The Hunt for the Millenials -
How Tennis Can Capture The 18-30 Year Olds
By Rich Neher

1. Millenials And Their Habits

We're identifying several generations with acronyms right now:

Boomer (age now 55-70) GenX (30-55) GenY (Millenials) (18-30) GenZ (6-18)

In a study of 4,000 individuals conducted by the New York Times, one-third of Millenials watch mostly online video and no broadcast television. Btw, according to Jason Bernstein, Sr. Director of Programming for ESPN, who talked at the Future of Tennis Summit in Indian Wells last March: GenZ doesn't watch TV anymore.

• Almost 78% of Millenials prefer traditional classrooms over online ones
• Not surprisingly, by 2015, Millenials are expected to be the largest consumer demographic and nearly a third of the U.S. population. Today they are already about 80 million strong.
• Millenials are multitaskers. Quote found online: "They have 15 tabs open in their Chrome browser while their iPhones push Twitter alerts and their Facebook feeds are blowing up."
• Millennials are a stubborn bunch. Likes: looking smart, being right. Dislikes: looking dumb, being wrong. That's why they turn to search engines to ask some of life's most pressing questions. Because when they need to learn how to boil an egg, they can't just call their moms. They're 27 and extremely competent. You guessed it, one of the 10 most asked Internet Search Engine questions: How to boil an egg?
• Millenials came of age in a post-Internet world - and they're unlike the consumers that came before them. Millennials can sniff the hard sell, and they won't buy it. The way to win over these "digital natives" is to add some value, provide utility, entertain, acknowledge their individuality
• Most importantly, be mobile - it's less a tip than it is a must. Millennials grew up on the Internet and they're extremely connected. On average, they have 3 devices, between smart phones, tablets, laptops and Wi-Fi music players. They're more likely to research a product on their mobile device than Gen X, and they're pretty much always connected. Intent to purchase desktop computers is falling, and smart phone penetration is hitting 81% with the Millenials, making mobile devices even more of a priority for this demographic.
• 75% of Millenials are on Facebook, 25% are on Twitter. Another quote I found: They say: Millenials are either online or asleep. There seems to be no offline anymore.
• Millenials as a group feel they are SPECIAL. They were PROTECTED and SHELTERED from birth. They are CONFIDENT they can achieve anything, although they feel more PRESSURE to succeed than generations before them.
• Millenials are TEAM-ORIENTED. They like to stay connected with their social group on a regular basis.
  

2. How do Millenials see Tennis?

Tennis is not seen as Action Sport!

• Action sport events represent the Millenials' lifestyle in many ways. They combine fashion, music acts, and youth role models known from television, videogames and all kinds of extreme sport into one event attracting thousands of participants and visitors every year.
• Tennis seems boring in comparison. Tennis clubs have to add a new layer of excitement and playful activities to their game plan. (Example: Electric Run)
  Electric Run is the World's Premier Nighttime 5k run/walk experience, where the participants are an integrated part of the show. Featuring immersive "Lands" of light and sound that transport the participant into an electric wonderland, Electric Run promises to transport the mind, body and soul to a new world in a healthy and drug-free way. Participants are encouraged to join in on the art by lighting up with glow sticks, LEDs and anything else their imagination can conjure up) Oh, and btw, there will be running, too.
• How about taking that concept into the tennis realm and do similar events? Call it SUPER SONIC TENNIS NIGHT and create a night of sight, sounds, food, fun. Oh, and btw, there will be tennis, too! I am thinking about organizing such an event in Southern California. Should be fun and a great recruiting event for the club hosting it. Like an Open House for the whole family, a once-a-year event that will bring you lots of adults, kids, and MILLENIALS.
• Also: How about Shotgun 21 for beginners to Intermediates and LiveBall for advanced players? Who here knows Shotgun 21? Developed by Steve Bellamy, the founder of the Tennis Channel. It's a tournament style game where there are no gender barriers, men play women (or men), kids play adults, serve is underhanded and the points are counted like in ping pong up to 21.
• And Live Ball? There's nothing better for advanced players. Many believe that the tennis clinics of old will be pushed aside, replaced by new approaches like Live Ball. Google it, if you don't know it.
• In a time in which Generation Y is going to become the major work force in today's business world with the strongest purchase power, it is critical for marketers to understand how to reach and appeal these individuals.

