With a whipper snapping average age of just 28 years, the CellarDoor team rep for the market with the greatest buying power and have a natural affinity with the millennial consumer.  We are the voice of a generation and this steers our creative thinking.  Our youngest designer loathes being considered Gen-Z but admits to having only just discovered ‘Friends’.

With Zeds already commanding much of the world’s commerce, marketeers and retailers alike are all anxious to capture their attention within the eight-second window they are willing to spare us for such vanity. Ultimate responsibility for making these precious moments count will be granted to designers all hoping to make eight their new magic number – but it’s been ours for a while.

At CellarDoor, we are fortunate enough to have a young and talented team who brace the gap between generations, affording us a far greater breadth of understanding and insight.  It may take longer than eight seconds to read this, but once you have, you will be certain of our capability to connect with the people.

It is no real surprise that there is a tendency to pool Millennials and Gen Z’s into the same category – both are undeniably tech-savvy and they certainly share a predisposition to live life through social media and make connections via such platforms than generations before them.  However, there are differences that dictate these consumers are treated as separate in order for any ‘connection’ to develop into commerce.

Fundamental differences start as early as birth, with baby boomer parents at variance with Gen X or young Y’s, social climate and economic backdrop all altering the ways in which these two troupes process the world around them.  While Millennials can remember where they were when the Twin Towers were felled, Gen Z are being “influenced by their awareness of terrorism and the Great Recession [and] are more interested in participating in social activism”[1].

Gen Z have not yet known a world not at war. Despite this though, and similar to their Silent Generation forefathers, they are attacking the world with a sense of owning the future – they are coming of age in an era of hope.  This social throwback might help to predict behavioural patterns that characterise Gen Z and their commercial habits.

[1] https://www.adweek.com/digital/josh-perlstein-response-media-guest-post-generation-z/

 

In the wake of worldwide crisis, ‘Edgers’ and Silents alike are risk averse, today evidenced in part by lower pregnancy rates and less drink and drug abuse among the demographic. This tendency to cautiousness propagates pragmatism and a drift toward problem solving, and as bygone times, ‘Gen Z is a generation of highly-educated…innovative thinkers. They look for solutions on their own. They set out to make things on their own”[1].

What this means for the world of marketing is a more personalised selling experience, tailored to the needs of the individual.  No longer will a one size fits all approach be sufficient for conversion from browsing to buying – Gen Z’s want to feel knitted into the social fabric, they are a globally connected generation and as such brands will need to ensure their advertising ‘blends seamlessly with their online identities, earns their trust and entices them to make purchases’.[2]

[1] http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/move-millennials-gen-z/296577/

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/07/03/why-gen-z-is-on-the-a-list-for-e-commerce-marketers/#12587216c7b4

As the world’s first true digital natives, Zeds have never waited for dial up and 80% feel distressed when kept away from their personal electronic devices[1], juggling up to five screens at any one time, they take multitasking to a whole new level.  It is important to accurately identify where their time is being spent and target marketing accordingly to capitalise, as their online habits differ from Millennials who still wrestle with the social etiquettes of poking on Facebook and hash-tagging on the gram.

Gen Z are used to having their thoughts and opinions heard and responded to by their peer groups and strangers alike almost instantly.  They are not strangers to global politics, hacks or marketing ploys and have an unrivalled sense of self and desire for that to be fostered by brands they seek out on the basis of its creds for cultivating their sense of individuality.

Honed phony snufflers, Zeds are all about authenticity and this influences the way that they consume online data, turning to Instagram for brand discovery, and twice as likely than Millennials to consult YouTube prior to committing to a purchase*, 70% of teen subscribers consider these social influencers as more relatable than traditional celebrities, according to a report published by Google[2].

Subtle though these differences in cyber-habits may appear, they are anything but and social media preferences are often determined on the basis of digital discretion for a Zed.  Centennials ‘have learned from Millennials mistakes and adapted their digital practices accordingly,’[3] further shrinking the gap in which brands can make their move on this seemingly ephemeral bunch.

*blog.hootsuite.com

[1] http://www.relevantchildrensministry.com/2018/03/gen-zs-technology-addiction.html

[2]https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/11/27/5-d%E2%80%8Bifferences-%E2%80%8Bbetween-%E2%80%8Bmarketing-%E2%80%8Bto%E2%80%8B-m%E2%80%8Billennials-v%E2%80%8Bs%E2%80%8B-%E2%80%8Bgen-z/#720a97da2c9f

[3] https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/meet-generation-z/8/

‘Smart marketers realise that digital first Gen Z’s present a unique opportunity to instil brand loyalty early…when someone becomes a customer at a young age, they will spend three times as much over their lifetime’.[1]

Statistics reveal that millennials and zeds will constitute over half of the world’s workforce by 2020 which in fiscal terms represents a whole lotta cash, but with penny pinching qualities that rival Ebenezer Scrooge and a penchant for online privacy, brands will have to bring their a-game to ‘make it rain’ from the palms of Gen Z who will account for an estimated 40% of the worlds consumer spending.

Simply put, brands cannot afford to be short sighted, in a world that has changed more in the last 10 years than in the 100 before, it is vital that marketeers keep up with technological, social and cultural innovation defining today’s society, but that which could change tomorrow.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/07/03/why-gen-z-is-on-the-a-list-for-e-commerce-marketers/#12587216c7b4

Bridging two generations, we account for 48% of the world’s total media audience*. We have the ability to command the attention of prospective consumers since as a studio, we are part of the same target audience and we endeavour to execute all design strategy with this forging the backbone of our creative thinking.

*According to Nielsen

Generation me / Generation we – call us Generation thee.

 

This took me four minutes to read, so I really hope that I didn’t lose you after ‘Friends’.  Look out for Part II of our dissection of our commercial backdrop and CellarDoor’s top five tip-offs for remaining a front runner.