Susan Burchill, 3rdspace senior writer and Rachael Sullivan, consumer behavioural specialist uncover key insights for understanding and engaging with Generation Z.
As the EY Megatrends Report 2020 notes, referring to Generation Z, “The next decade will be shaped by the maturation of the largest generational cohort in history.” This cohort of people aged 10 to 24 years old comprises 1.8 billion people, which makes up 24% of the global population.
The most diverse generation yet
As populations of the world’s leading economies become more elderly, developing-market societies have growing numbers of youths, leading to the fragmentation of population distribution across different nations. According to the Megatrends report, “India stands out with a population that includes 375 million people — 27% of which are Gen Z.” By contrast, Gen Z in Japan makes up just 14% of the population.
The Gen Z mindset on social issues can differ across geographies as well, with those in developing markets more socially conservative, as an example. “Companies will have to identify the important distinctions among Gen Zers to serve this global cohort effectively,” the report says.
Gen Z globally are united by one common purpose
Diverse as they are between countries, one of the core commonalities that unites Gen Z across the globe is their commitment to tackling sustainability. Gen Z’s fear of climate change is well-founded, with the EY Megatrends Report pointing out that nearly 60% of the Gen Z population lives in countries with a high vulnerability to climate change but low readiness for responding to it. This serves to intensify climate’s impact on this generation.
And in the top 20 Gen Z countries with coastlines, 121 million people currently live in areas that will be below high tide by 2050, while 252 million will be subject to coastal flooding by the same date.
This is likely the greatest contributor to Gen Z’s preference for buying products from manufacturers who protect the environment and have a sustainable supply chain. While Millennials made changes in their everyday lives to be more sustainable, Gen Z is taking global action. According to Parrys Raines, Senior Consultant, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY Australia, “Gen Z are the ones creating a movement to address the climate emergency by engaging with businesses and governments at the highest echelons.”
An insight into the mindset of Gen Z consumers
The Gen Z mindset is both a product of, and different to, every generation that has preceded it. As Parrys Raines says, “Young people in Generation Z are purpose driven, solutions focused, digitally connected, collaborative, and have a sense of urgency about issues that matter for the future.”
Appealing to Gen Z starts with ensuring a brand’s purpose is at the heart of the entire business and that leaders take ownership and responsibility for the impact this has on society and the planet. The next challenge is to pivot rather than disrupt to create cut-through.
As the world’s population makeup changes, marketers need to re-invent their approach by leading from the middle. This requires brands to adopt an impact statement and develop purpose-driven brand campaigns that purpose-driven consumers can identify with, and act on, in alignment with their own beliefs.
Unlike previous generations, Gen Z do not see consumption as a means to an end. They see it as a reflection of who they are and the impact they want to see. For brands to become trusted in the eyes of the next generation, they must connect with the values of Gen Z using content that promotes positive action.
3rdspace is a content marketing company whose purpose is to help purpose driven brands connect with the values of purpose driven consumers. If you’d like to chat about how your content marketing can better connect with your consumers by finding the place of shared purpose our team of marketing & content strategist, behavioural psychologists and creatives are here to help
3rd Space's Rachael Sullivan consumer behavioural specialist, explains why now is the time to revisit and reconsider your brand's purpose
Sir David Attenborough is one of the few public figures who has true inter-generational appeal, from baby boomers to Gen Z. While older fans have admired him since his earliest TV appearances, Attenborough’s unwavering commitment to preserving the natural world has also cemented him as an unlikely hero in the hearts and minds of young people. His latest documentary film, A Life On Our Planet, is described as his “Witness Statement” and a “Vision for the Future”. If you haven’t watched A Life On Our Planet, stop reading, grab your remote and watch it on Netflix now. Yes, it is distressing viewing. At times I felt ashamed to call myself a member of the human race. Yet it also conveys the right amount of hope. He reassures us that it is still possible to undo some of the damage we have inflicted on this planet - if we act now.
Marketing, advertising and owning my responsibility in the climate emergency.
As the climate emergency becomes more pressing, I have started to feel less and less okay about some of the work I have done. In a marketing and advertising career spanning over 15 years I’ve worked on brand and marketing campaigns for airlines, news corporations, telcos and retailers on hundreds of briefs with objectives that went something along the lines of, “launch new product X or sell more product Y”.
It’s not that I haven’t worked on incredible brands – I have. It’s not that I haven’t worked on really worthwhile foundation- or charity-based briefs – I’ve done that too. It’s more a feeling that, the older I get and now, as a parent myself, I realise that what I do for a living is part of a wider ecology.
I’m opening up to, instead of shutting out, the realisation that the industry we operate in looks at briefs and projects in silo. Partly because creative people move around so much, also because the division of labour has meant the work we do is fragmented - removed from manufacturing and distribution processes. As bottom lines are squeezed, we are already consumed and consuming what’s next instead of assessing the true impact of the work we have done and the impact it has had beyond sales figures.
