As a Millennial myself, I am more than likely the cut off for the people allowed to use the term “cringe”, after that it becomes as cool as Grampa Simpson drinking Buzz Cola. See, that’s a millennial reference that everyone in their 30’s and up understood.
The point here is that millennials like me are still getting most of the attention from brands but we’re well into adulthood now. The new kid in town that all businesses should be trying to connect with is Generation Z. And if your brand is not already targeting this audience, you need to rethink your marketing strategy.
Today, Generation Z is made up of teenagers and young adults in their very early twenties. They are tech savvy, and digital natives who were born into the fast-paced world of smart phones, high speed internet and communication. Most importantly, they were born into a connected world. Their influence on purchasing decisions at home is already big, but as their earning power increases, so to will their power to make their own decisions on what they buy.
In Canada, some of the leading factors for Gen Z consumers when making a purchase were things like price, quality, and social responsibility. The last thing they cared about was the brand name. This is because Gen Z’s always on, and always connected mentality has them caring about things like global issues, the environmental, political issues, and economic issues faced by society. Labels and loyalty seem to go over their head.
This new consumer mentality requires your brand to rethink your core values and how they are conveyed to this audience. If its loyalty and affinity you’re after, you will need to do this through meaningful interactions and do it in the places that your Gen Z audience loves to be in; and that place is on mobile. With 75% of this audience spending most of their time using a mobile or smart phone, they are the first generation of mobile first shoppers, and the key reason they do this: convenience.
For us at APEX, this means helping brands in Canada to NOT be so “cringe” when trying to connect with Gen Z audiences. We’re doing this by helping companies to optimize their messaging and purchase process for a mobile first world. We do this through innovative dynamic in-app advertising across a variety of apps that Gen Z audiences love to use. From health apps, gaming apps, lifestyle apps and more. We do this in a non-intrusive manner and through various ad formats, including video; which so happens to be what 71% of Gen Z consumers love to spend more than three hours a day watching. Ultimately, we're helping brands to create ads that this consumer will want to engage with in a convenient manner.
If you haven’t already watched our latest ad-tech chat, I invite you to do so and learn about the new and innovative ways we’re also helping brands connect with audiences though new and innovative in-game shopping and purchasing capabilities known as G-commerce.
Gen Z is the next big opportunity for brands. Don’t miss out or get caught unprepared.
Carlos Guevara is the Marketing Manager at APEX Mobile Media, previous host of the podcast "In Search of Good Data" and has helped various organizations in the private and non-profit sector to become more customer-centric with the use of enriched data.