Millennials, those born between 1980 and 1995 are an important demographic for marketers to reach. As part of a new practice area that Edelman recently launched which aims to help brands understand how to engage with millennials and ultimately turn them into customers, the firm has released results from a global study. The study called Edelman’s 8095, focuses on people born between 1980 and 1995, finds that in Canada, at least seven in 10 Millennials have taken action on behalf of a brand they trust – including sharing 
brand experiences with others, joining online communities and posting reviews online.
Over 3,100 interviews were conducted in eight countries and 81 per cent of Canadian 8095ers have joined a brand-sponsored online community, and nearly half (46 per cent) have joined more than three. Forty-one per cent of Millennials share positive brand experiences online, with respondents from China (61%) and Brazil (57%) most likely to do so. Poor experiences also spark this kind of action, with nearly 38 per cent reporting they have criticized a brand on a blog or social network. Further, each action reverberates through extensive networks of sources and peers – online, offline and mobile. More than half of the Canadian respondents (51 per cent) say they consult at least four sources of information before making a purchase decision.
“Our Edelman 8095 research reflects a diverse generation in our country whose defining life events thus far include being the first group to grow up with computers as part of their everyday lives, 9/11, the Facebook phenomenon and the Great Recession,” said Robyn Adelson, Vice-President, Consumer Marketing, Edelman Canada. “Furthermore, this is the first generation to use online and mobile technologies to amplify their voices, which is a game changer for marketers and communicators; the 8095ers are actively defining today’s global and emerging brands.”
Key insights from Edelman’s 8095 Canadian findings include:
- Brand relationships are a form of self expression: Brand preference ranks with religion and ethnicity as top personal identifiers that 8095ers are willing to share about themselves online.
- Information is a key to influence: In addition to 8095ers that use four or more sources of information to help them make brand purchase decisions, 26 percent use seven or more sources of information.
- Taking action on behalf of brands is a core value: Fifty-one percent of 8095ers would volunteer to try new products from a preferred brand and almost half (47 per cent) would post an online review of the experience.
- Reverberation is online, offline and increasingly mobile: For those brands that Millennials love, 64 percent have recommended their products to friends and family and 40 percent have friended/followed that brand on their social network.