The Power of Licensing #17: Gen-Z: They Crave Stability And Trust, So Give It To Them
May, 18, 2021, By: Michael Stone, Chairman and Co-founder Of all the current monikered generations, Gen Z (born between 1995 and 2010) is the most stressed out, according to an abundance of data. Their search for stability and trust in an unstable world, opens a unique window of opportunity for brands to hear their voices, entangle with this cohort and, in the process, perhaps, gain brand loyalty. But that loyalty must be earned, their trust must be won.
Let me begin with an admission: I’m a Baby Boomer and my world view is naturally colored by my generational experiences. I often find myself saying “What’s old is new again.” Gen Z’s yearning for stability in a chaotic world reminds me of my generation in the 1960s and 1970s when we were their age. Every generation has its defining crises. For Baby Boomers it was the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and more. For Gen Z it is racial inequality, sexual harassment, gender equality, climate change, gun safety, immigration reform, and voting rights, among other issues. Like my generation, they are facing their issues and crises all at once, although they are taking on a lot at one time. In 2020 and 2021, Gen Z also has had to face the intersection of the worst health crisis in over a century, the most serious confrontation with systemic racism since the 1960s and the worst economic slump in 70 years (events that will define their generation for the rest of their lives). As children, they had to live through the Great Recession with anxious parents, go to school worried about mass shooters, and more recently, whether Democrats or Republicans, they had to weather the chaos of the Trump presidency. Not an easy time to come of age; an unstable time. No wonder they are stressed out. And yet, they aren’t intimidated by all of these social, political, cultural and environmental issues swirling around them. Quite the opposite. They are an activist generation (lest we forget, Boomers were as well back in the ‘60s and ‘70s). They take strong positions and expect others, including brands, to do the same. And while they are naturally used to instability, they will be drawn to stability. They look for places where they can place their trust. And that’s where the opportunity for brands lays. This time, our time right now, is the formative time of their lives.
Stressed and Distrustful. The American Psychological Association (“APA”) “Stress in America 2020 report” concluded that Gen Z adults are scoring their stress levels much higher than other age groups. For Gen Z, 34% said that their mental health was worse than a year ago compared to 21% of Gen Xers, 19% of Millennials, 12% of Boomers and 8% of those 75 and above. The study also found that Gen Z adults are more likely to report symptoms of depression, 75% say they feel so tired that they “sat around and did nothing”, 74% were restless, 73% struggled to think properly or concentrate, and the same percentage felt lonely. A whopping 71% felt miserable or unhappy. The New York Times recently reported that the CDC found that 12- to 17-year-olds visiting hospitals for mental health reasons rose 31% for most of 2020 compared to 2019. Another recent piece in The New York Times Magazine entitled “I Feel Like I’m Just Drowning” focused on high school students and their stories of anxiety, lonliness, fear, disappointment in themselves, lack of motivation, loss of self-confidence, feelings of worthlessness, anger and shame. Their lives have been upended by the pandemic and they are aware that they are struggling with mental health issues. No one really knows what the long-term consequences will be for these adolescents. Of course, even a thin pancake has two sides. Some college students have found this to be a time of self-discovery, a time to find new paths ahead, focus on school work and live healthier. But it doesn’t mean that they still don’t feel the stress of our turbulent times.
All of this data and narrative makes sense. Not only has Gen Z come of age during a chaotic time, which is a major stressor in and of itself, but, according to Morning Consult, “Gen Z Worldview Tracker: How 2020 is Impacting Gen Z’s Worldview”, the majority (68%) of Gen Z is worried that the pandemic will affect their education for years to come and the same is true for their career prospects (63%). While these unsettling times are generally stressful for all generations, it is particularly so for Gen Z given their youth, the instability surrounding them and the uncertain future. They have very little life experience or resilience to fall back on (like other older generations). Due to the pandemic, just as some of them are entering the workforce they saw their jobs disappear or hours reduced more than any other generation. Eighty-one percent say the U.S. is on the wrong track. Only 5% strongly agree that the world is a fair place. Despite all of this, 62% believe that they have the potential to change the world. All of that creates a lot of pressure on this young cohort. It all leads to stress.
