© 2011 The Futures Company 1

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

According to The Futures Company Millennial optimism is

a myth

Global study finds optimism to be a correlate of youth rather than a

defining generational trait

23 February 2011 An analysis of global data from The Futures Company’s Global

MONITOR study finds that optimism about the future, while true of today’s youthful

Millennials, is not a unique, distinguishing generational characteristic but rather the

typical enthusiasm of youth that appears already to be dimming with age as

responsibilities mount and reality sets in, just as it has for all generations as they have

matured.

This finding by The Futures Company sets straight one of several myths about

Millennials that are busted in a report to be released on March 14 entitled,

“Unmasking Millennials: The Truth Behind a Misunderstood Generation.” In-

depth generational data collected from 27,000 respondents worldwide provides The

Futures Company with a comprehensive database for assessing the attitudes,

ambitions and marketing opportunities associated with all generational cohorts

worldwide, particularly Millennials.

Report co-author Yannis Kavounis, Director of Insights & Innovation in the London

headquarters, noted, “Perceptions of Millennials have been distorted by years of hype

and poorly analyzed generational data. The Futures Company has been an expert in

generational analysis for decades and we felt it was time to help set the record straight

on this global generation of Millennials, starting with the received wisdom about

optimism.”

For its assessment of the oft-mentioned optimism of Millennials, The Futures Company

employed an analysis to distinguish attitudes that reflect true generational cohort

differences from attitudes that reflect nothing more than youthful age. Many other

analyses have done little more than aggregate or gross up a generational group across

all of its constituent age groups and thus are unable to tease apart cohort vs. age

© 2011 The Futures Company 2

effects. When examining the optimism of Millennials for cohort vs. age effects, The

Futures Company finds clear evidence that the optimism so often mentioned in

connection with Millennials is a function of their youth not of any unique generational

difference.

Says Kavounis, “Greater stress and pressures are apparent in optimism levels as

Millennials mature from an almost naïve optimism to a more ‘realistic’ point of view, a

shift in their point-of-view that leads to different behaviors and motivations in the

marketplace. As Millennials become parents, gain more responsibilities and have more

life experiences, their optimism fades.”

The following chart from the Unmasking Millennials report shows how optimism

steadily fades as Millennials age from year to year, entering new life stages with more

responsibility, worries and obligations.

Age

Optimism for the future

R² = 0.5396

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

The test shown in this chart is deliberately designed as a strong test of generational

optimism.

This chart shows results for a two-question scale measuring optimism about the future.

The percentages shown are the percent of respondents who gave optimistic responses

to both questions.

The trend assessed in this chart is whether there is a decline in optimism as Millennials

age. Since this is clearly the case, optimism cannot be said to be an attitude

consistently held across the generational cohort irrespective of age. Only consistently

held attitudes that are different from other cohorts are true generational characteristics.

Thus, optimism is a function of age not a belief universal and equally strong across all

members of the generation. Instead, optimism fades with age.

The Unmasking Millennials report will be delivered to clients as a micro-site with

multimedia content that brings different Millennial tribes or segments to life by

© 2011 The Futures Company 3

exploring the range of attitudes and behaviors of Millennials and the ways in which

Millennials are growing up and growing apart. These deep dives into Millennial tribes

focus on segment-specific profiles and the implications for marketing strategies.

Unmasking Millennials will be available to clients on 14 March. A complimentary

breakfast briefing will be held in London on 15 March to mark the launch and a

Webinar will be held on 23 March. To reserve a place at the briefing or to join the

Webinar, please email karen.kidson@thefuturescompany.com or call +44 (0)20 7955

1833.

For further information, please contact:

(UK) Jennifer Childs on +44 (0)20 7955 1824 or email

jennifer.childs@thefuturescompany.com

(US) Emily Parenti on +1 919 932 8626 or email

emily.parenti@thefuturescompany.com

© 2011 The Futures Company 4

Editor’s notes

About The Futures Company

The Futures Company is the leading global foresight and futures consultancy, formed

in 2008 from the coming together of The Henley Centre, HeadlightVision and

Yankelovich. Through a combination of syndicated insight services and bespoke

research and consultancy, we create commercial advantage for our clients by helping

them to take control of their futures. By exploring the future needs, motivations and

behaviors of consumers, and the broader dynamics shaping the marketplace, we

unlock the future of consumers, brands, categories and companies.

The Futures Company is a Kantar company within WPP with teams in the UK, US,

Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and India.

www.thefuturescompany.com

Follow The Futures Company on Twitter @FuturesCo.

About Global MONITOR

Global MONITOR offers a road map for navigating post-recession consumer behaviors.

The ongoing tracking of the emerging trends shaping the recovery marketplace

provides a framework of action for marketers looking to move quickly yet smartly in a

fundamentally changed marketplace, defining the new boundaries of competition, the

new brand requirements of value and the new aspirations of success.

Global MONITOR encompasses: a quantitative global survey of over 27,000

consumers in 20 countries; the Global Energies – a conceptual trends framework to

structure key insights and identify new growth platforms; and Global Streetscapes, our

interactive and continually updated database of examples of consumer and brand

behavior that bring the trends to life. The unique combination of quantitative and

qualitative data creates robust and inspiring insight into future-facing trends.

Global MONITOR can help refine brand positioning and marketing communications,

fuel innovation and ideation, deepen understanding of key market issues and provide

thought leadership on consumer issues. To find out how you can access these

resources on a global or market-by-market basis to unlock your future growth, please

see http://www.thefuturescompany.com/page/Global_MONITOR/.