MARKETING STRATEGIES
Millennials are coming: today, they already account for one-fifth of the Russian population and by 2021 they will hold 50% of jobs. GMK has first-hand knowledge of millennials: they make up 81% of our team. That is why we can confidently speak, even in first person, about the product and the service Generation Y needs, adding professional experience to our personal one.
Who are we?
We were born between 1980 and 2000.
We were born in the era of globalization, so we are called digital natives.
We are used to changes and not afraid of them.
We are a narcissistic generation: it was we who invented selfies, likes, and Instagram.
"I" is important for us, which is reflected even in brand names: iPhone, iPad.
Our communications are transforming, we are getting "pixel friends". Lack of actual communication is felt very acutely. This is probably one of the reasons why the birth rate in Russia reduced by 9.1% by 2018 (data from the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) as of Q1 2019).
How to please us? How to sell us more? We have tried to outline a real estate product for the Generation Next (another name for millennials) through slogans. You will get a bonus at the end of the article – learn about the "residential property of the future".
Slogan 1: "I want to live here and now. Time matters to me".
Meaning: it is important for us to work near home. Commuting to work for more than 30 minutes exhausts and wastes too much time that could be spent on important business like meeting friends, hobbies, and entertainment. That is why there is a trend of apartment renting in megalopolises: this way, young people can easily change places of residence depending on the workplace.
How to please us: offer various locations around the city. Cover more districts so that the free-loving generation has a choice not only of the product but also of the city geography.
A perfect example of the developer's coverage of the territory. PIK offers residential space in downtown, in remote districts and out of town
Slogan #2: «I need society and personal space»
Meaning: we are controversial. On the one hand, we need personal space to be alone, to enjoy hobbies, to work, etc. On the other hand, we have a need for collective activities and communication, so collaboration and public hobby groups started to emerge.
How to please us: arrange a venue for public meetings and recreation in the neighborhood.
On the left: an outdoor sports ground to facilitate collective workouts. On the right: a summer amphitheater for hobby groups in the area of the neighborhood
Slogan #3: «I want everything around me to be adaptive»
Meaning: We want to live where a place can change together with us. For example, I am in a work mood today, so my apartment is an office, but tomorrow is Friday and my friends are coming over, so I need a place to chill right now
How to please us: building real estate "forever". Apartments and public spaces must be adaptive. Open-plan layouts are the trend, where a nursery can be created instead of a dressing room, kitchens are combined with living rooms and wet cores are movable
BMW came up with an interesting adaptiveness principle under the "mini-living" slogan. The company proposes a new format of residential space: modules that people can use to share everyday activities with neighbors, while the apartment changes like a transformer to adapt to the inhabitant's needs
On the left: open the door, swing the wall – and now it's a shared space for all residents. On the right: a bed on the shelf, a recreation area under the bed next to the bookshelf
Slogan #4: «I want to enjoy every moment»
Meaning: we are different from previous generations in that we love ourselves. That is why it is important for us to have fun and spend money on emotions. Millennials spend 29% of their budgets on food and 7.9% on entertainment, which is 2% higher than the older generation (a study by VISA, 2017). For instance, we may leave renovations in the apartment unfinished and go on vacation because we have different values and distribute money in different ways.
How to please us: today, Generation Y is mad about winterized balconies or terraces in apartments that serve as functional spaces. Millennials use them as lounge areas where they can hang out with friends, drink wine and play table-top games.
On the left: a winterized balcony. On the right: a terrace
Slogan #5: «I want to control everything̈»
Meaning: if a millennial has bought a product, they want to use it by 100%. Moreover, it is important for us for control to mean minimum time spent, so we prefer to integrate technology into our lives as much as possible and stay online 24/7.
How to please us: implement the Smart Home system, enabling us to monitor the apartment and operate it through a smartphone – for instance, turn on the light, see guests through the intercom, control the temperature.
Slogan #6: «I am special in all things»
Meaning: we are narcissistic. We are addicted to attention and likes. We need to demonstrate how we are unique. That is why we are trying to express ourselves in various activities.
How to please us: adopt a responsible attitude to naming neighborhoods and to visual elements of the brand. Create a history of the new generation's people for them to feel they belong to something special.
Simvol (Symbol) Neighborhood by Donstroy offers Svoboda ("Freedom"), Dostoinstvo ("Dignity"), and Smelost ("Boldness") residential blocks
Create contemporary and stylish shared areas. We are aesthetes, so even a wall of the house's main entrance painted an unusual color will create the required emotions
Main entrance areas of Art City Neighborhood by Unistroy
Slogan #7: «Let me take a pic and post it on Instagram».
