Position yourself better! Check out the latest consumer, business, and marketing trends. Use this information to effectively target your BEST customer and increase your sales.

1. TRENDSM O N I T O R
DOLLAR GENERAL BUYS 41
WALMART EXPRESS STORES
SURVEY FINDS ONE-THIRD OF
RESPONDENTS HAVE BEGUN HOLIDAY
PLANNING
THE FUTURE OF DIRECT MAIL
AND THE POWER OF TARGETING
IN THIS ISSUE:
AUGUST
2016
CT CA MT
# L O V E T H E S P A R K
MARCUS LEE: PLANT MANAGER

2. CONSUMER TRENDS CT
After years of challenges, things are looking up
in retail. NRF’s annual back-to-school survey
shows that parents of K-12 and college students
plan tospendarecord$75.8billionthissummer, a
whopping 11.5% increase over 2015.
They’re doing so largely because they feel
better about the economy. While many still
have concerns, the survey found 27% of K-12
families say the economy will have no effect
on their plans, up from 24% last year. The
same is said by 30% of college families, up
from 26%. Both are record highs.
Those aren’t the only upbeat indicators.
Gross domestic product is in line to grow
between 1.9% and 2.4% this year. June retail
sales as calculated by NRF — excluding
automobiles,gasolinestationsandrestaurants
— were up 5.1% over the same time last year.
Jobs grew by 287,000 in June from May,
including 29,500 in retail that brought our
industry’s job growth to a total of more than
240,000 since the same time a year ago. And
average hourly earnings were up 2.6%
year-over-year.
Even the weather seems to be on our side.
PatternsdevelopinginthePacificarecurrently
in transition from El Nino to La Nina, which has
the potential for a cooler-than-average winter
that would help drive sales of warm coats and
other seasonal apparel this fall. For retailers
who saw clothing sales take a hit from last
year’s unusually warm winter, that is clearly a
welcome relief.
We like what we’re seeing. In fact, we like
it so much that NRF has increased its official
forecast for retail sales growth for the year to
3.4% from our previous 3.1%. Given that sales
grew by nearly 4% in the first half of the year,
we’re pretty confident in the number.
That’s a big difference from this time last
year, when a slow start to the year forced us
to reduce our 2015 forecast to 3.5% from our
original 4.1%. And the year eventually turned
out slightly weaker, coming in at 3.4%.
All of this doesn’t mean that everything
is perfect. Overall job growth is slowing
somewhat. Inflation is inching forward, which
could lead to higher interest rates. External
factors as remote as Britain’s recent Brexit
vote can always lead to unexpected impacts.
The biggest challenge might be in how
uncertainty over the upcoming presidential
election affects consumer confidence. Voters
are often cautious around the time of change
in the White House. For the partisan, there
is the worry of what will happen with the
economy if the other side’s candidate should
win. Even for the politically neutral, there are
concerns about how the partisan will react.
On balance however, what we’re seeing
shows that consumers are taking a deep
breath and heading out to shop. And when
consumers take that deep breath, retailers
can breathe more easily.
WITH CONSUMERS
BREATHING MORE EASILY,
SO CAN RETAILERSB Y M A T T H E W S H A Y

3. CONSUMER TRENDSCT
I S S 8 / / A U G 2 0 1 6
Swagbucks,theweb’sleadingrewardsprogram
that’s already awarded its members more than
$130 million in gift card rewards, today released
the findings from its 2016 Holiday Planning
Survey. Swagbucks, in partnership with sister
site My Gift Cards Plus, found that one-third of
respondents have already started to plan for the
2016 holiday season. Another 18% report they
began saving for the holidays in June and another
21%plantostartsavingatthebeginningoffall.
While gifts for parents (66%), significant
others (60%) and children (55%) top most
members’ shopping lists, other major holiday
purchase concerns include food, decorations,
travel, holiday wardrobe and parties.
“The holidays may be six months away, but
savvy shoppers are already preparing. In fact,
many of our members already have a savings
plan that includes cash-back shopping apps
and sites to help them compare prices and make
their money go farther,” said Sarah Aibel, vice
president of marketing at Swagbucks.
Additional key findings from the survey include:
CHRISTMAS IN JULY. IS REAL.
• One-third (34%) of respondents have
already begun their holiday planning
• Meanwhile, 21% typically begin saving
for the holidays at the start of fall
• 19% said they don’t save at all
• 18% start saving in June
• 15% started saving in the beginning of
the year (January)
SEASONS SAVINGS
• When asked how they plan to save for
the holidays this year, 40% said they
will put themselves on a strict budget
• 24% will use cash-back sites
• 20% will use more coupons
• 10% have or will open a holiday
savings account
• 33% expect to spend between $250
and $500 this holiday season
• 26% between $500 and $1,000
• 20% between $100 and $250
• When asked how they spent last year,
over half (56%) said they remained
within their holiday budget
• 35% said they went over budget
• 9% said they spent less than budgeted
THE HIGH COSTS OF
THE HOLIDAYS
• When budgeting for the holidays, the
most obvious costs are presents
• But 46% are also budgeting for food
• 26% for decorations
• 26% for travel
• 25% for special-occasion clothing
SHOPPING SATISFACTION
• 58% of respondents said they enjoy
holiday shopping
• 19% said they dislike holiday shopping
• 22% were neutral
SURVEY FINDS ONE-THIRD OF
RESPONDENTS HAVE BEGUN
HOLIDAY PLANNINGB Y S W A G B U C K S

