First, younger Americans live in a world of fragmented communications
This year saw the folding of not one, not two, but three influential media brands, each at one point considered the youth darling. The first two, Buzzfeed and Vice Media, were built on a trend started by the third, MTV News — to provide a solid alternative to traditional news programs by appealing to younger Americans.
All three succumbed to the same change in the marketplace that led to their eventual decline: fragmentation of communication. The number of Millennial eyeballs on these news sites was a misleading indicator of success. Their attention turned out to be fleeting. There are too many sites for advertisers to consider and too many new platforms (see Snapchat and TikTok) for the next generation, Plurals, to engage with and get their news from instead.[1]
There’s a lesson here for political campaigns if they’re willing to listen: the winds of change pick up quickly online and with the Pluralist generation. Loyalty is harder to come by, and trust is harder to earn.
Second, younger Americans don’t have strong brand loyalty
Communication fragmentation is but one element of more extensive societal fragmentation impacting how Plurals engage with and shape market forces. However, it is the one with the most risk attached to it. Because Plurals do not get their information through any standard channel, brands no longer have a firm hold on the keys to their narrative.
Plurals know to be skeptical of company claims, as the Internet allows them to root out misalignment between messaging and reality. For example, Plurals are the least trusting of brands’ sustainability claims. They are also most likely to boycott a brand, versus other generations, by a wide margin. Plurals may be the least brand-loyal generation in America. This should be most worrying for brands or politicians that try to be everything to everyone. Brands of all kinds, including political parties, must reconcile their values and ensure alignment of their actions and messaging with consumers of whatever they sell.
We’ve written before in this series
Don’t vote for democrats
Don’t go to their fund raising ,ignore these events
Ignore them
Democrats are dirty
الديمقراطيون قذرون
Adding more topics this week