Competitors such as Panera, Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s have been fighting for the Millennial generation business. They’re advertising, tweeting, blogging and sharing posts on Facebook. Who is winning? McDonald’s, according to a USA Today article published this week.

While $247 billion annually from Gen Y is supporting the economy of McDonald’s, CEO of McDonald’s, Don Thompson expects to closely target this group of millennials. With ideas floating around such as all-day breakfast, loyalty programs and a soft drink with Red Bull in it, CNBCs reporter, Carl Quintanilla has shown interest in McDonald’s success as well.

Menu items at McDonald’s have changed to appeal to the nutritional aspect Gen Y is searching for. Rather than a double cheeseburger, they’re going for the new McWrap. Variations of the McWrap include Chicken and Bacon, Sweet Chili Chicken, and Chicken and Ranch. McDonald’s interactive website features music, graphics, and clickable links that cheer for the consumer when they choose the McWrap as their meal option. The best part? The convenience of the wrap sliding perfectly into your car cup-holder.

Another addition to McDonalds’ menu is their smoothies added to their McCafé menu, which it’s promoting on Twitter with the hashtag #MomentsOfWonder and #BluePomSmoothie. The newest flavor, Blueberry Raspberry Pomegranate has been trending on Twitter, and attracting Millennials to participate in the conversation. McDonald’s is asking people to retweet updates if they are excited about this new healthier addition. One tweet has received about 250 retweets so far.

RT if you want our NEW smoothie made with blueberries, raspberries & a splash of pomegranate juice! #BluePomSmoothie twitter.com/McDonalds/stat…

— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) May 23, 2013

Though McDonald’s is extremely visible with social media and millions restaurants worldwide, competitors are watching their every move. According to research by Barkley in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group and SMG, the attraction to fast food is up to 40 percent while fine dining is under 10 percent. Let’s face it millennials love fast food.

Copyright Barkley 2013. All rights reserved.

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The brand new campaign features the tagline “Fan food. Not fast food.” In addition, Dairy Queen is kicking off a new product this summer, the S’Mores Blizzard treat.

Barry Westrum, EVP of marketing for Dairy Queen, told Nation’s Restaurant News that DQ wants to change with its consumers. While a younger audience is important, it goes beyond that:

“There’s no question the heavier users of our category are younger, but we need to make sure we appeal to that group,” Westrum said. “This isn’t an overt attempt at going after Millennials. The thing that unites our consumers, no matter how old they are or where they’re from, is that they root for us and think we’re not a giant corporate entity like our competitors. Our locations sponsor the Little League team or hold the fundraiser for the school, and that’s the relationship we want to capture.”

The new commercials will also include a Twitter hashtag, #LoveMyDQ. According to research by Barkley in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group and SMG, Millennials expect brands to engage in social media. More than one-third of Millennials surveyed said they like a brand more when the brand uses social media.

Read more about Barkley’s work with Dairy Queen:

Ad Age: Dairy Queen Effort Thinks Beyond the Blizzard to Burgers and Fries

Adweek: Warren Buffett Helps Pitch Berkshire Hathaway’s Dairy Queen as Barkley Airs First Ad for Chain

Nation’s Restaurant News: Dairy Queen to debut new ad campaign

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While it’s not uncommon to Millennials with their phone practically glued to their hands, that doesn’t mean they’re going to abandon brick-and-mortar shopping destinations in favor of shopping on their mobile phones.

Last week, the Urban Land Institute released a survey showing that Millennials still prefer malls over mobile shopping, largely because of the social and entertainment aspects.

Here are some tidbits about Millennial marketing from the survey:

• 37 percent of Gen Y consumers said they love shopping
• 48 percent of Millennial consumers said they enjoy shopping
• 70 percent of females surveyed said they view shopping “a form of entertainment and something to share with friends and family”
• 50 percent of men surveyed said they view shopping as entertainment and a social activity
• Discount department stores are the retail destination Gen Y consumers shop at most
• 45 percent said they spend more than an hour a day looking at retail websites
• 46 percent said they dine out with others at least once a week
• 25 percent said they dine out with others several times a week

While malls seem like inherently social atmospheres, mall owners may want to consider adding more restaurants and entertainment-geared businesses in order to continue to attract this cohort.

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You can now visit the website for my book, “Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever,” which was I co-authored with Christie Garton. Christie formerly wrote for USA Today and The Huffington Post.

The book, which will be available July 17, 2013, expands on research about Millennials conducted by Barkley in conjunction with The Boston Consulting Group and Service Management Group.

Based on groundbreaking proprietary research and one-on-one interviews with top brand executives, Marketing to Millennials identifies specific behaviors and attitudes common to this revolutionary group of consumers.

Visit the website at MarketingToMillennialsBook.com.

Her point was simple.

Baby Boomers have a hard time understanding how to connect with Millennials. She wrote:

 I’ve been in numerous meetings with baby boomers who admit they feel overwhelmed by all their new media options. Many don’t understand the difference between small, personal blogs; aggregator sites that have little engagement with visitors; and original-content sites like BuzzFeed, Thrillist, YourTango, JustJared, Jezebel and HelloGiggles.

It’s true. Millennials are pros at creating and consuming online content, and there are a lot of sites to keep track of. (Though, I’ll admit it: I’m a Millennial. Before reading her piece, I’d never heard of three of the sites she mentioned.)

Sixty percent of Millennials upload content including upload online content, including photos, videos, wiki entries, blog posts, micro-blogposts and product/service reviews, according to research by Barkley in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group and SMG.