4. CONSUMER TRENDS CT
HISPANIC SHOPPERS
DECIDE WHERE TO SHOP
BASED ON COUPONSB Y E M A R K E T E R S T A F F
The Coupon Intelligence Study, conducted by
IpsosonbehalfofValassis,providesinsightinto
consumers’ savings and shopping behavior
within traditional consumer packaged goods
(CPG) categories. The study found that 92% of
Hispanic consumers use coupons (vs. 90% of
all consumers), and over 80% decide where to
shop based on those print and digital offers.
With the Selig Center for Economic Growth
projecting that the U.S. Hispanic market will
reach an annual buying power of $1.7 trillion
in 2020, retailers and marketers have an
opportunity to drive sales by engaging this
important demographic with coupons and
offers, says the report.
Eighty-five percent of Hispanic shoppers
decide where to shop where they can use
coupons, vs. 77% of all consumers; or 81% on
where they can use Smartphone or store card
coupons, vs. 66% of all consumers.
Stemming from the in-depth survey of
1,000consumers,15%ofwhomwereHispanic,
the research found a strong link between this
demographicandmobiledevicecouponusage.
Among the Hispanic consumers surveyed:
• 37% increased their use of mobile
devices for securing coupons and deals
since last year, significantly higher than
28% of all respondents
• 81% decide where to shop based on
paperless discounts delivered via mobile
devices, significantly higher than 66% of
all respondents
• 67% search for mobile discounts
while shopping in-store, compared to 46%
of all respondents
• 67% switched brands due to mobile
discounts while shopping in-store,
compared to 50% of all respondents
Fifty-three percent of Hispanic shoppers
check social media in search of coupons, vs.
37% of all consumers; and 61% visit coupon
websites, vs. 53% of all consumers.
Curtis Tingle, Valassis chief marketing
officer, notes that “… with substantial buying
power… Hispanic consumers are an influential
group for brands and retailers to activate…
combination of print and digital couponing
strategies…”
With a propensity for using print and digital
savings, among the Hispanic consumers
surveyed:
• 85% find print coupons in the free-
standing insert or mail before shopping
• 75% print coupons from the internet
before heading to the store
• 63% make a purchase based on a
mobile notification while in-store

5. CATEGORY TRENDSCA
I S S 8 / / A U G 2 0 1 6
DOLLAR GENERAL BUYS 41
WALMART EXPRESS STORESB Y S A R A H N A S S A U E R
After abandoning a small-store strategy to
competewithdollarandconveniencestores,
Walmart Stores Inc. has sold off a raft of its
failed locations to Dollar General Corp.
Dollar General said in late July, that it
bought 41 of the former Walmart Express
stores in almost a dozen states. The retailer
plans to relocate many existing stores to
the slightly larger locations, adding fresh
produce and meat to shelves, the company
said in a news release. Dollar General
spokeswoman MaryWinnPilkington declined
to provide details of the transaction.
Wal-Mart launched its Walmart Express
small-format stores in 2011 to compete with
the rising popularity of dollar stores and to
combat slowing growth from its cavernous
Supercenters. But in January Walmart
closed all 102 Walmart Express locations as
part of a rare retreat in the U.S. market.
Atthetime,Walmartchiefexecutive Doug
McMillon said the closures were “necessary
to keep the company strong and positioned
for the future,” allowing employees to focus
on growing Supercenters, Neighborhood
Markets and online sales. A spokesman for
Wal-Mart declined to comment on the Dollar
General sale.
By October, Dollar General plans to open
the new locations and add them to a growing
list of slightly larger stores that stock some
perishable food, dubbed internally “Dollar
General Plus,” said Ms. Pilkington. Currently about
120ofitsstorescarryfreshproduce,shesaid.
Small dollar stores like Dollar General are
usually located closer to residential areas
than the typical Wal-Mart and sell everyday
staples in smaller sizes to hit lower prices.
It is a concept that has resonated with
shoppers since the recession, allowing the
two largest dollar chains to add thousands
of stores.
Dollar General plans to grow from 13,000
locations to 20,000 U.S. stores by 2020 and
wants to add more perishable food, health
and beauty care items to aisles, executives
have said in recent months. Those items
tend to bring consumers into stores more
often, an important driver of sales at a time
when more shopping is shifting online.
w w w. w s j . c o m

