The Gen Z Opportunity: What Brands Need to Know

The Gen Z opportunity is clear. As the first truly digital generation, this coveted cohort has quickly become a cultural force and powerful consumer base. Their technology habits and preferences are fundamentally different from any generation before it. They are mobile-first, fast-moving and highly discerning when it comes to marketing.  And now, they have the power of the purse — accounting for 40% of global consumers.

Gen Z is the most coveted audience for brands. Understanding this demographic continues to stump even the savviest marketers. It’s time for brands to radically rethink their holiday ad spend this year, especially when marketing to Gen Z. Pulling on heart strings doesn't translate with young consumers like it used to.

Engaging with Gen Z

Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy dug into our new report, Smashing Demographic Stereotypes: How Gen Z Connects with Brand Advertising, to get a better understanding of this elusive audience:

• When giving out personal information in exchange for sample products or trial access to a service, 65.1% of Gen Zers are willing to share their email address with advertisers, followed by age (50.80%), first and last name (42.7%), first name only (42.4%) and date of birth (33.8%).
• Gen Zers are more likely to share personal information such as cell phone numbers if marketers raise the stakes with sweepstakes and giveaways. Despite the greater incentive, only 36% are willing to share their cell phone numbers.
• Brand marketers should steer away from advertising that appears to simply jump on the viral video trend (as 40.5% turn away from this initiative), use influencers or memes (42.9%) and are irrelevant and not personalized (44.6%).

Read more on Digiday here: Marketing Briefing: ‘We’ve had to pivot, pause, and adjust’: How supply chain issues are causing marketers to change Q4 and holiday advertising plans.

‍Learn more about the Gen Z opportunity by downloading the full report here: Smashing Demographic Stereotypes: How Gen Z Connects with Brand Advertising.

‍Ready to tap the power of mobile to connect with Gen Z audiences and beyond? TextNow offers a brand-friendly environment and a highly engaged, young, and multicultural user base. To jump start your Gen Z marketing efforts, reach out to us at [email protected].