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Introduction

When advertising to Millennials and Generation Z, it is important to recognize

differences to understand how to target each generation accordingly. So, who are Millennials and
Generation Z? According the to Pew Research Center, anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is
considered a Millennial (Dimock, 2021). There are about 80.4 million Millennials and several
are now parents with kids. This generation encompasses individuals in their late twenties up to
early forties. In comparison to Generation Z, Millennials have access to a better income because
40% have a bachelor’s degree (Boesel, 2020) . The succeeding generation is known as
Generation Z, which are those born between 1997 and 2012. There are an estimated 55 million
Generation Z, but in comparison to Millennials, few have reached adulthood and still live with
parents (Boesel, 2020). By 2025 all of Generation Z will have reached adulthood. Both
generations are multicultural: 24% of Generation Z is Hispanic, 21% of Millennials are Hispanic
(Boesel, 2020). Generation Z is a socially aware generation that holds brands accountable for
their contribution to social issues. They want brands that are authentic and are more likely to buy
from a brand that contributes to causes they believe in.
Understanding how to advertise to both generations correctly can set a brand in a position
of demand. It can also prevent brands from launching inappropriate campaigns saving agencies
from a public relations crisis. This report examines effective mediums used to communicate to
Millennials and Generation Z.
First, this report examines targeting Millennials more specifically through TV, digital
media, and billboards. Second, the report looks at advertisement mediums targeting Generation Z
through TV and social media.Third, the report looks at successful campaigns that have targeted
both generations. A successful campaign utilized YouTube influencers to launch a makeup
palette. Another successful campaign was executed by Doritos, who launched an advertising
campaign without their name to appeal to Generation Z. Last, the report looks at unsuccessful
advertising campaigns targeting Millennials and Generation Z. The campaigns are from Pepsi
and Dove + Nivea. Pepsi’s tone-deaf ad did not appeal to either generations because it lacked
recognition of the value the two generations have for social causes. Both brands need to
understand Millennials and Generation Z are massive users of social media platforms where they
will vociferously voice their frustration.
The report will conclude with recommendation to markets. The recommendations are
supported by the research that is provided. We understand that social media is more likely
included in the media mix when targeting Millennials and Generation Z, but take
recommendations based on their needs and wants from brands. Technology is at the hand of
about every individual in these two generations. Celebrating racial differences and recognizing
multicultural people.

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Targeting Millennials
Millennials are known for being the biggest influencers of the Digital Era (Fertick, 2019).
With advertising engagements varying from platform to platform, Millennials make up a large
portion of TV, digital, and social media advertisements. They are attracted to humorous and
positive marketing advertisements and are always trying to find the best products at the lowest
price (O’Shaughnessy, 2019). Millenials make up a quarter of the population with 73 million
people (Lexington Law, 2021) and account for more than $1 trillion in U.S. consumer spending
(Fertick, 2019). With ages ranging between 25 and 40 in 2021, they have grown up as digital
natives.
Making up the largest generational group in the U.S., Millennials consume a weekly
average of 19 hours and 18 minutes of TV (Kline, 2017). Today, only about 42% of millennials
are using traditional TV broadcasts such as cable or satellite (Gutierrez, 2018). They prefer to
watch TV on streaming devices like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus. This
is because it is not only cheaper, but also more convenient (Taylor, 2020). Millennials who watch
traditional TV are more likely to stay on the same channel instead of flipping through different
ones during commercial breaks. Instead of watching the advertisements, they are on their
smartphones and mobile devices (Taylor, 2020). It is possible of course to grab millennials
attention during TV, particularly during sporting events (Survey: Advertising Influences, 2018).
63% of millennials reported to be sports fans and prefer to tune in live on TV to watch (Survey:
Advertising Influences, 2018). Oftentimes, Super Bowl commercials target millennials and often
promote hashtags to increase interaction amongst the diverse and multiplatform savvy
generation.

Figure 1.1
The role that smartphones, the internet, and social media have varied amongst each
generation. Millennials were the first generation to move toward digital media and away from
traditional. Millennials have begun to shift to totally digital habits including shopping and news.
Being expected to spend $1.4 trillion in 2020 (before the Corona-Virus Recession), millennials
shopping habits heavily influence advertisers (Loer, 2020). About 67% of millennials prefer to
shop online rather than in-stores (Ross, 2019). 63% of millennials use ad blockers on at least one
device but interact most often with advertisements promoting a coupon or discount (Survey:
Advertising Influences, 2018). This generation has also turned to obtaining their news digitally.

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64% reported that they receive news from online sources and 33% reported receiving their news
from social media outlets (Taylor, 2020).
Social media has created a large market for millennial and advertising. Millennials were
the first generation to actively and habitually use social media. 77% are active daily on
Facebook, 70% on Instagram, and 66% of YouTube. Facebook alone makes up 64% of
consumerism amongst the generation (Wilson, 2020). Social media influencers, very common on
platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Tik-Tok, have been found to have a large impact on
millennial spending. They are 54% more likely to buy products that have been recommended by
a celebrity or online influencer than other generations (O’Shaughnessy, 2019). YouTube has
become very popular amongst the generation. 70% of millennials reported that they had used
YouTube to learn something new and 45% said a YouTuber inspired them to make a change in
their life (Taylor, 2020). Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are all large advertising platforms
that are used to target millennials.

