AIM to compile TOP TEN PRODUCTS FOR MILLENNIALS at the 2012 International Home and Housewares Show

Last year Albing International Marketing created a list of the top ten new products for Millennials at the 2012 IHHS and were met with a wonderful response and received tremendous coverage in the media (especially online), so we decided to do it again! AIM will be reviewing new products at the International Home and Housewares Show (Chicago) this weekend and will compile a list of the best ten products specifically for Millennials. AIM has studied Millennials’ distinct profile and will apply our research in selecting the perfect home and housewares products for this unique group.

If you have a product that you think should be one of our top ten new products for Millennials, please let us know! We are excited to see all the new and innovative products at this year’s show, and would love to learn more about any product that pertains to Millennials.

Email AIM with your product to ralbing@albing.com OR post a suggestion in "comments" on this blog.

And if you're going to the Show don't miss

"MILLENNIALS At HOME...In The Kitchen"

Monday March 12, 2012

12:30 pm

at the Innovation Theater (Lakeside Center)

Robin Albing and Whitney Ryan

will preview AIM's upcoming report on exactly what

young people want for their kitchens.

QUIRKY MILLENNIALS MORE TRADITIONAL THAN BOOMERS IN THE KITCHEN

Millennials are traditionalists, but more traditional than their parents?? Who knew?? According to a recent AIM survey, Millennials are at least more traditional in their kitchen preferences than their Baby Boomer parents. 50% of Millennials prefer "Old School" (Traditional and Country), while only 36% of Boomers prefer this type of design for the kitchen. On the other hand, only 25% of Millennials prefer "New Age" (Contemporary and Modern) compared to 44% of Boomers.

This might account for the growing popularity among young people of retro-look kitchen products such as Big Chill refrigerators, Dualit toasters, Lodge cast iron cookware and Fiesta dinnerware. "Quirky" is the word many Millennials use to describe their design preferences and many young women cite New Girl's Zooey Deschanel as their design inspiration, even for the kitchen.

Amanda, a 27-year-old engineer from Silicon Valley, told AIM, "I want my kitchen to run with the efficiency of the Maglev train in Shanghai, but I don't want it to look like that. I love soft edges and warm colors like red and yellow. And I really love things that have a story behind them." Another Millennial, Joe, a 24-year-old pharmaceutical sales person from New Jersey, added, "My mom's kitchen is way too cold and sleek for my tastes. I like the layout, but she has way too much granite and stainless steel for my tastes. She needs to warm it up with color and more traditional furniture."

[21% of Millennials and 19% of Boomers selected Ecletic or Mixed.]

Amateur 26-year-old Filmmaker's Ad "Wins" at Super Bowl

According to Yahoo Auto, Zach Borst, a 26-year-old filmmaker from Long Island, N.Y., wrote, produced and assembled a one-minute ad about a graduate getting a Chevrolet Camaro as a gift for a Chevrolet competition. When you see it, you'll realize why Chevy picked it to air in the upcoming Super Bowl to an audience of 110 million people.

Borst may be a homegrown filmmaker, but he's no neophyte -- he's been shooting video since he was seven, and has several quality commercials online. He'd also won a previous Chevrolet competition at the Tribeca film festival; knowing what the client wants does usually help in advertising. For the "Happy Grad" ad, Borst used friends for actors, camera help and locations.

"Happy Grad" -- filmed by Borst and company in four hours -- beat out 198 other video submissions and 400 scripts in the contest. To air, Chevy will spend at least $3.5 million for 30 seconds of air time.

AIM post-game research found that this ad ranked in the top ten among 300 Millennials surveyed. Nice job, Zach!

Millennials Learn About Kitchen Products Online

Sixty-one percent of Millennials learn about kitchen products on the Internet (versus 37% who learn at retail stores and 29% from either their parents OR from friends/siblings, the number two, three and four choices.) Only 9%, however, learn about kitchen products from Internet Social Media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or blogs. Millennials tell AIM that their favorite online sources for kitchen information are sites with customer ratings such as Amazon, Epinion and general information on search engines such as Google.

"MILLENNIALS At HOME in the Kitchen" - a comprehensive portrait of young people and their cooking/kitchen behavior - will be published by Albing International Marketing in April 2012. See Robin Albing and Whitney Ryan preview the study at the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago on March 12th at 12:30 pm. For details, call (908) 788-5411 or email ralbing@albing.com.

Opinion: Catering to China's millennials | The Daily Beacon

If you believe there is little need to understand the mindset of China’s millennial generation, consider the following statement from a report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company: By 2015, China will account for over 20 percent of the global luxury market, overtaking Japan as the world’s largest luxury market. China’s youth is leading consumption, and this trend is likely to endure as China’s economy continues to grow. As a result of economic growth, Chinese millennials have more money to spend and fewer reasons to save. In addition, China’s increased exposure to globalization and modernization is bound to prod the Chinese millennials to push the political envelope. This means that understanding the mindset of the current young-adult Chinese generation is vital to future Sino-U.S. Relations and the world economy at large.

Read full article:

Opinion: Catering to China's millennials | The Daily Beacon

Zipcar Targets Millennials

The "Millennials" are Zipcar's most popular patrons according to an article on the MSN Money website today. The car-sharing company recently conducted a study that revealed that 18- to 34-year-olds are the most important market for the company and already constitute more than half of Zipcar's membership base. Zipcar competes with traditional car-rental companies like Hertz Global Holdings, Avis Budget Group and car-sharing services like Connect by Hertz, Enterprise's WeCar, UHaul's UCarShare and City Car Share.

Millennials formed about 23% of the U.S. population in 2010. The study examined the generation's attitudes toward personal transportation and car ownership and found them to be increasingly adoptive of collaborative consumption. The younger generation increasingly values access to cars over personal ownership. More than three-quarters (78%) of 18- to 34-year-old respondents conceded to challenges of car ownership with high gas prices, parking and maintenance costs. The study also noted social media and concern for environment as factors for Millennials driving less. This makes the age group strong adopters of car-sharing, and therefore the most lucrative and influential market segment for Zipcar.

Zipcar has gradually expanded its presence on over 250 U.S. campuses with all-inclusive rates that cover parking, gas, insurance, maintenance and roadside assistance. It has also entered into a two-year strategic alliance with Ford for its campus operations, offering attractive rates for student members.

University campuses not only serve as significant markets for Zipcar but renting cars to students also constitutes a long-term marketing strategy. Students who use Zipcars while in college are more likely to subscribe to Zipcar car-sharing than car ownership when they enter the job market. Zipcar is also attractive to the segment of students who face age restrictions with traditional car-rental companies.

Millennials Are Visual Learners

Most (76%) young people claim to be "visual" learners according to a recent survey by Albing International Marketing. But they tune out (or fast forward) through commercials both on television and the internet. Marketers should be exploring novel ways to communicate with Millennials on the internet. With their thirst for information and knowledge, an even larger number of Millennials (87%) claim to conduct "research" on the net before making both large and small purchase decisions. They are especially receptive to instructional videos and objective sources for information. Yet, Millennials are skeptical of manufacturer's websites and Facebook pages because they believe the comments are "planted" by the company. Instead they prefer YouTube videos and reviews on amazon.