Friday, November 6, 2015

Do you want fun facts about your food, or recipes? It depends. How old are you?



According to a new study by mediapost.com, Women under 35 want fun facts and stories, and conversation starting questions, in their social media food content, while women over 35 want coupons and recipes.

Millennials are also more likely to be influenced by reviews from knowledgeable people than are women 35+.  And, Millennials are significantly more likely to post content to brand/company pages to express satisfaction, make a product suggestion or to try to get a special offer. (Freud, 2015)

So what do you think?  Does this ring true?  Why do you think Millennials are behaving this way?  And how does their behavior relate to the research that we've been discussing?


Freud, A. (2015, October 30)  One-Size-Fits-All Doesn't work for Millennial Women: Food on #Fleek.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved November 5, 2015, from

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a millennial, I have to agree with this statement. I would rather find reviews from knowledgeable people to help me in my decision making process. I need to know if products are worth purchasing or if they are gimmicks. Also, I do not have a full time job as of yet, therefore, I need to manage my expenses properly and know if my purchases are worthwhile.

It could also be that with the technological advances over the past couple of years, consumers are becoming smarter shoppers and are not easily buying into marketing campaigns without knowing about the other options, which could be better choices than what is presented in front of them. I think more research and more reviews are far more helpful especially since we are becoming more exposed to everything that is offered from competing brands/companies and other countries.

-Sweta P.

Unknown said...

Marketers are putting a lot attention to Millennial because they are entering to their spending years and it is the largest group in history after Baby Boomers. This group grew up in a fast technology change environment, they research before buying, they interact with their brands and want to be part of the experience.
Another characteristic of Millennial is that they like stories, so marketers need to pay attention and create a lot of content for their products. We can experience it with Snapple’ fun facts, Pepsi adding names to the soda cans, and Chipotle telling us about the origin of their food. These are great example that illustrate how this generation engages with their favorite brands.
I am generation X, and I do not want to know stories about food when I am cooking, I just want to cook. However, since I am not a good cook, I usually go to YouTube to check how to prepare something. I do not have time to enter reviews. However, I do read reviews when I making a decision to buy or make something.

Wendan Sun said...

I am a Millennial, I think Millennials can be easily attracted to fun facts and stories, but at the same time, they are price driven consumers. We also want coupons and recipes. I remember we have discussed in class that Millennials are more sensitive with price than other generations.

Besides, I agree that Millennials are more likely to be influenced by reviews from knowledgeable people, but I do not think this is have gender difference. As we discussed in class that Millennials are more likely to respect authorities.

I do not know whether other Millennials post product reviews, but I have never post comment to brand/company pages to express satisfaction. Coupons and dissatisfaction might inspire me to make an comment.

James Dalley said...

I do not find it to be at all surprising that U.S. Millennials are considerably more engaged with digital technology, social media, and fun facts and stories about their recipes than older generations. In fact, I found a great article on the subject that claims that 37 percent of younger Millennials said that they feel as if they are “missing something” if they are not on Facebook or Twitter every day, compared with 23 percent of non-Millennials. Another contributor to these stats is the fact that Millennials are the heaviest users of portable devices and are connected to brands wherever they go: 67 percent of Millennials reported that they use smartphones to access the Internet. That compares with 40 percent of baby boomers and just 20 percent of silents. Furthermore, 82 percent said that they access the Internet with laptop computers and 47 percent with tablets, both significantly higher than older generations.

Furthermore, brand imagery, messages, and promotions should also take into account that many U.S. Millennials are highly group oriented, particularly when it comes to activities such as travel and food. This relates to our topics of discussions pertaining to Consumer Behavior in that companies should consider using visuals that are multigenerational and that show groups—friends, classmates, work colleagues, multigenerational families, cultural “tribes,” or strangers coming together for a common cause.

Anonymous said...

Millennial are behaving this way because research shows that Millennials like stories, it’s a way for them to feel connected to the brand. Thus, they are more interested in fun facts about their food rather than recipe. Another reason is because typically they don’t cook – either because they don’t know how or they buy their food as most don’t have family yet to cook for. Millennials grew up in the Tech Age, therefore they are always using some sort of social media to interact with other people. So they are influenced by knowledgeable people who post reviews and are likely to post pictures and content themselves in social media. Posting pictures of food in Instagram is huge with Millennials and the caption is mostly about how delicious or beautiful the food is rather than offering recipes. And again because Millennials are young, have less money and are on a budget they are always looking for special offers, something cheap, or for free.