Targeting Gen Z
With Gen Z being the most recent generation, they have been introducing a whole new
world to advertising. Since they are always using their phones and social media, they are
described as the ‘digital natives’ (Mitchell, 2019). Since Gen Z’s spend most of their time on
things like social media and streaming services, people are starting to realize the best way to
connect with them is going through social media and streaming services. All of the online
activity has changed the ways that gen z connects with brands. Something that has also changed
the way this generation reacts to advertising is when it aligns with their beliefs. In the article
written by Mitchell, it states that 70% of gen z are more likely to buy a product/item if it aligns
with their beliefs (Mitchell, 2019).
With this generation spending up to 7 hours per day online the best way to advertise to
them is through their online presence. The most common used platforms may include Twitter,
YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram when it comes to targeting this generation. The
most recent and upcoming platform for the advertising world being TikTok (Ward, 2020). Since
everything is shifting online, brands are now relying on influencers on these platforms to sell
their products. On top of the normal advertising, brands are paying these influencers to posts and
make video content to reach Gen Z.

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 Figure 1.2 Top social media apps that gen z uses and have accounts with.

With TikTok being the most recent platform and fastest growing it is one of the platforms
that is reaching all of Gen Z. When Tiktok first came around in 2019 they introduced their ad
platform. The ads started at the costs of around $10 for every 1,000 views, which is about a CPM
of $8. This type of advertising is why these platforms so well is called word or mouth. Gen Z is
99% more likely to purchase an item based on online reviews and social media. This is because
they prefer to see marketing from “real people” (Maguire, L., & Cernansky, R.,2020). They want
to relate to the people they are buying from and organically coming across a brand being
promoted by someone they watch often will cause them to want to also buy the product. When a
brand promotes their product, it doesn’t feel as real because the brand isn’t going to give honest
reviews of their own product.

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 Figure 1.3 Gen Z are more likely to use social media platforms for purchasing items rather than other advertising
mediums.

Ad Campaigns that Succeeded with Millennials and Generation Z

One advertising technique that millennials respond particularly well to is promoting

products through social media influencer platforms. Influencer marketing works because this
generation feels connected to these influencers, with 4 in 10 millennials expressing that their
favorite YouTube content creators understand them better than their friends (Ward, 2020). One
example of a successful influencer campaign involves YouTube content creator Jeffree Star,
Shane Dawson, and the makeup company Morphe. Star used the social media platforms
Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to increase awareness for the release of his Conspiracy makeup
palette by producing a mini-documentary series featuring Dawson. The series received
approximately 20 million views per video and had 7 videos total. During the series, it was
revealed that Star had agreed to partner with Morphe in order to sell more products. The profit
that the makeup palette made was around $54 million after the docuseries campaign. The
collaboration with Morphe and Shane Dawson sold over 60,000 palettes in less than 30 minutes
on release, with a profit of 3 million dollars in that 30 minutes alone (Tietjen, 2019).

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 Figure 1.4 Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson Conspiracy makeup palette campaign.

Companies trying to advertise to Generation Z have noticed success when taking a

different approach. Rather than overuse the name of a brand, Generation Z has shown signs of
being more attracted to simplistic advertisements. Generation Z appreciates authenticity and a
“real” relationship with the companies that they buy from (Maguire, 2020). Doritos has taken
this idea and applied it to one of their previous advertising campaigns. Rather than broadcast the
Doritos name commercials as they have done so many times in the past, Doritos decided to
de-brand themselves. To appeal to Generation Z, in 2019 Doritos launched a logo-free
advertising campaign that they titled “Another Level.” The campaign included a 60 second
YouTube anti-ad, along with several visual ads that featured the triangular shape of the chips and
the red and blue bags they come in. This campaign was successful because Gen Z has been
known to reject traditional advertising (Derrick, 2019).

Figure 1.5 Doritos “Another Level” main advertising campaign image

Advertising Campaigns that failed with Millennials and Generation Z

With advertising to millennials, companies must also keep in mind how the generation
reacts negatively, just as much as they do positively. Social media use with today’s generations
make people more able to communicate their frustrations on much larger platforms than ever
before, and they are significantly influenced by other people’s opinions (Zhong, 2017). Pepsi
learned that word travels fast when they released an ad in 2017 called, “Live for Now”.
The commercial showed a group of people holding peace signs and walking through the
city, including shots of people drinking their Pepsi and joining the protest. As they go on,
Kendall Jenner leaves the photoshoot that she was doing and walks to the front of the crowd to
offer a Pepsi to a police officer. The officer takes the Pepsi and there is mass cheering and
celebration. Pepsi received huge backlash from their representation of the protests and how they

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portrayed protest issues could easily be solved with a soda. (Schultz & Diaz, 2017). Social media
users erupted, and memes plastered sights such as this from a user on Twitter (Sorrentino, 2018).

