Why Generation Z is important for modern marketers?

1. 18 Monday, February 6 / Sunday February 13, 2011
Marketing BUSINESS ASIA
Why Generation Z is important
for modern marketers?
They live hybrid lives and
Why Gen Z traits are
F
important in modern
seek help in a virtual world
By Hassan Imtiazi
media mix?
rom a common perspective it might
not be interesting to know about gen- Modern media mix
eration X, Y and Z but for the mod- Offline (Print, Direct mail and TV) Plus on-
ern marketer it’s really important to line (Search, Social and Display advertising)
have insight & knowledge about what these Gen Z is by far the most advanced compare media and technology traditional advertis- sumer behaviour and from this learning they
concepts mean . to other generations. They are well networked, ing will not work for this generation. It is are optimising their paid campaigns. Agencies
According to Wikipedia, Generation X, have strong virtual presence and more tolerate hard for brands to get attention and exact and industry leaders are talking about how this
commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the gen- to society, diversity and ethnicity. reaction GEN Z. social and search media can be integrated.
eration born after the Western post-World Their behavioural traits have strong im- Marketing Impact - Brands need to have A few forward looking companies, par-
War II baby boom ended. While there is no plications on how we market them: really intelligent creative which encourage ticularly in FMCG sector, have already taken
universally agreed upon time frame, the term Behaviour - Generation Z spend more them to attract and engage with this kind of steps to target this young generation.
generally includes people born in the 1960s time online on networking through social audience. Many brands have even developed
and 1970s, ending in the late 1970s to early media sites such as Facebook , Twitter, games on their website to increase level of Top Brands on Facebook:
1980s. This generation has seen hip-hop and LinkedIn , My Space and Second life. Their engagement with their customers.
disco culture, cable TV networks and social personal lives are more public and they J Starbucks (7,217,370 Fans)
trends like an increase in divorce. hold strong opinions about how brands Importance of J Coca-Cola (5,529,595 Fans)
Facebook & GEN Z
Generation Y, also known as the Millen- work for them and the kind of issues that J Disney (3,475,487 Fans)
nial Generation, Echo Boomers, describes are important to them - like climate change. J McDonald’s (2,260,698 Fans)
the demographic cohort following Genera- They are more ‘techy’, easily adapt to new Socialising is no doubt an important part of J H&M (2,045,964 Fans)
tion X. As there are no precise dates for when technologies and above all their media con- our lives, especially for teenagers and stu-
the Millennial generation starts and ends, sumption is different. dents. Social website like Facebook provide Strategies for building
relationship with Gen Z
commentators have used birth dates ranging Marketing Impact - This behavior gives users a platform to create a free account, cre-
somewhere from the mid-1970 to the early great insight to marketers as well as new ate a personal profile, add other users as
2000’s. This generation has seen massive challenges how they can target them at the friends and exchange messages, including Depending upon the overall organisational
change the way we communicate – the use of right place at the right time. This generation automatic notifications when they update marketing strategy it is good have something
e-mail, and SMS boomed during this period. is used to of interactive media, TV on de- their profile. Additionally, users may join in place to engage and capture this kind of
They are also known as optimistic and com- mand and Mobile shopping this will give common interest user groups, organised audience. Building and strengthening the re-
fortable with the use of new technologies. whole new world of opportunities to brands through the workplace, school, or college. Al- lationship with any customer is the prime ob-
Generation Z or “Net Generation” is a to go and interact with them. jective of every business.
common name for the generation of people Behaviour - Generation Z is practically born Mobile feature used by 15-24 year Many companies with full product lines have
born between the early 1990s and the current business savvy. They are calculated and prac- olds in the last 30 days - H1 2010 a separate strategy to deal with social media.
decade. As the most recent generation, the tical. They generally take fewer risks, but take To build relationships with Gen Z cus-
9%
earliest birth year commonly noted is 1991. the right risks. They compare prices before Ringtones tomers, you have to use the same strategies
They are also known as “Digital Natives”. making their purchase decision; they view Screensavers 11% as you would with any other segment -
This generation has witnessed widespread comments and review before their purchase. Games
16%
a) Understand historical behaviour pat-
Download
use of internet, gadgets, games, and social Marketing Impact - Marketers needs to terns and likely future trends (use of mobile,
Instant MSG 22%
networking sites. They live hybrid lives and be intelligent in their messaging, pricing and accessing internet from x-box etc.)
