According to Portfolio.com, a Nielsen study has concluded that millenials, or those in the 21-34 age group are more likely than any other group to trade back to more expensive alcohol beverage brands. The findings of the study have resulted in beverage companies wanting to tune into this generation of drinkers who are also more likely to spend more money on quality beverages.
Over the next decade, this age group will make up 40 percent of the 21 and older drinking population. The majority prefers beer, but they buy more wine and spirits than previous generations. Skyy Vodka is taking advantage of the results of this study by focusing their advertising towards the millenials, because they consider the age group a perfect fit.
“They want the best quality-to-value ratio, but also a certain sense of style,” said Andrea Conzonato, chief marketing officer of Skyy Spirits. “This is not the ‘me-too’ generation that we saw in the 90’s and the early 00’s. This is the ‘me’ generation, looking for brands that express not only their personalities, but their values as well.”
Stoli Vodka is also targeting the millenials with their most recent ad campaign “Would you have a drink with you?”
Several New York City wineries have sprouted up as well, also trying to attract millenials to the wine industry. Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg invites drinkers to make their own wine, and City Winery in SoHo can come in and crush their own grapes.
A few other things pointed about by the Nielsen survey:
-Millenials are more likely to embrace locally-made or produced product, because they like the idea that their purchases may help the local economy.
-Social or traditional media are a good way to influence buyers, as millenials are slightly more likely to plan their purchases versus purchase on impulse in todays down economy.
-By 2036, the majority of consumers age 21 and over will be multicultural. Hispanics, in particular, are swelling in the ranks of the newly legal drinkers, and their tastes are influenced by both cultural factors, such as their “degree of acculturation,” and how open they are to be influenced by what other peers are ordering.