Meaning: we like to remember what is happening. "Not posted – never happened" and this is not a joke! If a photo from the event hasn't been posted on social media, it means this has never happened to you.
How to please us: create photogenic residential spaces in your projects. Photo walls, green parks with flowers, art objects, vivid building architecture, etc. will make for cool posts on social media.
People are posting photos about their life in Yevropeyskiy Neighborhood in Tyumen on social media
People are posting photos about their life in Moscow neighborhoods by PIK developer on social media
Slogan #8: «Why do I need a family? It is a formality and a thing of the past»
Meaning: some of us watched our parents divorce, our mothers devote all of their free time to children, forgetting about other sides of their lives. And we have tasted the joy of freedom and travelling, so we are not in a hurry to create families or have children. 53% of millennials in Russia are in no rush to forge adult relationships (a study by Deloitte, 2019). We are a generation destroying our parents' values and ideals.
How to please us: speak the same language we do. For example, by creating promotional campaigns and apartment layouts for bachelors and young couples.
CHOOSE FAMILY TYPE: Young single -> Adult single -> Young couple -> Adult couple -> Parent with one child -> Family with one child -> Parent with two children
* "Smart" format is more close to young people as the new generation has grown up on the wave of smart devices and possibilities and therefore wants to get the same amenities in everything else: they appreciate creative innovations that will make their life brighter and easier. Young people spend little time at home and barely do any home economics, thus, they are interested in modern open-plan layouts. Moreover, the first apartment is often considered the first step to independent living, so its minimum area is often of fundamental importance.
Legenda Intelligent Development offers to choose an apartment for a certain type of family: there are apartment layouts for young and single as well.
Slogan #9: «Look for me online 24/7»
Meaning: we are active online: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, millennials are in the virtual world: they communicate on social media, read world news, make purchases, and study. We stop perceiving traditional advertisements on TV and radio.
How to please us: be online 24/7. It is important to be as represented and available in the Internet space as possible because we start searching for an apartment online and only then go offline. Here we pay attention to a convenient website, the completeness of information and photos, renderings, search for your social media profiles and feedback, and so on. Mobile applications of residential neighborhoods or real estate developers and the availability of salespersons in messengers are currently on trend.
PIK and LSR companies have already launched mobile applications for the convenience of searching and buying an apartment
Slogan #6: «I want to try everything in this life and feel a different level of comfort»
Meaning: we don’t want to saddle ourselves with obligations, apartments, cars, and work. At the same time, we wish to feel comfort and social status. We are ready to buy branded clothes but live in a rented apartment far from the city center. We can buy a good, expensive car, but prefer a small apartment long waiting for some cosmetic repairs. This trend does not please real estate developers as we began not to buy, but to rent and exchange. The sharing economy is gaining momentum.
We rent apartments in the best locations of the city and easily change them depending on our work and lifestyle. We rent cars we cannot afford to buy – it is carsharing. We work everywhere – remotely, at home, in coworking spaces. We search and provide assistance and a night's lodging when travelling – this is couchsurfing.
What's next? It gets worse and worse as it goes on. It may come to the point that we cease owning things. Everything will be common, temporary, and constantly new…
How to please us: looking ahead, we're going to return to the concept of a commune. We will call this type of housing "coliving". Coliving is a form of living together with people sharing common interests and mindsets. Each dweller has a personal space in the form of a so-called "apartment-type room", and there are common areas like kitchens, places for communication and games, for dinners, for work, etc.
IND Architects, an architectural studio, has launched its new project entitled "Houses of the Future. Coliving: New Housing Format". Project participants conduct a survey among the residents of Russia in order to find out if they would like to live in a house of a similar format.
FUTURE HOUSING WITH ALL ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS
KITCHEN
BAR CLUB
SAUNA
PRIVACY SPACE
CINEMA
WINTER GARDEN
CAFE, DINING ROOM
ORANGERY
LAUNDRY
COWORKING
STORAGE ROOM
LECTURE HALL
TEMPLE
WORKSHOP
GYM
GALLERY
Coliving spaces already exist
Millennials are an intimidating yet interesting generation that is making a social revolution and probably a real estate revolution, too. We are self-sufficient, we know what we want, and nothing can stop us anymore. You can only follow us 🙂
