Brands cannot ignore Millennial Paradox: Bhaskar Bhat

Bhaskar Bhat, managing director of Titan Industries, believes that businesses and brands need to understand the power of collective individuals. At the unveiling of ‘Paradox Panel’, a discussion forum of the company designed to develop insights into India’s 21-35-year-olds – the so-called ‘millennial’ generation. Bhat tells Nupur Anand why it is important to realise that for youth today the mantra is--’I share therefore I am and If you don’t share why would I care!’. Excerpts from the interview:

What exactly do you mean by Millennial Paradox?
A number of surveys have thrown a light on today’s individuals who are very opinionated, have strong individual personalities and are almost narcissistic. But at the same time, there is also a sense of collectiveness associated with it. They do not operate in isolation.

They need and seek approval from friends and families. And this collective individualism is the millennial paradox.

Why is it important for a brand or a business to understand this paradox?
For us, it is important to understand the consumer behaviour and it is important for a business in terms of deliverance to find out what the consumer wants, etc. At the same time, it is also about understanding the power of the digital world. These collective individuals are always tweeting, sharing on Facebook, re-tweeting and connecting with others online. In fact, their buying purchases are also influenced by the digital medium. So for us, it is important to watch this space to understand the consumers.

But are these millennials actually able to influence buying decisions?
If you look at the findings of the study, it reveals that 74% of the millennials (people born during 1980-2001) believe they influence their peers. People are micro celebrities due to technology now. It has been happening earlier too, but now this phenomenon has intensified. In fact, about 90% of the millennials actually believe that it’s their responsibility to share feedback with companies after their good or bad brand experience. And therefore one has to recognise the power of these collective individuals.

But then a Facebook like may not translate into buying?
All advertisements are like that. Some talk about functionality, price and some about emotional payoff. But there is a certain science in this, if so many people see your ad or the likes then at least a small section will buy it. So if out of seven million Facebook fans we can even get three million to buy it and next year you keep increasing the number by one million each, then it is an efficiency drive.