If there is one thing that millennials crave, it is a unique and authentic experience. They live for experiences, particularly affluent millennials, who are innately social and have disposable income to spend on building a bank of entertaining memories.  

A desired experience for millennials is the summer festival. These events are an energetic and captive forum for alcohol brands to optimize activations with 30 million* U.S. consumers ready to engage. 15 million* of those consumers come in the form of the aforementioned highly desirable, socially prolific and influential demographic – the millennial. Their voice and their wallet make them an important advocate for alcohol brands active at summer events.

“How can you tell what a millennial drinks? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.” – A Plus**

Social Power

As the most socially sophisticated festival goers, millennials have provided brands with evidence over the years that if they are thoughtfully engaged, they will in turn amplify brand awareness on their own networks. For instance, Lollapalooza 2015 triggered over 300,000 Tweets, proving festivals are prime real estate for brands to tap into millennials’ social influence.

Of those important social influencers, a large portion of them are extremely active on social, with 47% of millennials spending three or more hours on social media per day. The great news for the beverage industry is millennials love talking about their favorite drinks on social media.** Wine is the big social winner, as over 50% of them talk about their beloved selections on Facebook.** The numbers indicate millennials have a voice that can make a meaningful impact when it comes to alcohol brand awareness.

Spending Power

In addition to potentially being a powerful word-of-mouth brand ambassador, millennials are a demographic with exploratory buying power – always looking for a new experience. Millennials are 60% more likely than all other U.S. wine drinkers to want to try as many different wines as they can.*** They also enjoy craft beer more than any other consumer group, with craft making up 15% of their off premise purchases.*** These stats show that if millennials engage with an exciting new beverage at a festival, the brand behind it is likely to stay top of mind when they are at the liquor store.

When it comes to millennials’ alcohol traits and tendencies, on and off premise should consider these trends along with which brands will be prominently featured at top festivals when they stock up for the summer as those brands will be resonating with millennials.

*Stats from Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/music-festivals/6539009/music-festival-statistics-graphic 

** http://aplus.com/a/millennial-drinking-habits

*** http://www.fona.com/resource-center/blog/millennials-alcoholic-beverages