Gen Z Are Ripping Up the Rule Book
The latest in Livity’s event series, saw 25 brands get into a room to share their highs and lows, challenges and successes of working with Gen Z.
Ian Mitchell, Global Creative Content Manager from Havana Club International, Alex Buckland Associate Director, EMEA Integrated Marketing from Bumble and Rachel Olagunjul, Creative Partnerships Manager from Keep Hush, joined Livity CEO Alex Goat in a panel discussion which ranged from how to win at emerging social platforms, how to work effectively with Gen Z, whilst not alienating your older audiences, social purpose and more.
Where to start? Finding your meaningful place in Gen Z’s lives
Ian talked about Havana’s journey with Gen Z. As they started to target this audience more and more, he found being humble, building a solid network and really understanding how the brand fits with Gen Z were key places to start. To find their authentic place in youth culture, they really went back into their brand heritage and surfaced those elements which are truly engaging for Gen Z.
All panellists talked about the importance of getting closer to the audience. Interestingly, their methods often went over and above analytics and traditional insight methodologies - whether that was interacting with consumers on the Bumble app, talking to punters at a Keep Hush night, or building a clear understanding of the cultural landscape that your brand is operating within for Havana.
Breaking down Gen Z cohort
The panel were asked how they segment the Gen Z audience, since this moniker spans over a decade - and a huge diversity of young people. Livity, like many of the panel, double down on age brackets and life stages, rather than thinking of this generation as a whole. Additionally, as Alex (from Livity) indicated in her opening words, effective segmentation may mean targeting by niche - and in particular effectively recognising the importance of fandoms to young people and where you can add the most value to their hobbies and the things that bring them joy.
‘Silence speaks volumes’ - Rachel from Keep Hush
Purpose is a common topic when it comes to Gen Z. Rachel from Keep Hush talked about the selection process that they use to determine which brands they will collaborate with. She said that they require a brand to be working ethically, to stand with purpose and to want to add value into the sector. It’s a minimum that their audience has come to expect - and it’s very obvious when brands stand for nothing, or just come to them for transactional activity, without giving back.
Alex from Bumble added the need to operate authentically with Gen Z.
‘They will call your bluff and hold you to account. That is why we underpin our marketing with actual change, whether that’s a grant programme or new app features that really allow people to date differently”.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” Ian added. For Havana Club, they’re ensuring they authentically add value with long term, sustained investment in the cultural sector. Not just one off collaborations.
Catering for two very different audiences
Many of the brands in the room shared challenges around how to bring Gen Z into their activity, without alienating their current audiences - and also how to start bringing Gen Z in, when they are not yet the core target audience. Rather than just putting your brand ad on TikTok, brands shared tips on how to create content bespoke for Gen Z platforms, around core brand shoots - using BTS content for instance. Considering these emerging platforms separately, but ensuring there is consistency of message to all audiences was key. Another brand had considered product offerings bespoke to Gen Z, which had been successful. We talked a lot about sub-brands and their varying degree of success for different sectors, but ultimately came to the agreed conclusion that Gen Z want the same level of quality and service that a masterbrand gives.
A massive thank you to our brilliant panellists and guests for talking so openly and honestly about the challenges they are facing. Stay tuned for the next event in the series.