Is There Anything More Cringeworthy Than Brands Trying To Reach Millennials?

Be real, not forced. And forget influencers. JL

Umang Shah reports in Ad Week:

College students spend $210 billion dollars a year, and brands are smart enough to want in. (But) marketers that want to reach college students often fall into this “hip uncle” model, where they think they know about campus life because they, themselves were students once. The problem is most of these marketers went to college when the smartest device anyone owned was a calculator. Marketers end up sounding like outsiders trying to be insiders. And their audience isn’t paying attention.
Is there anything more cringeworthy than brands trying to reach Millennials? I constantly see ads peppered with LOLs, emojis, and “Bye, Felicia”, and every day, agencies and clients are making more. Let’s just say it is about as successful as Steve Buscemi slinging a skateboard over his shoulder, turning his ballcap around and asking “How do you do, fellow kids?”
Why? Because college students spend $210 billion dollars a year, and brands are smart enough to want in.
The truth is, marketers that want to reach college students often fall into this kind of “hip uncle” model, where they think they know about campus life because they, themselves were students once. The problem is most of these marketers went to college when the smartest device anyone owned was a calculator (or, for most CMOs, a slide rule).
Frankly, no matter how cool they think we are, marketers end up sounding like outsiders trying to be insiders. And their audience isn’t paying attention.
So what does work? At FlockU, we have a front-row seat to what’s important to today’s college students. Not because we’re standing on the sideline observing, but because our creators are experiencing it first-hand. Every day, we receive hundreds of articles from college students who are eager to share what it’s like in college in 2017 (fun fact: no more slide rules).
We also poll our audience and interview students. FlockU has exclusive access to first-party digital behaviors of these coveted 18-24-year-olds. So we hear what they’re talking about and how they’re talking about it, from fashion to fitness to studying to sex.
If you want to start getting the attention of college students, then here are a few things you can do faster than asking who dis?

Stop advertising

Students in the FlockU community share real, unfiltered stories about everything that they are passionate about. Do them a favor—cut the crap. Start connecting. They’ve told you their story. They want to hear yours. Stop talking about how great your product is. Tell them why you started your company. Tell them how you can solve a real problem for them. Tell them your vision, your mission, and the why behind what you do.

Be yourself

Students speak their own language. You should know what it all means. But don’t try to speak it—your outsider accent will show. Stop using buzzwords and slang and go back to telling your story the way you do it best. Cool adults don’t act like kids–they act like adults. Cool ones (duh).

It’s not all one audience

Most millennial marketing sucks because too many marketers try to put a huge group of 71 million people into one group. They’re not all the same. Stop thinking generations and start thinking situations. What’s it like on the first day of college? It’s a lot different than the last, right? Figure out how to make each person feel like you get them, their situation, and have something unique of value to offer them.

Forget about influencers

That video celebrity you’re using to connect with college students is cute. But you want to know who really has influence? Their peers. They want to hear what other college students are talking about. That’s whose advice they trust and value. Tap into sources like the FlockU to get content that organically integrates with your brand (like Grubhub, Zip Car, Amazon, match and T-Mobile are doing). That’s what will work to drive real engagement with college students.
Marketing to college students is hard. We all know that. But this advice comes straight from the source, the students themselves. You need to know this stuff. Listen up. They’ll tell you.