Also in this series, marketing to Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y-Millennials
Generation Z
Marketing to Generation Z has been a little more difficult to pin down. First, there is really no consensus as to the age range of Generation Z. I’ve seen seen a wide range of dates given, starting any where from 1991-1998 through 2008-2011. This is because the demographic is still so young and are still forming their defining characteristics. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to use the dates 1994-2010, which means there are approximately 65 million Gen Z’ers in the United States.
It also means that there is some cross pollination of Gen Y-Millennials and Generation Z. The difference between Gen Y & Z is that Gen Y can remember what life was before the advent of our mass digital world, Gen Z does not. Gen Z’ers are also sometimes referred to as “digital natives,” as they have never known life outside of our current digital world.
Their parents are mostly Gen X’ers, which means their parents are generally older (average age of 1st time Gen X mom is 31) and more likely to be divorced. Gen X is the most divorced generation. 22% of Gen Z’ers under age 15 live in a single parent household.
In this article, I will focus primarily on teens.
What Gen Z Likes
The Internet: 73% of teens 12-17 use the internet. But while their older Millennial cousins like blogs, Gen Z prefer social media.
Sharing on Social Networks: They have higher than the average number of friends on social networks and they like to share with those networks. 93% have created or shared content online.
Online Shopping: Nearly half of all teens have purchased something online.
Mobile Video: Gen Z teens watch twice as much mobile video as other mobile viewers.
Mobile Phones: 75% of teens 15-17 have mobile phones
Texting: It’s the preferred method by which they communicate with each other. Teens send and receive an average of 3330 texts per month. That’s more than six texts each waking hour. It’s also more than double any other age group. Text messaging is the number one use of a cell phone by teens.
The Marketing Spot
How to Market to Generation Z
It seems to be a pretty straightforward marketing equation:
Text + Mobile Video + Sharing
Invite teens to opt in to a text marketing program. Create interesting mobile video content for teens. Send them links to this mobile video. Provide an option to share this mobile video with their friends. Occasionally text them offers, invites and discount codes that they can also share with their friends via text and social media.
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