MILLENNIALS DECONSTRUCTED How Younger Multicultural Generations Are Reshaping the Media Landscape

MILLENNIALS DECONSTRUCTED How younger multicultural generations are reshaping the media landscape

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1 CONTENTS

4 12 16 CONNECTING WITH MILLENNIALS’ MEDIA AN INACCURATE A NEW MINDSET CONSUMPTION HABITS REPRESENTATION (and what they are expecting)

30 34 42 THE MEDIA AFFINITY THE FACES OF THE NEW MOVING FORWARD: INDEX GAP AMERICA, FROM ADAPTING TO A NEW MINDSET (and how to close it) AMBASSADORS TO INFLUENCERS

44 METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES

Cover Photo by Gian Cescon on Unsplash ABSTRACT

The media industry is a slow dinosaur unable to keep up with U.S. cultural shifts. Its content is like a rearview mirror that reflects a distorted version of a society long gone.

While there is a lot of research around how Millennials consume media – from time spent to favorite devices used to consume it – there is little to no research regarding the accuracy of how Millennial culture is represented in content from their point of view. To tackle this issue, we conducted quantitative research with 1,000 Millennials. Results show that nearly half of the Millennial population (48%) believes the media does not do a good job of representing their culture. The apparition of a new mindset (the Omnicultural Mindset) plays a pivotal role in this disconnection because it raises expectations around media at a faster pace than media has responded. The following dissertation does not attempt to solve the dissonance between media (advertisers, marketing departments and content developers) and Millennials, but rather to identify the correct questions to answer in the interest of diminishing this dissonance.

Photo by Shamim Nakhai on Unsplash CONNECTING WITH A NEW MINDSET As society and technology evolve, so does the mindset of a singular maturing generation, and with it, their view of the world and their expectations of media.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

4 It’s been only 63 years since Rosa Parks took a seat on a bus. Fast forward to now. We live in one of the most diverse and inclusive countries in the world. While racial tensions, racism and those who provoke them still exist, the nation as a whole has moved forward tremendously – with one notable exception: mass media.

A largely conservative industry, the media is often criticized for its tone-deaf approach and portrayal of minorities. This is evidenced, for example, by the 2017 Pepsi protest commercial featuring Kendall Jenner and the “white washing” scandal that ended with a boycott of the 2016 Academy Awards. Issues like that have a common thread: the blatant refusal to acknowledge the views of an entire generation, which probes the question,

ARE MEDIA, ADVERTISERS AND AGENCIES CONNECTING WITH THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION?

5 Millennials have significant purchasing power and, therefore, have been the focal point of media and advertising for quite some time. Yet despite being the generation that most avidly consumes and has more access to media than ever before, Millennials don’t feel their generation and culture are accurately represented. This phenomenon, the emergence of a new generational mindset referred to as the Omnicultural Mindset, has changed expectations of the content generated by media and advertising.

Photo by Sam Manns on Unsplash

WHAT IS THE OMNICULTURAL MINDSET? It’s a new pattern of understanding, beliefs and behaviors shared by the majority of the Millennial generation. This perspective begins with a disposition open to cultures other than one’s own, but it extends beyond acceptance to a curiosity and desire to incorporate aspects of various cultures into one’s own life.

6 OUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT 63% OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION POSSESSES THE OMNICULTURAL MINDSET 1.

ASIAN MILLENNIALS 68%

HISPANIC MILLENNIALS 66%

BLACK MILLENNIALS 53%

WHITE MILLENNIALS 42%

When broken down by ethnicity, 66% of Hispanic Millennials, 68% of Asian Millennials, 53% of African-American Millennials and 42% of White Millennials share this mindset, and we believe this pattern will only continue to increase. In fact, 73% of Hispanic Millennials said they wanted to be more open and embrace other cultures within five years; that is a 7% increase from where we are today.

7 8 THE EMERGENCE AND CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE OMNICULTURAL MINDSET CAN BE EXPLAINED BY THREE MAIN FACTORS: DIVERSITY, ACCESS AND TOLERANCE.

Millennials are the most diverse generation in U.S. history; 44% of the total population are minorities, and according to projections by the U.S. Census, WHITE CITIZENS WILL BECOME A MINORITY BY 20442. Diversity, an unstoppable force that grows stronger as each generation passes, brings massive waves of curiosity, open-mindedness and pride in our own cultures.

