How to market to millennial consumers is a great mystery for most main stream marketers. It turns out that one of the best ways to reach millennial music fans – particularly superfans – is a very old school form of advertising – billboards.
________________________________________
By Clyde Smith for Dash Two
With Coachella kicking off the music festival season and images of partying youth flooding social media, one’s thoughts about marketing are probably not on the potential of outdoor advertising. But outdoor ads, from billboards to truck wraps to airplane banner tows, are highly visible ways to reach festival goers in transit to a peak experience.
And given that festivals draw Millennials who are likely to be music superfans, reaching them when they’re anticipating or remembering such events is a powerful marketing opportunity.
Festivals x Millennials = Music Superfans
Music festival attendees are a diverse crowd with a special interest in music. Nielsen’s 2015 Audience Insights Report revealed that almost half of annual U.S. music festival-goers are Millennials with an almost equal number of men and women attending.
When one looks more closely at Millennials who attend festivals, it’s apparent that the overlap in a Venn diagram featuring music festivals and Millennials highlights music superfans.
In contrast to those who don’t go, Nielsen reported that music festival attendees:
● travel an average of 903 miles to attend a single event;
● annually outspend on music events and consumption;
● are “98% more likely to discover new music on Spotify”;
● and, are intensive users of social media in both everyday life and at shows.
Reach Millennial Superfans En Route
Outdoor advertising is a great way to reach these Millennial superfans while they’re heading for the big event or going home after an intense experience.
The anticipation of experiencing favorite acts and discovering new performers while immersed in a crowd of likeminded fans means they’ll be much more likely to notice and discuss billboards, truck wraps, lawn signs and other outdoor ads along the way.
Creative ads are likely to outperform and more likely to be shared on social media as superfans are en route.
A similar process can occur as attendees head home, savoring the immediate past and attempting to draw out an awesome experience as long as possible.
Bonus: Reach Those Watching From Home
Nielsen’s Music 360 2015 report pointed out what you probably already know, those fans who can’t make it to a festival are participating via social media. Creative activations that inspire pics and sharing can be a part of the experience of all those with connections to a particular event.
Of course, you’ll want to feature pics and videos of your music festival activations in your own social media activities. It’s the ideal way to participate while spreading the news and amplifying your advertising.
Outdoor advertising that creatively matches the music and appears unexpectedly can be a powerful part of the en route experience of Millennial music superfans. With Coachella fading in the rearview mirror, now’s a great time to make advertising moves for the coming months of outdoor music festivals.
References: