
As customer’s preference evolves and their priorities change over time, your job as a marketer is to keep up with their needs. This is the reason why creating an appealing marketing campaign is easier said than done. The debunking of these myths should give you some great insight and might inspire the next best campaign. If your target market is in one of the below, you’ve just been given a great head start.
Marketing Myth #1: Focus on Mothers Only Because They Are the Decision-Makers
This might have been applicable over a decade but as technology progresses so does its environment. Fathers have become decision-makers in the home, too. The ‘traditional’ family structure has changed drastically. Fathers become active parents, especially with the rise of the same-sex households, single parenthood, and stay-at-home dads, for example.
A 2016 study[1] showed that 86% of millennial dads use Youtube for parenting guides. Apart from highlighting the importance of including dads when targeting parents with advertising or informational content, the result shows a greatly underserved audience offering massive opportunities to connect.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Ipsos research among 3,206 U.S. respondents aged 18–54; n=1,027 respondents aged 21–34 who go online at least monthly, with children 18 years or younger living in their household (biological, adopted, or stepchild) (“millennial parents”), inclusive of n=803 respondents aged 21–34 who visit YouTube at least monthly, with children 18 years or younger living in their household (biological, adopted, or stepchild) (“YouTube millennial parents”), Sept. 2016.
Marketing Myth #2: Outcasting Gen X in the Digital World
Gen X could be described as nearly the opposite of Gen Z commonly known as the ‘millennials’. Many marketers have forgotten Gen X when it comes to marketing technology. Gen X might not be digital natives, but they are very fond of digital platforms. As a matter of fact, the study showed that more of them can become addicted to smartphones compared with the millennials.
A study conducted by Pixability suggests that Youtube receives 1.5 billion views from Gen X every day. Another study showed that 75% of Gen X watch Youtube monthly on multiple devices, implying that cross-device video campaigns are extremely important when targeting Gen X.
Sources: Pixability Software. All-time data up to Nov. 2016.
Google/Ipsos Connect, U.S., YouTube Human Stories: Gen X, n=1,004 respondents age 35–54 who go online at least monthly, Sept. 2016.
Marketing Myth #3: Millennials Just Want to Have Fun
It’s easy to think that millennials only use digital devices purely for fun, entertainment or follow what’s on trend. However, this is not the case most of the time. Many millennials use smartphones and videos to learn.
Millennials use Youtube to watch videos about adulthood and helpful videos to help them with almost everything. More research by Google and partners showed that 93% of them watch on Youtube to learn how to do something.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, U.S., YouTube Human Stories: Millennials, n=1,901 respondents age 21-36 who go online at least monthly, Sept. 2016.
The message is simple, myths and stereotypes don’t help with digital marketing campaigns. Collecting consumer research behaviour, such as above, can give you great insights on how to create a much more effective campaign.
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