6. CATEGORY TRENDS CA
LOWER GROCERY PRICES:
GOOD FOR CONSUMERS,
BAD FOR MCDONALD’SB Y R E U T E R S
McDonald’s reported worse-than-expected
quarterly sales at established U.S. restaurants
are becoming the latest chain hurt by
menu price increases that far outpaced
supermarket food costs, leading more
consumers to eat at home.
Shares in McDonald’s tumbled 4.3% to
$121.96 and pulled down most shares in
the restaurant sector. The Dow Jones U.S.
Restaurants & Bars Index was off 2%.
The world’s biggest fast-food chain gets
roughly one-third of its revenue and 40%
of profits from the United States.
The second-quarter report from
McDonald’s landed after chains such as
Dunkin’ Brands, Starbucks, and Wendy’s
also reported disappointing results for the
latest quarter in large part due to weak
customer traffic.
Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said
restaurant companies, which are grappling
with profit-squeezing minimum wage
increases, use more labor than grocery
stores and have the extra burden of trying
to convince franchisees to hold back on
price increases aimed at offsetting higher
labor costs.
“Food prices are coming down, but labor
is not. That’s doubly bad for restaurants,”
Senatore said. “It’s hard to convince
everybody to operate in lockstep.”
When franchisees raise prices, she said,
“It just makes their prices look even higher
relative to grocery stores.”
McDonald’s sales at U.S. restaurants
open at least 13 months were up 1.8% in
the quarter, far less than the 3.2% rise that
analysts expected, according to research
firm Consensus Metrix.
Restaurant food inflation is outpacing
the increases at supermarkets and the
gap is widening, McDonald’s chief financial
officer Kevin Ozan said on a conference
call with analysts.
Food-at-home inflation is expected
to be flat to up about 1%for this year,
while food-away-from-home inflation is
expected to be up 2.5% to 3.5%, he said.
The food service industry is harder hit
by state and local minimum wage increases
because it employs more minimum wage
workers than any other occupation. Some
planned minimum wage hikes will more
than double the prevailing wage to $15 per
hour over time.
McDonald’s executives said they
expected labor cost pressures to continue,
but declined to elaborate. They did,
however, note that the company generally
needs same-restaurant sales to increase
2% to 3% to maintain profits.
Restaurant companies also pinned the
industry’s second-quarter softness on
the fractious U.S. presidential election and
uncertainty spawned by terrorist attacks
around the world.
“I think generally there’s just a broader
level of uncertainty in consumers’ minds
at the moment,” chief executive Steve
Easterbrook said on the company’s
earnings call.
McDonald’s total revenue declined 3.5%
to $6.27 billion, in line with the average
analyst estimate.

