{"id":117396,"date":"2017-11-01T16:06:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T21:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/great-millennial-debate\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T09:25:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T14:25:34","slug":"great-millennial-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/strategy\/great-millennial-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Generational Debate: Do Millennials Identify with Their Label?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before we start, I\u2019ll be frank \u2014 this is a post on millennials, written by a millennial (full disclosure: I don\u2019t eat avocado toast, although I\u2019m sure it\u2019s great).<\/p>\n

Every week, there seems to be a new article about marketing to millennials, what defines us and what motivates us. So how worthwhile are these generalizations for marketers? We\u2019re told we are selfish and entitled, that we\u2019re workaholics, and we\u2019re blamed for ruining everything from handshakes to bar soap<\/a>. Now and then, an article on how we\u2019re doing better than expected will pop up<\/a>. So, what\u2019s a marketer to believe?<\/p>\n

Using the Pew Research Center\u2019s definition of the generations, we conducted an anonymous survey of the DAC team to see how the three generations within our company \u2014 Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980) and Millennials (1981-1997) \u2014 see millennials.<\/p>\n

Not everyone agrees with their label
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our survey shows that 43% of Baby Boomers and 61% of Gen Xers identify with their label, while 53% of Millennials identify with theirs. A study by LIMRA found that two-thirds of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers feel their label describes them well. Can we really use one label to associate with everyone across a 15-year gap? Many argue<\/a> that within a generation, there\u2019s the \u201cold\u201d<\/a> and \u201cyoung\u201d portions of each<\/a>. Regardless, each generation has and will moan and groan about the characteristics associated with it, especially the negative ones.<\/p>\n

Everyone believes millennials get an unfair<\/strong> rap\u2026except millennials <\/strong><\/h3>\n

A whopping 71% of Baby Boomers and 75% of Gen Xers claimed that millennials do get an unfair rap. Millennials were evenly split on whether they have a bad reputation. We asked Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to use one word to describe millennials, and they had the following to say about them:<\/p>\n

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  • Entitled<\/li>\n
  • Adventurous<\/li>\n
  • Distracted<\/li>\n
  • Demanding<\/li>\n
  • Unrealistic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Millennials, on the other hand, used words that seemed more optimistic:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Innovative<\/li>\n
    • Opportunist<\/li>\n
    • Inventive<\/li>\n
    • Ambitious<\/li>\n
    • Adaptive<\/li>\n
    • Desensitized<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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