Brand of Brothers
Brand of Brothers
Creating Compelling Content for Gen Z
Welcome to the latest installment of Brand of Brothers. I'm Doug. And I'm Johnny. Today we're talking about creating compelling content for Gen Z. All right, let's get to it.
Johnny Diggz:Hey, so today we're going to talk about, uh, one of my favorite topics, Gen Z. Creating
Doug Berger:compelling content for these folks. So, so let, let's begin by saying the most important thing possible to our audience is, is, is making it very clear to them what generation we belong to.
Johnny Diggz:Not Gen Z.
Doug Berger:We do not belong to Gen Z. No, no. Uh, we definitely belong to Gen X.
Johnny Diggz:Yep. Well, uh, what I like to call the forgotten generation because uh, we're small and And we forget a lot of things. We're very forgettable. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha No it's actually, it's interesting, like, when you talk politics or whatever they tend to skip over the Gen X because, um, statistically, in numbers We really don't matter, which is really a reflection of how our parents felt about us as well. Slash
Doug Berger:key kids, right? Yeah, exactly. So, so in the, in the world of, of storytelling for, for Gen Z. Right? We're, we're trying to connect with them in very specific ways that, that things are, things are obviously a lot different between X and Z, right? So, with, as it relates to, to Gen X, uh, we were kind of taught to consume, right? Where, whereas Uh, in, in, in a material way, and, and I feel like the, the script has been flipped with Gen Z.
Johnny Diggz:They, uh, there seems to be a, a different emphasis on, uh, authenticity.
Doug Berger:Oh, for sure. And the way that the content is delivered, right?
Johnny Diggz:Yep, yep, yep. Uh, they, uh, they tend to look at, um, you know, that, that, the concept of the, the, the, TikTok generation is so Oh, yeah, on the shorts
Doug Berger:with the short form video is as we call it is
Johnny Diggz:reels. Um, uh, YouTube shorts. Um, you know, obviously tiktok has been hugely in the news of late because of the, of the legal issues in the United States. Um, and, and, you know, and within that, um, Uh, Mr. Beast has created a whole burgeoning industry of influencers. Um, there are celebrities that don't hit the different generations. You know, I don't know if you're familiar with this guy named Mr. Beast. I am. I have
Doug Berger:children. So of course I am. So,
Johnny Diggz:you know, if you haven't been, uh, if you don't have children and if you're not in that, that might be Uh, an unfamiliar celebrity to you, but he's huge,
Doug Berger:right? Or, or just a brand new, uh, name that's coming on the scene for you. Yeah. So Mr. Beast is a little bit controversial and you, you kind of brought up, uh, the, the political landscape, uh, as it related to, uh, to TikTok and that temporary ban that, that we experienced. So as it relates to, um, To, to the inclusivity. Right. I, I know that, that there's this whole idea of DEI that's become a little bit polarizing politically, but one thing that we've seen as it relates to Gen Z has been that idea of diversity and inclusivity. Can you speak a little bit to that?
Johnny Diggz:So. The, it's not, it goes beyond that. I think it's, um, that as a generation, uh, Gen Z seems to be more, uh, less concerned with, with consumable, consumerism, uh, less concerned with, uh, with getting a job and a career and that, more concerned with, uh, the climate, more concerned with work life balance, um, and so these, Uh, so sustainability, sustainability falls
Doug Berger:in there, even community engagement beyond mental wellness.
Johnny Diggz:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All of those things. Um, And those, the, the brands that reflect those values, um, are going to be more likely connecting with, uh, with, with this generation.
Doug Berger:What about technology? I know that, that VR is becoming popular. AR is, is increasingly becoming popular with them.
Johnny Diggz:It's interesting to see those two specific technologies because they haven't gone the direction that we thought that that many thought that they were going to be with, you know, meta obviously changed their entire, uh, the name of the company to this concept of the metaverse. Um, we're still not seeing that hit. Um, to the mainstream, but do you think that
Doug Berger:might have to do with the fact that Gen Z also values that ethical component? Do you think maybe the adoption is, is being hindered by the fact that maybe, uh, well, first off, we know Gen Z are not wide adopters of, of the meta. Uh, environment, right? Facebook and Instagram. They're, they're marginally there, right? Um, it's more so
Johnny Diggz:probably in, in the, uh, the, the WhatsApp and, and take a talk and it's, well, WhatsApp, Meta owns WhatsApp, Meta owns Instagram, Meta owns, uh, threads, uh, but yeah, I think that they're a little more averse to the metaverse, the meta metaverse. Um, but, uh, but yeah, for some reason they have no problem with brands like TikTok, um, or Snapchat. Um, and, uh, and I think that there's probably. a new brand that a new technology that is going to come out that's going to take over this AR VR type things, maybe with the metaglasses or some of the newer, the newer wearables that are coming out.
Doug Berger:So, I mean, basically what it comes down to is that Gen Z is primarily interested. In authenticity, um, they, they are, are very much into, uh, the values that brands, uh, put forward, um, and, and while addressing social issues that are relevant to, to Gen Z. So a quick recap, right? So what matters to Gen Z? When it comes to creating compelling content,
Johnny Diggz:I think Authenticity is got to be up there 100 percent Social responsibility in Can you give an example for that? Um For example, I think Companies that will, that, that give back as part of their, um, uh, as part of their business, uh, plan.
Doug Berger:So it's part of that whole community engagement idea. Whether or not it's local, hyper local, or even on a national level. Like, uh, like we saw with Tom's Shoes, for example.
Johnny Diggz:Yeah,
Doug Berger:exactly, exactly. And so, um And for those who are unfamiliar, um, for our one listener that we're talking to, um, Tom's Shoes Uh, for every pair of shoes that you bought, they would donate a pair. Right. I mean, it wasn't the exact same pair, but which we later found out it was a much less, uh, less expensive, uh, pair of shoes, but nonetheless,
Johnny Diggz:good business on Tom's part.
Doug Berger:And just to clarify, Tom is not the same guy from MySpace. Not
Johnny Diggz:the MySpace guy, yeah, no. It's supposed to be a Gen Z, not a Gen X.
Doug Berger:And for our Gen Z listener, um, MySpace is sort of like TikTok, but from, for people who were born in the 1900s.
Johnny Diggz:It's the, it's the Friendster of the, of its day.
Doug Berger:Does anyone
Johnny Diggz:know what that is? No.
Doug Berger:Thank you for tuning in to Brand Brothers. Big thank you to our presenting sponsor, Remix, the branding agency, along with production assistants from Johnny Diggs, Simon Jacobson, and me, Doug Berger. We can't forget music by PRO. Speaking of not forgetting, remember to do that like and subscribe thing and find us at BrandShowLive. com and follow us on the socials at BrandShowLive.