9 MILLENNIALS ARE ALSO A DIGITALLY NATIVE GENERATION.

They were either born or raised connected, living in the midst of social media and the fast-paced evolution of technology in handheld devices and streaming media. All of these advances have shaped them into an “all-access generation.” Many tend to see the negative side of this shift, labeling Millennials as self-centered, egotistical and entitled, but this is consistently proven wrong. Through technological advances, Millennials can connect globally with essentially seven billion lives on a daily basis.

This exposure makes them more aware and conscious, and unlike previous generations, they don’t share a centralized point of view. They don’t automatically follow societal norms and instead conduct research to form their own opinions.

These revolutionary changes, which manifest in a radically new and cohesive mindset across different ethnicities, are not being addressed in an effective way by media and advertising companies. Instead, they tend to stick to the surface when it comes to relevance, often portraying stereotypes or trying to appeal to Millennial Omniculturals only by appealing to one of their cultures. As a result, there is a significant gap between the content produced for Millennials and what they actually want and expect. Hence, the content often falls short of their expectations. To measure this, we created the Media Affinity Index Gap.

Our objective was to explore what all those cultural changes mean for the future of advertising and content development. The intention was not to find all the answers to how to move forward, but instead raise the right questions that can help shape the future of our business.

Results were pulled from a recent collaborative research study conducted by Richards/Lerma and The University of Texas, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. The purpose was to gain a thorough understanding of the unique media perceptions, perspectives and complexities of today’s highly diverse multicultural Millennial groups.

The study, “Millennials Deconstructed,” consisted of a nationally representative online sample (n = 1,000) of White, Hispanic, African-American, and Asian Millennials between the ages of 18-34 and an additional Hispanic 35+ reading for comparison.

Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

11 IS FACEBOOK THE NEW CNN? MILLENNIALS’ MEDIA CONSUMPTION HABITS Millennials consume and share a lot of content, but their social preferences and activism are not uniform.

Photo by Adam Birkett on Unsplash

12 Millennials don’t have a pre-established pattern for consuming content; they consume media on different occasions, depending on mindset and current life situation3. One thing that is clear is that media penetration and content consumption are higher for this group than any previous generation. MILLENNIALS SPEND AN AVERAGE OF 17.8 HOURS A DAY CONSUMING MEDIA 4 . This doesn’t mean they literally spend 18 out of the 24 hours of the day consuming media, but they spend as much by simultaneously reading texts on their phones, browsing Facebook on their tablets and watching TV. This is a significant shift from a time when the only media people could consume were a few TV channels.

MILLENNIALS RACK UP 18 HOURS OF MEDIA PER DAY Average time Millennials in the U.S. spend interacting with media per day (hh:mm)

Browse Go To The Internet The Movies

Social Listen To Networking The Radio

Watch Use Email, Text, Live TV Texting Apps

Play Talk About Video Games News/Products/Brands

Watch Read Print Timeshifted TV Magazines/Newspapers

13 According to data from the Cassandra Report by Noise, 60% of Millennials surveyed asserted that social media is an important source of news and current affairs5. It is important to note that not only do Millennials consume more and more media through nontraditional channels, but this ever-connected generation is also playing a huge part in disseminating content themselves. They are sharing content they like and relate to within their social circles online.

Never before has any generation played such an active and seamless role in the creation and dissemination of content and media the way Millennials do today. Because they are content curators and creators themselves, Millennials expect better representation from the channels they engage with. When left unaddressed, the result is frustration. Millennials look at media as beacons, charged with holding not only their superficial/stereotypical representations, but also the values and beliefs that shape their world.

14 This divide is not only seen between Millennials and older generations; cracks exist among Millennials themselves. Omnicultural individuals who identify with a more progressive and global identity tend to place higher expectations on media than their more traditionally minded peers. This is mostly due to their easier adaptation of newer technologies that allow them to further fractionalize and hyper-personalize content according to background, preference and availability. There seems to be a correlation between participation in and proximity to the production of media and satisfaction with what the content reflects.

15 AN INACCURATE REPRESENTATION (AND WHAT THEY ARE EXPECTING)

Regardless of their ethnicity or mindset, Millennials feel they are not accurately represented by media or advertisers.