7. I S S 8 / / A U G 2 0 1 6
CATEGORY TRENDSCA
PIZZA CHAINS MAKE DOUGH IN
A ‘RESTAURANT RECESSION’B Y S H E L L Y B A N J O
Restaurantsarehavingaprettyunappetizing
earnings season. Fifteen of the 16 restaurant
chains that have reported second-quarter
earnings so far said sales were down from
a year ago, or that growth had slowed from
the previous quarter. For the first time since
2009, average comparable sales for the
group turned negative.
The downbeat results prompted Stifel
restaurant analyst Paul Westra to deem it
the start of a “restaurant recession.”
Earlier this month I warned the rapid
growth in restaurant sales may have hit
its peak as declining grocery prices spur
consumers to make more meals at home.
I suggested the world’s largest fast-food
chain, McDonald’s, could be one of the few
to thrive in a slowdown by using its might to
beat weaker competitors.
But McDonald’s won’t be alone atop the
food chain in a restaurant downturn: Pizza
chains will be up there, too.
Domino’s, for example, is the only chain
in the Bloomberg Intelligence restaurant
index, of those that have reported so far, to
say sales growth accelerated in the second
quarter. Sales at established U.S. locations
rose by nearly 10% from the year before,
marking the ninth consecutive quarter
of growth above 5%. Stripping Domino’s
out, average comparable sales growth for
restaurants in the BI index in the second
quarter is negative 1%. Competitors Papa
John’s and Papa Murphy’s report earnings in
July.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael
Halen points out that pizza chains typically
do well when consumers cut spending due
to their value proposition—there aren’t
many ways to feed a family on $7.99, which
is what a three-topping large pie will run
you at Domino’s. Pizza Hut and Papa John’s
are hawking two medium pizzas at $6.99
each, while Domino’s offers that same duo
for $5.99.
Those deals remain competitive even
as burger joints and other chains increase
promotions.
Pizza chains have also been quick to
adapt to changing technologies, realizing
the only thing more important to strapped
consumers than price is convenience.
Leading the digital charge is Domino’s,
which rakes in half of its U.S. sales through
digital ordering, up from a third in 2012.
Digital ordering lets Domino’s better target
offers to customers and serve a greater
variety of items. It helps Domino’s get
accurate orders and keep labor costs low.
The laziest of customers can now order
a pizza without ever getting off the couch,
whether by sending a pizza emoji on Twitter,
relaying an order via their car operating
system, or using Amazon’s voice-controlled
Echo speaker. (Alexa, get me a cheese pizza
with mushrooms.)
Domino’s has also sunk a lot of dough
into making its pizzas taste better since
its CEO admitted in 2010 that its pizza was
“devoid of flavor.” It vowed to improve
and introduced new recipes with better
ingredients. Sales volume has risen for
seven straight years, according to Halen.
Customers have liked the changes, and
so have investors: Domino’s shares have
gained 1,200% since its menu-improvement
campaign began, compared to a 110%
increase in the S&P 500. So far this year,
shares are up 33%, compared to a 6% rise in
the S&P 500.
But while restaurant-goers might eat
cheap at Domino’s, investors who want a
pieceofitwillpayapremium.Thecompany’s
stock trades at 32 times forward earnings,
compared with its five-year average
multiple of 28. By comparison, Papa John’s
and McDonald’s are trading at 29 and 20
times forward earnings, respectively.
But with pickings slim for growth
elsewhereintherestaurantindustry,pizzamay
still be one of the best choices on the menu.

