The famous Chichewa proverb ‘M’mera mpoyamba’ that literally translates to ‘catch them while young’ has become the new marketer’s creed as brands across the globe are rising up to ‘ChallengeZ’, and reasonably so. A special red carpet is being laid out for the ideology-driven Gen Z– those born between 1996 and 2010. Marketers are now paying close attention to business sense and sensibilities in order to be in tune with Gen Z, as their purchasing power grows.
Gen Z are the successors of Millennials who became the first generation to ride the massive wave of consumerism and Digital adoption, so naturally, brands are gung-ho about them. Their hopes are high from this lot, many of whom are today fronting organisations as CEOs, CXOs, CMOs, and Founders. Alongside young millennials, Gen Z are the ones leading India’s booming gig economy, which is expected to reach US$455 billion at a CAGR of 17% by 2024, and has the potential to expand at least 2x its pre-pandemic estimates, according to a report by ASSOCHAM. As per Niti Aayog, the gig workforce (18-45 years) is expected to expand to 23.5 million workers by 2029-30. Hence, it is not surprising that brands are increasingly targeting Gen Z as both customers and influencers.
2023 has seen four global re-brands - Pepsi (first rebrand in 14 years, to roll out in 2024), Fanta, Mirinda, and LG – with Gen Z in mind. Among the examples from India, Parle Agro’s Appy Fizz underwent a revamp to modernise the brand, while Raymond Consumer Care’s sexual wellness brand Kamasutra has reframed its entire look, feel, and technology.
Commenting on Appy Fizz’s rebranding, Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro, says, “Since inception, our primary focus for Appy Fizz has been to appeal to the youth. That’s why every campaign that we launch for the brand reflects a ‘bold and brave’ sentiment that strikes a chord with younger consumers. Even our summer campaign for this year ‘Kar Kuch Naya’ featuring Kriti Sanon and Jr. NTR reflected the key attributes of Appy Fizz of not conforming to norms that are set by the society and breaking away from the mould. This resonates deeply with our vibrant youth audience across the country.”
UNDERSTANDING Gen Z - THE NUANCES
According to McKinsey & Company, by 2025, Gen Zers will make up a quarter of the Asia-Pacific region’s population, the same as Millennials (1980-1995). Further, as per a December 2022 report by NASSCOM, 20% of Global Gen Z population is in India. While brands are cognizant of the fact that a good proportion of Gen Z may not be the biggest spenders, they unanimously agree on their sway as influencers.
At 27% of the country’s total population, Gen Z is the second-largest cohort for any brand, right after millennials, who make up 34% of the population, says Vineet Sharma, VP Marketing – South Asia, AB InBev. “The alco-bev industry is witnessing a significant transformation, driven by emerging drinking occasions, increased experimentation, premiumization, and a cultural shift among young consumers towards moderate, sustainable consumption, as well as opting for thoughtful indulgences. As the industry adapts to these changes, it recognises the importance of Gen Z consumers who are entering the legal drinking age. They have become an essential inflection point for our businesses to adapt and drive growth,” he says.
Acknowledging Gen Z’s strong affiliation with the health & wellness trend globally, Budweiser introduced its non-alcoholic offering, Budweiser 0.0, in India in 2019. In October 2021, it launched Budweiser Beats, an energy drink designed to appeal to their preferences.
“In addition to our product portfolio, our focus on innovative and experiential marketing is vital to captivating Gen Z that is redefining what constitutes a meaningful social event. Their concept of socialising is diverse, expanding, and purposeful. They prefer quality over quantity, and have a heightened awareness and understanding of art and culture,” notes Sharma.
For fashion and lifestyle brand Westside, Gen Z is at the core of the brand. “With Gen Z constituting around 70% of our workforce, we draw inspiration from them and seek to understand the social landscape today,” says Umashan Naidoo, Head of Customer & Beauty at Westside. He further states, “Our brand engagement goes beyond transactions and aims to resonate with the youth to provide them the safe space that they need.”
Westside collaborates actively with young artists, designers, and activists who shape culture. By combining visibility in Gen Z-frequented places (college pop-up events, art and culture festivals, dance-offs, and mobs), and through collaborations, and immersive experiences, the brand aims to connect with them at a deeper level, and thus appeals to their preferences. Sharing an interesting observation on Gen Z’s buying behaviour, Naidoo states, “The buying power of Gen Z customers is influenced by their desire for relevant fashion at the right value, rather than relying solely on discounts. Gen Z customers are conscious, value-driven, and seek brands that align with their ideologies.”
Brand SUGAR enjoys strong traction in the 18-27 age group, which makes up approximately 35% of its sales. Kaushik Mukherjee, Co-founder & COO of SUGAR Cosmetics shares, “With their growing purchasing capability, and penchant for making peer-group-influenced decisions, they continue to be a significant driver of the beauty & personal care market. Sales from Gen Z have grown annually at 250% for us over the last 2 years. Their proactive adoption of trends and active participation on social media platforms make them a pivotal target audience, particularly in India where the average age of the social media user continues to decrease. Over the next five years, Gen Z is expected to become the primary consumer base for most brands in our category.”