Photo by Elevate on Unsplash

16 NEARLY HALF OF THE MILLENNIAL POPULATION (48%) DOESN’T FEEL LIKE THE MEDIA OR ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES ACCURATELY REPRESENT THEIR CULTURE. The consequence is a lack of connection with the content they consume and the entities producing it. This disconnect is magnified when we take into consideration that most of the produced content they consume is intended to be specifically tailored to them and that they spend the majority of their time consuming it. The media industry often fails to understand that relevancy will never come as a consequence of age or ethnic portrayal. Media connections can be established only by understanding the Omnicultural Mindset.

Naturally, Millennials share mindset traits and aspirations, but they are not uniform. If we take a closer look and split the generation by ethnicity, we quickly identify that Black Millennials are the most dissatisfied of all ethnicities, and that Hispanic and Asian Millennials show the “highest” level of satisfaction, 56% and 59% respectively.

DO YOU FEEL THAT CURRENT ADVERTISING UNDERSTANDS AND REPRESENTS YOUR CULTURE ACCURATELY? No, It Doesn’t Accurately Represent It Yes, It Does Accurately Represent It

52.5% 41% 54% 43.4% 47.5% 59% 46% 56.6%

Black Asian White Hispanic

17 However, these higher numbers for Hispanic and Asian Millennials are being driven by those who do not share the Omnicultural Mindset. If we divide Hispanic Millennials and Asian Millennials into Omniculturals and Non-Omniculturals, it’s easy to see how Omnicultural Hispanic and Asian Millennials share their level of dissatisfaction with White and Black Millennials, while Non-Omnicultural Hispanics and Asians show more satisfaction. The media industry should understand the gravity of the numbers, as Omniculturalism is not only the prevalent mindset among Millennials, IT ALSO REPRESENTS THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT THE MAJORITY OF THE U.S. WILL BECOME IN THE COMING 10 YEARS.

18 DO YOU FEEL THAT CURRENT ADVERTISING UNDERSTANDS AND REPRESENTS YOUR CULTURE ACCURATELY? No, It Doesn’t Accurately Represent It Yes, It Does Accurately Represent It

Omnicultural Non-Omnicultural

47.1% 36% Hispanic 52.9% Hispanic 64%

Omnicultural Non-Omnicultural Asian Asian

47.6% 27.2% 52.4% 72.8%

To understand this lack of connection between Millennials and advertisers/media in general, we must dig deep into their expectations.

19 NON-OMNICULTURAL HISPANIC AND ASIAN MILLENNIALS ARE HOLDING ON TO SUPERFICIAL TRAITS.

Millennials that identify themselves as Non-Omniculturals, not having developed an ample cultural curiosity, stay on the surface level of connection, understanding and representation and have lower expectations from media. They are pleased to see content that features characters just like them. Specifically, they’d like for the characters to speak the language they speak and to look like them or be the same ethnicity they are. Additionally, they want the content to specifically reference their culture.

Why are they less ambitious and demanding?

20 THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE: THEY ARE STILL FIGHTING FOR THE BASICS.

Historically, Hispanics and Asians haven’t had a large share of media representation in the U.S. Asian and Hispanic characters abound, but in the majority of occasions their roles serve more to check a cultural diversity box than as an integral part of the content. Multiculturals are very rarely in core or foundational roles when it comes to fiction, reality content and advertising. Consequently, non- Omniculturals may still see themselves as outsiders in the country, or at least think that the majority considers them as such. For them, any progress is a step forward. They want to see themselves represented in what they view, even if only from a superficial standpoint.

As media slowly becomes more representative (from a casting perspective) of the growing Hispanic and Asian population, it is not surprising that non-Omniculturals have become more content with their media portrayals.

This contrasts with Omniculturals, who represent the majority of multicultural Millennials and are substantially more demanding of media when it comes to portrayal, inclusion and representation. For them, a supporting role is not enough. Language won’t suffice. They won’t settle for being represented by a hero’s best friend who speaks and dresses like a stereotype and dies in the first act just to give a purpose to the white male protagonist.

21 WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS ARE MOST LIKELY TO DETERMINE IF YOU LIKE AN AD? The characters speak the same language that I speak.