And if you think that this is an aberration arising from what we went through last year, well you would be wrong. The same APA study, in 2018, found that Gen Z were most likely of all generations to report poor mental health. That study also reported that slightly more than nine in 10 adult Gen Zers said that they had experienced at least one physical or emotional symptom due to stress in the past month compared to 75% of all adults, such as depression or sadness (58%), lack of interest, motivation or energy (55%), or feeling nervous or anxious (54%). Back then (and still now) they were more stressed than the general population about gun safety, sexual harassment and immigration.
Further driving Gen Z’s stress levels is their declining lack of trust in institutions and those in power. According to the Morning Consult, “Gen Z Worldview Tracker”, their falling levels of trust are across every segment of our lives, from the police to the courts, the military, news media, Hollywood and, of course, the Government. From last May to June, there was a 20-point decrease in the share of Gen Z that trusts people in power to do the right thing given the crises we face. With trust in institutions in decline and optimism about the future falling, they are frustrated and, yet, they strongly believe that they can be agents of change.
To pursue change, Gen Z also has something that my generation didn’t have: a loudspeaker - - social media. Gen Z is the first completely digitally native generation having been born entirely during the digital age. They are the first generation that doesn’t know a world without the internet, apps and social media platforms. They don’t remember 9/11. Their online and offline worlds are completely blended. They are always connected and unrestrained by geography or time zones. They understand the impact of social media, that they can drive discussion, awareness and actions at scale, that social media gives each individual the opportunity to be heard all over the world and to quickly organize. However, although they are as comfortable with social media as I once was with the new and simple remote control to work the television set, this 24/7 global connectivity and communications overload creates its own stress levels frequently making many Gen Zers feel judged or badly about themselves. Nevertheless, although this young generation won’t really come of age and be fully understood for another ten years, their comfort with social media makes Gen Z have influence far beyond simply their age and purchasing power, which is also growing.
Brands to the Rescue. With all of this power and desire to make the world a better place, they are challenging the longstanding core values and marketing strategies of brands. Gen Z wants to fix inequality and injustice, they want more action on climate change, they want a better world and they believe that they can achieve those goals, but they know that they can’t do it alone. They expect brands to play a part. “Gen Z are pragmatists, but they also seek accelerated change. Unlike Millennials, who take a more activitst approach when working with brands, Gen Z is ready to partner in order to create substantive and fast-tracked impact. Their short experiences have taught them that government and non-profits can’t act fast enough alone. They believe that brands can help,” noted Whitney Dailey, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Research/Insights, Porter Novelli. They expect brands to be an extension of their values and are raising the bar for brand behavior. According to Morning Consult’s “Gen Z Worldview Tracker”, Gen Z strongly believes that corporations and their leaders play an important role in the country, and as such should use their influence to not only impact political and cultural issues, but specifically demand action from entities with the power to enact systemic change. The recent Porter Novelli report, “Gen Z Joins the Social Justice Movement”, found that 81% of Gen Zers think social media gives their generation more of a voice than previous generations and they are using their online voices to make their opinions known, including to companies seeking to tap into their buying power. Marketers that aren’t listening do so at great risk.
Significantly, brands that take positions and action on issues important to Gen Z can also, in the process, deliver something more elusive to Gen Z that is not getting much attention - - stability and trust (those weren’t easy to come by in the 1960s and 1970s either). Gen Zers are, of course, neither all alike nor are their attitudes towards brands and the positions they take the same. However, there are common, interconnecting threads among this cohort.
First, they expect brands to take positions on issues of the day, promise action and deliver on those promises. And while that has been a characteristic of this generation for some time (some of these attributes started with Millennials), the past year -- with a pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, the January 6th Capitol insurrection and voting rights-- has accelerated the demands that Gen Z is placing on brands. Their buying decisions are not based solely on price and quality. Gen Z wants to know who they are buying from, what the brand stands for, its values. For example, according to the Porter Novelli report, 66% believe it is no longer acceptable for companies to be silent on social justice issues. And the sense of urgency to address issues is increasing, with 72% believing that companies have more responsibility than ever before to advance social justice.