SUGAR’s social media platforms with 2.6 million+ followers on Instagram and 1.4 million+ subscribers on YouTube have been the most effective tool for the brand to reach out to the Gen Z audience. Mukherjee further adds that “Indian Gen Z spends an average of 8 hours per day online using platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. These platforms serve as their go-to destinations for social interaction, entertainment, and content consumption.”
For the 120-yr-old motorcycling brand, Royal Enfield, Gen Z is an important and sizable part of the community. In April this year, the brand successfully concluded the third season of its popular ‘Art of Motorcycling’ campaign, which targets Gen Z and Millennials with a blend of street art and technology.
“We believe collaboration across brands is something that intrigues Gen-Z - two of their favourite brands coming together to create something exciting. Our collaborations with Alpinestars and Levi’s, for example, have appealed to those who are in love with the motorcycling way of life. They also appreciate customization. Through initiatives such as ‘Make it Yours’ and ‘Art of Motorcycling,’ we provide a platform for self-expression, not only to the riding community but also to anyone who shares the same passions. These initiatives are aimed at deepening our engagement with the community, and providing a memorable brand touchpoint,” says a Royal Enfield spokesperson.
Commenting on whether the brand is engaging Gen Z as prospective buyers or future customers, the spokesperson remarks, “Our purpose is not just to sell motorcycles, but to give the community a consistent channel to express themselves - whether it’s through our motorcycles, which are conduits for exploration; or through the individualistic appeal of our apparel - the objective is to be an ally in everything that excites the community.”
Jewellery brand Mia boasts a large Gen Z customer base. Shyamala Ramanan. Business Head - Mia by Tanishq says, “Entering the workforce in larger numbers every day, they are at a stage where they begin to accessorise for themselves. Gen Z starts working young, and they have multiple sources of income. Their purchasing power is high and growing. They manage their finances very well. Moreover, they resonate with each other’s’ thoughts and behaviours, cutting across geographical boundaries. It’s a global tribe that we’re talking to.”
In the context of their purchasing power, Ramanan adds, “Even those who do not have a constant income or enough earnings yet are great advocates of brands. For them, we have schemes like ‘Golden Harvest’, which allows them to redeem their savings against a beautiful product at the end of 11 months. We run campaigns to tell them that Mia is both an adornment and an asset. So, in a way, it is also their first lesson in managing their finances.”
DESIGNING FOR Gen Z
Times change, and corporations need to keep up. If brands want to connect with Gen Z, they have to speak their language. Both new-age start-ups and legacy brands are now designing and packaging for Gen Z. It is a key technique to ensure one’s relevance in the future, creating a lasting impression.
Landor & Fitch is an agency where brands come to be relevant in this era. Pavithra Dikshit, Design Director, Landor & Fitch India commenting on the kind of brands and their expectations, says, “You have new-age start-ups like Zillion and Found It - both existing brands with different names, which got bought out, and needed new names and relevance for Gen Z. Some briefs also involve conglomerate brands looking to establish long-term equity by building their own platform brand, one such example being TataNeu. While not explicitly stated, even companies such as Mahindra and DTDC were refreshed and positioned as new-age and relevant for the next decade across generations (including Gen Z). Globally speaking, we have LeShuttle that got rebranded after 30 years, and then there is Castrol that revamped the brand and packaging in order to stay relevant across old users and adopt new users.”
Landor & Fitch rebranded Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, which is now known as LeShuttle. With a new logo and look, the brand aims to attract the new generation of travellers. LeShuttle opened almost 30 years ago as a railway shuttle service between Coquelles in Pas-de-Calais, France, and Cheriton in Kent, United Kingdom.
On the other hand, Castrol, a 124-year-old brand has also gotten a fresh new look. The rebranding is in tune with its new-age customers and their changing needs.
“As true digital natives, most Gen Zs probably learnt to pinch and swipe before they could walk. So, any design to reach and engage them has to be digital-centric,” observes Shekhar Badve, Founder Director, Lokus Design.
Badve believes that because Gen Z values unfiltered connections and realness, the language has to be honest and intimate, like it is coming from a close friend, not a faceless corporation. “Overly promotional communication will simply not cut it. With shorter attention spans and super-fast decision-making, they aren’t prone to brands that can’t keep up with their pace. Bite-sized, scalable, and shareable communication is therefore better. In design, that could mean lots of quotes, short videos, images with text overlays, and fearless experimenting with new colour combinations and unexpected partnerships in texture and hue. Also, because Gen Z is more individualistic and has a stronger sense of personal expression, brands have to become more flexible with modular visual identities and changeable elements,” he concludes.
