The 'Hunger Games' Generation: 7 insights into 'Gen Z'

The 'Hunger Games' Generation: 7 insights into 'Gen Z'

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  GEN Z ZING 7 WAYS TO PUT THE ZING INTO GEN Z INNOVATION
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  PUTTING ZING INTOGEN Z INNOVATION Generation Z is the next big opportunity for brand innovation. How will we create products and services to appeal to this cohort of kids who are post- Millennials, second-generation digital natives born at the turn of the century? Under-researched, Gen Z is still a generation in the making with formative experiences yet to fix generational traits. Nevertheless innovation opportunities are emerging along with a distinctive set of Generation Z needs
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  1. DIGITAL DNA If Gen Y ‘Millennials’ were the connected generation, then Gen Z is hyper-connected. Gen Z’ers rely on no fewer than five screens for their digital fix, and 40% of their free time is dedicated to screen-time. Digital is not merely native to Gen Z, it is innate. Consuming, communicating and creating their lives via connected screens, digital connectivity is the new oxygen for this cohort of hyper-connected kids Gen Z Opportunity #1: deliver the connectivity fix Gen Z crave and expect
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  2. CREATIVITY CALLING Gen Z are growing up into a new ‘Maker’ movement where technology is not just about consuming and communicating, but creating. From productivity apps to 3D printing and self-publishing, Gen Z are bathed in a culture that increasingly reveres creativity, and the technology that can now deliver it. For Gen Z, it’s as much about making stuff as consuming stuff Gen Z Opportunity #2: help, inspire and enable a new generation of Gen Z creatives
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  3. REALISM RULES If Gen Y were relentlessly upbeat and optimistic, Gen Z are shaping up to be more realistic about the world and their place in it. Technology is not seen as the panacea to all ills, and this cohort takes its technology with a dash of Hunger Games-style dystopia. Realistic about the dark side of technology in limiting freedoms, privacy and opportunities, Gen Z are digital realists Gen Z Opportunity #3: help Gen Z win against the System and deal with digital dystopia
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  4. SHARE NOMORE? Gen Y were open and compulsive sharers, but Gen Z prefer private and selective sharing through Ello, SnapChat, Secret and Whisper. Growing up in a world of Big Data, Big Brother surveillance and identity theft, privacy is shaping up to be a matter that matters massively to this generation Gen Z Opportunity #4: harness the renewed desire for privacy and confidentiality
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  5. BUBBLE-WRAP ME Sometimes dubbed the 'bubble-wrap generation’, Gen Z are being brought up protected and safe from the world of recession, corruption, volatility, and insecurity. As they grow out of the bubblewrap and into an unsafe and threatening world, Gen Z may seek refuge in a new 'safe place’ Gen Z Opportunity #5: bubble-wrap the lives of Gen Z by offering safety and security
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  6. LIFE ATLIGHT SPEED Gen Z has a need for speed. Living in an accelerated culture, real-time is the new prime time and there is a need to communicate with speed. Instant, on-demand technology, rapid-fire communication and a culture of instant-obsolescence is shaping a now-or-never generation who need satisfaction faster or not at all. Less patient than Gen Y elders, Gen Z hate to wait Gen Z Opportunity #6: help Gen Z live and love life in the fast lane
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  7. RENT IT Why own something when you can rent it? With values being forged by streaming technology, digital feeds, subscription services, and an emergent ‘sharing economy’ Gen Z is shaping up to become ‘generation rent’. Having all the benefits of ownership without the hassle of ownership makes smart sense to this generation Gen Z Opportunity #7: find new ways to consume, share and enjoy without owning
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  ‘GEN Z’ ZING 1. Digital DNA… deliver the connectivity fix they crave 2. Creativity Calling… help, inspire and enable creativity 3. Realism Rules… help them deal with digital dystopia 4. Share no more?… deliver on privacy and confidentiality 5. Bubble-wrap me… offer safety and comfort 6. Life at life speed… helping live and love life in the fast lane 7. Rent it… new modes of non-ownership consumption
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  WHY THE ‘GENZ’ ZEAL? Generations, like people, have personalities. While there are many differences within generations, not least across cultures and regions, our connected world means global cohorts increasingly share key influences; from a common life-stage, to global media and the shared experience of major events and trends. The result is a generational mindset that is more global than ever before: Generation Z - second-generation ‘digital natives’ - are at tomorrow’s cutting edge of this shift We believe that by collaborating with lead Gen Z (and Gen Y) thinkers and influencers, future-focused brands will identify exciting new opportunities that are internationally relevant & scalable
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  RESOURCES Anatole, E.(2013). Generation Z: Rebels with a cause. Retrieved July, 30, 2013. Anderson, J. (2004). Educating generation Zzz…. In Phi Kappa Phi Forum (Vol. 84, No. 4, p. 59). Blaikie, A. (2006). One Visions of Later Life: Golden Cohort to Generation Z. The futures of old age, 12. Derryberry, A. (2011). Dispatch from the digital frontier: insights from and about generation Z. Learning Solutions Magazine. Fleming, K. (2010). Meet Generation Z. Marie Claire. (Oct. 29) Geck, C. (2007). The generation Z connection: Teaching information literacy to the newest net generation. Toward a 21st-Century School Library Media Program, 235. Jones, V., Jo, J., & Martin, P. (2007, February). Future Schools and How Technology can be used to support Millennial and Generation-Z Students. In ICUT 2007 (Proc. B), 1st Int. Conf. Ubiquitous Information Technology (pp. 12-14). JWT Intelligence (2012) Gen Z: Digital in Their DNA Malone, K. (2007). The bubble-wrap generation: children growing up in walled gardens. Environmental Education Research, 13(4), 513-527. Matthews, V. (2008). Generation Z: New kids on the virtual block. Personnel Today, 14. McCrindle, M. (2009). Who is Generation Z. McCrindle, M., & Wolfinger, E. (2010). Generations defined. Ethos, 18(1), 8. Montana, P. J., & Petit, F. (2008). Motivating Generation X and Y on the job and preparing Z. Global Journal of Business Research, 2(2), 139-148. Posnick-Goodwin, S. (2010). Meet generation Z. California Educator, 14(5), 8-18. Robertson, M. (2009). Young “netizens” creating public citizenship in cyberspace. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 18(4), 287-293. Schawbel, D (2014) Generation Z: 25 Things You Need To Know Sladik, S & Grabinger, A (2014) Gen Z: The first generation of the 21st Century has arrived Sparks & Honey (2014) Meet Generation Z Retrieved Oct 2014 Williams, K. C., Page, R. A., Petrosky, A. R., & Hernandez, E. H. (2010). Multi-generational marketing: Descriptions, characteristics, lifestyles, and attitudes. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 11(2), 21-36. Williams, K. C., & Page, R. A. (2011). Marketing to the generations. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 3(1), 37-53. Walliker, A. (2008). Generation Z comes of age. Herald Sun, 23269842-662. Walliker, A. (2008). Get ready, here comes Generation Z. The Herald Sun.