If one needed evidence that younger consumers are hard to convince—and have shorter memories—an Ipsos study shows that brand awareness, at least among banking and investment firms, increases with age.
   So how does one reach the younger consumer? Simple: find ways of marketing that aren’t stuck in the 1950s. Younger consumers are divided into two camps: those who are passionate about the social aspects of the brands they buy, in order to achieve self-actualization, and those who don’t give a toss.
   If you have to reach any group, you might as well go for the former, in the hope they’ll influence others, and they are likely to have the greater disposable income.
   I doubt this study will act as a wake-up call, but the need to appeal to the under 35s, who are more cynical and less loyal, grows stronger by the day. In the financial services’ industry, this group has seen a drop in service (in the 1990s) and has every right to disbelieve its claims. In New Zealand, banks, which supposedly compete, suspiciously have similar charges and interest rates that rise and fall at the same time (though one could equally claim that if they were colluding, they would stagger these movements).
   There are routes open to these companies, and it isn’t giving some money to the SPCA every month. Real commitment to service coupled with support for the causes that customers believe in are the ways to build brands to this group. posted by Jack Yan, 5:52 AM  permalink