Advertising has its share of big names and stars, but it’s safe to say that very few ad tech CEOs have stood on stage in front of thousands of screaming teen girls. That made Kevin Jonas the outlier in a room full of digital media professionals at the conclusion of ad:tech New York.
Jonas is better know as one-third of the Jonas Brothers, the Disney-marketed teen pop entity that spent the late ‘00s performing sold out concerts and starring in TV movies like Camp Rock. Someone who spent his formative years on stage in front of thousands of ecstatic millennials clearly knows a thing or two about reaching the millennial demographic, and the 25-year-old shared those thoughts in a fireside chat with Sean Finnegan, CEO of C4 Group.
“Millennials want to be the focus, and they want to be special,” Jonas said. He felt there are three things that matter to millennials: looking good, feeling good, and doing good.
“The selfie is big, it’s about self gratification, and brands can play in that,” said Jonas about the idea of looking good. He cited Warby Parker as a brand that has successfully allowed millennial consumers to share their potential purchase prior to completing the sale, gaining their friend’s opinions.
As for doing good, Jonas said his generation is compelled to help and give back. “It’s almost not a choice,” he said. “It’s engraved in who they are, and it’s seared into their soul.” Brands need to align their messaging to this so that brands can become advocates. Forcing a message doesn’t work – according to Jonas, brands will benefit more when millennials come to them.
While Jonas is an internationally known celebrity (he name-dropped his friend Miley Cyrus), he wouldn’t seem out of place on any start-up’s development team, as he discussed how he’s wiring his own house and his love of apps.
In fact, he took over the Jonas Brothers mobile app roughly a year after it launched, and chose to use the platform to make two big announcements: one about his wife’s pregnancy, and another about the Brothers’ decision to tour. Jonas set the goal of 25,000 downloads in a month and soon had 50,000 people tuning in for the band’s live-streamed announcement on one day’s notice.
It’s this kind of environment that attracts and inspires millennials, and it’s something marketers need to leverage moving forward. “That’s the piece people are missing the boat on,” he said. “It’s about creating an environment where [millennials] want to keep coming back.”
