🎧  Listen To This:

“THERE IS NO PLANET B”, yells a group of young students in front of the Swedish Parliament a normal Friday during school time. “Fridays For Future”, an initiative started by the young Greta Thunberg is a great definer of the spirit of the Z generation: Passionate, demanding, and outspoken. Global warming, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or human rights are some of the other issues that the Gen Z takes very seriously not only as activists, but also as consumers. As we will learn, the generation formed by those born between the year 1996 and the 2012 is different from previous ones because of their restlessness to change the world they live in becoming prosumers.

Take Me There!

Click a title below and jump right in

  1. What makes them different?
  2. The key to Gen-Z friendly content
  3. Stay relevant. Tips to target to GenZers

What makes them different?

GenZers are not the first generation to demand changes in the system. Baby Boomers or Generation X are other examples of how the revolutionary spirit has always characterised young generations. But GenZers’ activism takes place on a new arena: the world wide web

Tweets, podcasts, video essays on YouTube, posts on Instagram or short clips on TikTok are the field for protests. Concretely, this generation is always on the hunt for the latest company scandals or celebrity declarations. Brands are now held accountable, for the good and the bad, even if they have a long branding strategy tradition (Check, for instance: Aunt Jemina’s Syrup, Uncle Ben’s Rice, or Eskimo Pie).

Boycotting, or buycotting (referring to consumerism), is the new activism, as GenZers claim honesty and transparency from the companies they consume. Greenwashing and deceitful marketing campaigns no longer fool new generations, as truth is one click away from their devices and information travels at light speed in social media.

The key to a Gen Z-friendly content

This does not mean GenZers hate brands. In the contrary, they love when brands do well, they are not afraid to share commercial content for free or to advertise a certain brand themselves if they stand by their values. GenZers are prosumers, they do not only consume, but also produce content about the companies they admire and the communication campaigns they applaud.

1. Attention-grabbing content

2. Content that feels authentic; rejection of fake premises of values

3. Representation of diversity and focus on environmentalism

For that reason, it is clear to say that the Gen Z makes value-based decisions when choosing content. One that speaks to them without condescendence, one that treats them as important members of our society, that listens to them and is willing to engage in conversation.

Stay relevant. Tips to target to GenZers:

Perhaps because of this, as well as the screen fatigue and isolation that we all faced since the beginning of the pandemic, GenZers relate more to content that emulate conversations, such as podcasts or streaming, but also visual content that does not appear fabricated.

Dramatic tones or exaggerated diction are a “no” for this generation, one that is also finds importance in diverse voice castings, as it has shown several times through the condemnation of voiceovers that did not represent diversity (See complaints against “Big Mouth”)

So, what are some tricks to be a relevant brand if you target to GenZers?

  • Create honest content: Do not forget the first principle of this generation, honesty is key. If you already have a great product, go ahead! Advertise it! Gen Z loves when hard-working companies share their pride in communication.
  • Be relatable: Over-dramatizing is a thing of old infomercials. GenZers want relatability, conversation tones, and actors that speak to them.
  • Be diverse: More and more brands are slowly opting for including more diverse voices in their castings and advertising. Even if voices cannot be seen, GenZers find a way around information, and diversity is highly celebrated! Make it an asset of your brand and be proud of taking a step towards change. With more than 2100 diverse voices, in VoiceArchive we are sure we can help you find a high-quality fit that will be applauded among consumers.

Need some help?

If you’re in doubt of how to do this… Do not hesitate to contact us! Our team has more than 20 years of experience advising companies according to the latest marketing trends. With more than 150+ native languages, we are sure we can make your content stand out for the most demanding generation yet.

Anna Sticken

Global Key Account Manager