Girlie E. Gaviola

Unknown said...

I would like to start off by saying that this is not about bashing Millennials and no, I didn’t have any Meow Mix today. With that said, I just can’t understand why you need fun facts, stories and conversation starting questions about food. Do we need incentives to eat now? How about not starving or making sure your food is nutritious and not processed? I’m really interested to hear the opinions of Millennials about the food part.

Regarding seeking advice from knowledgeable people, I totally understand it (I do the same) and relieved to read that they are not influenced by disingenuous celebrities. In addition, I can relate to the struggles of preparing healthy meals, especially about time restraints. The older I get, I realize that eating processed foods does take a toll on your health and will eventually manifest in some sort of ailment. However, I’m still perplexed on why they need inspiration.

This is my opinion, but perhaps a factor why a lot of Millennials behave this way is the way their parents raised them (thanks Gen X and Baby Boomers). I’m not calling all Millennials entitled and spoiled brats (my generation – Gen X, has a lot of issues too), but maybe it has to do with the “helicopter” parenting style. It is a possibility that they need the input of others because they are not used to making decisions on their own or want confirmation from someone they consider an authority.

I believe their behavior does relate to the research we’ve been discussing, especially the article, “Did You Know That Your Thinking Is Inherently Biased? There Could Be Surprises In The Psychology Of Decision Making.” Millennials are using heuristics as a way to streamline their decision making.

Unknown said...

Depending on the source, some estimates show that anywhere from 80-95% of consumers will conduct research using online directories (G+, Yelp, etc) before purchasing products or services. Forty-seven percent of consumers buy on impulse in the store. Online, they only buy 25% on impulse. I believe that millennials are more inclined to buy into a feeling, as are most humans, but there is not always rational analysis prior to a purchase, I think we have talked in class about the link between emotion and buying. Reviews play a part in the emotional process as does the retail salesperson because they are giving an experience to the consumer. As a millennial, I definitely search for vetted information before making decisions online.

Anonymous said...

I, myself, am completely obsessed with reviews. RateMyProfessor, Yelp, OpenTable, Seamless, you name it. (I realize two out of those are food-related).

Now that I think about it, I supposed subconsciously I was assuming that those who were using and rating on these sites were about my age. I'm not sure why I assumed that, but I guess it has something to do with generational interests.

I am so reliant on reviews because I like to know what to expect, what others excepted versus received, and what the general response is. I have also used social media to send both high and low praises to restaurants, cleaning services, and everything in between. For the most part, they are highly responsive and grateful for feedback.

With that said, I take reviews with a grain of salt. Students who like professors who don't give any work I usually find boring and a waste of my time, people who find one chinese place "too greasy" might be my craving at that time. I do, however, always value reviews when it comes to "the vibes of dining." Am I about to walk into a date-night spot with my dad? Is this an appropriate place for a birthday dinner? This is feedback I value and seek out in reviews.

-Gabi Wuhl

Unknown said...

Since I'm a Millennial, I don't have much expertise or experience in ANYTHING. That is why I refer to knowledgeable reviews heavily before purchasing products or services. This is particularly true with my Amazon purchases. If I were over 35, I believe I would have enough experience to trust my own judgement rather than reviewers.

Regarding expressing satisfaction, I have had special offers and freebies sent to me because of this. That is why I tend to be willing to post reviews as companies like to reward their evangelists. I would also recommend products to friends often since we are all still young and would benefit from awareness of products that meet our needs. I guess this is because Millennials are looking for answers, while those 35+ are already satisfied with their knowledge base.

mikella said...

I would agree with this statement to an extent. I believe that this statement could be slightly modified to say that Millennials engage in expressive conversation more than women between the ages of 34-50 of Generation X. Generation X is typically more cynical of larger institutions, and focused on individualization.
Contrastingly, Generation Y is very confident and assertive. This expressive behavior is expected of Millennials. Millennials want to share their experiences with everyone-good and bad. Generation Y yearns for peer acceptance and engagement and will share their opinions regardless of the subject’s importance. This holds true even with regards to their opinions on food content.
I believe that this holds true specifically for Generation X, and is not applicable to the baby boomers, which is why I capped the age. The baby boomers are more similar to generation y than generation y is to generation. I believe that baby boomers who utilize social media are willing to engage in conversation and share content similar to generation Y. This is because both groups value community and are self centered. They believe their voice should be heard by the community. However, Generation Y engages in conversation much more than the baby boomers

- Mikella

Nicole Espinosa said...