21.3% 24.2%

18.3% 44.3% Asian Asian Hispanic Hispanic

Omnicultural Non-Omnicultural

Photo by Stephanie Liverani on Unsplash

22 RANK IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE THE PARTS OF YOUR CULTURE THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ADVERTISING TO BETTER REPRESENT YOUR CULTURE (FROM 1 TO 15) The characters speak the same language that I speak.

Omnicultural Hispanic 15 T H Asian

12TH

Non-Omnicultural Hispanic 1S T Asian

5TH

23 OMNICULTURAL HISPANIC AND ASIAN MILLENNIALS HAVE HIGHER EXPECTATIONS AND LOOK FOR CORE IDENTITY VALUES.

Omnicultural Asian and Hispanic Millennials are highly demanding and unsatisfied with media and advertising. They are the second and third most dissatisfied ethnicities when it comes to those industries. Unlike non-Omniculturals, they don’t consider themselves outsiders in this country. Rather, they view themselves as two in one (100% Hispanic/Asian + 100% American). This multifaceted identity drives their expectations for higher cultural empathy and entertainment value from media, social and information sources.

As Omniculturals, they attribute less relevance to superficial traits of characters like race or language and tend to focus more on the type of content and their connection with it. They like their content to mimic how they think and live: with curiosity and diversity. They like the unexpected and provocative. They do not settle for stereotypes. They want to see characters that talk the way they talk (mannerism over language), and they want to see their values represented. Their expectations are higher because they understand that it’s not about being inclusive in regards to their race/ethnicity, but about their dual complex identities as Americans.

Omnicultural Asian and Hispanic Millennials believe brands should take a stand when it comes to the social/environmental issues our country is currently facing, as this is one of the most important factors they use to determine if they like an ad.

24 WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE PARTS OF YOUR CULTURE THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ADVERTISING TO BETTER REPRESENT YOUR CULTURE?

Omnicultural Hispanic

Omnicultural Asian

Photo By Dani Vivanco on Unsplash

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS IS MOST LIKELY TO DETERMINE IF YOU LIKE AN AD?

Omnicultural Hispanic

Omnicultural Asian

25 26 BLACK MILLENNIALS LOOK FOR/EXPECT CORE IDENTITY VALUES IN THEIR CONTENT, BUT WILL NOT LET GO OF THEIR PAST.

Black Millennials behave similarly to the way Hispanic and Asian Omniculturals do. They expect content to make them laugh and be thought-provoking. However, unlike Hispanic and Asian Omniculturals, they continue to hold on to some Non-Omnicultural traits, especially those related to race.

This stems from their added expectation that all content they consume raise awareness on social subjects. This duality becomes more understandable as we reflect on the long history of repression and misrepresentation of African-Americans in the U.S. These issues began long before the expansion of mass media and have carried on throughout time, which isn’t surprising since, for many years, media companies were owned primarily by non-Hispanic Whites.

This has led to a sentiment of still feeling the same way some non-Omniculturals do – as an “other” or outsider in this country. All this fuels why Black Millennials feel the need to regain their owned space in media and advertising. For them, it doesn’t mean that they only want to show their true colors; they want to show much more. They want to show their true character.

27 WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE PARTS OF YOUR CULTURE THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ADVERTISING TO BETTER REPRESENT YOUR CULTURE?

BLACK MILLENNIALS

The shift from feeling like an “outsider” to feeling like they belong within the media landscape is the main driver behind the change in media expectations of minorities (Asians, Hispanics and African- Americans). The traditional non-multicultural view no longer represents the full identities of individual American minorities that see themselves as part of this country’s cultural fabric. The frustration they feel towards their representation stems from them taking ownership of being American as well as their other cultural identity – and melding them both into one – thus transitioning from an outcast minority to a fraction of a diverse whole.

28 A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE

P&G has long been vocal about their stance regarding social issues, and that is something that has helped them connect with the Millennial generation.

If we take a look at their “My Black is Beautiful” campaign with their main ad “The Talk,” we can clearly see the brand taking a side on racial issues America is currently facing. More than that, we can see them expanding the discussion beyond minorities as it was targeted not only to Black Millennials. It transcended ethnic barriers through the universal value of acceptance and equality.

