MICHELLE NIEDZIELA 
HCD Research, Flemington, USA

When consumer insights, marketing and product development teams discuss the millennial market, they are often plagued by misconceptions.

• Stereotyping – Millennials are often viewed as the “lazy” or “entitled” generation. But thinking in this way can prevent companies from addressing real millennial needs like establishing strong brand relationships.
• All Millennials – We tend to group millennials into one category, assuming they are all tech savvy, entitled, and egocentric. When in reality, like all generations, there are not only exceptions to that rule, but numerous segments to the diverse millennial population (e.g., hipsters, millennial moms, anti-millennials, gadget millenials, clean & green millennials and old-school millennials – Boston Consulting Group, 2012).
• Millennials are the Future – The future is now. We tend to view millennials as the younger generation, when in reality, the youngest millennials are out of college by now. Millennials were born between 1981-1996, according to the Pew Research Foundation. This means that millennials are now in the workforce, s ...
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