Keeping our finger on the pulse with Gen Z
By Amy Roberts, Head of Planning / Media
We all know how rapidly technology grows and accelerates, and the same can be said for the media landscape. It’s changing so quickly, with new digital platforms emerging all the time. The ability to watch content wherever and whenever we want is more prevalent than ever, across the world.
So, the question is, how do we effectively reach young audiences nowadays?
As technology shifts and changes, so do our definition for Young Audiences. Young audiences are no longer Millennials, who, at the youngest are now 25 years old.
Our Young Target Audiences are now Gen Z; aged around 10 – 22. They are the next generation of consumers for brands. In our industry, it’s important to start reaching this audience now- by gaining their trust, raising your brand awareness and becoming their go to brand that they can grow up with.
We know that there are media channels that are mass reach, and reach large audiences readily, such as Out of Home. However, as digital becomes bigger, many of our audiences can be targeted through that medium. And because Gen Z have grown up with the digital world, there’s an intense competition to gain their attention in this new video world, where content is at the fingertips of everyone in different ways.
Firstly, as advertisers, we need to understand the Gen Z audience.
The first thing we need consider when trying to understand Gen Z is that they are a generation who are still in their ‘growth phase’.
However, what we do know is:
They are the first truly digital generation, who don’t remember life without technology – This means they also know all the tricks to block online ads!
They are creative, and have strong ethical values.
They are a generation who know who they are, and for the most part, are comfortable with their identity.
In terms of advertising, they like video content, interactive media and memes. They also over index for political content as they have a key engagement with politics, environmental factors and sustainability.
They do not like text heavy ads, and adverts with a lack of branding.
They are open to advertising, with 75% having said they respond to ads seen, however they avoid ads where they can skip videos or use ad blocking.
These are all facts that can really guide an advertiser in trying to connect with this generation. However, Gen Z are currently less loyal to brands than other generations, therefore, it is essential that alongside taking the above into consideration, we create a strong presence with this generation, provide multi-touchpoint campaigns and really engage ad interact with them.
As advertisers it’s really important that we keep on top of all new platforms, social channels, app updates and trends to reach this new generation who are purely digital natives!