GenZs Thoughts on Brands and Influencers

Today, brands have finally recognized that GenZ is valuable to their future. But for those brands trying to target us, they’ll need to understand us first. Our outlook, our behavior, how we find and buy our products – this information will be critical to their future success. We’re not hiding, but we use other channels for connection. Brands will need to make the extra effort to find us.

What We Want From Our Brands

GenZ is the most educated, digitally fluent, and diverse consumers in the world. And we’re paving the future of products. We now represent 32 billion of the world’s population and have over $360 billion in expendable income. But we don’t consume information and products like older generations do.

When you consider these numbers, brands need to take notice to be relevant to our future. We want them to take us seriously, really understand who we are, what we care about, and what we want in the products they offer. Companies that rely on traditional marketing will need to rethink their strategies if they want to appeal to us.

What Sets Us Apart From Older Generations

GenZ is very different from the generations before us, and we expect a lot from the brands we buy. If you’re a brand trying to get our attention, you’ll need to recognize what we stand for:

We’re about diversity and inclusion. – As the most ethnically, racially, and sexually diverse population the world has seen, we see this as the reality of the future, and we want brands that also see that.

We love to express our individuality. – We’re proud of who we are, and we want brands that help us express that.

We look for products and influencers with an authentic vibe. – We want to see real people who look and act like us using products geared to real people. Slick celebs and marketing campaigns are just so much blah-blah-blah in our world.

We’re looking for brands with purpose. – Unlike older generations, we really care about our world, and we want products that have a bigger purpose.

We want to see unique people and products lending their own vision to the world, so we don’t want or need to be like the next person to be accepted. Ask us to sacrifice our own opinions and individuality, and you’ve lost us.

What Makes a GenZ Influencer?

We’re word-of-mouth consumers, but to us, social media is our version of word-of-mouth.

We rely on social media channels and the people in our digital orbit that we like and respect to give us ideas about products. Our “influencers” are people who look like us, know what entertains us, and have a unique way of bringing products into our lives.

Most social influencers don’t start out that way, but they’ve found a creative way to share what they know and like. This creativity and authenticity is what makes us pay attention to what they have to say and what they like, just like we’d pay attention to a best friend. Brands that have a good handle on GenZ will know exactly who their products are designed for and will seek out influencers who represent that.

Do You Need to Reach GenZ With Your Marketing?

Are you a brand looking to get our attention? Having a marketing agency that is run by GenZ for GenZ may be what you need.

At Adolescent Content, we’re a marketing agency founded on originality, individuality, diversity, and creativity – all things that GenZ holds true. As a Black and female-founded marketing agency, we focus on GenZ habits and culture, and we understand what brands need to do to move forward into the future of marketing. Connect with us here and we can show you branding strategies that can really make a difference when you’re marketing to GenZ.