It’s time to re-visit your brand’s purpose
As leaders across the world grapple with navigating uncertainty post COVID-19, CMOs and brand marketers are also handed a rare opportunity to reset. As companies look down the barrel of declining sales, the benefit-risk trade-off swings in the favour of purpose-driven marketing, providing a pause to think about what might be possible if we put planet before profit.
If your brand’s purpose statement was written more than a year ago, the chances are it needs a re-visit to ensure it resonates with today’s purpose-driven consumers.
Generation Z are demanding it
The latest EY Megatrends data tells us, “the next decade will be shaped by the maturation of the largest generational cohort in history — Generation Z. This cohort of people between 10- and 24-year olds comprises 1.8 billion people, making up 24% of the global population.”
Gen Z (and the subsequent Generation Alpha) are the first generations to be born into a world where the impacts of climate change were happening around them. Many Gen Zs believe that business must play a key role in addressing the most pressing global issues, particularly climate change. Gen Zs want to buy products from manufacturers who protect the environment and have a sustainable supply chain.
As a collective of advertising, branding and marketing professionals we must take responsibility and show accountability.
The Gen Z mindset is both a product of, and different to every generation before. They are driven by sense of purpose, focused on solutions, digitally connected, collaborative, and are certainly not afraid of acting with a sense of urgency on issues impacting our future.
Appealing to Gen Zs starts with ensuring a brand’s purpose is at the heart of the entire business and that leaders take ownership and responsibility for the impact this has on society and the planet. The next challenge is to cut through the deafening marketing noise to communicate with and connect with the values of Gen Zs, using content that promotes action.
Brands must transform on purpose
This change must come hand in hand with purpose – a brand’s witness statement to the world. Sir David Attenborough demonstrates that the rate of change to our biodiversity and planet over our lifetimes is unprecedented. Today it’s not enough for brands to adapt, they must reinvent frequently, to change our trajectory as a species and in doing so, ensure the course of a brand’s survival.
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3rdspace is a content marketing company whose purpose is to help purpose driven brands connect with the values of purpose driven consumers. If you’d like to chat about how your content marketing can better connect with your consumers by finding the place of shared purpose our team of marketing & content strategist, behavioural psychologists and creatives are here to help
3rdspace is a content marketing company whose purpose is to help purpose driven brands connect with the values of purpose driven consumers. Our Brands with Purpose e-book will help you understand what makes a great content strategy, how to audit your current content strategy and how to set clear business goals to ensure your content lives and breathes your purpose. Our Brands with Purpose e-book is your first step to understanding the Why, How and What of your content strategy.
If you’d like to chat about how your content marketing can better connect with your consumers by finding the place of shared purpose our team of marketing & content strategist, behavioural psychologists and creatives are here to help.
Simon Sinek inspired audiences across the world with 2017 with his sell-out Start With Why Leadership Forum. In 2020, he returned to Australia with a new book and seminar tour: Simon Sinek: LIVE. Lucky enough to be in the audience, 3rdspace’s Rachel Sullivan has broken down her Top Takeouts from Simon Sinek: Live to help inspire you to think about your company’s purpose and how to create content that provokes action.
Communicating your company’s purpose is as important as advancing a just cause
If it’s got you thinking about advancing your company’s just cause, we’d urge you not to forget the importance of communicating and demonstrating your organisations purpose – the reason you exist beyond making money. This must be done frequently and authentically to employees and your customers so they continue to engage and promote your brand for days, weeks and years to come. We loved Simon’s notion that you wouldn’t tell your spouse you love them on your wedding day and not say it again, yet many companies take the same approach when it comes to communicating their purpose.
Is it time to re-visit your brands purpose?
Attending events like Simon Sinek’s - The Infinite Game are brilliant for taking us out of our current perspective. In explaining that leaders today need to be existentially flexible - willing to make 180° turn in order to advance the organisations just cause. We got thinking about what this means for CMO and brand markets to stay relevant to consumers in an increasingly complex world where consumers are demanding more transparency.
As we navigate uncertainly in a post COVID-19 world, CMO’s and brand marketers are handed a rare opportunity to reset as the benefit-risk trade off swings in the favour of purpose driven marketing. The key take out is to pause to think about what might be possible if we truly put Simon Sinek’s concept of advancing a just cause before profit.
Connecting with a new generation of purpose driven consumers
Appealing to Gen Z’s starts with ensuring a brands purpose is at the heart of the entire business and that leaders take ownership and responsibility for the impact this has on society and the planet. This group are active in pressuring business to do and be better pushing companies to talk in terms of triple bottom lines.