seek help in a virtual world alongside with approach and have to present the best choice, Email 23% b) Use all possible platforms and tech-
their parents and close family members. being honest and open. Most of the sites now App Download 25% nologies to target
Generation Z is the future customers, have a comparison feature. Internet
c) Evaluate and select media channels
46%
media consumers & opinion makers. In ad- Behavior - Generation Z are far more de- which are relevant to your target audience. d)
dition to that when formalising marketing pendent on technology than any other gen- Source: Nielsen With easy access of data, finding customer
strategies using 4 P’s (product, price, place & eration. The internet, smart mobile phones, segment size and market potential is easy
promotion) and targeting or segmentation of Skype , IPAD, mp3, games consoles like though Facebook is immensely popular with and important.
customers this type of insight will give good XBOX, HD cameras and SAT NAV are all the young population aged between 16 to 26, e) Create a content-based communica-
start to any company who wants to target part of their lives. Easy and instant accessi- it is also getting popular amongst older age tions plan that anticipates customer needs
Generation Z. bility of this technology has made Generation groups. Facebook, with more than 600 mil- and adds value to your customer beyond sim-
Z over dependant on it. lion active users worldwide, gives the best ply a transaction
What makes Generation Z Marketing Impact - Now companies need opportunity to advertisers. There is no doubt f) Earn the right to suggest offers that
different from others?
to adopt a marketing and sales channel such that Facebook has revolutionised how we so- are appropriate for the customer
as email, text, mobile marketing, location- cialise with each other. g) Measure the results in terms of en-
Because of the birth of and expanse of the in- based marketing, & QR codes etc more ag- When Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook gagement and profitability, and tune to
ternet from early 1990’s, Generation Z is gressively. In many cases if the technology is in his early days of Harvard he probably did achieve objectives
truly the internet generation. During this pe- used in the right manner it will give high re- not imagine that this website will be some- h) Analyse your close competitors and
riod the exponential growth of the internet, turns. For example, through profile targeting thing like the Google of social media. see how they are using social media and
development in technology, speed of net- and re-messaging it is now possible to reach In an interview to Bloomberg, MTV head other platforms to engage this audience
works, applications and easy adoption makes exact audiences based on their online behav- mentioned that when MTV offered Zucker-
this generation very distinctive from others. iour hence avoiding media wastage. berg substantial investment he rejected it What’s NEXT,
Generation Alpha
Usage of internet, browsers, email, instant Behaviour – Since the Generation Z has saying that his website was worth a lot
messaging (SMS) and at present social media born into more working parents, who have more. After some time Bill Gates came and
& smart phones are an integral part of their more disposable income to spend per child, invested millions of dollars and shocked the Children born from 2010 to 2020 will likely be
daily lives. they have more expensive toys and games. world. Recently, Facebook has received a called Generation Alpha. They are truly the 21st
Recent research by Cara and Strdoll However, the recent economic downturn on new round of investment that values the so- century generation. They have never known
Network found that girls aged between 16 to their families leads to ideas of saving and de- cial media firm at $50bn (£32.3bn), making products like the floppy disk, VHS, cassettes
18 years claim they can’t live without their manding more value for money. it worth more than Time Warner, eBay or players, type writers, and dial up connections.
mobile phone. 16% of girls aged 12 and Marketing Impact - Companies will now Yahoo. They will be more educated, informed, aware
under regularly access the internet via their need to focus on developing high value for So far many companies are struggling and materialistic then previous generations.
mobile phones. While 12% of girls aged 12 money products and services with the price about how to use social media and very few of
and under regular post update to social net- which they are happy to pay. them are able to use its full potential. Search The writer is Media Manager of Islamic
working sites. Behaviour - Due to massive exposure to marketers are using Facebook to look into con- Relief UK