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With $360 billion USD ($534 billion AUD) in spending power, Gen Z is already a lucrative market for brands. But given their young age (about half are still under the age of 20), playing the long game is where brands will truly see the payoff with this generation.
It’s no surprise that Gen Z is averse to advertising. As the first truly digital native generation, they’ve been bombarded with advertising since childhood and are experts at avoiding it – so much so that a new global study by Yahoo and OMD found brands have only 1.3 seconds to capture Gen Z’s attention with an ad before they move on.
Like any generation, capturing Gen Z’s attention boils down to building trust and positive brand affinity. And speaking Gen Z’s unique language is the key to this success.
There are four main pillars that must be considered when building out a youth marketing strategy.
1. Understand what they want
Gen Z is the most diverse and fluid generation. As a result, they seek out brands that help them express their evolving identities. This is partly why thrifting is so popular among Gen Z. In addition to being a more sustainable way to shop (we know sustainability is important to Gen Z), it also allows them to explore their individuality and personal style.
Brands that offer customisation can win big here. Casetify, the tech accessories company, is a strong example of this.
Despite endless options for phone cases and tech accessories on the market, Casetify is beloved by Gen Z because of the brand’s focus on personalisation. Providing consumers with the ability to customise their products has turned a phone case, typically considered a necessary one-off purchase, into a way for customers to channel their self-expression.
Casetify was also one of the first brands to offer phone cases made from sustainable materials like bamboo or recycled plastic, which taps into one of Gen Z’s core consumer values.
From a marketing perspective, Casetify has collaborated with other relevant youth brands that also offer customisation, like Casetify x Crocs. With Crocs finding a resurgence among Gen Z (for both ironic and non-ironic reasons), collaborations like this let Gen Z know that Casetify gets it.
2. Prioritise working with agencies, strategists or consultants who are chronically online
Gen Z’s language is developed by what’s happening online. There is no differentiation between internet culture and IRL (in real life) culture for youth generations – they are one and the same. What Gen Z sees, posts, and interacts with online deeply influences their beliefs, behaviours, and purchasing habits.
This means that marketing initiatives directed at Gen Z must be developed alongside strategists or consultants who are, for lack of a better term, chronically online.
Hilton Hotels did a great job of speaking Gen Z’s chronically online language in a TikTok ad from February 2023.
The ad, which was 10 minutes long – Gen Z does have longer attention spans for interesting content – started with none other than Paris Hilton asking the audience, “Would you watch a 10-minute-long TikTok?”
The campaign’s key message was “It matters where you stay” and the audience was encouraged to stay for the entire video for “a chance to win Hilton Honors Points, experience, swag, and more.”
The remainder of the video felt like a Hilton-centric For You Page (FYP) featuring some of the platform’s most recognisable creators, like Chris Olsen and Baron Ryan. The ad spliced together commentary-style videos, comedy skits and reaction videos. It even poked fun at how brands often ask influencers to create promotional content that feels overly sponsored and does not align with their account.
Understandably, not every brand will have the budget to pay for influencers like Paris Hilton. But the creators featured in this campaign were only one part of what made it work.
The ad won over TikTok because it was self-aware and the content tapped into the Gen Z zeitgeist. These two things were made possible by working with internet culture experts who fully understand Gen Z’s chronic online language.
3. Turn customer outrage into viral moments
Brands may hesitate to market to Gen Z out of fear of getting it wrong. Often considered the ‘cancel culture generation’, Gen Z has a (not totally accurate) reputation as easily offended.
Despite this reputation, Gen Z tends to be forgiving of brands who are open about their missteps. When a brand openly works toward improvement, instead of covering up such mistakes, Gen Z is willing to move on. That being said, there are other – perhaps more unconventional – ways for brands to capitalise on cancel culture.
As young people consume more content than ever, it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to cut through. This is compounded by the rise of TikTok, where content is consumed through bite-sized videos, often without the necessary context. As a result, brand messaging can easily be misconstrued.
However, some brands, like clothing companies Pizzaslime and REVOLVE, have turned customer outrage into viral moments – raising brand awareness and affinity in the process. Earlier this year, Pizzaslime and REVOLVE hosted a joint afterparty at Stagecoach. At the entrance to the party were two signs: “Over 1 million followers enter here” and “Under 1 million followers enter here”. Clips of these signs went viral on TikTok, racking up millions of views.
While some interpreted it as satire, others on TikTok viewed it as an example of REVOLVE’s exclusive approach to influencer marketing. Though REVOLVE has long collaborated with content creators, the brand has struggled to adapt to the TikTok era, leading to several PR controversies in recent years. With viewers labelling REVOLVE as “entitled” and “toxic,” the situation captured Gen Z’s attention.
REVOLVE responded by duetting a clip on TikTok, showing other ‘problematic’ signs at the party. This showed sceptics that REVOLVE is aware that Gen Z perceives the brand as elitist and exclusionary, and that they were trolling the internet all along. By leaning into Gen Z’s absurdist internet humour, REVOLVE was able to turn customer outrage into a viral moment that felt self-aware and relevant to the zeitgeist.
4. Partner with niche creators and media brands who have proven their claims
Building an entire universe around your brand is a powerful way to reach Gen Z. This involves advancing the brand messaging through high-quality content and, most importantly, fostering community.
According to research from US-based youth culture agency Archrival, more than half of Gen Z prefer brands that cultivate a sense of belonging. Brands that do this well, such as Rhode and Djerf Avenue, emphasise User-Generated Content (UGC) which allows consumers to feel part of the brand.
While many brands feature UGC from everyday consumers, Marc Jacobs has taken a distinct approach that has paid off. The luxury brand has collaborated with various niche TikTok creators, commissioning them to create content in their unique styles. Marc Jacobs then shares these videos on its TikTok profile. This approach not only enhances the authenticity of the ads – a quality appreciated by Gen Z – but also builds a distinct universe around the brand. They have essentially established a hub on TikTok where diverse creators endorse Marc Jacobs products.
On top of this, when major companies engage with niche creators, audiences celebrate the success of their favourite smaller influencers. Take a look at the comment section on Marc Jacobs’ page and you’ll see it’s flooded with Gen Z users praising this strategy and requesting collaborations with other niche influencers. This strategy brings hundreds of thousands of highly engaged followers to the Marc Jacobs page to see their favourite creators. A win-win for both the creator and the brand.
While tapping into Gen Z may feel challenging, playing the long game with this generation is where the real payoff lies. Investing in speaking their chronically online language – from what they want to which creators they love – is a strong first step in building brand affinity with a generation like we’ve never seen before.
Lauren Meisner is the founder and director of Centennial World
Photography attributed to Bruno Gomiero on Unsplash.
Also, read First Nation Gen Z stars team up with YouTube in content series, Our Makeup.
