Millennial Branding
Many companies worldwide are trying to catch the attention an entire generation and then some, that have been clustered into a group called millennials. The base strategy that everyone employs and swears by is ‘social media’—and while this is clearly a big part of branding in the 21st century, there is more to this than just setting up an active Instagram account.
Two companies in the UAE that are focused on branding for millennials at the moment are Swyp and Liv. Let’s look at some things that are essential to creating a strong brand in today’s world.
Brand Values
Establish a strong foundation for your brand. This makes it easier to connect with your audience. Know your product well enough to know what your purpose is. Gimmicky marketing and buzzwords can only take you so far. Companies are realising that purpose goes beyond just charity and donation. Make it abundantly clear how your brand is adding value to people’s lives.
Both these brands’ supplementary offerings are structured to give millennials access to a host of goods and services as a way of exploring their cities. These always stay consistent with the image of the millennial lifestyle their customers are after.
Ease of Use
Increasingly, companies are starting sub-brands that offer more flexible options and features to make your experience with them a smoother ride. These sub brands explore the process of getting rid of old and outdated practices and seeing how their new customer base interacts with them—essentially acting as a brand new image, with years of experience to back it up.
The USP behind Liv. is based around how easy it is to set up a bank account with them, backed by processes that hold up. They’ve eliminated the need for most online banking services, giving you access to all facets of your account directly on their mobile app.
Adaptability
Design for your customer. Cookie-cutter designs that are impersonal easily miss the mark. If your company stands for something, everything from your policies to your website should reflect that same purpose. User experience is a huge part of the equation now, so whatever changes you make to the way your company communicates has to be an active process. This in turn leads to your customers choosing your brand actively everytime, based on the experiences they’ve had with you.
Swyp’s USP lies here, they boast the ability to personalise your telecom experience to include only services which suits you. This is entirely user-centric and depends on knowing their audience well enough to predict their needs.
““If business needs to continually innovate... there needs to be a portfolio of engagement—lots of smaller bets targeted at current needs, laying the foundation for future value and exploring new opportunities.””
Liv. and Swyp both have existing frameworks that have been established to fill the void for customisable options in their respective industries. They back this up with branding that elevates this purpose and establishes a strong relationship with their audience. This is millennial branding done right.