Robin Clarke is SVP International at 160over90.
If we thought we were obsessed with engaging Millennials, Gen Z present a whole new set of challenges and opportunities.
As Millennials age, brands and rights holders’ near obsessive use of the ‘M’ key on their laptops will shift over towards ‘Z’. So what are the factors that need deep consideration by all rights holders and brands targeting future successes?
Gen Z are digital natives, born and raised in a super connected world that moves faster than any one generation has known before. Their ability to not just second screen but consume multi screen content, to dive in and out, to seemingly switch across channels, platforms and cultural passions should only be deemed a skill, not a concern about their ability to concentrate. Those of us who have aired that criticism must feel age creeping up on us mentally. It is evolution, driven by tech, driven by demand and now being met by mass supply.
Streaming and the onset of 5G
Across many major markets in the coming months, the growing availability of 5G will turbo-charge Gen Z’s consumption through their mobile phones. This, in turn, will heighten the demand for more and more snackable content whilst likely further reducing the longevity of views on more traditional screens.
This isn’t about total consumption reducing in cumulative minutes and hours, but a shift to deeply fragmented habits. House of Highlights, YouTube, Twitter and a burgeoning world of podcast productions (see Spotify’s invasion of sports podcasting this week) are growing followers and consumption at impressive rates.
Gen Z also thirst for deeper, more dynamic physical experiences; underwhelmed by standard events, analogue in their being and siloed in their nature. As we shift to mass fragmentation of the way digital content is consumed, we see the demand and opportunity to create hybrid cultural experiences in the live environment.
Festivalisation of experiences in the physical space is the expectation. If a sporting spectacle is the core, Gen Z are asking: ‘where’s my culinary experience, what’s the music being introduced to me, what’s the half time entertainment and how can I access it all and share it through my phone? 90 mins of football and nothing else? Nah I’m good, I’ll stream bits of it on my phone whilst playing FIFA and flipping in and out of TikTok. You want me to commit to significant outlay from my wallet and my precious time? You better make this one hell of a good, cross culture experience then.’ Build the multi aspect experiences, extend the time window, deepen the engagement and ultimately the consumer relationship.
Building your ecosystem
Your ecosystem has never been stronger, it’s just about recognising it (as long as you’ve got one built!). ‘The attention economy’, ‘the experience economy’, ‘competition for eyeballs’, ‘competition for engagement’, ‘competing against esports’. We keep hearing these phrases in the industry. Darwin again: only the strongest survive. Rights owners, build your ecosystem and don’t stop. Brands – spend good time considering where you can add value in experiences. These Gen Z’ers can smell bullshit across continents. Meet the trending demands and influence the next. Visionaries required here, not just commercial directors.
Talent has never had it better. Gen Z follow talent more than anything else – I can’t think of much more powerful IP for this decade. Change it up, rights holders and brands. Stop the short term influencer campaign recruitment, start the long term authentic relationship and let them help shape the play book for you. Build it deeper and longer, not short and shallow. You don’t have to be a sports shoe brand either, look at Team Visa for Olympics – FIFA and UEFA, for example. Perhaps Darwin’s most important conclusion was that those who do not evolve will die out. Let that be a stark warning, an everyday reminder to those at the wheel on the sports rights and marketing playbooks.
(Sources: Nielsen Sports: Rethinking Sports Experiences for Gen Z; Darwin’s Theory of Evolution)