Studies indicate that 66% of consumers, regardless of age, will purchase from a brand they feel is sustainable and trustworthy. The numbers are even higher once the Millennial cohort is isolated; at 73%. When companies and brands tailor their advertising with trustworthy information for their target customer, conversion rates are boosted 30%.

Demographics Are Everything
Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1960, were once considered the largest generation to ever live. This generation, for decades, has been the foremost influence driving business’s marketing efforts and product lines. But, all that’s about to change.

In the next few decades, the largest transfer of wealth, over 30 trillion dollars, will take place—from Boomers to the Millennial generation and their little brothers and sisters; Generation Z. Demographics are everything, and the aging of the Boomers and the rise of Millennials and Gen Z is going to severely change the marketing and business landscape.

Millennials and their younger counterparts look at companies, brands, and businesses through an entirely different lens than Baby Boomers, and brands are starting to feel the pinch of their critical gaze.

The Millennial generation is far more risk-averse than their Boomer elders. Millennials are more likely to value experiences over things, and will spend their money accordingly. They are not investing in real estate, and are far less likely to buy a car new and on loan, or even own a car at all. Furthermore, this generation is more skeptical of brands than their predecessors.

Trust Is Visceral
While trust has always been an important metric and component driving customer buying decisions, with Millennials, trust is now a key component, not a peripheral, nebulous concept. For them, trust is visceral, and necessary. Despite their young age, this generation and the one behind it are jaded toward the business and advertising worlds.

It’s hardly surprising. While Boomers came of age during the post-war boom, when housing prices, relative to income, were still affordable across socio-economic status, for Millennials this is not the case. Furthermore, this generation witnessed and experienced the massive fallout of the housing crisis of 2008. Since then, this generation’s trust in institutions and brands and businesses was severely crippled and eroded. To earn Millennials coveted trust in the business world, brands are required to operate in a trustworthy, and sustainable fashion. And, brands who are perceived as civically responsible will be more likely to obtain those depreciating Millennial dollars in the coming years.

So, how can a brand appear trustworthy to younger consumers?

• History: By sharing the company history or brand’s personal story, offering social proof
• Accountability, i.e.: ‘money-back guarantees’ or offering free trials
• Affiliations: Proving authority through affiliation with other trustworthy brands in the sphere
• Relatability: Approaching from a sympathetic angle by understanding the customer’s pain points. Telling stories in an informal, casual tone
• Subtlety: Offer value first without requiring anything in return

Businesses will have to compete in this new generational ethos. Boomers will not be the largest holders of disposable income soon, and in order to stay competitive in the new market, brands that build trust with their customers will reign supreme.

Marketing companies have been competing for the minds of millennials fiercely over the last few years – and for good reason.

Millennials represent about a quarter of the entire US population, and have over $200 billion in annual buying power. Though they have less discretionary income than Baby Boomers and older generations, they have a lot of influence – and are hard to reach with traditional marketing methods.

But are millennials still the hottest consumers out there? Or should we be focusing our efforts on a new generation of consumers? Here’s the scoop.

Millennials Are Still The Most Important Consumer Generation – For Now

Millennials are defined as individuals who were between 18-34 in 2015 by the Pew Research Center. They are just now entering the prime of their lives as consumers.

As millennials age, their income continues to grow as a generation. Most millennials are now out of college and working in professional careers, and millennials are the most educated generation to date.

This means that the buying power of millennials is only going to grow in future years, as they begin to start families and earn more discretionary income.

However, millennials will not stay at the top of the heap forever. As time goes on, Generation Z continues to grow – and a new generation of consumer is born.

Gen Z – The Largest Consumer Generation In History

Generation Z is defined as the “post-millennial” generation. While most definitions vary, it’s agreed that most Gen Z individuals were born around the year 2000 or later. This generation already makes up 25% of the population, and is forecasted to continue to grow.

As Gen Z becomes older, and younger people begin to enter the consumer market, they are likely to become the most highly sought-after consumer generation, just as millennials were before them.

Focus On Millennials In Marketing Efforts – But Don’t Forget About Gen Z!

How should brands market their products? Luckily, millennials and Gen Z both share a few common attributes. Consumers from both generations are tech-savvy and have quite a bit of influence on the market – and both Gen Z and millennial consumers do not respond well to traditional advertising methods.

While millennials should be the focus on most marketing efforts, Gen Z should not be overlooked. Brands should be using social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter to reach a younger audience, and should always be on the lookout for hot trends that could appeal to Gen Z consumers.

Conclusion

As time goes on, millennials will become less important as a consumer audience, and the importance of Gen Z will grow. So focus on millennials for now, but don’t forget about the younger generation.

But how much technology can you fit into a 0.8-millimeter-thick credit card?

Well, a lot. Not only can Plastc store credit cards, it can also show loyalty and gift cards. How does it work? It is simple. It works with an app that enables you to quickly swap out cards, add new ones, and track your spending. Plastc itself stores up 20 cards but the app can hold an unlimited number. On Plastc, you can switch up card details through the e-ink touchscreen panel. And it is quite secured with PIN, photo ID, proximity alerts, and ‘Return Me’ mode and If stolen or lost, you can remotely wipe your data.  The card is rechargeable and last 30 days once fully charged but it locks in your default credit card if uncharged so you can still use it until you charge up again. So, if you are looking for a simple and elegant way to store your many credit & debit cards, loyalty and gift cards, access cards and more in a single, minimalist card, and say goodbye to your bulky wallet, Plastc could be the way to go. The card would be available in summer 2015. You can get more info on their website.

What Sparks our Fire: a credit card that gets a lot smarter.

