Although it is always important to look for trends changing between demographics, be cautious of determining your entire marketing strategy based on a stereotypical view of a group. Generation Z, made up of children born after 1992, is highly influential but may lead your marketing decisions astray.
For example, one view of this market states that they have no brand loyalty. Stated to Mashable, by Kathy Savitt:
Companies that expect Generation Z to be loyal based on a carefully crafted brand image and marketing message will find that their effort is wasted. Generation Z simply doesn’t buy it. Instead, the product itself is what’s important, regardless of marketing campaigns.
In this article, she states that Generation Z categorically reject “Badge Brands”. As far as brand “Badges” go, Nike’s stock, although hit with seasonal highs and lows, continues to grow year after year. Anyone who has a young girl in the family knows what an American Girl doll is. Nameplates most certainly do matter just as much to this younger generation.
Another aspect of the supposed gap between Generation Y and Z is the art of self publishing, whether through video or written word. Generation Y started this trend, and taught Generation Z how to do it. The true trendsetters in Generation Y were the pioneers in this aspect of information sharing. Therefore, it is less a gap between the two generations than a continuance, as technology and the tools that Generation Y set up are taught to the next group. These tools have simply been adopted by the masses in Gen Z.
How do you market to this new, younger generation? The same way you did to the generation before them. The difference is, instead of aiming at just the trendsetters, you are speaking to the entire generation. There is no longer a long, trickle-down method of what’s “In.” Trends happen on a daily basis, no longer in weeks.
For proof of this, look at two different recent events in “Social media”. For the Gen Z, you had an explosion around a 13 year old girl, Rebecca Black. For Gen Y and X, look at the explosion on Twitter regarding the “Winner” Charlie Sheen. There is no difference to how quickly these two trends happened, and it was based on the same technology.
Older generations build fear around Generation Z, since they basically will take what was considered somewhat fringe, used mostly by trendsetters from Generation Y, and it will be completely mainstream. Therefore, your marketing does not need vast overhauls, unless of course, you couldn’t speak to Generation Y, either…
