The New Sanctity of the Nest

How many of you remember having a play-house, tree-house or fort growing up? 

I had both a play-house and a tree-house in which the tree-house was sometimes used also as a fort.  But… mine was the only such structure in the neighborhood with curtains and a desk. 

When Discovery Networks purchased HGTV and its sister networks DIY-TV and Great American Country, it inherited a lot of programming. 

EXPERIENCE has worked with Discovery Communications on a number of projects.  

Once when I was up at the headquarters in Silver Springs, I made mention that it had some cool programming through a combination of HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network to do some interesting positioning strategy with Millennials as they matured.

Sure enough… Discovery Family was launched and has evolved into what it is today… a mainstay of the Millennial Home-Makers. 

I bet many have heard about the birthrate in the U.S. hitting a new low.

I believe that the news stories about the national birthrate broke just about the same time as I was posting the last blog… about three weeks ago.

God love the statistics folks.  They do serve a purpose. 

BUT… living only in the numbers and not following the connection of one set with another set with yet another set and looking at the relationship dynamics of a scenario can lead one quickly into a mis-read.

As the headlines quickly eclipsed... The birth-rate in the U.S. was declining because the Millennials are electing not to make babies. 

We’ve all hear the famed story of the Blind Indian Monks and their individual assessment of an elephant based on the body part each was touching. 

Not only are the news stories a mis-read, but what is taking place is 100% the opposite!

Millennials are focusing on house & home more now than ever in their past.  

They are coupling and… they are making babies. 

I’ve shared the stat before.  By the end of this calendar year, there will be 20 million new Americans age 0-4 … all thanks to the Millennials’ reproduction drivers.

There are some sources out there... and the mass media ignores them... that forecast the Alpha Generation created by the Millennials might even take the lead as the largest generational group ever in the U.S.

How can this be if the birth-rate is at a record-setting low?

It’s easy.  Just before a storm hits, it gets quiet.  The winds die down.  The temperature levels out. 

Just as the Millennials begin making babies, one of the smallest generations in U.S. history, the de-famed GenXers are passing into another life stage where they no longer make any new kids. 

The past eco-societal trend of single moms getting pregnant and bearing a lot of kids have radically faded.  Thanks in part to birth control, thanks in part to technology and thanks in part to economic progress. 

As these changes get intertwined, what the press sees on the surface is more of a mirage vs. reality.

What’s happening is even more pronounced that just an uptick in baby-making. 

What’s happening is a Mega-Trend that can be coined as “The New Sanctity of the Nest.”

If you follow the media and its coverage of housing trends in the U.S., you might have had to take a Dramamine to temper all the bouncing around. 

One report says housing sales are up; the next article reports down. 

Bottomline is simple. 

Millennials are investing in their nests – whether it’s a rental or first-time owned. 

Could be a hi-rise, a flat, a co-op, a loft, a cottage, a subdivision cookie cutter or mid-century-like rehab. 

Nights out at the local micro-brew as well as time in front of the mobile smartphone texting friends direct or in social forums are being replaced with cooking meals at home and hanging curtains. 

About a year ago, I wrote that Millennials had made a super discovery of how to get video streaming free with this wired devise picked up from Best Buy called an “antenna.”

Millennials are still shopping Target, but they are also jumping into their SUVs and heading over to the local Bed, Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus World Market, Crate & Barrel, IKEA, Pier 1, Home Goods and Pottery Barn. 

Yes… Yes… eBay, Amazon and Wayfair are still getting their hits and online orders, but the touch and feel is much more real and valued than the convenience of a click.

High Touch is beginning to take over the convenience of High Tech. 

The Sanctity of the Nest means more than just the structure and décor of the home.

Kitchens are hip and hot.  Food Network ratings are up.  And pre-packaged, pre-prepared dinner brands are struggling.

Great article in this morning’s WSJ that Campbell Soup is “beefed up for investment” with a post of 12% more in sales from a year earlier. 

God love the masters of Madison Avenue and Michigan Avenue.  God love the techies that are housed in the Silicon Valley of the West Coast.  They believe that digital, voice-command and aps are engraved in every future forecast until eternity. 

Unfortunately, as they dwell in their high-tech havens, they fail to see the rise in the farmers markets, cooking classes, made-from-scratch recipes and cookbooks – note I said cook-books not cooking aps. 

If you are reading this and intrigued, call me… its 404.245.9378 and ask for Mark. 

There’s some cool stats, cool one-on-one interviews, cool target groups, cool ideas… and even some cool, fresh-made, Dominos-sugared lemonade to share with you.

Bottomline… The New Sanctity of the Nest is just now coming to life. 

So put away the smart phone.  Quiet down the digital agency. Take a break from brainstorming the next ap.  

Instead put on a nice pair of Keds walking shoes and come with us as we sit-down in Living Rooms, separate Dining Rooms and even around pic-nic tables on backyard decks and talk about the hip new social medium with the Millennials called Home.