8. MEDIA TRENDS MT
THE FUTURE OF DIRECT MAIL
AND THE POWER OF TARGETINGB Y C O X T A R G E T
To reach today’s consumers, targeting is
the name of the game. In fact, the power of
targeting lies in the way it unlocks a host of
other beneficial tactics that are otherwise
rendered ineffectual. The future of direct mail
is inextricably tied to targeting, and in today’s
post, we’re going to show you some of the
reasons why.
THE POWER OF TARGETING
When it comes to mass marketing, getting
your message in front of just nine million
of the right people is better than spending
the money to put it in front of 60 million of
the wrong people. The way you manage to
do this is through targeting, whether it’s
on a massive scale or on a hyper-targeted
individual scale. Targeting is, quite simply,
the segmentation of your audience into
meaningful chunks that let you understand
them more thoroughly, from their overall
needs to the way they expect to be able to
engage with your brand and on to other more
nuanced perspectives.
PERSONALIZATION
While it’s true that “personalization” is
the new black, it’s not without reason. A
survey by IBM last year showed that 50%
of consumers expect to see personalized
promotions online. This is unquestionably
related to the hyper personalization of
devices — gone are the days when you
were restricted to sharing the TV at home;
instead, you can record shows to watch
them when you want, or better yet, just
stream them from your mobile device. Thus
the days of having to cast a truly wide (and
generic) net and hope to catch the right
customers. Targeting means that you can
actively engage a customer on their level,
at the right stage of the consumer journey,
on the channels they use, with the message
they want to hear, and in the moment that
they need you.
EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE
What this works out to is that targeting
audience segments helps save you
unnecessary losses in ad spend. Why? You’re
only spending money on putting the most
effective marketing in front of the audience
it’s most likely to influence powerfully. You’re
able to craft marketing creative that speaks
directly to your audience — a very specific
audience — in order to see the best effect.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ROI
Did you know that 75% of Millennials have
made purchases resulting from materials
they received in the mail? It’s because most
Millennials see print as an authentic form of
communication. The real question is, do you
know which of your Millennial customers
feel that way, and if so, are you leveraging
it to your advantage? Targeting is what
lets you key into all the important ways to
influence your audience toward conversion
in a meaningful way. This, in turn, will impact
your bottom line with improved returns.
Take email segmentation, for example: the
average open rate for email campaigns sits
at about 22.5%, and proper list segmentation
can boost those rates between 20% and
40%. Now consider the fact that direct mail
offers a response rate that’s three times
better than email. Targeting combined with
direct mail makes for a strong bottom line.
HOW TARGETING WORKS FOR
DIRECT MAIL
If you’re wondering “What IS the future
of direct mail?” you’re probably not the only
one. In the digital era, it’s easy to believe that
traditional methods may be outdated in the
face of innovative, mobile-oriented options.
Perhaps in part that could be true, eventually,
but right now direct mail is still extremely
successful. And it’s all thanks to the power
of targeting.
OMNI-CHANNEL EXPERIENCES
One of the big buzzwords in business
right now is omni-channel marketing.
That’s because the consumer journey has
fragmented into a thousand micro-moments
and brands must fight for customer attention
one touchpoint at a time. You probably
already understand that you need a seamless
brand expression across channels — i.e., the
brand customers encounter on your Twitter
page should look and feel like the same
brand they find on your website or in your
TV ads — but what you may not realize is
that it also needs to be across mediums.

9. I S S 8 / / A U G 2 0 1 6
QUICK
FACTS!
8.6%AMERICANS WILL SPEND AN
ESTIMATED $310 BILLION ON
REMODELING AND REPAIRS IN 2016,
AN 8.6% INCREASE FROM 2015.
7%CONSUMERS PLAN ON SPENDING
7% MORE EACH MONTH ON HOME
IMPROVEMENT AND HARDWARE
PURCHASES, THAN THEY DID IN 2015.
Consumers expect a digital and physical
convergence of brand experience, something
that 95% of retailers already acknowledge
as being necessary. Part of that is going to
be your brick-and-mortar location, if you
have one. But part of that should also very
much be the tactile experience gained from
physical, direct mail. The emphasis here is on
the customer’s experience of your brand, and
targeting will tell you which customers will
be enamored with which kinds of direct mail
outreach.
SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVER
Direct mail is a beneficial tool in your
marketing mix that can not only push
conversions on its own merit, but boost
digital traffic too. In this case, social media
a key tool in a consumer’s research phase
in addition to the post-sale moments (e.g.,
customer support). By including your social
media handles, taking advantage of tools
like hashtags, and even using calls to action
that involve sharing experiences regarding
your brand on social media, you can promote
brand awareness, brand advocacy, and
conversations about your brand and your
industry that become vital touch points in
the way customers and their followers find
and approach your brand.
Targeting will help you determine which
customers are active on social media, which
platforms they choose to be active on, and
how they expect to interact with your brand
there, allowing you to send them only the
materials that promote exactly what they’re
looking to experience.
TECH TOOLS FOR TRACKING
Direct mail offers just as many tools to
track and engage customers on a specific
level as the digital world does, presuming
you understand how to leverage them. For
instance, through our Valpak brand, we offer
unique imprinting that provides tracking
at point-of-sale and the security to ensure
discounts and coupons are only redeemed
once. We can also ensure that each customer
gets customized deals, so you understand
what a specific customer is using (or isn’t
using) without having to deliver an offer to
an entire region. And these are only a few
of the mechanisms that make direct mail
trackable, not to mention open to faster
responses within the customer’s time frame.
While a display ad may be dismissed because
they aren’t interested in the moment, your
direct mail, which features a QR code or
individualized URL, can sit out as a reminder
tobetakenadvantageofthemomentthey’reready.
Now that you understand the power of
targeting and the role it plays in the future
of direct mail, you can audit your current
targeting tactics and how they define your
approach to a multi-channel marketing
outreach. Direct mail can and should be a key
part of your modern marketing mix, especially
if you’re using targeting at its full power. P r o s p e r M a y 2 0 1 6
H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y ’ s
J o i n t C e n t e r f o r
H o u s i n g S t u d i e s