By taking these steps, they are connecting with what really matters to Millennials. Though the campaign might seem controversial, it achieved their goal: getting people to talk about their brand and the issue itself.

29 THE MEDIA AFFINITY INDEX GAP (AND HOW TO CLOSE IT) The Omnicultural Mindset demands a radical transformation of media and advertisers if we want to close the gap that currently exists.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

30 There are two main factors that explain why Millennials feel misrepresented by the media. The first was explored in the previous section: a dissonance between Millennials’ expectations and the actual content they consume. The second is the slow response media and advertisers have towards those expectations.

Neither factor is static. Both perpetually evolve and move forward together, never reaching a meeting point. In fact, they’re getting further apart with time. The expectations Millennials have for media are evolving at an accelerated pace every day. And the media and advertising industries, both mainly driven by big corporations with very slow reaction times, are having serious trouble keeping up.

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE MEDIA AFFINITY INDEX GAP THEORY

31 According to our findings, the Omnicultural Mindset became prevalent at some point between 2000 and 2007. It appeared, grew and evolved. In the process, it changed the expectations Millennials have about content and media in radical ways. The factors contributing to its 2000 to 2007 emergence are varied: a) Millennials came of age; b) the globalization phenomenon in which this generation was raised came into full effect thanks to advances in technology (especially handheld); c) they became the focus of media and advertising; and d) the apparition of social media (YouTube and Facebook, among others). All these variables shaped this new generation. Naturally, this new mindset also developed to make sense of their new cultural and social vision and values.

Social media has become an excellent thermometer for gauging how much this gap has grown, how expectations of this generation have changed and how much more vocal and demanding they are about those expectations. Think about the past. In 1965 when Martin Luther King Jr. walked through Selma, reporters and activists on payphones were the ones capable of spreading the word about that moment.

IN 2018, EVERY MILLENNIAL CAN BE AN ACTIVIST AND REPORTER. THEY CAN SPREAD THE WORD AND THEIR VIEW OF THE WORLD INSTANTLY THROUGH SMARTPHONES WITH THEIR OWN POINT OF VIEW.

If we set aside hate crimes, social conversations about social issues such as race spike during major events tied to content creation. Take the BET awards or Oscars of 2016 for example. Both events got around three million tweets regarding social issues6. The Oscars conversation became even more notable as posts were accompanied by the hashtag #OscarSoWhite, which was the fifth most used hashtag of 20167. More recently, in 2017, the #MeToo movement took over multiple events, like the 2018 Golden Globes and the 2018 Oscars, becoming a huge demonstration against sexual violence but also an empowering movement for women to achieve parity with their male counterparts. The success of this movement was represented by being awarded Time’s prestigious “Person of the Year” award in 2017. This demonstrates how this generation will not settle for less than what they demand. If the bar is not met, the backlash will be loud. This backlash is demonstrated by reaction to campaigns such as Nivea’s “White Is Purity” campaign.

If the advertising and media industries aspire to remain relevant and connect not only to the Millennial generation but also to generations after, they must show more flexibility and change the content they produce to make it reflect the cultural reality of America. Box-checking to represent minorities is not enough for a multicultural generation. On the contrary, in some cases it seems to be working against it. We need to connect with the values that these generations have in a nuanced, informed way.

This is a daunting task that demands not only active listening, but also radical transformation among many organizations. This transformation not only implies the need for outward messaging changes, it essentially demands a change from within, a change that should take shape from the most fundamental question a company can ask: “Why do they exist as an organization?” From there, it should shape an entire company’s vision, mission, internal structure and hiring. They must ultimately empower employees to be effective tools to represent the real America, inside and out, to achieve better results and connect with this elusive generation.

33 THE FACES OF THE NEW AMERICA, FROM AMBASSADORS TO INFLUENCERS The clearest example of the evolution of Millennials’ expectations of media may well be the shift from brand ambassadors to brand influencers.

Photo by Phil Coffman on Unsplash

34 Think about how things have changed when it comes to influence. Fifteen years ago, one of the top kids’ TV shows was “Hannah Montana,” based on the general idea that people’s dream was to become famous musicians/ celebrities. Now, one of the top TV shows on Disney Channel is “Bizaardvark,” where the assumption is that teenagers dream of being social media influencers on a YouTube-like platform.

