16 Nov Marketing to Gen Z
Ever wondered how your 5-year-old niece knows more about iPad features than you? It is indeed intriguing and at the same time terrifying to watch. By the age of 10 kids can outsmart their tech-savvy parents’ safe locks and no one ever even comes to know!
Generation Z and Technology
Generation Z is truly unique because no other generation has seen such rapidly fast-growing technology. Millennials became digital but Generation Z is the first to have access to technology right from birth.
This is why understanding and segmenting audiences is essential when advertising to Gen Z. They cannot be clubbed with Millennials. Marketers need to understand who they are and use audience segmentation to customise their generation Z marketing strategies accordingly.
Who is Generation Z?
Gen Z is aged 10 to 25 currently. They were born between 1997 – 2012. The generation is growing fast, and marketers need to understand them.
India stands out as the biggest Gen Z country, accounting for 20 per cent of the global Gen Z population. China has the second most. The Indian Gen Z spends an average of eight hours per day online and, 90 per cent of them prefer to consume content in their local language.
70% of Gen Z & Millennial audiences from urban India are today willing to purchase products from a lesser-known brand. Gen Z is all about individuality and personality.
Generation Z Characteristics:
- Diverse: Globalisation has blurred borders and identities. GenZ is now the most multicultural generation.
- Open-minded: Exposure to diverse lifestyles through the internet has made GenZ generally more accepting of all orientations and preferences.
- Gender-neutral: In terms of traditional job roles and home roles.
- Changemakers: They actively seek innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Dreamers: Have a strong desire to follow their passions.
- Independent learners: They have the willingness and know-how to self-educate. (Hello Google!)
- Do-gooders: Aim to make a difference.
Generation Z’s Buying Power
Set to be an economic powerhouse within the next decade, Gen Z already boasts a combined spending power of over $100bn globally. They influence the way their parents spend more than Millennials did. They’re willing to challenge their parents, questioning things like how much they’re going to pay for something, trying to evoke their own price sensitivity. Gen Zs have high expectations. That means that if you cater to their many needs, you can likely please other generations as well.
10 Tips for Marketing to Generation Z
- Gen Zs are digital natives, so communicate accordingly.
While Millennials use three screens on average, Generation Z uses five. Gen Z expects brands to move as seamlessly around digital devices as they do, and to create a unified experience across in-store, digital, and mobile.
- Cater to short attention spans. Keep the message to the point and in their language.
The average Gen Z has an attention span of about eight seconds. They’ve grown up constantly being served enormous amounts of information, and are accustomed to quickly filtering through it. In this emoji era, brands must communicate with snackable content that captures their attention.
- Social media is important, and so is privacy
While Millennials spearheaded Facebook, Gen Z prefers privacy and anonymous social networks like Snapchat, Signal, and Private Instagram features. They are more aware of privacy and data breach issues.
- Two-way conversations and Authentic experiences are a must.
Interact and engage with them online. Gen Zs value the opinions of their peers, meaning influencer marketing is a very powerful tool, but it must be executed to look genuine to be effective.
- Make your brand more personal.
Gen Zs want a personal connection, not a faceless company. Marketers need to highlight their brand personality. Consider collabing with a YouTube or Instagram star personality.
- They seek realism and relatability.
They look for brands that showcase and embody their beliefs. They prefer brands that reflect independence (Like Fenty), rather than unrealistic standards (like Victoria’s Secret).
- Let them make it their own.
Sell to Gen Zs while understanding that they’ll want to personalise the offering; help them express their true selves.
- Quality and competition matter
Gen Zs are smart. They know with the world of information at their fingertips, they can conduct extensive research before buying, and be very selective in their purchase decisions.
- Show you genuinely care
Use your power for good. Gen Z seeks to make the world a better place, and they want to see brands committed to that cause in whichever way.
- Video content and cord-cutting is big.
In a recent study, nine-out-of-ten respondents watch YouTube daily, 70% prefer streaming over broadcast or cable TV, and more than a quarter post their original video content on social sites weekly.
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