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If Millennials Are Frustrating, What Comes Next? Meet Generation Z! May 26, 2015 (0 comments)
New York, NY—While marketers are obsessing over Millennial consumers, their younger siblings—also known as Generation Z (for now)—is quietly growing up and becoming its own force in the market.
Who is Generation Z? JWT Intelligence, a division of J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, describes some key points of the post-Millennial consumer:
1. This is the ambitious, engaged, sensible child. Generation Z is a group that wants to change the world and might just do it.
2. Generation Z, today’s teenagers, are full of surprises. Born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, they are the first true digital natives, even more so than Millennials. Those under 20 have a lot to say and a lot to spend: in the US alone, they have $44 billion in annual purchasing power.
3. Unlike Millennials, generation Zers have grown up in tough times and, if anything, have learned from Millennials’ mistakes. They know education needs to be active rather than passive, and that unemployment is a real risk. Energy drink brand Lucozade dubbed them “self-starters, not selfie-takers.” If Millennials are content to browse paparazzi shots of the Kardashians and wallow in 1990s nostalgia, Generation Z wants to create, connect and change.
The caricature of a Millennial is Hannah Horvath, Lena Dunham’s character in Girls. Hannah, 24, is self-obsessed and directionless, and appalled when her parents decide to stop paying her rent. Her Generation-Z counterpart is Alex Dunphy of Modern Family: ambitious, worried about schoolwork and getting into a good college. She doesn’t break the rules and worries about the world around her, especially the environment. Like Alex, Generation Z is a remarkably mature generation: drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking, and teenage pregnancy are at their lowest levels for decades.
4. To them, the internet (small “I”) is not a brand or an entity, it’s just a utility, like water or electricity. Even words like “online” are problematic because Generation Z is always connected—there is no offline anymore.
5. Don’t underestimate them. They aren’t just teenagers, they’re consumers, activists, and content creators. And especially don’t stereotype them: Generation Z is racially diverse and moving beyond binaries like “straight” and “gay,” “male” and “female. Women, especially, are focusing on careers in science, technology, engineering, and math like never before and it doesn’t even occur to them that it’s a “male-dominated” environment. Not anymore, they’ll tell you.
6. A few final pointers: There’s more to engaging with this generation than adopting teen slang. They listen to their friends and peers, even if those peers might be someone they watch on YouTube but never met. Everything is instantaneous—whether it’s ordering a taco on their phone or wanting a new outfit that day, generation Z isn’t used to waiting. Don’t be provincial: Generation Z takes inspiration from around the world, from food to fashion, and today’s niche trends might be tomorrow’s big thing.
Top image: xyzuniversity.com