Digital education = Digital expertise = IDMAustralia courses:
Generation Z: What Digital Marketers Should Know
Generation Z are a unique audience of true digital natives who have grown up on the internet. No other demographic is using digital in the same way and the speed of adoption of devices is comparably faster than any other demographic. Brand loyalty is something of the past and with an over-crowded market, Gen Z move fast and expect companies to deliver what they want, when they want it. According to research by Forrester 84% of Gen Z multitask with an Internet-connected device while watching TV — using an average of 1.5 other Internet-connected devices. They are the first generation to consume more media online than offline.
Generation Z are generally considered to be born in the mid-1990s through 2010 and the leading edge of the generation are those entering college who have the ability to make the purchasing decision. If your company wants to build life-long brand allegiance, you should focus on this group.
There is also little or no brand loyalty as Generation Z will go for the brands which suit their needs at that point in time and are curious to discover and test new products. Remember, your brand is replaceable so you need to devise a strategy to keep your brand and product at the forefront of Gen Z minds. But how can you do this?
Deliver a consistent brand experience online and offline
Offline and online are ‘one’ in the eyes of Generation Z. There is no distinction between the real and virtual worlds and your brand must deliver the same seamless experience. Using real-time monitoring and alerts and in-store analytics can make marketing and management aware of low traffic stores immediately. Closing the gap between offline and online and using integrated campaigns allows brands to appeal more to Generation Z. Indochino sells custom-tailored suits to men online and offers a program called Traveling Tailor so customers are able to get measurements taken and discuss the type of fabric and fit they want with a trained professional. This is a strong example of how a company can adapt to change and create a new way to bring offline and online closer.
Adapt to the latest technology and disrupt
With disruption comes opportunity. If you stick to the old phrase, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” or “but we always did it this way” then it will be difficult to survive. eMarketer forecasts that UK digital video ad spend is set to rise 70.8% this year. Short-form video is the opportunity of the moment and many brands have taken this onboard. For example earlier this month we spoke about Coca-Cola doubling the amount of short-form videos it shares across social platforms. The soft drinks giant recently launched a new campaign across Instagram and Vine asking people to post a video of their ‘AHH’ moment.
To learn more about Gen Z and how marketers like Axe and Coca-Cola are building their brands with this generation, check out the following report “How To Build Your Brand With Generation Z.”
Personalisation
It is increasingly more difficult to market to all of Generation Z with the exact same message. This generation is fragmented more than the previous generations and they are constantly connected through digital media. 89% of consumers would sign up for mobile messages if they were personalized, citing a 2013 study by Vibes. Brand marketers need to personalise marketing to talk to individual fragments. Mobile, social and email are the best channels to deliver a personal message to segmented groups. According to a report from Econsultancy, 13% of businesses implement personalisation on mobile. Personalised ads allow brands to use their data as a competitive advantage while remaining focused on the customer. To keep Generation Z consumers interested they need to be able to control what they see – so let them.
