Generation Z - Strategies for a new customer segment
As part of the Dialog Marketing Fair on April 13, 2016, Maxomedia organized a panel discussion on Generation Z under the auspices of the Swiss Dialog Marketing Association.
Hansi Voigt, the young Swiss Youtuber Lionel Battegay and Yves Schneuwly were three different personalities who took part. Under the moderation of Simon Muster, Head of Consulting and Partner Maxomedia, the three guests exchanged views on the habits and communication behavior of the under-19s. The experts agreed: authentic content is needed. Or even better, credible representatives who demonstrate the benefits of a product or service. We were talking about brand ambassadors. The challenge lies in choosing the right cooperation partners.
Hansi Voigt cites the video series on Watson.ch with Knackeboul as a prime example. The Swiss rapper conveyed different types of travel in short, funny scenes. The contribution was sponsored by the travel company TUI. The content, tonality and visual presentation mirrored existing articles that Watson.ch users know and appreciate, and Knackeboul also underlined the credibility of the medium as a brand ambassador.
Lionel Battegay explains: "Roger Federer no longer has any influence on me. I can no longer take him seriously as an ambassador because of all his advertising appearances." Yves Schneuwly, Managing Director Switzerland & Austria at Universum Employer Branding, confirms this and emphasizes from an employer branding perspective: "Employees are also important ambassadors."
In addition, parents and, above all, friends are also a credible source of product or offer recommendations for post-millennials. A broad reach is important when communicating with very young customers: multichannel yes, but you have to know exactly where your target group is. Schneuwly elaborates and says that up to 80 percent of the target group usually uses the same five channels - this is where you have to start. Voigt also believes that a "so what" attitude is increasingly needed. If you don't take risks, you promote a culture of fear.
The conclusion is certainly that the opportunities lie in high-quality and credible content. In addition, Generation Z's high level of social networking means that network effects need to be used to a greater extent. Those who take this into account and have a good story to tell will still be able to retain the trust of post-millennials with their product and, in the best case, their brand in 20 years' time.