So, companies need to hang out where Millennials hang out online. One company I’ve noticed doing a good job with this is State Farm Insurance. State Farm has written sponsored posts on ThoughtCatalog.com, which is a repository of essays written mostly by and for Millennials.

For example, State Farm sponsored a post last month entitled, “6 Responsible Adult Things You Should Be Doing.” QuantCast data estimates that ThoughtCatalog.com receives 2.1 million unique visitors each month.

In her guest column on Ad Age, Fuller talked to execs at companies like Buzzfeed, YourTango and Thrillist to discuss how brands can better market to Millennials.

Read the full article on AdAge.com: Baby-Boomer Marketers Are Misreading Millennials’ Media Behavior

I spoke with Sarah Mahoney at MediaPost about this phenomenon:

“Given that many Millennials are delaying their decision to have children and the associated financial responsibility, affluent Millennials have the opportunity to save more and have seen the market improve nicely. Millennials have a strong desire to travel and see the world, and saving enables them to pursue these aspirations.”

Some other tidbits from the story and report include:

• Millennials who grew up in affluent households have already saved an average of $55,000 for retirement.
• On average, Millennials began saving for retirement at age 22 whereas Boomers began saving at age 35.
• 77 percent of Millennials plan to increase their savings in the next year
• 57 percent of Millennials plan to invest in the stock market

Read the full story on MediaPost.com: Careful Kids: Affluent Gen Y Spends Less, Invests More

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New research from The DDB Life Style Study shows more than 70 percent of Millennial moms say their free time is taken up by activities their kids are in. This compares to 47 percent of Boomer moms.

So, a day away from the kids might be exactly what she wants — but not to say she doesn’t love her kids.

The DDB Life Style Study is an annual survey of 600+ questions that began in 1975. The study has been able to show lifestyle changes over the past few decades. A recent segmentation of the research compares Millennial and Boomer mothers’ attitudes toward motherhood.

Denise Delahorne, SVP at DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., said marketers should take note of the differences between Millennial and Boomer moms.

“Don’t think every mother is looking for the same thing, regardless of the product,” she said.

For example, Millennial moms are more likely to have young kids. As a result, their needs and desires inherently differ from Boomer moms who have older children.

So, a younger mom is more likely to want something that will make her feel pampered while a Boomer mom might want to go to brunch with her children because she doesn’t get to see them as often. This thought process can extend beyond Mother’s Day, too.

Here are some other differences between Millennial and Boomer moms, according to the study:

• 15 percent of Millennial moms say they do (or would) find parenthood to be a burden compared to 8 percent of Boomer moms

• 72 percent of Millennial moms say they have more childcare responsibilities than their spouse compared to 60 percent of Boomer moms

• 97 percent of Millennial moms say their kids are more important than anyone else compared to 86 percent of Boomer moms

• 30 percent of Millennial moms say they feel like they’ve lost part of their identity because of motherhood compared to 10 percent of Boomer moms

• 32 percent of Millennial moms say they wish they would have waited to have children compared to 13 percent of Boomer moms

Millennials’ attraction to jobs that help them grow or make a difference shouldn’t be a surprise. Within marketing, Millennials are more attracted to companies that make a difference, too.

According to research conducted by Barkley in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group and SMG, 55 percent of Millennials say they are more likely to develop a more positive image of a company as the result of cause marketing programs.

If they’re more willing to put their dollars into these companies, it makes sense that they’d be more likely to want to work there, too.

Here’s the list of the top 10 preferred employers for 2013:

1. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

2. Walt Disney

3. A local hospital

4. Google

5. Apple

6. FBI

7. CIA

8. Health Care Service Corp.

9. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

10. Microsoft

Read more from the source: CNBC.com

Of course, Millennials are regarded as “digital natives.” Research by Barkley in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group and SMG shows that Millennials are 2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of new technologies.

As a result, brands today have infinitely more ways of getting their message into the minds of young moms.

The article quotes “Moms & Media 2,″ a Meredith Parents Network Survey, which says that on any given week, Millennials spend 14 percent more time on mobile devices than other generations. In addition, 81 percent of Millennial moms use smartphones while shopping.

“Marketers that tap into the social currency held by Millennial moms will win the race. The brands that commit to providing customized experiences and solutions through modern avenues will join mom’s circle of trust. At the end of the day, trust is priceless when it comes to moms, especially within this generation,” according to the article.

Read the full article on Forbes.com: All Grown Up And Ready To Spend: Millennial Moms

Yesterday, I tuned into the live stream of YAYA Connection’s presentation, “Save, Splurge, Share:  Dining with the YAYAs.”

For those who may not know, YAYA (Youth and Young Adult) Connection is a professional agency in Columbia, Mo., comprised of students at the University of Missouri. Their focus is on Millennials ages 18 to 24.

Here are some insights from their presentation:

• Millennials spend around $247 billion a year at restaurants

• If Millennials are in a familiar town, they’ll rely on word-of-mouth suggestions for restaurants. If they are in an unfamiliar location, they’ll rely on review sites, such as Yelp.

• Millennials are now checking in at restaurants on Instagram more than they are checking in on FourSquare.

• About 65 percent of Millennials consider social media conversations about restaurants when considering where to eat.

• 32 percent of Millennials look at restaurant menus online via a smartphone, so restaurant mobile sites should be optimized for search.

• Millennials are more likely than other age cohorts to eat in large groups.

• 43 percent of Millennials say coupons or discounts are important when deciding where to eat

More insight can be found in the white paper, which can be downloaded on YAYAConnection.com.

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