Purpose, Culture and the Millennial Mindset

Before writing this off as just another touchyfeely post suggesting that you coddle your Millennial workforce consider the words of Scott O39Neil CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center quotCulture isn39t soft Accountability is real amp8230 There39s nothing more important you can do as an employer than create an environment that is inspiring special and differentquotPurpose as the Fifth quotPquot of MarketingMarketing 101 lays out the four Ps of marketing as price product place and promotion quotPeoplequot is often discussed as the fifth P but Afdhel Aziz author of Good is the New Cool Market Like You Give a Damn and former director of Absolut Labs suggested that we take it a step further quotWe are at a crossroadsquot he states in his book quotEither we can try to prop up the old broken marketing model or we can create a new model one that is fit for the unique challenges of todayquotDuring his presentation at the conference he explained quotYou have to be able to articulate your purpose as a business Ask yourselves 39Why do we exist as a company39 and 39What problems are we trying to solve in people39s lives39quotThis isn39t just about optics Millennials and Gen Z consumers flat out expect this from brands and businesses Aziz stated that 64 won39t take a job if the company doesn39t have a social code and 95 of Millennials would switch to a brand with a causeLoren Angelo Vice President of Marketing for Audi of America echoed Aziz39s sentiments saying quotTo be successful you have to be able to define your brand39s purpose and define it in one wordquot He recapped several Audi partnerships including integration into the Iron Man movies and a custom experience sweepstakes with Airbnb When choosing partners he explained it39s important to know what their consumers find compelling because 89 purchase brands they believe share their personal values amp160The Importance of Culture in Driving BusinessThe concept of corporate culture was thrust into the spotlight following widespread reports about tech startups attempting to woo Millennials with perks like pingpong tables and beers on tap O39Neil insisted that quotgood culture drives good businessquot But it39s about more than just games and napping pods culture now plays a role in the bottom lineAziz challenged another standard model of business amp160the three Cs traditionally company competitor customer and proposed that they be replaced with commerce conscience and culture Zapposcom quotFungineerquot Tyler Williams explained that they prioritize four Cs community customer service commerce and cultureWhile it needs to be prioritized it39s critical for leaders to understand that good culture cannot be forced quotCulture is not top downquot O39Neill said quotIt has to start on the groundquot Famed music executive Russell Simmons now chairman and CEO of Rush Communications had a similar idea saying quotYour brand39s mission and values need to be engrained in your employeesquot But he cautionedamp160seasoned executives to quotbe fluid and free to move when things move Don39t be stuck in your waysquotAnother suggestion for driving good culture came from Brian Wong founder and CEO of Kiip a mobile rewards platform and author of The Cheat Code Going Off Script to Get More Go Faster and Shortcut Your Way to Success Wong recommends building a team based on complementary strengths quotIn interviewsquot he said quotwe ask people 39What39s your super power39 If your team has too many overlapping super powers that39s when conflict happens Adulthood is about recognizing your strengths not forcing your weaknessesquotO39Neil concluded that in order to drive good cultureamp160you have to ask and know your mission and valuesamp160and from toplevel executives to freelance contractors only hire people that live those values He shared a few photos of moments when he personally witnessed people clearly not living their company39s values Among the photos a light operator knitting a sweater amp8230 at the Grammy39s O39Neil39s reaction quotYou are at literally the best concert of the entire year and you don39t carequotHis company39s core values include accountability grit authenticity innovation and passion quotYou don39t have to live these valuesquot he saidamp160quotYou just can39t work here if you don39tquotThe Millennial Mindset Not Just for MillennialsLast fall we wrote about the ways that technology has reduced the importance of traditional demographics Since then the idea of targeting based on mindset instead of age and gender has only proliferatedYes Millennials are an excellent target for brands But quotMillennialquot no longer needs to refer to just those ages 18 to 34 The mindset and behaviors of this target are what make it so appealing regardless of when they were bornThe Millennial mindset is rooted in curiosity and the desire to learn build and know This is a mindset that is mostly intrinsic for quottruequot Millennials because they have always had access to information via the Internet While perhaps not as widespread those over 35 with these same desires have been able to thanks to the Internet finally satisfy their hunger to learn build and know These people are spending as much time on their phones using as much data and buying as much online as their younger counterpartsWong spoke to the value of this type of person in the workplace by saying quotIt39s not how old you are it39s how connected you are With a builder mentality and a creative mindset you can compress timelinesquot Once an idea strikes this person will take action do the research educate themselves on the topic and even figure out how to activate it themselvesamp160instead of waiting around for approval for a budget for an expertIt39s also important to understand how this quotconnected generationquot consumes media Andrew Winstanley Senior Manager of Media and Integrations for Zillow stated quotPeople expect to be entertained at all times and if you don39t do that they immediately leavequotUnderstanding what39s important to your consumers solidifying your overarching purpose and prioritizing people values and innovation pave the road to success in 2017 And if you39re looking for a little inspiration take a cue from Russell Simmons and give yoga a try quotI went to my first yoga class over 20 years ago because there were so many cute girls but I came out so high I have gone every day sincequotCommentary written by Anne Fiedel Director of Marketing ZOOM Active Lifestyle MarketingThis article was originally publshed at MediaVillage April 20 2017Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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