10. MEDIA TRENDS MT
SHOPPER MARKETING
MOVING FROM IN-STORE TO
OMNI-CHANNELA A R O N B A A R
Once considered only a point-of-purchase
and in-store channel, shopper marketing
— thanks to technology — has grown to
involve the entire omni-channel experience.
According to a report from the Association of
National Advertisers and GfK, investment in
shopper marketing programs is expected to
increase nearly 6%, to $18.6 billion by 2020.
Mobile has become a key component of
shopper marketing efforts, with marketers
attempting to engage consumers not only
in stores, but also post-visit and through
geolocation technologies.
“[Shopper marketing] was originally
that ‘last moment of truth’” before making
a purchase,” says Sarah Gleason, senior vice
president of shopper and retail strategy at GfK.
“Marketers are now starting to realize there’s a
wide range of behaviors where a shopper can
be influenced by their brand or a competitor.”
After surveying 185 B2C and B2B
marketers, the ANA and GfK found the idea
of shopper marketing has shifted from a
short-term sales drive into a tool to motivate
shopper behavior. “The definition for shopper
marketing has now come to encompass the
time from when a consumer decides he or
she needs to make a purchase to the time of
that actual transaction,” Gleason says. “That
can involve everything from initial research
to in-store decision making involving prices,
features and brands,” she says.
“What happens at every point along that
path is shopper marketing,” Gleason says.
Marketers are also finding that having a
shopper marketing discipline is a distinct
advantage. More than half (51%) of those
surveyed said they felt having a dedicated
shopper marketing team was a competitive
advantage and that the practice reflected a
convergenceofbrands,shoppersandretailers.
“Although it’s been around for 10 years,
it’s still evolving dramatically,” Gleason
tells Marketing Daily. “Many companies are
still figuring out what they need to do for
shopper marketing.”
At the same time, many marketers feel
they have yet to tap into the full potential
of shopper marketing. According to the
study, only 40% of the respondents felt their
organizations were adequately investing in
shopper insights.
“Most of the time, if you’re looking at
researchbudgets,fundingshoppermarketing
insights is going to come at the expense of
[broader] consumer insights,” Gleason says.
“And [many marketers] aren’t willing to do
that yet.”

