Springboard Symposium - Notes/Sources
How to connect with and sell to Generation Z

1. Consumption as a means of self-expression

- The core of Gen Z is the idea of manifesting individual identity. Consumption, therefore, becomes a means of self-expression—as opposed, for example, to buying or wearing brands to fit in with the norms of groups. (McKinsey & Co.)

- Individual identity w/o labels are very important to them. (McKinsey & Co.)

2. Ethics & taking a stand

- 70% say they try to purchase products from companies they consider ethical.

- 65% try to learn the origins of anything they buy—where it is made, what it is made from, and how it is made.

- About 80 percent refuse to buy goods from companies involved in scandals. (McKinsey & Co.)

- 79% will trust a company more if the images its brand uses are not photoshopped. (Ad Age)

- They expect brands to “take a stand.” The point is not to have a politically correct position on a broad range of topics. It is to choose the specific topics (or causes) that make sense for a brand and its consumers and to have something clear to say about those particular issues. (McKinsey & Co.)

- 67 percent of those surveyed agreeing that ‘being true to their values and beliefs makes a person cool.’” One of the biggest challenges in engaging with Gen Z will be determining how to appear “cool” and change the world while still remaining profitable. (CNBC)

3. Authenticity

- They can see right through empty platitudes and have no time for it. Gen Z is also more likely to trust that large companies are operating in society's best interests only when the companies show it by their actions and their employees' actions. (Marketing Dive)

- If a company comes out in support of a cause that seems unrelated to their own mission and brand it can have the opposite effect — it comes across as a media play for public brownie points, ultimately damaging the brand reputation among a Gen Z audience. To show Gen Z your brand or identity is authentic, you first need to carefully define what that brand is. Only then can you align a cause with your brand’s mission, and be consistent in your support of both. (Cone Comm)

- If a brand advertises diversity but lacks diversity within its own ranks, for example, that contradiction will be noticed. In fact, members of the other generations we surveyed share this mindset. (McKinsey & Co.)

- The Gen Z preoccupation with authenticity — which has driven them away from traditional celebrities in favor of more intimate social media and YouTube influencers — makes them scrutinize the motives of large brands, presenting a challenge for today’s marketing and communications professionals. (CNBC)

THEY WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR BRAND (AD AGE)

1. Influencers/user-generated content

- They’re YouTube stars, they’re their own filmmakers, and in many ways, they’re their own personal creative team. Making room for Gen Z and offering them ways to be part of your brand is a great way to tap into their creative spirit—an inroad some major brands are already pursuing. (Ad Age)

2. They respond best to being human

- Here comes the authenticity thing again. They blur the lines between humans and media, humans and brands. So they want to see the humans behind the brands (again, to feel a part of the brand). 

- This also means stepping up a business’ customer service game, too.

3. Be honest when you screw up

- They expect brands to be honest when they screw up - and respond favorably to this. In fact, McKinsey & Co. have called them the “true generation”

- This is important because it’s harder than ever to earn their trust (Business Insider).

1. Diversity: Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation we have seen

- Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation we have seen (Pew Research), so diversity & inclusion are incredibly important.

- This includes the body positivity movement and being “anti-beauty shaming.”

- It includes trans/non-binary folks: Roughly a third of Gen Zers know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns (Pew Research)

2. They are more liberal than any other generation

- Gen Z teens and young adults have overwhelmingly adopted left-leaning beliefs similar to those of the millennials before them. (Washington Post) Many of them identify as socialists. They are also more likely to care about climate change.