While Gen Z might be a digital-first generation, it wouldn’t be prudent to generalise their media habits as ‘all-Digital’, cautions Jasmine Sachdeva, SVP, Zenith India. According to her, their media choices change depending on the market pop strata, socio economic position, and disposition. “We would like to see this as a video-first audience; a balance between mobile, TV and OOH actually defines their media habits. Mostly away from home, their time spent on the internet reaches about 188 minutes. They have a high affinity for comedy, reality shows, new-age content, and movies on both TV and Digital. Engagement outside of screen time needs to be enriching and fulfilling for Gen Z. 87% want to learn something new every time. This is true for tier II and III towns alongside the metros. Tier II onwards, they are also high on reach through YouTube, with genres like comedy, movies, and education being taken up. Brands have leveraged YT and short video formats to reach out to Gen Z in smaller towns in order to build brand awareness and consideration,” she says.
Yash Pise, Head, Brand Strategy & Research, Yuvaa Originals is also not a proponent of generalising Gen Z’s media habits. He says that brands stand to benefit more from the understanding that they believe in the idea of purpose. “Gen Z has added a fifth ‘P’ to the 4 Ps of marketing, and that is ‘Purpose’. The key to communicating with them is not ‘which platform’, ‘which device’, or ‘which medium’; it’s the purpose. If you are a brand with a genuine purpose, you have Gen Z’s attention. And so, rather than focusing on the media mix, brands need to focus on purpose and impact-driven marketing right now.”
INFLUENCING THE INFLUENCERS
Video-sharing social networking service, Josh, is among the frontrunners in the Gen Z-dominated UGC and short-form content space. “We have widely evangelised the format to combine the lucrative power of influencer marketing and our 163 million+ monthly audiences to drive impactful campaigns - both ads and brand campaigns in the form of hashtag challenges and video stories for 100+ brands. Some examples are - Amazon, Nykaa, and Disney+ Hotstar,” states Sunil Kumar Mohapatra, Chief Revenue Officer, VerSe Innovation.
Josh’s collaboration with Parachute Advansed Jasmine for the #MeriHealthyShine campaign to effectively convey the brand’s proposition in a manner that was relatable to the Gen Z audience garnered over 380 million video views and more than 28.7 million hearts. It was led by several top creators on Josh, adding authenticity and relatability.
Addressing Gen Z as a ‘formidable force in culture’, Pinaki Bhattacharya, Chief Strategy Officer, Wunderman Thompson, India, remarks, “It would be totally amiss if marketers and brand strategists ignored them. Categories such as packaged foods, beverages, personal care, apparel, etc., have a large base of Gen Z consumers. They are also a significant influence in many categories. Mobile-handsets, cars, household gadgets, etc., would rarely be bought without the inputs or influence of a Gen Z member of the household.”
Giving an estimate of how much of the creator economy is Gen Z, Arushi Gupta, Business Head, Influencer.in shares, “Approximately 70% of content consumed online is through the Gen-Z audience. As creators, they tend to be humorous, trendy, aesthetically pleasing, and statement-makers. As an audience, they are extremely aspirational and peer-driven. Brands communicate with them with the understanding that they may not always end up buying the product, but stop at only aspiring to own it. However, the end goals - brand awareness, consideration, and recall have been achieved.”
CREATING FOR THE CREATORS
There are two objectives at the core of any communication, either quick response i.e. engagement and/or long-term relationship building. Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi says, “While the basic approach to communication is the same, human behaviour is subject to change, and the biggest flag-bearers of the change in the last couple of decades is Gen Z. They are the explorers who challenge the status quo. Empowered by science and tech, they look for rational solutions. They are not into ‘hero worship’ (read celebrities), but are driven by logic. So, even though there’s a fundamental similarity in the way we communicate, one needs to keep in mind these layers or backdrops when talking to them.”
“When brands talk to Gen Z, they are investing in the future”, says Ashish Naik- Executive Creative Director, Infectious Advertising. Of late, more brands are shifting their focus towards them, and while executing such campaigns, one of the most pertinent insights for Naik has been, “Gen Z don’t like being told what to do, wear, or buy; they like discovering it on their own. Their growing purchasing power, early adoption of technology, and large population make them a key consumer segment. It is important to understand them, be authentic, leverage Digital platforms, and co-create with them to keep them involved.” He cites Swiggy Instamart’s ‘KhaliKaKhaaliCart’ campaign as an example of a fun way to interact with the young TG without making them put in a lot of effort.
Generations are shaped as a result of changing environments – socio-political, economic, religious, or otherwise. In order to capture the collective consciousness of Gen Z, marketers need brands to be the mirror image of their ideologies, tastes and preferences. Then there is the question of introducing a product amidst them, seamlessly, and naturally. It is the only way to stay relevant in the coming decades, which will be dominated by this new breed of men and women.