In previous articles we’ve looked at the opportunities and challenges the millennial audience present. But what does this all mean for brands, what action can be taken? Here is part three of three in our millennials series.

In our view it all comes back to the marketing proposition of the business and translating that into a big brand idea. It needs to give the business a clearly defined sense of purpose that resonates not only with those buying from the business but also those within the business. With so many touch points and interactions possible through traditional media, social media and direct contact it is vital that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. Getting to an agreed proposition can be a challenge but we have a tried and tested method that combines detailed research and interviews to really get under the skin of a business and its clients/customers to find a compelling and distinctive truth about the business.

This should unlock all other parts of the business’ communications. It gives employees a clear sense of purpose for what they are doing and helps contextualise their individual roles in terms of the larger business ambition. For us it forms the basis of the creative brief from which we build a distinctive brand idea. Something that gives a visual and tonal language with which the brand can communicate. As laid out in the previous article the massive diversity of channels that are needed in the modern media mix means that brands must have a very clearly defined sense of self. With each channel having its own idiosyncrasies it can be all too easy for the distinctiveness of a brand to get lost as it tries to fit in with the format. The right idea should transcend format.

All too often we see brands that rely too much on one part of the brand spectrum, more often than not it is the colour palette. For us this is one of the hardest elements to use as a distinction but it is often the easiest to get through internal processes. And that is precisely why FS is a sea of blue. The defaults in the sector seem to be; overly complicated language, generic colour palette and visuals taken from photo libraries or lifestyle shots. This is not a good recipe for either standing out to customers or giving yourself a consistent idea to communicate through multiple formats across channels. Our speciality is coming up with big ideas that are powerful and flexible enough to stand out whatever message you are trying to get across and through whatever channel; from websites to events and advertising our ideas are memorable.

Of course we would argue that the above is true no matter the age-group you are targeting; but this is especially true for Millennials. They are undoubtably a generation who may not remember what shade of blue your brand is, but they will remember what you stand for. And that is where we come in.