As millennials start to hand over the reigns to the next generation – Gen Z – how does the landscape change for marketers…or does it?
Gen Z, are more adaptive to technology, consume more media content than ever before, and know how to access the correct information, making them pretty deadly when it comes to advertising.
The good news for marketers is that, while Millennials kicked off the trend, Gen Z are craving authentic experiences and close brand relations more than ever before.
According to Morgan Stanley, young consumers are known to dig deep into their wallets for an experience rather than just a new product. As a money-conscious generation, experiences reach beyond expensive concerts and vacations, they want to enjoy experiences in their everyday lives.
So while marketers have been laser-focused on perfecting their digital marketing offerings in recent years – understandably – experiential marketing is making a comeback.
Experiential marketing in the physical world can also help brands meet the digital needs of their Gen Z customers, who have spent the pandemic inside and are craving real life experiences, but want to connect these with their social media profiles. Creating in-person events that they can attend and post about online can explode your digital presence whilst building a deeper relationship with your customers.
When it comes to Gen Z, that here-and-now connection is especially valued – and valuable. Experiential marketing allows brands to cut right to the core and build that direct connection between them and their audience.
Here are 3 of our top tips to turning your experiences into marvels (based on behavioural science research we recently conducted):
- Find your Magic
The first and foremost factor to ensuring results is that serendipitous x-factor. It’s about creating disruption in the noise by building an emotional response, and ultimately forming that deeper connection with your audience as a result.
- Increase the Exchange
Good campaigns give the consumer something to take away with them, but great campaigns see the consumer take part in something, they have given their time and enthusiasm and in return they’re taking something back.
“It’s about interactive rather than passive engagement – being hands on. Feeling and experiencing will then make it much more engaging and memorable.” – Tracy Sorgiovanni, Director, We Are Collider
- Get Social
Experiences should try to appeal to the ties that bind groups of people together, through fashion, music or identity demographics. Humans have an overwhelming urge to belong, and experiences should take this into account. Make them feel part of a tribe.
For more top tips download our full report – Experience, Meet Behaviour – here.
While experiential marketing is showing an upward trend, many brands still perceive it as an unnecessary spend, choosing to stick with traditional advertising methods. But other studies have shown that Gen Z’s ability to ‘ignore’ traditional media buys is due to the fact that they digest, ignore, and process content at about 25-50% faster speeds than previous generations.
That’s something that should terrify advertisers & marketers.
So, if you’re a product or brand, you would be naive to ignore the impact that experiential marketing has on this generation, and you should start producing real, authentic, and digitally-engaging brand experiences.
Get your copy of our latest report, Experience, Meet Behaviour, that will help you generate experiences that deliver true value for your brand. This is the ‘how it works’ report you’ve been waiting for. Download it here.
Looking to create experiences that move people? We help you create ideas that are fed by behavioural science and nourished by creativity. Chat to us today: hello@wearecollider.com
