In a recent project we were working on here at Big Bang Strategy, we had the opportunity to take a good hard look at the generation who is gearing up to take this world in a new direction—the Millenials! The millennial generation consists of those born between 1978 and 2000, and they include 95 million young people up to age 30. Through our research (and by the fact that we have two millenials of our very own here in the office) we learned a lot about this group of go-getters. Here is what we like most about them:

UP TO THE CHALLENGE: What distinguishes millenials from other generation is their mission to solve problems on a global scale. In Eric Greenberg and Karl Weber’s study of the millennial generation, called Generation We, they found that the most important issues to solve are: environmental catastrophe, diminishing health of Americans, an educational system in crisis and an economic downturn.

UNRELENTING OPTIMISTS: Despite the vast array of challenges that millenials are in the thick of, they are characterized by optimism. They believe that through innovation, anything is possible. This is the kind of attitude that we can’t get enough of!

THERE FOR OTHERS: This generation is defined by their intelligence, open mindedness, independence and their propensity to put the wellbeing of others before individual gain. For this reason, they are the most prepared to take on the challenges of our day—because they require that their actions work towards the benefit of everybody else.

INDEPENDENT THINKERS: Millenials are characterized by their ability to strategically think outside the box. Constantly coming at problems from new angles, redefining conventional wisdom, relentless curiosity and drive makes this generation one of ideas, possibility and change.

Talking about millenials really gets us pumped up. They’re very discerning and vote with their dollars which is why we find them to be such a fascinating group to create brands and product concepts for. Create a cause-related brand and millenials will be the first to find it. Millenials don’t take to well to a mere marketing campaign, they want to see companies working for a greater good from the ground up. Watch out world, here come the millenials!