Figure 1.6 Twitter post in response to the Pepsi ad campaign.

Pepsi’s statement apologized for the ad by saying, “Clearly we missed the mark, and we
apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue” (“Pepsi Moments Content”,
2017). Along with their apology to the public, they removed the ad from being aired and
apologized to Kendall Jenner for putting her in a bad position by being the main star in the
commercial.

Advertising Campaigns that failed with Millennials and Generation Z

Much like Millennials, Generation Z is aware of what is right and wrong in advertising
and is not afraid to voice their opinions. Generation Z has shown to prove their loyalty to
companies that try and truly connect with their audience. Their generation is over the unrealistic
standards and the lack of awareness from companies. A study done by AdAge over Generation
Z showed that 84% of the age group will trust a company more if they use actual customers in
their commercials (Dugan, 2019). Victoria Secret is failing in their marketing and this generation
because of this.
Victoria Secret is known to have beautiful models that are tall, skinny and so perfect it
seems impossible. These standards of how women should look according to Victoria Secret are
not being put up with in this generation. Companies like Aerie, who use models who look like

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realistic people of all shapes, sizes, and colors are rising because that is how Generation Z works
(Tan, 2019). The compilation of images below shows the growth of Aerie (top of image) and
Victoria Secret (bottom of image) throughout the years of 2014 and 2018 to show how even as
standards for women's bodies have been changing, Victoria Secret has yet to change their
marketing to reflect it (Silverman, 2019). The lack of change has resulted in a loss of 60% in
share price (Silverman, 2019).

Figure 1.7 Aerie’s model transformations over the past years on the top, Victoria Secret’s model transformation on the bottoms.

Recommendations
To better target Millennials and Generation Z, marketers need to recognize the purchasing power
the two generations have. Both generations are tech-savvy individuals who are big consumers of
online shopping and can be best reached online.

1. Use Social media as a key component of a campaign’s media mix

Millennials and Generation Z respond well to online and digital advertising. They were
the first generations to consistently use social media and are more likely to try new
technology first. 17% reported they were more likely to engage with brands online
(Inman, 2020).

2. Engage with the two generations on social media platforms like Tiktok, Twitter, and
Instagram. An estimated third of adults ages 18-24 are using TikTok throughout the day
(Boesel, 2020). Utilize product placement on influencers TikToks because people have
become desentized to ads, but make it make sense. The brand and product should match
with the influencer. Doing this exposes the consumer to a brand or product in a more

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 organic way.

3. Be authentic in messaging, use of models. Brands can connect with both generations on a
personal level by being realistic. Both generations are aware brands trying too hard. They
want authentic brands that support social causes. 84% will trust ads more if they use real
consumers (Dungan, 2019).

4. Need ways to relieve stress

58% Gen Z men play video games to manage stress. Esports is the next big thing for
entertainment. Esports are sport competitions via video games. Advertise on Twitch,
which is a live streaming service for gamers who are live streaming while they are
playing popular games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and League of Legends. 90% of Gen Z
women feel daily activities are somewhat stressful.

5. Parents still play an important role in the lives of Gen Z

By 2015, all of Gen Z will reach adulthood. Until then, Gen Z is highly dependent on
parents for financial support.

6. Multicultural generations
Gen Z: Six percent are Asians, 15 percent Black, and about a 24 percent Hispanic
Young multicultural adults are more likely to watch or shop with a brand that can connect
with them based on a cultural background.
Millennials: 21 percent Hispanic,

Conclusion
Now more than ever, targeting Millennials and Generation Z through online platforms is
vital to a brand. Millennials and Gen Z want to purchase from brands that are actively supporting
social causes like racial discrimination and climate change. The research looks at some of the
advertising strategies used by brands or advertising agencies. However, the research presented
also provides insight into the importance of the two generations. As two of the largest digital
users, they will use social media platforms to agree or point out faults within brand
advertisements. As presented with Pepsi’s advertisement, it lacked an understanding of the social
issue and how generations valued equality. Victoria's Secret has to rebrand and incorporate
diversity because they were getting called out by their consumers resulting in profit loss.
Brands need to learn how to create advertisements cleverly supporting social causes. If
social causes are trivialized or ads seem inauthentic, both Millennials and Generation Z will
reject them. Millennials and Generation Z are different from past generations because they have
grown up in a technology environment. New strategies will bloom from their access to
technology and with their new consumer behavior. Both generations have become desensitized to
ads and have installed ad-blockers. So, reaching them through influencer YouTube channels,
product placement on movies, TikToks’, and Instagram influencers will work best for marketers.
These two generations are made up of multicultural individuals and they must be recognized by
avoiding stereotypes and cliches.

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