The question of how to effectively market to Millennials continues to dominate strategy sessions in conference rooms all over the country, and it will be the hot topic for the foreseeable future. Gen X and Baby Boomer marketers tend to look at Millennials as those kooky, slacker, entitled ingrates who were coddled and rewarded since their YMCA soccer days with “participation” trophies. Now that actual Millennials are involved in building brand strategies, the veil has been lifted somewhat and it turns out this group isn’t the enigma once thought. As digital natives, they’re forcing changes in the way brands are built and how they communicate. Connecting with Millennials at a deeper level remains challenging however, because many marketers are too stuck in the past to change the way they think. This summer New Heartland Group commissioned a study that looked specifically at Millennials in the New Heartland (home to 60% of U.S. consumers in the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast) versus on the Coasts, to see if perhaps a “one size fits all” approach to reaching Millennials is what has been making marketers consistently fall short with this group.
profiling
Three key differences between New Heartland and Coastal Millennials:
1. New Heartland Millennials are more focused on their personal lives while Coastals prioritize their professional careers.
The study finds that as a whole, Millennials in the New Heartland are more likely to be married, have kids, and own a home versus their Coastal counterparts, who are more focused on higher education and career work. New Heartland Millennial women are 19% more likely to not be working, compared to Coastal Millennial Women. This could be because they tend to start their families earlier, and moms are staying home to raise their young kids.

2. New Heartland Millennial women are the most disconnected from today’s brand advertising.
The gap between how disconnected New Heartland Millennial women feel from advertisements grows exponentially with age, as their buying power increases. New Heartland Millennial Women ages 26-29 are 22% more likely to feel disconnected from ads versus Coastal Millennials, and are a whopping 16 times more likely to feel disconnected when they reach ages 30-34.
3. New Heartland Millennials rank faith as a top core value, while social responsibility better defines Coastals.
Millennials across the country rank family and individuality as two of their top three core values. But when it comes to the third value, 54% of New Heartland Millennials cited faith, whereas 55% of Coastals chose social responsibility. In fact, New Heartland Millennials ranked faith the second most important core value, behind family and before individuality.  Faith ranked fourth for Coastal Millennials, with 38% calling it a core value.
The New Heartland is home to a very diverse group, bound together by a shared set of core values and deep attachment to their culture.  Brands that target New Heartland Millennials must consider the role values and culture play in their buying behavior. Choosing the correct channels to deliver those brand messages are vitally important. No matter how successful previous campaigns have been, layering in these key factors will assuredly have a positive impact on producing desired results.  Brands wanting to build equity in the New Heartland need to speak American, which means communicating in a way that is culturally relevant. The overarching campaign message doesn’t necessarily have to change, but the way it’s delivered must connect at the lifestyle level.