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Is Your Brand Real Enough For The Next Wave Of Consumers?

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This article is by Jamie Gutfreund, CMO, Deep Focus, a marketing agency.

It’s that time of year—college admissions season—when high school seniors everywhere learn where (and if) they have been accepted into the colleges and universities of their choice. The good news is that the historical pressure associated with admissions may finally be shifting as decisions may now be more focused on the practical reality of actually paying for school versus entering into a lifetime of student debt.

As Frank Bruni recently wrote in his New York Times piece “Accepted? Rejected? Relax,” for some parents and students there is an increasing recognition that by not being accepted to their preferred schools this “failure” is actually an important life lesson that can open doors to unforeseen opportunities.

This pragmatic approach applies to far more than college. The next generation, Gen Z, is actually being raised by their highly realistic (or pessimistic) Gen Xer parents to reevaluate the idea of failure and embrace it as a character-building mark of distinction AND an opportunity to reset, improve and thrive.

Born between 1998 and 2008, Gen Zs have grown up in a “Grave New World” where terrorism occupies the news, privacy is a luxury and taking risks is an important part of their journey. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z no longer needs to rely solely on adults to find out what something costs, why the sky is blue or when “will we be there.” They already know. (Thank you, Google.)

In fact, a recent research study by The Cassandra Report uncovered Gen Z prefers the internet (52%) to their parents (48%) for information. The unprecedented access to information the internet provides has made them more informed and highly practical about their choices, their spending and even what they view as markers of success.

With this in mind, consider these questions the next time you’re targeting the Gen Z audience:

Is your brand taking a risk?

Gen Zs consider taking risks an important part of life and mistakes as badges of honor. So why not have your brand show examples of bravery or invite brand fans to share their personal triumphs? These resilient consumers will pay more attention to brands that are innovative and take risks with their marketing and product innovations.

How has your brand overcome previous obstacles?

Teens expect to have failures in life before they succeed. Yet, they feel equipped to persevere because, from a young age, they’ve learned how to handle disappointment and even use it to their advantage. For brands, sharing stories of past challenges or obstacles overcome will make the brand more relatable, will impress consumers with their efforts to reinvent and improve and ultimately help to build deeper, more personal connections with this audience.

Is your brand being real with consumers?

Zs are savvy consumers who prefer to see “real” people to celebrities in campaigns. This generation is also used to getting hands on with products and conducts extensive research before buying, so finding a way to demonstrate actual product usage scenarios will succeed over presenting scripted dialogue filmed on a soundstage.

Are you sharing your brand’s best story?

To Gen Zs, failure builds character and when it comes to content or messages, Zs prefer narratives that have realistic endings that they can relate to and admire. These young fans revere average people who accomplish extraordinary things and have little interest in characters, brands, ads or content that promise perfection. To engage this savvy group of consumers, brands will need to reset traditional approaches for successful marketing initiatives to celebrate reality over perfection and practicality over fantasy.

With the increasing recognition that success is no longer based on an orderly, linear path, failures such as college rejections, failed business efforts (remember Qwikster?) or even tripping at the Academy Awards are all part of the journey. So rather than solely focusing on the “perfect ending,” consider sharing the entire road to success, including all of the twists, turns and speed bumps encountered along the way.

For brands that want to engage the next generation, be real and be more intriguing.