Find a creator – a real creator, not a fake one – that speaks to and inspires the audience you’re after. Partner with them for six months, a year or longer with a goal of becoming a true member of that creator’s community. Don’t tell them what to say – instead enable them – and through them their community – to go places, do things, discovery possibilities. Become part of that creator’s community, but let the creator chart the course, set the sails and choose the destination. You’re not buying media, you’re not running a campaign. You’re joining a community. Be respectful, be generous, but mostly keep your mouth shut. With the right match between creator, community and brand the results will be amazing.
Jim Louderback, 2018, CEO Vidcon Gen Z is at a stage of their lives where possibility surrounds them.
They are in the most volatile, hormone-bathed crucible of change imaginable, and are trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and how to look cool doing it. Whether they are aware of it or not, they are desperately in need of inspiration and guidance. This is where brands step in. Brands can help Gen Z to experiment with different identities, and can lay the groundwork for young consumers to aspire to be the person they want to be in the world. Brands can help Gen Z find options and opportunities to keep them inspired and moving forward. For some, it may be about discovering things that interest them, for others it might mean escaping an identity imposed on them by family.
Brands can invest in the future by inspiring Gen Z today
If a brand truly wants to inspire Gen Z, it needs to create the poten- tial beyond the moment of purchase, so that consumers imagine how
an offering could impact their life going forward. One way brands do this is by helping their audience explore, learn about, and experiment with their world. To do, not just be. This creation of possibility can be a strong brand distinguisher. Every product has a list of features and benefits, but in a sea of competition it is the story around the product that resonates and gets remembered. If you can make consumers feel that new things are possible, you’ll leave a lasting imprint. Fill their minds with possibility, and they will keep coming back for more.
Supreme makes me feel like anything is possible, ’cos they started as New York skaters [and went on] to become one of the world’s biggest clothing brands. And they were themselves. They were unique, and had their own identity.
Santiago S, 2017, age 15
Needs motivate consumption
Gen Z often sees brands as a way to express a multifaceted identity.
They communicate who they are to others, in large part, through association. Products themselves may be simple – like a t-shirt – but when they come from a particular brand, they convey much more information than just whether or not they fit, for example; they are now a part of what the brand represents. When a consumer chooses a brand, they choose to be aligned with what that brand means or promises. Gen Z may look to brands to give them the opportunity to express what they are struggling to express on their own.
Why do we choose between two products that are essentially the same thing? Consider AH Maslow’s theory of human motivation (Figure 3.2). Maslow believed that, ‘Man is a perpetually wanting animal’ (Maslow, [1943] 2000). Human needs can be classified in a hierarchy that must typically be satisfied in order. From basest to highest, the needs that must be satisfied are physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization (Maslow, [1943] 2000).
If we reconsider the t-shirt, it is, at its most basic, a sleeved tube that will cover your torso, after all. If you are cold, it may keep you
warm (physiological), if you are in public, it may keep you from feel- ing exposed and vulnerable (safety). Any t-shirt does this, so what else is it? Why is the customer really buying a new t-shirt when they already have 10 at home? The new shirt clearly provides something those shirts don’t. Maybe a brand is popular, and associating with it makes the wearer feel as if they are a part of something (love/belong- ing). Perhaps the brand is exclusive and the wearer gets a boost to their sense of self (esteem). It could be that the brand or message on the shirt stands for something that the wearer believes represents their true self and helps them say, ‘This is me!’ (self-actualization).
No matter what a brand represents, it can influence youth consum- ers who are looking for opportunities to fulfil their personal needs.
If we identify compatible audience segments and are able to connect, we can investigate and discover what motivates them both intrinsi- cally and extrinsically. This helps us understand what they want and how we can help them achieve it. If Gen Z aspires to a world where workers are treated fairly, for instance, a brand’s support of fair trade can imbue their product with the promise that this t-shirt was made in a fair trade factory, and that when you wear it you are helping people exit a life of poverty. If your brand can cover each stratum of Maslow’s human motivation triangle, and your product has the ability to deliver and satisfy on all these levels, then you are well Figure 3.2 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
soUrCe Illustration by Mike Carnevale
on your way to tuning in effectively and building credibility within youth culture.
Youth Market Readiness Audit: Possibility
Is your brand ready to deliver possibility to Gen Z? Before moving on in this chapter, you should be able to discuss and confidently answer the following five questions that comprise the Possibility section of the Youth Market Readiness Audit.
Possibility checklist
1 Do you know what motivates your youth audience? How can your brand help meet their needs?
2 Are you doing anything to help young people re-imagine them- selves and take advantage of new opportunities?
3 How can your brand bridge the gap between youth culture and current, emerging and future trends?
4 How are you inspiring Gen Z to overcome obstacles and excel, even when things seem impossible or too difficult?
5 What are you doing to encourage and inspire young people to reach beyond what is currently possible, and start to create their future?