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Companies4Good
By Allison McGuire
That said, I was very pleased to see MTV issue a press release rebutting some of the fresh claims about “Generation Me” aka Millennials. A recent academic study purports that my generation is minimally interested in “participating in a community action program” (Millennials, 36%), and sees a decrease in “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” (Baby Boomers 73.0%; Gen X: 46.9%; Millennials, 44.6%).
In addition, the article notes our avariciousness; when given the life-goals question, How important is it to you to be “very well off financially”? Millennials gave it a 74%; Baby Boomers a 45%.
These main takeaways are myths. Here’s why:
Myth #1: We don’t care about communities.
Millennials define the term “community” to mean more than just our down-the-street neighbors and neighborhood organizations. Instead of “participating in a community action program,” MTV turned the question on its head by asking the importance of “helping those who are less fortunate in your community”, which moved the dial from 36% to 66%. Nice.
A recent Cone study found, “[in] addition to supporting local causes, Millennials also rally around causes that have a global impact…top cause interests include education, poverty, the environment and health and disease.”
Cause marketing takeaway: Millennials want to do good in a global context. For better or for worse, we’re also accustomed to receiving immediate gratification. Creativity gets our attention. If you design a cause marketing campaign that is relevant, has a direct action ask, and allows consumers to watch the impact occur, we’ll eat it up.
Tevolution, an iced tea company with the tagline “twist, sip, give” is a perfect example. The instructions are simple, and consumers do good via giving to a cause of their choice (food/shelter, education, health/wellness), which correlates directly to Millennials interests.
Myth #2: We don’t have an interest in developing “a meaningful philosophy” of life.
When MTV posed the question a different way, “[How important is] developing something meaningful with my life” [emphasis mine], the number spiked to 86%!
Cause marketing takeaway: Defining “something meaningful with my life” can be applied to consumption of goods. The previously noted Cone study found 83% of Millennials trust socially responsible companies, with 74% being more likely to pay attention to that company’s message because of its deep cause commitment.
Far over half of us purchase based on perceived company commitments to social and/or environmental causes. Further, we will not only punish companies that aren’t socially/environmentally aware by refusing its goods, services, and opportunities to work there; we’re happy to spread the word to family, friends, and our social media networks too.
Do your part. When you commit to causes, ensure it’s a proper fit (e.g. Patagonia and the environment) and make sure to publicize your efforts widely. We want to hear when you’re doing good!
Myth #3: We’re super greedy.
Net Impact found most workers would take a 15% paycut in order to do purposeful work. An even larger proportion of Millennials care about working in jobs deemed impactful; for companies committed to CSR; and within organizations with shared values. Fully, 80% of us want to work for a company that takes care of how it impacts society.
Cause marketing takeaway: When seeking out Millennials, look no further than your corporate social responsibility portfolio. Is it easy to understand? Can you explain to Millennials how your products/services relate to your cause? What about their job contributes to making a difference? If Millennials already view your brand as a responsible one, you’ll have a much easier time selling to us and recruiting top talent.
MTV photo via http://www.georgelois.com/pages/milestones/mile.mt
Tevolution quarter photo via Allison McGuire