This change in the definition of influence and aspiration isn’t only in consumers’ minds and on TV shows. It has transferred over to marketing and advertising agencies, where media plans have moved budgets from one big name personality to a group of influencers that are more tied to consumers’ interests. Let’s take a deeper look at how this behavior changed from a brand perspective.

In the recent past, brands followed strict criteria for their selection of brand ambassadors. This process usually consisted of a box-checking exercise that helped determine similarities between a number of celebrities and their own target for a specific product such as age, ethnicity, race, interests and language spoken. Most of the characteristics on the list were primarily demographic, while others helped to assure compatibility with the brand personality.

35 Since the inception of social media, a new behavioral trend has taken place in which celebrities, athletes, musicians and other personalities are no longer enigmatic figures to be “admired” from afar. Today, celebrities are more tangible and let consumers get to know them on a personal level. They can be seen beyond their work in personal ways that highlight their personalities when not in the spotlight. This is possible through daily access to their everyday comings and goings. It requires little effort on behalf of consumers and happens within the palm of their hands.

BECAUSE OF THIS, MILLENNIALS NOW FOLLOW AND ADMIRE THOSE PERSONALITIES THEY BELIEVE SHARE A COMMON VIEW OF THE WORLD WITH THEM. TODAY, CELEBRITY CONNECTIONS ARE DRIVEN MORE BY VALUES THAN BY LOOKS.

One of the big mistakes Pepsi made in their 2017 “Protest” spot was the ambassador they chose. In many ways, it appears they picked a celebrity based on popularity and reach without taking into consideration the disconnect between Kendall Jenner and the message and values attached to the social movement they aspired to represent. They ultimately picked a brand ambassador with mass appeal but zero connection from a values standpoint. That decision only accentuated the overall lack of empathy and target understanding of the commercial. Perhaps if they had picked a personality associated with the movement, the ad would not have appeared so opportunistic, and the backlash and disconnection may not have been so great.

36 This is the main reason we don’t hear about brand ambassadors anymore and why brand influencers are here to stay. As opposed to ambassadors, influencers are not tied simply to the way they look; they create followers because of their values and lifestyle. This doesn’t mean brand ambassadors will disappear, it just means that they will change. All this information points towards a future in which the majority of brand ambassadors will be born from digital/ social platforms, with the huge advantage of not only having mass appeal but also sharing a deeper connection with their followers from a values standpoint.

With our Millennials Deconstructed initiative, we set out to identify who Millennials identified as trustworthy, who they admired, and who they considered approachable. We did this across a variety of categories, from community leaders to athletes and entertainment figures. The end goal was to see if core identity values were the new norm or if superficial traits still reigned.

The results are sharp: superficial traits are a thing of the past. There is no correlation between the ethnicities, looks or language of the top celebrities of each category and none between the ethnicities of the ones who picked them. Furthermore, overall leaders of each category are personalities that can be easily tied to values, intentions and clear points of view on social issues beyond superficial identification. Ellen DeGeneres is one such personality that can easily be tied to values of equality and acceptance. She has a clear stance against hate and discrimination in America.

Total picks

MARK ZUCKERBERG 1ST MICHAEL JORDAN 1ST KIM KARDASHIAN 2ND LEBRON JAMES 2ND PEREZ HILTON 3RD STEPH CURRY 3RD JENNA MARBLES 4TH KOBE BRYANT 4TH PEWDIEPIE 5TH SERENA WILLIAMS 5TH

SOCIAL PERSONALITY ATHLETE

BARACK OBAMA 1ST ELLEN DEGENERES 1ST AL SHARPTON 2ND STEVE HARVEY 2ND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR 3RD OPRAH WINFREY 3RD HILLARY CLINTON 4TH RYAN SEACREST 4TH BERNIE SANDERS 5TH JIMMY FALLON 5TH

COMMUNITY LEADER ENTERTAINMENT FIGURE

37 WHITE MILLENNIALS ARE SEEING BEYOND COLOR.

As we take a look at White Millennials’ top five picks for trustworthy, admirable and approachable, one thing is pretty clear: Black athletes dominate, occupying the first five spots in the athlete category. For Whites, this isn’t a sports- only phenomenon. As we take a look at other categories, including community leaders and entertainment figures, we see that among their top picks there are African-Americans. These findings lead to the conclusion that White Millennials are seeing beyond color and connecting through values and personality traits.

