What youth news did our readers want to know more about? We’ve got the newsfeed items on Millennials and teens that were clicked the most this year…
Every day, we look for the most interesting and relevant stories about young consumers, and our newsfeed delivers a curated list of the five-top pieces of must-know youth news in marketing, culture, lifestyle, and technology to our readers—along with a dose of Ypulse’s insight on Millennials and teens. Today, we’re counting down the newsfeed items that were clicked the most—here are the 10 stories that Ypulse readers most wanted to know more about:
1. Why a Millennial’s Letter to Yelp’s CEO Got Her Fired
One Millennial employee’s open letter to the CEO of Yelp has gone viral—and gotten her fired. The emotional letter, posted on Medium over the weekend, detailed the 25-year-old woman’s plight of making a low salary and struggling to afford housing, transportation to work, and food. Her complaints have spawned both backlash calling her a spoiled, entitled Millennial, and a debate over whether her grievances were warranted. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman acknowledged via Twitter that the cost of living in San Francisco is too high—but did not address the low pay of Yelp employees. (Inc.)
2. Clearasil Admits It Doesn’t Get Teens at All
What does Clearasil know about teens? According to them, nothing. The teen-focused anti-acne brand is fessing up to being mystified by their target market in a series of comical ads with the tagline “We know your acne. We just don’t know you.” Expressing how their employees, or “the lame old people,” are “pathetically out of touch with youth culture,” a voiceover asks teens if they like pizza, skateboarding, cool cars, ripped jeans etc. The campaign was inspired when the brand posted memes that only made them look “out-of-touch.” They believe honesty is key for Gen Z and hope the ads will be “refreshing” to the generation that is “tired of brands pretending to know them.” (Adweek)
3. Amazon Go Debuts as a New Grocery Store Without Checkout Lines
While many grocery brands are struggling to get Millennials down their aisles, Amazon has unveiled their plans for the grocery stores of the future. Amazon Go is a physical store without checkouts, registers, or lines. Instead, shoppers use an app to scan into the store, take what they’d like, and walk out. Any items taken with the shopper are added to a virtual cart and paid for with their Amazon account. Along with grocery staples and prepared foods, the stores will offer Amazon Meal Kits, which have all the ingredients to make a meal for two. (Fortune)
4. What Millennials Want to See (and Take Home) From Branded Events
Brands that are focused on providing experiences, instead of things, at sponsored events are “winning over the Millennial generation.” A creator of experiential marketing software, Splash, recently put together an infographic of the top trends for branded events, highlighting Millennials’ love for experiences and broadcasting them. At branded events, 81% of survey takers shared a photo on social media, 71% used the event’s hashtag, and 67% followed the brand’s social profile. With 92% saying they would be open to receiving a personalized email offer from a brand following an event, it is key to know that 73% said the main reason to attend events was for a great topic, speaker, music, or entertainment. (Adweek)
5. What Luxury Dorm Rooms Tell Us About Students Today
For the younger generation, going to college is an Instagram opportunity. A pair of freshman roommates at Ole Miss have gone viral for redesigning their small standard college dorm room to resemble a luxurious palace. Spending on dorm room décor has reportedly increased over the last few years, and extreme dorm makeovers are increasingly common, as evidenced by the 68,296 #dormroom photos on Instagram. The trend is part of a larger pattern of teens seeking more premium experiences from higher education institutions. A Bloomberg analysis of 94 student housing complexes in the U.S. found 80% have swimming pool access, 55% have on-site tanning salons, and 45% have beach volleyball courts. (The Guardian)
6. The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016
Time has released their annual list of the 30 most influential teens. This year’s cut was chosen by “global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news,” and ranges from the dancing 14-year-old made famous from Dance Moms and Sia’s latest music videos, Maddie Ziegler, to 16-year-old founder of a high-end lacrosse equipment company, Rachel Zietz, to 17-year-old poster child “in America’s culture war over LGBT rights,” Gavin Grimm. Also making the list is 17-year-old app developer Ben Pasternak, who we spoke to earlier in the year. (TIME)
7. How Millennial Skepticism Is Revolutionizing the Beauty Industry
Beauty aisles are undergoing “Sephorization” to cater to skeptical Millennials. The beauty industry is expected to grow to $51.8 billion in 2020, and women 18-34-year-olds are currently the largest portion of the cosmetic market, purchasing 10 types of products a year. The age group is a “suspicious crew,” opting to go in-store and signing up for sample box services instead of risking buying online. In response, retailers are rushing to offer consumers the chance to try before they buy. Target has created their own beauty trial box offering, and some online beauty brands are establishing brick-and-mortar locations. (Racked)
8. Why Everyone Is Crazy for Prisma, The App That Turns Photos Into Works Of Art
An app that turns phone photos into artwork has taken off over the last week, attracting one million daily users as of Thursday. Prisma uses a “combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence” to strip images into layers and filter them with a choice of art styles including mosaic and gothic. The “artsy” images have filled Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook feeds, and although some accuse the app of devaluing “the work of real artists,” co-founder Alexey Moiseenkov sees the platform as a place where users can experiment and create their own artwork. (The Guardian)
9. How Brands Can Use Empathy to Connect with Millennial Moms
Millennial moms may be “the greatest lifetime monetary value of any consumer segment in the history of marketing,” so how can they be reached? After following a group of Millennial moms, Connelly Partners’ say empathy is key for brands looking to connect. The advertising agency found that the pressure is on for the moms of today, as they juggle being experts in cyber-security, nutrition, education, and physical fitness, all while portraying a “put together” image. Brands need to acknowledge their anxieties and challenges while offering them resources and reminding them to embrace the hard work they’ve done so far. (Advertising Age)
10. Branded Content Scores Better Than Pre-Roll
Branded content is not only a way to reach the ad-skipping generation, it’s also producing results. A recent Nielsen analysis found that branded content generates 21% more brand recall than a pre-roll ad, and is giving brands a boost in perception: affinity for branded content averages 28% in comparison to 18% for pre-roll, and purchase intent is 14% for branded content compared to 11% for pre-roll. The analysis also found that 40% of consumers say they “probably will” or “definitely will” view branded content on future TV/video episodes. (MediaPost)
To download the PDF version of this insight article, click here.