I think the mediapost.com study is accurate depicting the Gen Yers and Gen Xers. Research shows Millennials crave technology and are always posting everything onto websites, so it makes sense that they would be more likely to post content to brand/company pages. Millennials are also passionate about what they do and are constantly asking why which lines up with them wanting fun facts and stories as well as engaging in conversation starting questions. Research also shows that Millennials want to learn and be coached by Gen Xers and coincides with the mediapost.com study that Millennials are more likely to be influenced by reviews from women 35+.

Nabila Mehjabeen said...

I think it is very true. Being a Millennial myself, I am obsessed with both reviews and food. I always liked talking about food. My friends used to say you were a foodie, before it became a cool thing. I believe it is a great conversation starter as well. One reason could be food is an universal subject. Everyone is familiar with it. Everyone either eats or cooks so it is easily relatable. We can say the same for story telling. Anything that tells a story, becomes interesting and absorbing. Everyone wants to know what happens in the end. I always thought this was the reason why people like movies more than documentaries. Because it shows a complete picture.

As far reviews goes, I think we rely so much more on them at present is because they are so accessible. You just have to open a new tab and that is it. People not only want to know about the product from their sales person, but also from customers who actually bought and used that product. Sales people will always be bias. Everyone wants to get a good deal and honest customer reviews can guide us towards it.

Nabila Mehjabeen

Katherine Hung said...

I think this research makes sense given how immersed in digital technology/social media millennials are, particularly the younger ones (18-24) who grew up using social media. So I wasn't surprised by many of the findings in the MediaPost article, especially the one of how young millennials are more likely than all other groups to consult social platforms for food information. I think social media has become an integral part of our every day lives and we often consult it for news (Twitter), updates on the lives of our friends, etc. and just as a general hub of information.

We've discussed this in class, but the article also points out how use of different platforms differs by the group/age of the group (ie: older Millennials are more likely to post to Facebook vs. younger Millennials who are posting to Instagram). I think this goes back to what we had discussed in class of how you have to think about the target audience of each social platform because the audience/users will be different for each one.

I think the one finding in the MediaPost article that surprised me was the point about how Millennials distrust celebrities if they sense that celebrity endorsements are disingenuous. This was surprising given what we had discussed in class of how much sway celebrities have over Millennials. But in a way, it also reminded me about our class discussion of the importance of the likability factor for celebrities (ie: Paris Hilton commercial vs. Matthew McConaughey commercial example).

Overall, I think growing up in the digital age and having social media be such an integral part of your social life plays a factor in these behaviors of millennials, particularly the younger ones. The basis of social media is sharing your life and having others validate/agree/"like" the things you share about yourself. So again, not surprising that, as the article points out, "opinions of others count" - opinions of friends and family are very influential, particularly for this younger group of millennials.

-Katherine Hung

Jorge sanchez said...

I think it`s not true at all, because i`m a millennial under 35 and I want recipes and coupons rather than fun facts or stories about food. Because I don`t even know at all how to cook.

Regarding to the article milennials behave that way because they want to be heard by the brands and get the most of them by expressing their own opinion.

This behavior is related to the research indeed because we have been talking about how milennials are heavy users and brand owners want to reach them and get feedback from in order to build more powerful relationships with them.

Paublin said...

I think is true because now the young women don’t have time to prepare food at home and they don’t need the recipes or coupons to buy this product. Now is more interesting for them to find interesting things or conversations starting questions that they can post in Internet with their smartphones.

I think that the Millennials are behaving this way because they don’t have time to lose for searching the coupons or preparing their own food, and more in NY that is a crazy city and everyone is going around very fast and they are eating fast at the street or in restaurants. But if you make something different in your product that can keep their attention and they can post in a easy way with their smartphones, they will be interested in your product and buy it.

Now the young people is posting everything in the Social Media platforms and share the food is not an exception. If you post only a coupon or something similar, no one is going to give you an answer, but if you are posting something interesting or curious, maybe your followers are going to give you a feedback. Now is very easy make a review in the company with your smartphone in any were and any time, and the branch or company can send you a feedback of your comment and maybe gives you a discount or gift.

Oscar