MICHAEL JORDAN 1ST KOBE BRYANT 2ND LEBRON JAMES 3RD SERENA WILLIAMS 4TH STEPH CURRY 5TH

ATHLETE

BARACK OBAMA 1ST AL SHARPTON 2ND BERNIE SANDERS 3RD MARTIN LUTHER KING JR 4TH HILLARY CLINTON 5TH

COMMUNITY LEADER

RYAN SEACREST 1ST ELLEN DEGENERES 2ND JIMMY FALLON 3RD STEVE HARVEY 4TH OPRAH WINFREY 5TH

ENTERTAINMENT FIGURE

38 HISPANIC MILLENNIALS ARE LED BY VALUES, NOT BY SELF-IDENTIFICATION.

For Hispanics, there is not one ethnicity that rules across the board, which shows that for them it is also clear that superficial traits do not take precedence (as we have seen throughout this research).

Results in general show that Hispanics can be influenced by figures of all ethnicities. They are influenced by Whites in the community leader and entertainment categories and are predominantly influenced by African-Americans in sports.

The overall finding is that no one race or ethnicity most influences Hispanics and may show two key factors among the Hispanic community. First, the support of nontraditional figures fighting to stand out in their field, such as progressive politician Bernie Sanders, LGBT activist Ellen DeGeneres and minority entertainer Oprah Winfrey. Second, it demonstrates an openness to other MICHAEL JORDAN 1ST cultures and an open mind. KOBE BRYANT 2ND LEBRON JAMES 3RD STEPH CURRY 4TH SERENA WILLIAMS 5TH

ATHLETE

BERNIE SANDERS 1ST BARACK OBAMA 2ND AL SHARPTON 3RD HILLARY CLINTON 4TH MARTIN LUTHER KING JR 5TH

COMMUNITY LEADER

ELLEN DEGENERES 1ST JIMMY FALLON 2ND OPRAH WINFREY 3RD RYAN SEACREST 4TH STEVE HARVEY 5TH

ENTERTAINMENT FIGURE

ASIAN MILLENNIALS ARE HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY OTHER CULTURES.

Similar to Hispanics, Asians Millennials do not seem to subscribe to their own superficial traits when choosing figures they admire, as there were no figures with Asian ethnicity in the top five of any category. This supports earlier findings that suggested that Omnicultural Asians don’t place importance on having people of their own race or ethnicity in the content they consume. Instead, they would rather see people that share their values.

Results also show how open they are to other communities. The acceptance of sexual diversity is not something people would traditionally associate with Asian culture. Nonetheless, Ellen DeGeneres was their top pick in the Entertainment category, showing how labels and preconceptions are a thing of the past.

MICHAEL JORDAN 1ST STEPH CURRY 2ND KOBE BRYANT 3RD LEBRON JAMES 4TH SERENA WILLIAMS 5TH

ATHLETE

BARACK OBAMA 1ST HILLARY CLINTON 2ND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR 3RD BERNIE SANDERS 4TH AL SHARPTON 5TH

COMMUNITY LEADER

ELLEN DEGENERES 1ST OPRAH WINFREY 2ND RYAN SEACREST 3RD JIMMY FALLON 4TH STEVE HARVEY 5TH

ENTERTAINMENT FIGURE

THE MOVE FROM BRAND AMBASSADORS TO INFLUENCERS MIGHT SHOW HINTS OF THE INDUSTRY TRYING TO STAY ON TOP OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION AND ITS EVER-EVOLVING EXPECTATIONS. BUT IF THIS EFFORT IS NOT ACCOMPANIED BY A COMPLETE CHANGE, INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY, NOT MUCH WILL BE ACHIEVED.

Photo by Shamim Nakhai on Unsplash

41 MOVING FORWARD: ADAPTING TO A NEW MINDSET

Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

42 As a Millennial Brand Planner, I have spent most of my professional life working towards deciphering my own generation and creating communication strategies to connect with it. But I remember the exact moment I realized that I no longer felt part of the generation I was researching and trying to understand. I was in a meeting, and suddenly I noticed that I no longer knew the generation we were trying to reach. And I definitely didn’t understand some of their cultural behaviors, such as Finstagraming (creating fake Instagram accounts to convey messages using alternate personalities) or watching strangers play videogames online for hours (through Twitch).

