There is a lot of collective energy spent on dissecting the behavior of Millennials — whether they’re entitled, or not; whether they’re lazy, or not; whether they’re going to be the planet’s salvation, or not. It always revolves around the idea that Millennials are exceptional in some way, but this is nothing new. Critiques of the millennial generation bear an uncanny resemblance to qualms that Baby Boomers had with Generation Xers, for instance.

This being said, Millennials are different than previous generations – as consumers, employees, and entrepreneurs. As we’ve outlined in a previous white paper (link to previous white paper), they are the generation that grew up surrounded by the “instant gratification” technology of digital media.

The “Millennials” (born 1980-2000) have no memory of a world without cell phones, digital cameras, text messaging, email, and web browsing.

The Internet has opened more doors to this generation than any other. Research indicates that by 2017, the Millennial generation will make up the largest online audience and will have more buying power than any other generation that has come before it, including baby boomers. As digital natives, leaders of today’s social causes and early adopters of the latest technology, Millennials have a tremendous influence on future market trends.

In this article we'll also look into the fact that Purpose is the differentiator for the next generation of leaders. Purpose – the desire to live life to your full potential - is a fundamental part of the human essence. The same sense of purpose can be found in business. Successful companies know what they are good at, identify a need for it, and pursue it with a passion. This passion creates a virtuous circle; they stand out, their passion is infectious, it gains supporters, they go beyond business to create an experience which fuels their growth. All this resonates very well with the Millennials - our Purpose Generation. Find out why "purpose" is what makes the difference for the next generation of leaders .

Why is purpose becoming so important for the Millennials and why are they embracing brands with a purpose? The branding landscape changes subtly, but it does change, there are now several clear influences that indicate that purpose is becoming a powerful influence. In this white paper, Mission elaborates on how millennials signal personal identity through brand preferences and how their consumer habits open up new growth opportunities for businesses.

The brand landscape is changing in subtle ways, but it is changing. There are several clear indications that purpose is becoming increasingly important to achieve success as a brand. I will also address this in this article. In addition, I will elaborate on how this generation signals their personal identity through brands, and how their consumption habits open up new growth opportunities for companies.

Consumer habits and growth opportunities

More generally, the search for sustainable behavior is pushing Millennials to adopt new consumer habits, thus opening up for new growth opportunities. Sharing instead of consuming is leading to the development of the sharing economy. We see spending diverted away from traditional retail products. The sportswear industry is benefitting strongly as sports items have become part of everyday wear because millennials are conscious of health and wellness. Eating food from organic or local sources instead of food produced through pollution-intense agricultural practices or industrial processes has given momentum to specialty grocers such as Whole Foods.

The traditional food retailers have also evolved to address this trend and have captured a bigger share of the natural/organic industry in recent years. Smaller brands are appearing in the staples industry and gaining market share. In the healthcare industry, Millennials are embracing alternative medicine rather than conventional medical treatments and prescription drugs. Natural remedies and alternative medicines feel safer and cleaner and are more in line with Millennials' values.

Millennials are an influential and rapidly growing consumer market. Established industries must adapt their business models now if they want to bring Millennials on board. As for companies, they must deliver good social and environmental performance and engage in sustainable practices or their future growth could be at risk.

“We know for a fact that Millennials are the most sustainability-conscious generation.”

The Nielsen report Millennials breaking the myths recently looked into how important it is to understand this generation, how their values play into their consumer lifestyle, and their purchasing habits. We know for a fact that Millennials are the most sustainability-conscious generation. Recent studies from Nielsen and Deloitte show that Millennials are most willing to pay more for products and services seen as sustainable or coming from socially and environmentally responsible companies.

A 2015 Nielsen survey found that three out of four Millennials, more than any other generation, are willing to pay extra for sustainable product offerings. Values are the reason Millennials wear TOMS shoes and vegan leather, drink fair-trade coffee, and locally brewed craft beer. It’s also the reason a Boston Consulting Group study found that Millennials spent 13% more on plane tickets than other generations, shelling out for posh rides on airlines like Singapore Air, Japan Air, and Emirates. Millennials tend to value experiences over material possessions, so it makes sense that they’d save up money for a travel-related splurge.

Millennials are influencing key market trends, not only in buying power, but also real estate and lifestyle development. Let’s take a look at the real estate market first. The “1980’s” ideal is transitioning, as Millennials are steering away from the white picket fence in the suburbs to the eclectic urban dwelling in the heart of the city. This shift began about 20 years ago but dramatically accelerated during the housing bust. A wave of young, educated, relatively high-earning workers quickly moved to the cities.

