5 Brands Successfully Marketing to Gen Z
The marketing industry is always trying to be at least one step ahead. Part of thinking ahead to the “new and next” is understanding the younger generations — and what they want, how they feel, and where they look for products, inspiration, and information.
According to Adweek,“Generation Z is widely recognized as the next consumer powerhouse,” as they are expected to account for 40 percent of all consumers by 2020. As Engagement Labs wrote in a recent report:
“Conversations are powerful. They drive about 20 percent of consumer purchases, and half that impact comes from what gets talked about on social media and half from offline conversation. For that reason, our analysis includes not only social media, but also what generation Z is talking about face-to-face, in the real world.”
According to Pew, 95 percent of generation Z have a smart phone and 45 percent claim to be “constantly” online, mainly on Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Because of this, it’s no surprise one of their favorite brands is Apple.
So, what’s the list of brands that gen Z love?
Apple
According to Engagement Labs, “iPhone and Apple are the two most talked about brands of gen Z.” Apparently, 31 percent of teenagers talk each day about Apple-owned brands, and the iPhone has increased 82 percent in popularity since 2013, according to the reported percentage of teens talking about the brand.
Nike
According to Engagement Lab’s study, Nike went up 34 percent in brand favorability. Nike, which often takes corporate social responsibility seriously, frequently starts dialogues with its ads. For instance, for the 30th Anniversary of "Just Do it," Nike celebrated athletes and their ambitious dreams.
The campaign was led by Colin Kaepernick, the controversial NFL quarterback who sacrificed his dream for a bigger one when he knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality. While some launched a boycott against the Nike and burned Nike shoes, millions came to the brand's defense and praised the campaign for being on "the right side of history."
To inspire the next generation of athletes to "dream crazy," Nike celebrated real athletes who have ignored conventional thinking and as a result have pushed the world forward. The campaign saw Nike's stock price rise to an all-time high and created $6 billion in brand value, making it the most successful campaign in the brand's history.
Walmart
According to Engagement Lab’s study, Walmart went up 20 percent in brand favorability. Walmart has been focusing on achieving supplier diversity, especially as a large corporate chain that helps Americans find what they need no matter where they live.
Michael A. Byron, senior director of supplier inclusion at Walmart, said during an ANA panel that being “close to the customer is important. We want our associates to be inclusive, so our suppliers should be too. We want the best talent, because talent is reflective of customers. It’s a simple request, but people have to get there without being forced.”
Byron went on to describe a recent case study: “We placed a small bread company from Puerto Rico in a select group of stores in Florida. The company created a bread box that mimicked the ones used in their family’s bakeries, where you can smell the fresh, hot bread. We started with a test of 75, and now we have about 700 in stores. By the end of this year, they’re going to be in about 2,000 stores. This was a classic case of a small company that was given an opportunity in a larger market.”
Mondelēz
Companies need to stay relevant regardless of what the product is, which is why Mondelēz revamped its marketing strategy and began focusing on marketing to gen Z and multicultural audiences, as by 2020, more than 50 percent of teens will be multicultural.
This led the company to focus on Sour Patch Kids. For Sour Patch Kids Tropical, the company marketed to the Hispanic population, resulting in a 75 percent volume increase. The Fire and Mango flavors have also soared.
Since 82 percent of smartphone users in the U.S. are multicultural, Mondelēz has focused largely on designing a seamless and aesthetically pleasing mobile experience. All video campaigns are edited for mobile to maximize views. In addition, the company focuses on social media, mobile gaming, and customer service.
Chain restaurants have also seen a lot of love, as conversation levels among teens have “tripled” according to Engagement Labs. One restaurant, that teens talk about 300 percent more in conversation, includes Del Taco.
Del Taco
As the nation’s second leading Mexican quick service restaurant, Del Taco recently unveiled its brand refresh, focusing on being the “fresh Mexican grill.” Its recent mission focused on expanding its late night business and highlighting how every meal is freshly prepared and cooked on the spot.
In its recent campaign, “Celebrating the Hardest Working Hands in Fast Food,” the company showcased its fresh foods and ingredients: more importantly, though, it showed that the company values the employees who define the company. Celebrating realness and real crew members doing real fresh prep on camera humanizes the brand.
Jeff Fromm, president of Futurecast, described how culture, both outside companies and internally, matters:
“Gen Z definitely trusts their friend networks, so brands need to think about social communities and social activation. Culture [at a company] matters. It can set a tone within a company that is consistent with the brand authority.
Have a clear view of what the culture is and communicate it. It starts before the person gets hired. What messaging do they get leading up to their first day, what happens in their first week and month? And what happens when they leave? What are you doing to build an alumni network? You’re not going to get to the top of the mountain as a brand if you don’t have an employee culture that supports it.
To embrace the gen Z mindset, companies should align with these key behaviors and ways to cater to gen Z habits, according to agency FutureCast:
- Human rights are non-negotiable. Equality is very important to gen Z consumers.
- Brand behavior is the new branding position. Marketers are moving from a storytelling to a “storyliving era,” in which young consumers create meaning and purpose alongside brands.
- Gen Z consumers crave information and timely content.
- Gen Z is more likely to spend money on brands they deem innovative.
Source
"5 Brands Successfully Marketing to Gen Z," ANA, 2020.