TUPPER LAKE – They’re 80 million strong, addicted to technology and don’t consider themselves to be particularly “outdoorsy.”

Yet the millennial generation, about one-quarter of the U.S. population, is settling into careers, gaining more disposable income and planning vacations.

“We knew we weren’t getting as much of this demographic as we wanted,” said Hillarie Logan-Dechene, director of philanthropy at the Wild Center nature museum in Tupper Lake. “We are looking to position ourselves for the future.”

She along with representatives from a Glens Falls advertising firm presented the results of a millennial study Thursday to a group of about 50 local business owners and tourism leaders. It was commissioned by the Wild Center and includes a how-to marketing campaign guide that is free to any Adirondack business.

“We knew that we couldn’t attract them just to the Wild Center,” she said. “There needs to be places for them to eat, sleep, so we needed the whole region to be on board with this effort.”

A millennial primer

According New York City firm Schireson Associates, millennials are those born between 1980 and 1991. These digital natives tend to crave connectivity, value experiences and share them via social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

“We want to show that we are up to really cool things,” said Kelli Lovdahl Germain, a graphic designer with the Glens Falls advertising firm Trampoline. She is also a millennial, and the Wild Center hired her company to produce the millennial advertising campaign.

The millennials polled from the New York City and Albany markets are interested in visiting the Adirondacks, but only 23 percent of them consider themselves to be outdoorsy. They want to eat, drink, and have cultural experiences as well as some time in the great outdoors.

“What they know is that you can get really deep into nature here, but they don’t know that there are cool restaurants, some nightlife, museums, really rich culture,” said Lovdahl Germain. “We’re pushing the outdoor side, but only 23 percent are outdoorsy. We need to find the other percent and let them know there are really awesome things to do inside.”

Ads for all

Trampoline staff said the misconceptions can be countered through “creative strategies.” They designed a series of visual ads that marry outdoor fun with having a beer, or a scenic view with a Facebook “like” logo to show you can connect to internet here.

One mock-up ad is a “mirror” image: half water bottle, half beer bottle. Another is half bicycle wheel, half dinner plate.

“You can take exact ideas shown here and use them. If you like this concept, try it, modify it, copy it,” said Logan-Dechene.

Amanda Helms, the town of Tupper Lake’s recreation director, was in attendance.

“All the municipalities need to start working together to really push ourselves forward, she said. “Tupper Lake is a hidden gem. When someone discovers it, they can’t believe how beautiful it is and can’t understand how come they hadn’t heard of us before.”

She said working with local agencies like Trampoline and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism will help propel them forward.

“Doing workshops like this and having them say, ‘Hey, we made this advertisement and you can steal it,’ I think it’s great.”

Logan-Dechene said some millennials don’t get the “rustic” thing and others do.

“We’re trying to find the people who get this, that didn’t know they were going to get it, and get them to come up here.”