Marketing to Gen Z

Jeff Fromm, Angie Read

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780814439289
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Comportement du consommateur

With bigger challenges come great opportunities, and Marketing to Gen Z wants to help you get ahead of the game when it comes to understanding and reaching this next generation of buyers.

Having internalized the lessons of the Great Recession, Generation Z blends the pragmatism and work ethic of older generations with the high ideals and digital prowess of youth. For brands, reaching this mobile-first and socially conscious cohort requires real change, not just tweaks to the Millennial plan.

In Marketing to Gen Z, businesses will learn how to:

• Get past the 8-second filter
• Avoid blatant advertising and tap influencer marketing
• Understand their language and off-beat humor
• Offer the shopping experiences they expect

Marketing to Gen Z dives into and explains all this and much more, so that businesses may most effectively connect and converse with the emerging generation that is expected to comprise 40 percent of all consumers by 2020.

Now is the time to learn who they are and what they want!

1

WHO IS GEN Z?

Nobody can agree on exactly when the Millennial generation stops and Gen Z starts. Demographers generally say the first Gen Zers were born in the early to mid-1990s through the mid-2000s. For the sake of this book, based on our research, we’re using birth years 1996 to 2010 as our parameters.

Speaking of birth years, we’ve developed a general timeline of modern generations (birth year ranges vary, depending on source). As we discuss commonalities and differences between Gen Z and other generations, this will serve as a handy reference:

• Silent Generation: 1925–1945
• Boomers: 1946–1964
• Gen X: 1965–1978
• Millennials (sometimes called Gen Y): 1979–1995
• Gen Z: 1996–2010

A GENERATION DEFINED BY CHANGE

Besides birth years, generations are defined by other factors, including the most impactful moments of their early lives. Generations develop strong emotional connections to these formative experiences, which impact how they view themselves and the world around them.

For example, while some were alive on 9/11, most Gen Zers can’t recall the tragedy. For Millennials, however, the terror and destruction of the event left a definitive mark in their memory. For them, emotional conversations spring up at the mention of the day, many recalling where they were, what they were doing, and how they felt when the first plane hit. For some, this is one of their earliest memories of fear. The news reports and precautions against terror alerted their developing minds to the harsh realities of a broken world.

For Gen Z, progress, not fear, is spurring this generation into action. As Barack Obama was sworn into office as the first black president of the United States of America, Generation Z watched in wonder and internalized a deep sense of progress. The battle cry for racial equality reached a climax that day—and again following his reelection—with Gen Z stepping up to carry the torch.

Let’s look at a breakdown of the generations again, only this time showcasing a few of their most defining moments. (See Figure 1-1.)

Based on similarities in their defining moments and how these moments subsequently shaped their view of the world, some say Gen Z has more in common with the Silent Generation and Boomers than with Millennials. Whereas Millennials evince a story of “innocence lost,” Gen Z has never known a world without war and the threat of domestic terrorism. Like their grandparents and great-grandparents who grew up in the wake of World War II and the Great Depression, Gen Z is growing up in a post-9/11 world marked by the Great Recession.

While many describe Gen Z as “Millennials on steroids,” we not only disagree but will illustrate clear proof otherwise.

Figure 1-1The events that define a generation.

In fact, based on what we learned in our 2017 research study with Barkley, “Getting to Know Gen Z: How the Pivotal Generation Is Different from Millennials,” we think the most fitting term for members of this generation is “Pivotals.” They are pivoting away from common Millennial behaviors and attitudes and veering toward a socially conscious and diverse era reminiscent of the no-nonsense consumers of yesteryear.

THE FIRST POST-RACE GENERATION

I’m confident that Gen Z, having grown up at a time when social norms have changed dramatically, will be the first post-race, post-gender generation.

—GRACE MASBACK, 18, THE VOICE OF GEN Z:
UNDERSTANDING THE ATTITUDES & ATTRIBUTES
OF AMERICA’S NEXT “GREATEST GENERATION”

Every generation makes its own strides. Whether it’s civil liberties, technological advances, environmentalism, or artistic revivals, each decade brings about a new era. But the Pivotal Generation, over-achievers that they are, accomplished a progressive goal hundreds of years in the making.

Grace Masback is a Pivotal and activist who wrote a book on the social consciousness of her generation. In her book The Voice of Gen Z: Understanding the Attitudes & Attributes of America’s Next “Greatest Generation,” Grace passionately promotes the values of her peer group. She believes that, “although we certainly ‘see’ race, we have grown up in a world where anyone and everyone can be our friend.”

Powered by her writing talent and passion for political activism, Grace represents just one of many Pivotal individuals who takes pride in diversity and inclusivity. The origin of this ethnic embrace? The steady decline of the white majority.

Pivotals will be the last white-majority generation. To help put this in perspective, since the early 1700s, the most common last names in the United States have been Smith, Johnson, and Williams. Today, Garcia, Martinez, and Rodriguez are inching closer to the top.¹

Let’s take a closer look:

• Fifty-five percent of Pivotals are white, 24 percent are Hispanic, 14 percent are African American, and 4 percent percent are Asian. On the other hand, 70 percent of Boomers are white.² (See Figure 1-2.)
• In 2013, 10 percent of births were multiracial. This is a stark contrast from 1970, when only 1 percent of births yielded a child of more than one race.³ (See Figure 1-3.)
• In the last 30 years, we have seen a 400 percent increase in multiracial marriages (with a 1,000 percent increase in Asian–white marriages).⁴

Figure 1-2Race of Boomers versus Pivotals.

Figure 1-3Multiracial births in 1970 versus 2013.

• There also has been a 134 percent increase of people who self-identify as mixed white-and-black biracial and an 87 percent increase of mixed white-and-Asian descent.⁵

Considering these stats, it is no surprise that Pivotals are ready to fight the battle for diversity and multiculturalism. They possess a racial wisdom far beyond their years.

“WE’RE NOT WHO YOU THINK WE ARE”

I was raised in a household where I was taught to ask myself “how am I going to make a difference?” not “if I am going to make a difference.” I am a product of my environment, committed to change-making.

—ZIAD AHMED, 18, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF REDEFY
AND CO-FOUNDER OF JÜV CONSULTING

It’s not difficult to see why President Obama, among others, recognized this 18-year-old for his passion and contributions to further equality. Ziad is the founder and president of Redefy, a youth organization created to challenge prejudice and sexism. He also cofounded Jüv Consulting to give teenage consultants a voice in the business world.

Typical myths surrounding the young are that they’re restless and reckless. You know, like, “Kids these days . . . they’re out of control!”

But Pivotals are hardworking, financially responsible, independent, and determined—characteristics not usually assigned to teenagers. They also are less likely than previous generations to engage in risky behaviors like underage drinking, drugs, or smoking. Because they tend to exhibit more conservative behaviors, it’s understandable that they also maintain more traditional attitudes regarding honesty, loyalty, and achievement.

It is important to note that, while the pendulum may swing backward in some ways, the world we live in today differs from the one that existed 50 years ago. While we continue to see teens follow a more traditional path, we cannot expect the exact behavior of their elders. Like Millennials, Pivotals operate in a market guided by technological advancemen...