This is the latest generation on which brands are beginning to set their sights. How to develop an effective strategy to reach it without falling into stereotypes?
THOSE WHO FOLLOW MILLENNIALS
Generation Y (millennials), which precedes that of the Zs, has already caused a lot of ink to flow and is proving to be a headache for many brands. The beginning and end of this generation differ depending on the source: its representatives were born between 1980 and 1995 or around 2000. They are said to be narcissistic, in debt and constantly glued to their phones, to reject traditional labor codes and to be largely preoccupied with environmental issues.
We are still trying to find the "marketing name" of Generation Z (MTV tried to call it the Founders in 2015), which refers to the population born after the year 2000. Their parents (who belong to Generation X ) succeeded the baby boomers on the labor market: they do not experience abundance or full employment and they are much more cautious than their elders of the previous generation in terms of their expectations with regard to the labor market. The Zs didn't know the world before the events of 9/11, nor really the world before the economic crisis of 2008 or anything other than a smartphone. They may have access to a lot of technology (they are masters of multi-screening), but they can't get it on their own (they are, for the most part, still underage). They do, however, play a crucial role in their parents' buying process. A recent Snapchat study demonstrated that 63% of household consumer goods purchases were influenced by the Gen Z family member.
HOW TO ESCAPE THE CLICHÉS?
Defining a strategy for a segment as large as a generation goes against a very simple reality: everyone wants to feel unique and hates being put in a box (this is even more true for young people). In order to meet the necessary conditions for success, you have to build your strategies on real behaviors (generally online, for this generation) and not on socio-demographic generalities.
CREATING CONTENT IN THE AGE OF MOBILE NEWSFEEDS
We now view the vast majority of content from news feeds. The content, extremely numerous, scrolls endlessly: it is difficult for an advertiser to carve out a place and overcome the indifference of users in order to attract their attention. An indifferent user is very difficult to understand since he leaves no trace. It is all the more difficult to engage him again if you have little data on his behavior. The preferred approach is simple: create content that piques users' curiosity enough that they linger on it instead of just scrolling down the newsfeed and moving on.
FOCUS ON USER NEEDS
The youngest are also those who are most wary of advertising and many of them use ad blockers, all the more reason for brands to be well informed before launching an advertising campaign. The monumental mistakes of Pepsi , H&M and lately the Adelaide Tourist Board in Australia all have the same basis: a misunderstanding of consumers, often coupled with a brand-centric approach. Conversely, the Our Foods campaign. Your questions. from McDonald's is a fine example of humility for a brand that has agreed to answer all the questions, even the most disturbing, that consumers have about the ingredients in their meals and to disseminate these answers widely.
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Beyond the idea, the way of presenting the content is also important. A brand must listen to users. Particularly for younger generations, it is important to pay attention to communication codes (in terms of visuals as well as texts), if only for a brand to be taken into account in the mental space of the consumer. This way of doing things requires a lot of openness for a brand, which must show flexibility in the way it communicates.
LEVERAGE ALGORITHMS TO PERSONALIZE THE EXPERIENCE
In an age where algorithms run news feeds, the key to success in content delivery lies in a brand's ability to use those same algorithms to personalize its content. The targeting possibilities offered by these platforms are enormous and make it possible to very effectively reach targets with particular interests (which, once again, are not limited to simple socio-demographic data).
In an effort to help you map out your Gen Z strategies, we've put together a checklist to help you make sure you don't forget anything !
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