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MAY 2017
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PPAI Exclusive Research
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FEATURE
attention span shrinking 33 percent in a
little over 10 years, themarket for consumer
attention has become increasingly
competitive, and experts anticipate it only to
get worse. Marketers often find themselves
chasing the “right moments” to best
influence the consumer path to purchase,
making brand recall the fuel to success.
Millennials expect to be engaged. As
a generation native to an era marked
by rapid transformation and in turn,
an increased number of advertising
touchpoints, they are well acquainted with
the ad game. Gallup recently reported that
one in four Millennials is fully engaged,
either emotionally or psychologically, to
a brand, marking the lowest consumer
engagement level over previous
generations. This inevitably requires
more mechanical advertising to be
delivered at the right moments and shifts
brand strategy to rely on environmental
receptivity, driving automatic impressions
that ultimately stick. Promotional
products are built to do just that.
The longer a promotional product is
kept by a consumer, the more opportunity
a brand has to seamlessly become a part of
day-to-day behaviors and gain the user’s
familiarity over time. Study findings reveal
about eight in 10 Millennials will keep
a promotional product longer than one
year; the majority keep it upwards of five
years. A surprising 13 percent reported
owning a promotional product for more
than 11 years—for some that’s nearly half
their lifetime.
The Millennial Memory
Because of their extended shelf life and
their ability to be used in people’s everyday
routines, promotional products allow
consumers an opportunity to absorb the
content at the pace and in the amount of
time they choose to consume themessage.
This presents a greater opportunity
for brands to have a distraction-free
engagement withMillennials and gain
higher brand recall. It’s no surprise that 87
percent of Millennials remember the brand
and 58 percent remember themessage from
a promotional product they have received.
RESONANCE
Promotional Products Resonate
While it’s important to be remembered,
it is also important to resonate with your
target audience. Advertising that creates
favorable impressions helps consumers
connect with the brand on a personal level
and creates the necessary foundation for a
lasting relationship.
The Millennial Perspective
It’s no secret that Millennials are opposed
to traditional forms of advertising and
openly reject them. A recent Facebook study
reported a 25-percent decrease inMillennial
users in 2014—revealing unwanted tracking
and advertisements as the root cause. In
fact, according to a study conducted by Elite
Daily, a popular digital news platform for
Millennials, only one percent of Millennials
said a compelling advertisement would
make them trust a brandmore. So, what
does it take for a brand to connect with a
Millennial consumer?
Brand advertising has traditionally
been concerned with touching the hearts
of audiences to bond consumers to the
brands they grew to love. Successful
8
in
10
MILLENNIALS KEEP
PROMOTIONAL
PRODUCTS >1 YR
1
%
said a compelling
advertisement would
make them trust a
brand more.
9
in
10
RECALL THE
BRAND
6
in
10
RECALL THE
MESSAGE
Advertising Qualities
Important to Millennials
Visually Appealing
Clear & Concise
Thought Provoking
Personally Relatable
70%
59%
51%
44%