The Way to Millennials’ Hearts

​by Olivia Collins, Teen Tech

​Millennials often get a bad rap for their short attention span – they gain and lose interest at the blink of an eye.

Do you have what it takes to keep up with this fast-paced generation?

​

​A successful way for brands to reach out to Millennials is by cashing in on popular viral videos – as long as you time things just right. Viral videos tend to be popular for two weeks, appear on Ellen, and then drop off the face of the Earth as the next one comes out.
​
Posting about a video before enough people have seen it makes the content unrelatable, and posting too late makes you seem out of touch with what’s "in." However, once you get the hang of recognizing when the iron is hot for striking, the results are astounding.

A prime example of this was brands basing ads off the “Damn Daniel” video. Joshua Holz posted a mix of quick clips of his friend Daniel Lara's daily fashions, punctuating each with an impressed, "Damn, Daniel!" Some of these included mention of Daniel's "white Vans" as well – which made it easy for Vans to make a profit, as their brand was consistently mentioned in the video (nice free advertising for their company) – but they weren’t the only ones hopping on the bandwagon:

• Clorox made themselves relatable by tweeting a photo of dirty white shoes and letting Daniel know they have his back when his shoes get dirty
• Axe used #DamnDaniel instead of the word "damn" in their tweet about finding your magic – "Every. #DamnDaniel. Day."
• And Denny’s took to Twitter in typical Denny’s fashion, sharing a random and bizarre multi-tweet story of a made-up conversation between Daniel and his mother that had very little to do with breakfast food

The best platform to hop onto these trends is Twitter – for expediency alone. Chances are by the time you film a commercial and release it, the viral video you’re referencing will no longer be popular. With Twitter, all you have to do is think of something witty, and you can share it with millions instantly.

As long as you’re relatable, funny, and can keep up, the Millennials will love you.

IMAGE CREDIT: DAVID NGUYEN