3. Marketing to Millenials

Tennis professionals want to attract this group early and earn its loyalty.

Examples:
Turn tennis at your club into an Action Sport.

• Be authentic. Be who you are.
• Create a shared experience. Give them something to talk about. (For Millenials, Sharing it is almost as good as playing it)
• Instant gratification for the Millenials means: get to the point.
• Create a community. Make them feel they are part of something bigger. (See Nikki Robbins in the Valley, google Nikki's Tennis Crew)
• Inspire. Make them feel good about themselves.
• Provide flexibility in scheduling. Use bulk texting (e.g. EZtexting, BulkSMS, SendHub) to reach out to them.
• Let them rule, optimize + filter. Let them create their own rules.
• Millenials get more information from each other via social networks than from traditional media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube)
• Tennis clubs must know how individuals use social media, which ones they use and when they use it

According to Insites Consulting (Oct 2013) Millenials have the following Social Media Network Memberships:

66% Facebook 29% Twitter 28% Google+ 13% LinkedIn Plus some smaller numbers for less significant sites

What are the Top 10 Drivers for Millenials to use Social Media?

Communicating / sending direct messages Killing time Sharing photos Sharing information + links Organizing get-togethers w/family+friends Watching videos Learning about products Finding coupons / promotions

56% 54% 49% 45% 36% 36% 26% 20%

Places and locations where Millenials are logging on to Social Media

During leisure time While watching TV / listening to radio In bed when not able to sleep At work during breaks On (or waiting for) public transport When in line somewhere (store, bank) At work during working hours During lunch During breakfast During dinner

73% 39% 34% 26% 23% 19% 18% 21% 15% 14%

Recommendation

Use applications like Hootsuite to manage your posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. You could write all your posts on a Sunday afternoon and tell Hootsuite when to post them throughout the week. Working on the USTA Tennislink Team at the Active Network I was for a while responsible for posting articles to the Active Tennis Facebook Page. I decided on the majority of the articles over the weekend. Sunday night I submitted a spreadsheet with all articles and links with tracking numbers. A third application would space them out twice a day over the next 7 days. I would then post sporadically throughout the week to add more spontaneous content.

The four best techniques for tapping into the digital native market for Millenials (according to a global study by the "Economist Intelligence Unit") are:

• Participating in viral marketing and peer-to-peer recommendation sites (#1 is FB, then Pinterest, Twitter). Participate with a "giving" attitude. Share and pay forward.
• Sponsoring or advertising in areas populated by Millenials, such as extreme sports, music venues, and social network sites (adrenalinfeed.com, mpora.com, redbull.com, ESPN X-Games, Mountain Dew Action Sports Tour). If you have advertising dollars to spend, use them here and you will reach Millenials.
• Delivering great services at a great price (Trader Joe's, JetBlue)
• Focusing not only on Millenials but also on their key influencers (Friends, peers, and to a certain extend also parents. Find them and reach out to them.)

Millenials joined your club - what now?

