Adulting is Hard – But Gaming Makes it Easier

Throughout the month of March, Barnes & Noble is hosting one game night per week, for five weeks, at 57 of its stores across the country. They're featuring a different light strategy game each week, with demos and free promo game items at most of the events. The retail bookseller has already said that if these game nights do well, they'd be interested in hosting more of them in the future and possibly expanding the program to more stores.

But gamers aren't the only ones who should be paying attention to this story. Barnes & Noble's program follows another fun trend that we've been tracking at Mindshare for brands: the growth of the Peter Pan Market.

More and more millennials are expressing a desire to escape the daily stresses of everyday life, as well as an underlying resistance to 'growing up.' As a result, we're seeing things like an explosion in adult coloring books, and the creation of summer camps for adults (with open bar included). There's even a service in New York called "Need A Mom", where one baby boomer offers Millennials a short-term, temporary mom to cook meals, give advice, and spend time with them.

As a marketer, there's a good opportunity to get in on this trend by being playful with your brand. Find ways to make the painful path of adulthood both fun and easier for consumers, and you'll score some major points.

To learn more about the Peter Pan Market, check out our 2016 trends report.

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