What You've Been Told About Millennials Is (Mostly) Wrong

Listen up, brands: What you have been told about millennials is (mostly) wrong.

According to new research from Carat, based on 14,000 millennials aged 15 to 34, this age group doesn't quite meet the stereotype of "hyper-connected optimistic digital extroverts." In fact, the stereotype applies to only about 42 percent of millennials, or about 36 million people. The other 49 million have been somewhat neglected under the assumption that they belong to the same monolithic group.

Doug Ray, Carat's U.S. CEO and global president, said marketing to millennials as one big segment is like marketing to an entire country.