Are you ready for the future of payments with Plastc? What are your thoughts on digital wallets

What Sparks Our Fire: customizable jewelry that syncs with you

Would you consider bringing stylish technology to your wrist everywhere with Elemoon?

What Sparks Our Fire:  The perfect Facebook feature to celebrate friendships on social media.

Will you be using Say Thanks? Create your personalized video card here.

Photomath is easy to use. All you have to do is scan a printed equation (no handwritten ones, yet) with your smartphone and watch the app solve the problem in real-time. Next, click through the problem solving option if you wish to see the steps involved. The app serves as a homework helper rather than homework doer.

What Sparks Our Fire: A helpful app that has the potential to make kids love math.

Is PhotoMath a great app for kids or do you think it will lead to cheating?

… and it’s not a new taco or burrito but an App for iOs and Androids that allows users to order and make payment via their smartphone. They’ve eliminated the need to get out of the car and make the line; they’ve mostly eliminated the need to speak to anyone. In a nutshell, this is how it works:

1. Browse the menu
2. Select an item, or customize your order ingredient-by-ingredient, or re-order a meal from the past
3. Submit and pay through the app using debit, credit, or Taco Bell gift cards
4. Go to your nearest Taco Bell and skip the line to get your order

As part of the new app launch, Taco Bell Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and even its website have all gone dark, with only one message available for users to see “The new way to Taco Bell isn’t on [insert social media name] it’s #onlyintheapp”

The idea was to play up the announcement and attract attention to the new release. In addition, they invite you to join the conversation with its Twitter hashtag #onlyintheapp.

“Today as food culture changes and generations grow up with smartphones, our customers seek restaurant experiences that fit their lifestyle,” said Taco Bell Presiden, Brian Niccol, in a statement. Taco Bell assures the process is safe and secure. Two startups: Cardfree and Tillster help handle the paymenst.

This year has proven to be the year of mobile payment and ordering in fast food and is undoubtedly going to be the norm at fast-food chains within the next years. Wendy’s in March introduced a payment-by-app nationally; Burger King this year also said it was expanding its mobile-payment offering and lately McDonald’s has announced its collaboration with Apple Pay.

Sadly, you still need to drag yourself off the couch to get your food since Taco Bell doesn’t deliver…yet.

What Sparks Our Fire: An innovative app that makes it easy and simple to order food even faster.

Are you ready to satisfy your Taco Bell craving in a new fashion way? Download the app here for iOS or here for Androids

It is undeniable that touch screens are popular in today’s world but, something people tend to forget is the importance of physical buttons which can sometimes make your life easier. For instance, a single click on a button could automatically launch and turn on your flashlight app without having to even unlock your phone.

Meet Pressy, a tiny button that sits in your headphone jack and allows quick access to frequently-used functions and built only for Android devices (sorry iOS users). When using headphones, a user can plug Pressy into the included keychain and if the headphone features a volume control button, the app allows that button to get access to all the Pressy features. How cool!

Pressy also allows users to set up multiple functions with different combinations of presses and works along with an app. The Pressy app allows users to choose from a variety of different functions such as turning on the flashlight, instantly taking pictures, calling a number in your contacts, and so on. For instance, two short presses could tell it to call “Mom” and two long presses could cause it to play your favorite music.

Another major part of this project is the API which allows third party developers to build their own functions and features. And if you have multiple devises, you can use Pressy for all devises.  The project was Kickstarter funded and received more than 17 times its initial pledge of $40,000. You can now, order the device on Pressy’s official website.

What Sparks Our Fire: An innovative little button that brings back simplicity to Android phones for quick access to frequently-used functions.

Are you ready to make better use of your headphone jack?

There are many task manager apps out there but Wunderlist remains our favorite with its eye-catching design and a set of handy tools. The option to assign tasks to specific people and monitor all parts of your team’s projects alone makes Wunderlist arguably the best task management app out there.

Wunderlist is simple and comes with a minimalistic interface to help you create as many lists as you need that instantly sync between your phone, tablet and computer, making them accessible anywhere. In addition, the app makes it easy to start conversations about your to-dos with family, friends and colleagues. Also, you can attach photos, PDFs, presentations, and Dropbox files to share your work and delegate to-dos. Finally, Wunderlist is equipped with a reminder function to ensure you never forget important deadlines ever again.

Wunderlist is free to download and Wunderlist Pro is available for under $5 to help you experience even more: unlimited access to files, subtasks, etc. You can find the app for  iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows Phone, Windows, Chromebook, Kindle Fire and on the Web.

Last week, Wunderlist introduced Wunderlist for Chrome. With this new functionality, you can replace your new tab page with a lightweight version of Wunderlist that lets you quickly add new to-dos straight into your Inbox.

‘Ideas can strike like lightning. Now when they come to mind, you can instantly capture them just by opening a new tab’. -Google Chrome

What Sparks Our Fire: A simple tools for team collaboration and task management.

Have you ever tried Wunderlist? Share your experience.

Imagine you enter your home, and your apartment turns on the lights or, you wake up in the morning and your favorite music starts playing. And while you are getting ready, your coffee machine makes your favorite cup to grab before you leave home. With Airfy Beacon, you can do just that: transform your home into a smart home. The device works in conjunction with an app and is connected via Bluetooth Low Energy communication and IFTTT.

So, with Airfy Beacon, you can turn on your music, the lights, the thermostat, the TV based on your proximity, the number of people in your home, and time. One of the perks is the battery life of an Airfy Beacon is approximately 1.5 years. Watch the video to get familiar with the product.

What Sparks Our Fire: An app and gadget that cater to you and help you save energy

Are you ready to turn your home into a smart spot?