• Once you have Millenials playing at your club, be sure to reward the new members who got you where you are today. Rewarding is most effective as a retention tool, not so effective as an acquisition tool for Millenials. Give them a free lesson/clinic, referral prizes / cash, celebrate them. Millenials like recognition!
• Be appreciative of your new members' interest and support of your brand (it doesn't have to be monetary - even a "thank you" will go a long way).
  Branding isn't just important for companies - Millennials are all building their own personal brands, too. If they get a shout-out or their work is selected in a UGC (User Generated Content) campaign, that's going to help them build their brand. Getting a nod from a well-respected brand - like when Honda mowed a fan's name into the lawn at headquarters as part of its "We're fans of you, too" campaign - or, more realistically, from a well respected tennis professional, goes a long way toward member retention. Recognition of this nature is "a longer path" that will lead to more brand loyalty over time as deeper relationships are formed between you, your club, and your new members.
• Coaches say that today's athletes seem more fragile because they have been sheltered and protected from many of the natural disappointments of life.
• Coaches also say that many of the Millenials think that today's "instant-gratification" society also applies to athletics. They think that they can master skills in a short period of time without going through the natural and time-consuming process that it takes to learn and master a complex sport skill. Help your Millenials understand that getting better is a long-term process. Make that process more fun, turn it into an Action Sport. Get beginners in matches faster. Get creative scoring those matches. Let them have input and create their own rules to make it more fun for them. Start a SUPER SONIC TENNIS NIGHT.
• Coaches also realize that many Millenials have extremely short-attention spans if you are not physically or mentally engaging them in some type of activity. Short attention spans are a hallmark of the Millennial generation because of the fast-paced world of technology. They have hundreds of television channels to choose from if they are bored, a plethora of video games, billions of websites to surf, and ways to instantly communicate with friends. Thus, you too have to try to build entertainment in when you coach - or you will quickly lose their focus. Don't lecture - Edu-tain.
• Understand that there are dozens of things that compete for your Millenials' attention and time. Don't get frustrated when your players are involved in a multitude of other activities. Make your sport and team one that they enjoy being a part of and see real gains when they participate. If you can do this, they will gravitate to you.

SUMMARY: HOW TENNIS CAN CAPTURE THE MILLENIALS

Reach them with the tools they are already using

• Participate in Social Media, share, and find influencers
• Create fun, action sports events
• Let them make their own rules once they have joined your club
• Give shout-outs and reward loyalty

Social Media Sites

FACEBOOK - top social network on the web. It's a thriving beast of a social networking site on the web with over a billions users.

TWITTER - top source for real-time news sharing. For a microblogging site with a 140-character text limit, Twitter has approx. 275 million active users.

GOOGLE + - Making its debut in the early summer of 2011, Google+ has established itself as the fastest growing social media site in the world and boasts a monthly active user base of 235 million. And some of the products that Google built into the platform, such as Circles, Hangouts and Communities, along with its added integration in Google News that can benefit an active poster, have made Google+ an intriguing network for all users.

YOU TUBE - Where does everyone go to watch or share video content online? It's obviously You Tube. After Google, YouTube is the second largest search engine. Although owned by Google and now tied right into our Google+ accounts, YouTube can still be recognized as a separate social network all on its own as one that revolves entirely around content like video production, vlogging, movie-making and music sharing.

LINKEDIN - Anyone who needs to make professional connections should be on LinkedIn. Known as the social network for your career, LinkedIn is right up there with Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Individuals can promote themselves and their businesses, outline their education and work experience, make connections with other professionals, interact in group discussions, post job ads or apply for jobs.

INSTAGRAM - Instagram has grown to be one of the most popular social networks for photo sharing that the mobile web has ever seen. It's the ultimate social network for sharing real-time photos and short videos while on the go. The app started by being exclusively limited to the iOS platform, but has since expanded to Android and, Windows Phone also the web.

PINTEREST - Pinterest is quickly becoming a major player in social networking, and proves just how important visual content has become on he web. As the fastest standalone site ever to reach 10 million monthly unique visits, Pinterest's beautiful and intuitive pinboard-style platform on the web and on mobile is one of the most incredible resources for collecting the best images and categorizing them on your own boards.

TUMBLR - Tumblr is an extremely popular social blogging platform heavily used by teens and younger users. Like Pinterest, it's popular for sharing visual content. You can customize your blog theme, post all different tpes of content formats, follow other users and be followed back. Reblogging and "liking" is a popular way to interact. If you post great content, you might be surprised to see how many followers you can attract.