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This new micro generation are those born between 1977 and 1983, a mix of Gen
X and Millennials, according to Australian Professor Dan Woodman.
You Could Be
a Xennial. Here's How to Tell
Source: USA Today |
Take the
Xennial Quiz (Click on image below)
 Source: The Guardian |
Characteristics:
- They are a mix of the pessimistic generation X and the
optimistic Millennials.
- Xennials spent their childhoods outside without the
need to update social media (analog childhood).
- They grew up in a time where landline phones were used
to organize catch ups with friends, and people read the
newspaper and watched the nightly news to keep up to date with
current affairs.
- They then came into the technology boom in their 20s,
and are now tech-savvy (digital adulthood) being able to adopt
in a selective way the new technologies with time to learn
before being frazzled with kids.

Where Do Xennials Fit in?

(Click to enlarge)
Xennial Articles:
Interactive Video Quiz: How Well Do You Know Generation Y / Millennials (Joeri Van den Bergh)
Challenge your Millennial knowledge by taking this interactive quiz about Millennial attitudes and behaviors around the world.


Media Habits:
Infographics: Click on images to zoom-in on Millennials Media Consumption
Habits
 (Click to enlarge) Source:
Resonate |
(Click to enlarge) Source:
Toluna |
- TV still constitutes majority of video consumption, but
TV-connected devices compose four times the percentage of
Millennials’ total video minutes than adults 35+. (Source:
Toluna, March 2017)
- 94% of Millennial respondents still “watch TV” in some
form. (Source: Toluna, March 2017)

(Click to enlarge)

(Source: Nielsen, March 2017)
Marketing to Millennials:
- 58% of Millennials say they often learn about new products
or brands from an ad compared to 50% of non-Millennials.
(Source: Toluna, March 2017)
- Millennials want funny ads - 68% said they are more
likely to remember an ad if it’s humorous and 69% said they were
more likely to share if it’s humorous. (Source: Toluna, March
2017)
- Millennials have the lowest program engagement and lowest ad
memorability scores due to distraction (usually from use of
other devices). (Source: Nielsen, March 2017)
Low Memorability Does Not Stem from Dislike of Ads

- Millennials are most likely of any generation to read
direct mail with 63% saying they look at or read the direct mail
they receive. (Source: InfoTrends: Direct Marketing Production
Printing & Value-Added Services: U.S. Report, 2015)
- The USPS reported that Millennials spend more time
reading direct mail compared to other generations. (Source: USPS
Mail Moments, 2016)

- 90% of Millennials think direct mail advertising is
reliable. (PERZ, 2013)
Additional Resources on Millennials:
Characteristics:
- Individuals aged 7-21 (born 1996-2010) are now 26% of
the population; the single largest population segment in U.S.
(Source: Nielsen, July 2017)
- This audience makes up 48% of the total media audience
(Source: Nielsen, July 2017)
Media Habits:
- Gen Z is big on individuality - nearly 92% of Gen Z
has a digital footprint. (Source: CMO.com, June 2017)
- These digital natives are 25% more likely than
Millennials to say they are addicted to their digital devices.
(Source: CMO.com, June 2017)
- Gen Z spends less time with traditional media, with
only 51% watching 1+hours of TV a day compared to 74% for Gen X.
(Source: CMO.com, June 2017)
- Gen Z is consistently more positive about outdoor,
print, cinema, TV, and radio ads than digital alternatives.
(Source: Kantar Milward Brown)
- Graph: How Media Habits Differ – Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen X
(Source: Kantar Millward Brown)
(Click to enlarge)
- Over half (52%) of Gen Z say that are careful about
what they share on social media compared to 43% for Millennials
and 42% of Gen X. (Source: Kantar Millward Brown)
Brand Marketing for Gen Z:
- Gen Z has higher expectations than Millennials. It’s
not about them being loyal to the business. (Source: CMO.com,
June 2017)

- Gen Z prefers ads that are < 10 seconds in length
whereas Gen X is tolerant of videos lasting up to 20 seconds.
(Source: CMO.com, June 2017)
- Gen Z skips ads 3 seconds faster per average than Gen
X. (Source: CMO.com, June 2017)

- Gen Z is less receptive to branded content, and much
less receptive to and more likely to actively avoid online ads
compared to Millennials. (Source: Kantar Millward Brown)
- To capture Gen Z’s attention, brands are experimenting
with live streaming content. (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh,
InSites Consulting - CTAM Think 2016)

- Despite shorter attention spans, long format can still win
with unskippable online ads that are fun and creative. (Source:
Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting - CTAM Think 2016)


- Gen Z is more tolerant of gender and race than any
other generation causing brands to shift to match these ideals
(e.g. Disney princesses have changed into strong, powerful and
less girl individuals, taking on masculine roles and solving
problems for themselves). (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites
Consulting - CTAM Think 2016)

- Gen Z is the “me” economy and want to do it
themselves, so hyper-personalization is desired to give Gen Z
consumers the ability to participate with brands they love.
(Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting - CTAM Think
2016)

- Imperfect suddenly becomes perfect – perfection is
boring, as Gen Z is looking for authenticity. (Source: Joeri Van
den Bergh, InSites Consulting - CTAM Think 2016)
Additional Gen Z Resources:
Joeri Van den Bergh
Co-founder and NextGen Expert
InSites Consulting
View the summary
recap here from Joeri's CTAM Think NextGen session.