By emphasising diversity in both community design and population, developers can speak directly to the values of Millennials combining urban convenience, social consciousness, and creative environments. The key takeaway for marketers is that Millennials are influencing key market trends. At Mission, one of our areas of expertise is Brand Identity. Design is the most tangible way to express a brand, through images, words, films and social media we engage people. For Mission, design is more than craft and visual appeal, it’s about bringing the message to life wherever people meet it. How will your brand come to life visually? What’s the objective? Who’s the audience? What are we communicating? What is the overall visual personality? For the real estate market , we’ve seen a wave of brand identities and conceptualisations over the past years. For those few engaging in a meaningful purpose and a distinctive identity, we see successful brands develop and flourish in the marketplace. “Purpose - the desire to live life to the fullest and reach its potential - is a fundamental part of human nature”

"Purpose is the differentiator for the next generation of leaders."

Purpose – the desire to live life to your full potential - is a fundamental part of the human essence. The same sense of purpose can be found in business. Successful companies know what they are good at, identify a need for it, and pursue it with a passion. This passion creates a virtuous circle; they stand out, their passion is infectious, it gains supporters, they go beyond business to create an experience which fuels their growth. All this resonates very well with the Millennials - our Purpose Generation.

Why is purpose becoming important?

The branding landscape changes subtly, but it does change and there are now four clear influences that indicate that purpose is becoming a powerful influence for Millennials.

1. Desire for self-actualisation

As living standards rose and the media exposed us to travel, culture, and new ways of life, people have begun to question themselves more. They are consciously looking for ways to live a more fulfilling life. This is more apparent with Millennials who won’t settle for any job; they want to work for a company they believe in.

2. Rejection of short sighted institutions

Established institutions such as government, corporations, and banks have come under negative scrutiny; people demand that they stand for more than self-gain and make a more positive contribution to our lives.

3. A new type of brand emerging

New brands that have captured the opportunities of our time are disrupting the business landscape and marginalizing the old guard. E.g. Air B&B, PayPal, Amazon, Tesla, Uber. These game changers want to improve the way we do things, they are part of our world and communicate on our terms.

4. We don’t want products; we want experiences

People are familiar with what products and services have on offer. Brands that go beyond expectations and create customer experiences, big and small, stand out, they become talked about, followed, and appreciated.

As mentioned earlier, the search for sustainable behavior is pushing Millennials to adopt new consumer habits, thus opening for new brands and brand experiences , We know for a fact that Millennials signal personal identity through brand preference.

Burgers or tofu? Fair trade clothing or fast fashion? Millennials are making conscious statements with their purchases.

For most of Western history, people’s identities depended on accidents of birth. Whether you were in ancient Rome or a 1950s small town in the north of Norway, chances were you’d settle down in the town your parents lived in, go to the church your parents went to, vote for the political party your parents voted for. You didn’t have to assemble an identity for yourself because so much of it was already set in stone the moment you were conceived.

With great freedom comes great responsibility

Today, though, it’s unusual, even insulting, to imply that someone’s identity is defined at birth. People change their careers and their lifestyles at the drop of a hat and are celebrated for it. Millennials have grown up with the mantra “you have all the freedom and therefore possibilities in the world.” BUT this freedom can be invigorating, but also exhausting. Building an identity from scratch is hard work. And no generation has more building to do than the Millennials, the generation with the cleanest slate of identity in history.

The building blocks of identity

So how are millennials building their identities? Through brands, and very often through brands with a clear offering, or a purpose! All of a sudden a brand can become a proxy for a whole constellation of shared values between friends and family. Millennials often use brands as a kind of shorthand which may show that friends or acquaintances have a lot in common. And remember we’re talking about the most brand-loyal generation ever!

Why brands you may ask?

The link between branding and identity is deep and long-established. In the 1970s, psychologists were already theorising that buying certain brands helped people “reduce discrepancies between their actual and ideal self,” thereby increasing their self-esteem; decades later they are finding in studies that this “self-congruity” was a major factor in brand loyalty. A Millennial buys a pair of Diesel jeans because he believes himself to be, or wants to be, the type of person who owns one. The internet has kicked that feedback loop between branding and identity into overdrive. Millennial consumers don’t just seek self-congruity through products that they buy: they also seek it through the product photos they pin on Pinterest; the brands they follow on Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram; the videos they watch on YouTube, etc. Some have hypothesized that this abundance of social proof is one reason why millennials are so loyal to brands - it’s easier to trust your friends (or social-media influencers) than it is to trust traditional advertising. This, plus the decay of more traditional sources of identity, is the reason brands have become so important in Millennials’ conversations.

Branding is important – you should do more of it

The easy conclusion here is that branding is important and companies should do more of it. But I would go much further than that. Brands are no longer an ancillary accessory of identity -- they are the core of it. That means that in some cases, your brand won’t just be central to your product; it will be more important than the product itself. This is both an opportunity and a tremendous responsibility. And, for companies looking to reach millennials, it’s also the wave of the future.