Marketers shift attention to Generation Z

The children of Generation Z (born after 1995) have a lot to teach the rest of us, writes Sandiso Ngubane

'How would your friends describe you?" I ask 12-year-old Gcina Mbelu. He casually answers "bombastic", among other characteristics. I presume bombastic in this context would mean verbose rather than pompous, which he most certainly isn't.

While he has a lot to say, this member of Generation Z - the cohort after millennials - is not just spewing empty rhetoric. He has an impressive grasp of issues as we discuss social media, technology, the future and his dream to "create a robotics company".

Why? "I want to help people with disabilities," he says. Technology, Gcina says, helps us understand things better and solve problems. Coupled with this is his desire to help others, something researchers have found is a distinct trait of Generation Z.

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Born after 1995, this cohort has been referred to by some as the Founders, iGen (someone at Apple thought this was a thing) and Plurals. Marketers are increasingly turning their focus to this post-millennial generation as they grow older and become more influential in terms of spending power.

Because of their familiarity with the internet this generation already holds a certain level of influence over household spending; parents will often ask their advice on online purchases or general product research.

The eldest members of the cohort are already either in tertiary education or entering the job market. They don't remember a time before Google, and have grown up in a world characterised by the fast development of the World Wide Web, the rapid digitalisation of almost everything, smartphone technology, the post-9/11 environment and the 2008 global economic downturn.

Climate change is increasingly hard to ignore, as are issues of equality and diversity thanks to the internet's democratisation of news and opinion, as well as growing up in a world where their interactions have been diverse.

Looking at the South African context, these are kids who have been raised on the Mandela Rainbow Nation ideal, social integration and, now, the faltering of those ideals as cracks begin to show under the leadership of Jacob Zuma, at a time when social media frequently exposes the bigoted among us.

Unlike millennials, who grew up amid stable economic growth and relative peace, only for their world to be thrown into disarray by terrorism, economic doom and gloom and the like, this is a generation that has seen how the economic downturn affected their older siblings and their economic prospects.

block_quotes_start It's not right that other people think because you're a different colour, God put you on earth by mistake block_quotes_end

They are far more realistic in their outlook, and rather than employing armchair activism, they are actively looking for solutions.

It's therefore quite fitting that some call them the Founders. They have a strong desire to build a new society where problems inherited from previous generations are a thing of the past. One Generation Z respondent in a JWT survey is quoted as saying previous generations have messed the world up and "it is up to my generation to fix it".

MTV Insight's research into this cohort found that 90% don't think a person's religion, race or sexual orientation defines them.

Indeed, when I ask 15-year-old Yandisa Monakali what the one thing she would like to change about the world is, she responds: "Racism. It's not right that other people think because you're a different colour, God put you on earth by mistake."

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Her friend, 14-year-old Jade Williams, adds: "We're all brothers and sisters, we all come from the same people. As much as we are strangers, but why treat someone like they are your enemy when you don't even know them?"

"I'd want to get rid of crime and change the world to be a place where people help each other, and partner with one another to make the world a better place," says Gcina.

"I would want to make the world a happier place," says another member of Generation Z, 12-year-old Ricardo Fredericks.

I ask them about Will Smith's son, Jaden, and his inclination for gender-fluid dressing. Yandisa and Jade find him "cool".

Gcina describes Jaden as "someone who's got style". "I think he is someone who is happy with who he is. He doesn't care what people think. He just wants to be himself. Sometimes I do think: 'Seriously, dude?', but in general I really don't mind that he wears girls' clothes."

block_quotes_start You have to come from an authentic place, because if you're real, they'll know it                                         block_quotes_end

Interestingly, their use of social media sets this generation apart from even their immediate predecessors, the millennials, who are always on their phones, according to Ricardo. "I feel like they don't like spending time with family. They are always looking at their phones," he says.

Visual platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat emerged as a firm favourite for all four of my interviewees, while Facebook and Twitter seem to be far less popular, or totally not on their radar because none of their friends uses those platforms.

Yandisa and Jade say their Instagram accounts are locked and reserved for their friends, not random followers, which is starkly different to most millennials, who have been known to even buy followers and use social media for self-promotion and displays of narcissism. Time Magazine, for example, once called millennials the "selfie generation".

Jade says it's also about security: "You could have this 40-year-old man following you and commenting on your pictures. I don't want that ."

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The visual nature of the platforms is what seems to be driving their popularity. Gcina says he enjoys sending visual messages on Snapchat. "It's almost like WhatsApp, but instead of typing what I want to say, I can just take a video or picture and then add a caption explaining what I'm saying, or how I feel," he says.

Authenticity is much bandied-about in marketing circles, and there are many column inches dedicated to the idea that it is very last year. But my sense is that what this generation is drawn to is authenticity that doesn't have to be stated.

For example, between TV presenters and vloggers, the latter are favoured because they are "unscripted". Jaden Smith, as noted, is admired for being himself. Gcina adds that YouTube stars are more appealing because they exhibit personality, make mistakes and are generally funny. Moshe Ndiki, a local YouTube star, is a favourite with Yandisa.

To quote 19-year-old Patrick Finnegan, a New Yorker who dropped out of high school and now consults for brands that want to know how to appeal to Generation Z: "You have to come from an authentic place, because if you're real, they'll know it."

They've been called "millennials on steroids" and as marketers and trend observers rush to define this new generation, the one thing that is quite evident is that thanks to growing up at a time when information is easily accessible, this is a generation that doesn't have to rely on Mommy or Daddy to debunk the Father Christmas myth, never mind asking how they could be of assistance to disabled people, for example. I doubt Gcina relied on his parents to tell him that robotics could be an answer to that.