How brands with purpose can create content that promotes action
Today it’s not enough for brands to adapt, they must re-invent frequently, to adopt an infinite mindset to ensure our survival as a humanity, thus creating an environment in which brands can thrive. It’s not about telling customers what your purpose is. It’s about finding the stories within your business that demonstrates it.
By building a content strategy underpinned by communication pillars that demonstrate and reinforce this purpose every day. We call this your content mission. A content mission then informs the creation of engaging content designed to provoke action - from your employees, customers and potential customers.
If your origination has a just cause or purpose statement but doesn’t have a content mission that align to it, chances are you are missing an huge opportunity to better connect with the values of your customers.
3rdspace is a content marketing company whose purpose is to help purpose driven brands connect with the values of purpose driven consumers. If you’d like to chat about how your content marketing can better connect with your consumers by finding the place of shared purpose our team of marketing & content strategist, behavioural psychologists and creatives are here to help
Change is inevitable. It’s what has shaped every aspect of life as we know it. Whilst change can seem scary at first, the most successful people are those who take opportunities for change and use it to their advantage by forcing themselves out of the comfort zone.
Establishing and enforcing new process and ways of thinking can seem unnecessary and resource inefficient – particularly when current processes are working. However, it is important to remember that failure to change means that your business will be left behind.
At 3rdspace we’re always looking to reignite our purpose, learning from our wins and most definitely our mistakes. Here’s three key drivers to fostering an open-minded, change-centric culture.
ONE: Just because it works for you, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way of doing things.
We’re all guilty of it. We have a strategy, a way of thinking or one route that gets us to where we want to go. But what if there was an express route? Starting small and considering new perspectives will harness your change-centric mindset and allow you to personalize whatever it is you chose to apply this mindset to. From a content perspective engage in thought provoking conversations with specialists in the field to understand the perspectives and processes of thought leaders and gain knowledge to shape your content strategy to drive greater results.
TWO: Foster a data-centric culture.
Almost every single day, we hear about the importance of data. However, it isn’t the data which will benefit your business- it's the way in which it’s used. Analyze data and use it to establish and shape the identities of your audience personas. Determine who your audience is, not by assuming from industry, but rather, understanding who is engaging with your content, on what platforms and how that engagement is nurturing new clients for your business.
Adobe pledged to stay ahead of the game, implementing the concept of the ‘subscription economy’. Whilst most businesses neglected change, Adobe has taken advantage of an eager market hungry for doing things differently and its sales skyrocketed. Fostering this data centric culture allowed Adobe to understand the value of this investment assisted by data backed forecasts. The results speak for themselves!
THREE: Look at the scoreboard.
It’s easy to think that our ways are the best- at least the best for ourselves. It’s not uncommon to hear businesses preaching about their great strategy or product that you need. From a content perspective brands often get caught up in vanity metrics. We need to be thinking about results results results, How those engagement metrics and brand building content campaigns are also nurturing new data – new leads and new opportunities for the business.
In 2020 it’s one of the most exciting times in content marketing, so if you’d like a fresh opinion and some more information on what we see happening in the world of content, we’d love to chat about how your content can provoke consumer action
Talk to us here
I’m not saying marketing in Australia is backward, but sometimes I wish brands would think about content differently.
It’s getting better, but when we first started 3rdspace, content was the poor toothless cousin kept in the back shed until the strategy had been dressed up and brought out on display and the ad campaign with its 80% multiple in media had enjoyed all the attention.
A good content strategy aligns very tightly to the brand architecture/DNA from purpose to attributes, values and tone of voice,
A good content strategy has a 1-3 year mission to engage and involve consumers to interact with the brand and take action, including sharing their details with it and purchasing.
A good content strategy aligns to the brand purpose and takes into account all the brand is doing from the inside out, through to partnerships, sponsorships and promotions.
A good content strategy is a 3 year view that has evolving story arcs that should evolve with the market place, how consumers see the brand and the culture/country it lives in.
So why not get onto the content strategy as soon as the business has defined the brand architecture?
It will allow you to:
- Start thinking about the stories you want to tell
- Develop hero content led campaigns that can be tested for engagement, and if resonating strongly refined and taken into traditional media channels.
So get your content out of the back shed and onto centre stage, where it will do your business a world of good.
Rob Logan is the founder and head of content at 3rdspace
Lights Camera Action! Before your brand can hit the red carpet, there are a few questions to ask.
The Given Circumstances technique, is one of the most common ways an actor prepares for a role. It’s the practice of asking a series of questions to understand as much as you can about your character and their given circumstances. From start-ups to rebranding, this is a technique we as a Brand Purpose Agency use, and you can apply to your brand, to help deliver a star performance.
Here they are…
WHO AM I? As an actor you ask, what kind of person is my character? What has made me who I am today?
As a brand - What kind of brand are you? What is your personality? What do customers think of you? How do they see you? How do you see yourself?