Second, they are looking for brands that they can trust, brands that deliver on their promises. Let’s not forget that Gen Z has grown up during a time of “fake news” and they easily spot it. They want commitment, transparency and authenticity from brands when it comes to positions and actions that brands are taking. Brands can’t hide; everything is visible. If a brand takes a position that is inauthentic, it will be exposed, alienate this cohort, and the brand will be penalized and lose Gen Z’s trust. While brands cannot fully deliver on Gen Z’s craving for stability (to think otherwise would be insane), they can help satisfy it by earning the trust of Gen Z through the positions that they take and then delivering on those positions and promises.
There are also other avenues for brands to satisfy Gen Z as they search for stability. For example, Gen Z appears to be interested in nostalgia, for a time period that they actually never experienced, a more simple, comforting time, a digitally disconnected time. Brands like Urban Outfitters (retro clothing), Adidas (the Stan Smith/Kermit the Frog sneaker), Pizza Hut (which just re-introduced The Noid from the 1980s) and FILA (cool vintage) are serving up products and images from bygone days to their Gen Z consumers.
It’s important to remind ourselves why we have brands in the first place. We can have a lively debate about when consumer product brands truly began to take shape and why. In my opinion, in the latter half of the 19th century, as consumers were offered the opportunity to purchase products at places other than the local General Store, driven largely by the expansion of the railroad system, improvements in the postal service and, later, the rise of “emporiums” (i.e., department stores), they had many more purchase choices. Brands began to flourish, designed to make buying decisions easier, differentiate similar products and to assure consumers of the quality of the product. For the next 100+ years, consumers got virtually all of their product and brand information from advertising - - first print and billboards, then radio and then TV. That all changed with the internet and everything associated with it. With so much information now available to consumers about any product, including peer reviews and expert advice, the effectiveness of traditional advertising diminished and how brands engage with consumers and drive them to make a purchase got complicated. Yet, contrary to one school of thought, brands didn’t die off. In fact, smart brands continue to thrive, including new brands with an easier path to market. That’s because consumers still want their buying decisions made easier (and faster) and they want to trust what they are buying. It’s the same as in the late 1800s. What’s different today is what the message needs to be and how to deliver it. The internet, technology and social media have gained the upper hand. Brand messaging is no longer a one-way street-- brand to consumer -- but a two-way conversation between consumers and brands. And this is truer for Gen Z than any other generation.
A Call to Action. The year that we have just come through, and our continuing turbulent times, present a unique time for brands to deliver to Gen Z. With government and institutions falling short (perhaps Joe Biden will change that, stay tuned), where else can this stressed out generation turn for stability and trust? Brands, while not the solution for the emotional trauma, mental health challenges and stress suffered by Gen Z, certainly can provide a safe haven, let Gen Z know that their voices are being heard and inspiring action, and give them a place where they can place their trust and, perhaps in the process (although there is no guarantee) give brands an opportunity to win their loyalty and drive purchasing behavior.
Understanding Gen Z during these formative years is and will continue to be critical for brands and marketers. There is a big difference between an 11-year old and one who is 26, the current age range of Gen Z. But Gen Z is right in the middle of forming their attitudes and preferences when it comes to brands. And given the crises that we are all facing, Gen Z’s digital nature and loud voice, their belief that they can drive systemic change, their influence, their expectation that brands will step up to the plate, and, importantly, their search for trust and stability, there is today a short, but exciting window of opportunity for brands to satisfy this cohort, gain their trust and win their brand loyalty, and likely to do some good in the world at the same time. Brands that miss this opportunity today, do so at their own future peril. The stakes are high, the call to action is clear.
Understanding Gen Z during these formative years is and will continue to be critical for brands and marketers. There is a big difference between an 11-year old and one who is 26, the current age range of Gen Z. But Gen Z is right in the middle of forming their attitudes and preferences when it comes to brands. And given the crises that we are all facing, Gen Z’s digital nature and loud voice, their belief that they can drive systemic change, their influence, their expectation that brands will step up to the plate, and, importantly, their search for trust and stability, there is today a short, but exciting window of opportunity for brands to satisfy this cohort, gain their trust and win their brand loyalty, and likely to do some good in the world at the same time. Brands that miss this opportunity today, do so at their own future peril. The stakes are high, the call to action is clear.