Age is Not a Factor in Digital Fluency According to Hulu

“Digital fluency is more about attitude and behaviors than it is about age,” stated Julie DeTraglia, Head of Research, Hulu. Her company just released the results of a major new research study on what constitutes digital fluency, focusing on how consumers adapt different digital journeys throughout different forms of media, in ecommerce and across lifestyle brands. 

The results confirmed tested truths while also offering some surprising insights.

Charlene Weisler: What were the major takeaways of the study?

Julie DeTraglia: We found that digital fluency is not driven by age. It was the impact of technology that prompted behavior change. Digital connections are now normal for people, media and brands. We also found that media is core to digital identity because social and streaming are gateways to digital consumption. 

Weisler: What were the major surprises?

DeTraglia: The biggest surprise was that across all generations, including Gen-Z, just as many people identified themselves as Minimalists and Averse (lower end of spectrum) as they did Maximizers and Creators (higher end of spectrum). We also were surprised and happy to see that social media, streaming video and online transactions are all tightly intertwined when it comes to changing habits. 

Weisler: Do the consumer profiles of the younger generations differ along the spectrum? For example do the most adverse have a different demo profile to the Maximizers?

DeTraglia: No, they are demographically similar which is the point behind the study. Just because people are mapped to a generation doesn’t mean they have the same attitudes or perceptions of technology. It ranges more on the behavior than the age. 

Weisler: What about the older generations? How do they fall on the digital fluency spectrum?

DeTraglia: Specifically, for Boomers (55+), 2% are Creators, 7% are Maximizers, 15% are Connected, 34% are Confident, 26% are Enlighted, 12% are Minimalists and only 4% are Averse. The biggest difference we saw is that Boomers have a much lower percentage of Creator, Maximizer and Connected identified users and that they are higher in Confident and a lot higher in Enlighted. They over-index in the middle of the spectrum which is surprising to most.

Weisler: Your hierarchy of digital needs looks to be patterned like Maslow's Hierarchy. Can you talk about each hierarchy stage and what it means in the digital journey?

DeTraglia: There is a hierarchy of digital needs that the user travels along, starting with media, which is where the trend towards connectivity started back when Facebook and social media launched. What we found is that media is the foundation to a digital identity which is then closely related to transactions and shopping.  The trend towards connectivity started in the social and media and entertainment sphere, which eventually impacted every product of service, how we communicate, eat, date and transact. Once you’re comfortable with media, you slowly move along the journey, you become comfortable with transacting through digital, and eventually begin using applications that make life easier and more convenient like eating, dating, traveling. Advanced technology is the next level which pushes the consumer to use virtual reality and voice activated systems which eventually lead to curating a personalized lifestyle.  Depending on applications like HelloFresh and Aaptive and StitchFix, in turn make your life more convenient. 

Weisler: Is it possible to move someone who is more of a technophobe across the digital spectrum?

DeTraglia: Great question. We continue to explore this more at Hulu. It is diffidently a larger barrier for a consumer who is completely averse to move along the spectrum.  The only wave of movement would be if they were to try something first and realize how much better it will make their lives before they jump in. But we believe it is possible, as some later adaptors of technology are functioning as more connected, which means it is always a possibility. 

Weisler: Are there certain consumer categories that attract more Maximizers and Creators (aside from the obvious tech categories)? Any surprises?

DeTraglia: The direct-to-consumer businesses are the ones booming right now which certainly attract Maximizers and Creators.  They feel more comfortable to use them and feel like it is a great addition to their life for the convenience factor. From a Hulu standpoint, we learned that our users are further along the spectrum so they are more likely to use direct-to-consumer apps and social media.  There wasn’t anything too surprising here, but we are continuing to explore.

Weisler: What ad messages can be used to reach people by their place in the spectrum? Different messages for the Adverse vs Maximizers for example?

DeTraglia: Marketers and advertisers need to understand that it is more about where they reach these consumers vs. the language used. For example, it is about where the brands capture attention, which we know Hulu and other streaming services do that.  Consumers at the higher end of the spectrum prefer a different type of ad, they want them to feature people, make the consumer feel like they are a part of the ad, give them a sense of brand personality, take the consumer along a storyline. This came from follow-up work that we worked on for creative best practices for our advertising partners. These were the aspects, more immersive commercial experience, that consumers urge for and that video can offer.

Weisler: What are the next steps in this research for Hulu?

DeTraglia: We are a direct-to-consumer business, in this space for a long time, and we know that the people on our service are ‘empowered consumers’. They are important to us from both a marketing and advertising partnership perspective because they are valuable to reach. We used this data when we designed our new brand campaign, “Better Ruins Everything”. We will continue to explore these segments to align with our consumers’ needs and expectations. From an advertising partnership perspective, continuing to understand how our consumers are different and what they are more receptive to, help guide our advertisers as to how best reach and engage their targeted consumer.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com