Beyond the product you make eg: “we make sticky tape” – how did you get to making sticky tape, what shaped that journey, why do you make sticky tape? How is your sticky tape different? Is that all you make or want to make?
WHERE AM I? As an actor you ask, where your character physically is, in the scene? What or who is around me? How do I feel about them? Am I by the ocean? If so am I afraid because I can't swim, am I in awe, am I excited, do I want to jump in?
As a brand, you can ask the same. Where are you in the market? What events are going on around you with your competitors, customers in the news etc. How does that effect your brand? How does that affect you or influence your brand? How can you take advantage of the situation?
WHEN IS IT? As an actor, you ask what time of day/year / season etc it is in your scene? Where your character has just come from, where they are going after this scene?
As a brand the same questions are relevant. Where have you come from to get to today, and where are you going? How does your past and what is happening right now affect your brand tomorrow?
WHAT DO I WANT? As an actor, these are key questions. They drive your OBJECTIVES. A character might have distractions or obstacles, but they must have a desire, want, or need to do something, say something, be somewhere. This is what drives the scene and action.
As a brand, this is equally as important. What are your brand's immediate objectives – needs, desires? These must feed into your main objective – your overall objective or goal. All brands must know what they are. Make them clear and simple and do everything to achieve them. This defines your brand.
WHY DO I WANT IT? This is the JUSTIFICATION or MOTIVATION for an actors’ objective. A reason for doing it, wanting it, needing it.
What’s your brand's reason or motivation to achieve its objective? Making money, or selling are the first thoughts, but you need to look beyond that and ask - why do you do what you do?
If you can answer this, you will find real purpose to build your brand on. And that is powerful.
HOW WILL I GET IT? What an actor does to get their OBJECTIVE is called an ACTION. They may beg, plead, tease, threaten, seduce and so on. When an actor tries a few and goes for the less obvious actions it becomes more interesting and entertaining.
What actions will your brand take to get its objectives? Have you looked at all the ways you can get there? Tried new ways? Be inventive.
WHAT MUST I OVERCOME? An actor asks what are my OBSTACLES, what is in my way of reaching my OBJECTIVES? There are always obstacles – that’s life. Its what makes trying to get your objective as an actor in a scene interesting. You see it lots in comedy, suspense and horror films.
Brand wise – what is it that is delaying you, stopping you, hindering you, getting in the way of your objective? Now how do you get around it, change it, what do you have to adjust… to get there? What can you do differently?
WHAT’S AT STAKE IF I DON’T GET WHAT I WANT? As an actor, the greater the stakes the more interesting the performance. Usually, your life or the life of someone you love is regarded as the biggest “stake” in acting. They can also be related to lovers, money, friends, jobs, respect etc.
Brand wise – what will happen if you don’t get your objective? Do you give up? Or do you turn up the passion and energy and put your heart and soul into it. Try new things, different things to get your objective.
There is no escape from a story.
We live in a deep, multi-connected world; unless you choose to become a hermit, we all live in real-time across every key event. Whether it be our friends, community, national or global.
As we move with a changing world and society. What are our values, behaviours and beliefs and who do we believe?
Forrester data, Asia pacific online benchmark survey 2015 shows that three-quarters of Australian consumers read peer reviews on products or services, most consumers use social media to help get help with a product or service and 17% agree social media is the channel for them to endorse their favourite brand.
As communities, the environment, technology and social behaviours change, do businesses change with them?
Mobium’s living Lohas research shows how the attitude and behavioural change in Australians demonstrated in our consumption decisions and how we follow social trends. Mobium’s research segments the research in to four groups, leaders, leaning, learning and laggards.
These groups depict our changes in values, beliefs in sustainability, and our willingness to pay for premium products.
Are businesses considering these factors when placing content on communication channels and deciding how to engage with their audience?
For a brand, business or product to adapt to the change in social trends, it must define and lead with it’s brand purpose.
As consumers become more informed, the power is with the consumer.
Big businesses are seeing more competition from brands that want to offer solutions to social or environmental issues as part of their purpose. The big brands who sell on product alone, need to take note - people care about making a difference and so should brands.
Big or small, how can you start to change consumer behaviour? How can you as a business make a difference?
NRMA as a case study
For a business to be sustainable, the consumer must always come first, not just their needs, but what they care about in their lives and the lives of those they care about.
We are significantly more connected therefore more people are likely to share your story if it’s something that adds value to them and the community they care about.
NRMA has a purpose of keeping Australia moving, they recently worked with 3rdspace Social Media Agency to bring to life their purpose, as they ventured to Lightning Ridge to help drought stricken farmers, keep their machinery moving.
The content didn’t highlight a product attribute, but the reason why NRMA exists.
A purpose people were keen to support and share.