By 2020, Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers. With this new generation graduating college, entering the workforce, exerting their spending power, comes another change – a fundamental shift in marketing.
What is this shift? And why is it relevant to Gen Z? Let’s take a step back and look at the context in which this generation is seeing the world first.
- They experience content overload (5.5 million pieces of social content are consumed every minute).
- They have a steep decline in trust (Edelman reported an 11-point drop in trust in social media in the US and a drop of 9-points in overall trust in the US).
- They have enormous pressure to address global challenges (The world population is projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050).
These three trends in Gen Z’s short but meaningful lifetime, have shifted their mindset when it comes to consuming content, engaging with brands, and ultimately purchases their products and services.
For example, UNiDAYS reported that when Gen Z-ers were presented with a choice of two companies, 86% said they would choose the one that’s more ethical, regardless of a lower incentive. The point? GenZ looks at companies as more than just their products and services. They value authenticity and a larger purpose – changing how they interact with brands.
So what’s a brand to do? Consider a new startup out of Charlottesville, Virginia, called PurPics. Founded on the idea “pictures with purpose,” PurPics is the platform that turns social media engagement into charitable donations. Here’s how it works:
- Connect – Brands select partners from our network of Gen Z organizations such as service clubs, fraternities, sororities, Dance Marathons, and more.
- Post – Through our mobile app, members of the organization upload content promoting brands to their personal Instagram accounts.
- Benefit – For every like the organization’s Instagram posts receive, a few cents are donated to a charitable cause of their choice. Brands track real time campaign analytics on their company dashboard, gathering valuable social media data on their Gen Z consumers.
In Fall 2018 alone, PurPics worked with 10 brands to deliver over 100K+ likes at 40 schools across the country – helping organizations donate over $10,000 to various causes.
Not only are Gen Z-ers and good causes benefiting, but brands are more effectively reaching their Gen Z consumers. For example, PurPics saw an average engagement rate of 28% – 10x higher than the average engagement rate of today’s standard influencers.
So in a world overflowing with content and “fake news,” take some time to learn about this new generation of consumers and what they are looking for in years to come. By the way things are going, it’ll all be about #purpose.
Listen to our Causeartist podcasts here.
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