Members of Generation Z, those now age 18-23, tend to be indiscriminate with their media choices and are more likely than other generations to embrace and trust online communications such as social and mobile media and email, according to a report by Forrester Research.
Raised in the age of technology, Gen-Z audiences know the world only as a digital one—where they can connect anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. They will likely be the first generation to consume more media online than offline, according to Forrester's report.
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Moreover, Gen-Z audiences are often distracted with multiple forms of media: 84% multitask with an Internet-connected device while watching TV—using on average 1.5 other Internet-connected devices (e.g., laptops and cell phones).
Below, additional findings from the report titled "How To Build Your Brand With Generation Z," by Forrester Research.
Gen-Z audiences appear to trust online content (e.g., ads and promos) more than other generations.
Some 22% of surveyed Gen-Z consumers say they trust somewhat or trust completely posts by companies or brands on social networking sites. That level is roughly 49% higher than other generations.
Similarly, Gen-Z consumers are 48% more likely than other generations to trust somewhat or completely the content on mobile applications from brands, as well as text messages from brands.
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Because Gen-Z audiences are exposed to so many brand choices, they tend to be demanding consumers, Forrester found.
Tracy Stokes, the report's author, wrote in a recent blog post.
"Gen-Zers are open to a relationship with brands, as long as those brands are authentic and live up to their high expectations and consistently deliver what they need."
Stokes offers key insights on how marketers can build their brands with Gen-Z audiences:
- Practice participation, not persuasion. Gen Z grew up with two-way brand conversations, so a traditional one-way sell won’t work. Invite them to participate in your brand via new and fresh experiences that earn their trust.
- Deliver a consistent brand experience online and offline. Gen Z see no distinction between the real and virtual worlds. So the experiences that brands offer must provide the same seamless experience.
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COMMENTARY: On January 15, 2013, Forrester Research published its annual “State of Consumers and Technology” report about how U.S. consumers use the Internet, but the most interesting statistic is probably that the overall online penetration rate in the U.S. has stabilized at 79 percent (the same number Forrester found in 2011). That’s the percentage of U.S. adults that go online at least monthly. What has changed, however, is how many adults go online at least daily: In 2011, that was 78 percent of U.S. adults, and in 2012, Forrester reports that 84 percent now go online at least once per day.
One of the reasons for this is, of course, the growing smartphone and tablet penetration. Forrester found that about half of U.S. online adults now own a smartphone and two-thirds even own multiple connected devices. Tablet adoption doubled since 2011 and is now at 19 percent.
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One trend that the Forrester report, which includes survey data from nearly 60,000 consumers in the U.S. and Canada, also notes is that 43 percent of consumers now connect to the web with their TVs. Forrester, just like similar surveys, found that most of these users rely on their game consoles to do so (42 percent), while connected TVs (19 percent) and Internet-connected set-top boxes like the Roku or Apple TV are only being used by 14 percent.
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It doesn’t come as a surprise that Forrester’s research also found that there are still distinct usage patterns among different generations.
- Generation Z: The 18-to-23-year-old crowd, for example, is far more active on social networks than anybody else. About 70 percent of these Gen Zers, Forrester says, “visit social networking sites daily” and 85 percent visit Facebook at least once a month.
- Generation Y: The 24-to-32 year olds are more likely to own a tablet (about 25 percent) and smartphone (72 percent).
- Generation X: The 33-to-46 year olds are most likely to spend their money by shopping online (an average of $561 in the past three months compared to an average of $449 for all U.S. shoppers).
- Boomers and Golden Generation: For Boomers (47-to-67 years of age) and the so-called “Golden Generation” (68+), technology adoption obviously lags quite a bit. Older online adults, for example, are more likely to use desktop computers at home and are less likely to own tablets and smartphones. Still, even among this group, tablet adoption has doubled to 14 percent since 2011.
Courtesty of an article dated April 4, 2013 appearing in MarketingProfs and an article dated December 19, 2012 appearing in TechCrunch
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