11. MEDIA TRENDSMT
WHAT TO ASK ABOUT YOUR
MARKETING STRATEGY BEFORE
YOU ASK ABOUT MILLENNIALSL E N A B O U R G E O I S
Millennials have been a marketing obsession
for several years now as the generation
develops into a larger percentage of the work
force and begins to earn and spend more. Yet,
a new storyline has recently emerged around
Millennials: It turns out, they’re not a uniform
generation with identical traits that apply to
every single member.
Smart marketers have known this for
years,ofcourse,butsomanyoftheresources
and information available to marketers have
painted the Millennial generation as one
singleblockthatlooksandactsalike.Thishas
led to a greater issue, where many marketers
consider Millennials a homogenous audience
that they need to reach, without asking why
they want to reach Millennials, or what the
audience will do for their business. Before
marketers ask about Millennials, they need to
consider their strategy, and why Millennials
should be a part of it.
“Millennials” is a term that generally refers
to a generation of consumers born during a
period of time, not a fixed age bracket, the
same way that “Baby Boomers” and “Gen X”
apply to a generation. The oldest consumers
within the generation are now in their mid-
30s, and many have already purchased
homes and cars and started families.
Contrast that with the youngest portion of
the generation, who are teenagers on the
cusp of earning their drivers’ licenses. Smack
dab in the middle sits a group in its late 20s
and early 30s who, perhaps for the very first
time, are considering settling down, taking
out a mortgage, or buying a new car.
These three different points within
the generation demonstrate just how
much variety exists within the Millennial
population.TheMillennialgenerationcontains
multitudes.Marketersmayhaveamandateto
“reach Millennials,” but marketers most likely
want to actually target the various segments
within the generation, and certainly not
with the same message. Instead, they want
to reach each segment of the population,
matching the right product to the right segment
to meet their marketing goals.
Thefirstthingsforamarketertodetermine
are what they are trying to do with their
marketing,and why Millennialsmattertotheir
strategy. That opens up a broader discussion
of what type of product and consumer profile
the brand actually wants to reach within
the Millennial generation. Is an auto brand
looking to reach first-time car buyers? Or
are they looking to reach first-time luxury
car buyers? Is a bank looking to reach first-
time home buyers, or those that may be in
need of a refinance? Is a travel brand looking
to sell all-inclusive packages to younger
budget-conscious travelers, or alternative
destinations to the more adventurous?
The only common thread these audience
segments share is that they are young.
Beyond that, we could be looking at very
different slices of the Millennial population
for each of these campaigns. Marketers
have the ability to look more deeply into the
Millennial generation, using segmentation
to help get a better picture of where certain
portions of the Millennial generation are
in their lives. Rather than pursue an entire
generation, marketers should consider
age ranges, income, presence of children,
whether or not the consumers own a home,
and their overall estimated asset level.
Armed with this information, marketers can
better understand the different segments of
the generation and see which cohorts line up
with each of their campaign goals.
What they find may surprise them. This is a
generationwhoseprioritiesvarydramatically
even by where they live. Thirty years ago, an
unmarried 30-year-old consumer without a
homeorcarwasconsideredunaccomplished.
Today, this perception may exist in some
markets, but certainly not all. Millennials
within the same age range and income
may have vastly different home lives and
expectations depending on whether they live
in a city, suburb, or rural area.
Meanwhile, it’s true that some Millennials
prefer experiences over buying material
things, but some actually like buying stuff
too! If a brand segments by affluence, age
range, life stage, discretionary spending, and
financial products that a consumer might
own, such as credit cards, then they should
get a clearer picture of why consumers
behave the way they do. Some consumers
may not make frequent high-end purchases,
but that may be because they are working
through debt.
Of course, this kind of segmentation is
most valuable when marketers start with
a clear campaign goal, rather than a vague
one like “reaching Millennials.” It’s foolish to
say that all Millennials want the same things.
Before you start asking about Millennials,
look at your marketing strategy and decide
who you want to reach and with which
product or service, why you want to reach
them, and what that audience will mean
to your brand. Millennials are a colorful,
varied generation, but a careful analysis will
uncover the segments of the population that
may drive more successful campaigns.
I S S 8 / / A U G 2 0 1 6

12. MSPARK TRENDSM
The longest rural delivery route is in Mangum,
OK. The carrier travels 187.6 miles daily and
delivers to 240 boxes, and the shortest rural
delivery route is in Carrollton, TX. The carrier
travels 1.2 miles daily and delivers to 312
central delivery boxes. (USPS)
RIDDLE ME THIS
MAILBOX
What’s a seven letter word containing thousands of letters?
DID YOU
KNOW THAT...

13. ARTICLE REFERENCE R
ARTICLE
REFERENCES
WITH CONSUMERS BREATHING MORE EASILY, SO CAN RETAILERS
https://nrf.com/news/consumers-breathing-more-easily-so-can-retailers
SURVEY FINDS ONE-THIRD OF RESPONDENTS HAVE BEGUN HOLIDAY PLANNING
http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/survey-finds-one-third-of-respondents-have-begun-holiday-planning-2141690.htm
HISPANIC SHOPPERS DECIDE WHERE TO SHOP BASED ON COUPONS
http://valassis.com/resources/infographics/item/160705/hispanics-lead-in-print-and-digital-coupon-use
DOLLAR GENERAL BUYS 41 WALMART EXPRESS STORES
http://www.wsj.com/articles/dollar-general-buys-41-walmart-express-stores-1469659090
LOWER GROCERY PRICES: GOOD FOR CONSUMERS, BAD FOR MCDONALD’S
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/lower-grocery-prices-good-consumers-bad-mcdonald-s-n617221
PIZZA CHAINS MAKE DOUGH IN A ‘RESTAURANT RECESSION’
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160802/NEWS07/160809961/pizza-chains-make-dough-in-a-restaurant-recession
THE FUTURE OF DIRECT MAIL AND THE POWER OF TARGETING
http://www.coxtarget.com/insights/the-future-of-direct-mail-and-the-power-of-targeting/
SHOPPER MARKETING MOVING FROM IN-STORE TO OMNI-CHANNEL
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/281111/?mc_cid=e5345f82dc&mc_eid=13067dc07e
WHAT TO ASK ABOUT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY BEFORE YOU ASK ABOUT MILLENNIALS
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/280137/what-to-ask-about-your-marketing-strategy-before-y.html