IT’S HARD FOR ME TO ADMIT THAT MY GENERATION IS ALREADY STARTING TO BE OVERSHADOWED BY A NEW GENERATION, GEN-Z, BUT THIS ADMISSION IS ALSO WHAT MOTIVATES ME TO CONTINUE DIGGING DEEPER TO KEEP CONNECTING IN EFFECTIVE WAYS WITH NEWER GENERATIONS.

So, if the media is already struggling to connect with Millennials, I cannot imagine how much more they will struggle to connect with the next generation. That is why we felt it was so important to bring this issue to light, to find answers to connect with Millennials as well as generations to come. We want everyone who reads this paper to feel as motivated as I did by my own lack of understanding and connection.

Darwin said it best, “If you want to survive, you have to adapt to your environment.” Well, the environment has changed, and if we as an industry don’t evolve with it, we are sadly destined to slowly fade away.

43 METHODOLOGY

“Millennials Deconstructed” is a collaborative research study that was conducted in partnership by Richards/Lerma and The University of Texas, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. The study was completed via an online national panel in April 2016, among 1,000 Millennials between the ages of 18 and 34 with representative national averages among White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic Millennials, as well as Hispanics 35+ for comparative purposes. A series of qualitative one-on-one interviews was conducted following the online survey to gain additional insights into survey findings. For more information on survey data, please contact Carlos Rodriguez at [email protected]. AUTHORS

This research report was written by Carlos Rodriguez. The analysis team led by Quim Gil at Richards/Lerma includes Carlos Rodriguez, Sara Michael and Shannon Dunbar-Rubio.

The “Millennials Deconstructed” research initiative is led by Quim Gil at Richards/Lerma in coordination with Matthew Eastin and Alicia Bodas at The University of Texas at Austin, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations.

44 SOURCES

1. SIMMONS 2017 NCS/NHCS Adults Full Year – SM7HS. 2. U.S. Department Of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060. March 2015. By Sandra Colby and Jennifer M. Ortman. P25-1143. 3. The Nielsen Company. “Facts Of Life: As They Move Through Life Stages, Millennials’ Media Habits Are Different and Distinct.” What People Watch, Listen To and Buy. March 24, 2016. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/facts-of-life-as- they-move-through-life-stages-millennials-media-habits-are-different.html. 4. Editor, Crowdtap. “Millennials Heart UGC [INFOGRAPHIC].” Crowdtap. April 9, 2014. http://blog.crowdtap.it/2014/04/millennials-heart-ugc-infographic/. Flynn, Kerry, Ilyse Liffreing, Suman Bhattacharyya, Shareen Pathak, and Tanya Dua. 5. “Millennial Media-consumption Habits Explained, in 5 Charts.” Digiday. October 21, 2014. https://digiday.com/marketing/millennial-media-consumption-habits- debunked-5-charts/. 6. Anderson, Monica, and Paul Hitlin. “Twitter Conversations about Race.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. August 15, 2016. http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/08/15/twitter-conversations-about-race/. 7. Kottasova, Ivana. “Twitter Reveals the Top Tweeted Events of 2016.” CNNMoney. December 6, 2016. https://money.cnn.com/2016/12/06/technology/twitter-top- events-hashtags-2016/index.html.

45 ABOUT RICHARDS/LERMA

Richards/Lerma is a full-service branding and creative agency dedicated to crafting insightful and relevant communications for the multi-cultural market. Based in Dallas, Texas, Richards/ Lerma was founded by Pete Lerma and Stan Richards, creative director of the nation’s largest independent branding agency, The Richards Group. Current clients include Avocados From Mexico, Bud Light, Bud Light Chelada, Clamato, Dr Pepper, MetroPCS, The Home Depot and Mission Foods. Richards/Lerma can be found online at richardslerma.com and on Twitter at @richardslerma.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, STAN RICHARDS SCHOOL OF ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations defies categorization as a catalyst for growing exceptional communication specialists who are eager to enter the business world, as well as a Research 1 academic institution launching innovative scholars via the advanced study of advertising and public relations at both the master’s and Ph.D. levels. More information can be found online at http://advertising.utexas.edu.

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