Interactive Video Quiz: How Well Do You Know Generation Y / Millennials?

(Joeri Van den Bergh)
Challenge your Millennial knowledge by taking this interactive quiz about Millennial attitudes and behaviors
around the world.

Gen Z Profile:

  • First majority non-white U.S. generation (Source: U.S. Census)
  • 40% of U.S. consumers by 2020 (Source: CMO.com)
  • Spend $44 Billion annually (Source CMO.com)
  • Influence $600 Billion annual family spend (Source: CMO.com)

Profile

  • Because of technology, generations change every 2-3 years
  • Transition From Millennials (Gen-Y) to Cybrids (Gen-Z). There are ~2 billion Cybrids globally. They represent around 1/4 of the North American population.
  • Far beyond “digital natives,” Cybrids are the first generation to have a fully symbiotic relationship with technology
  • Well-educated

Yet…

  • Place less value on the “value” of higher-education
  • Industrious
  • Collaborative
  • Entrepreneurial (62% of American high-schoolers want to be an entrepreneur vs an employee)
  • Community-oriented
  • Financially prudent
  • Eager to build a better planet

Media Habits

  • Average Gen Z attention span = 8 seconds (Source: Sparks & Honey)
  • Given young people’s reduced attention span, NextGen wants it short with no reading – think emojis!
  • Don’t fall victim to “tl;dr” (too long; didn’t read). (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting – CTAM Think 2016)​
  • Gen Z uses 5 screens on average: smartphone, TV, laptop, desktop and IPod/IPad (Source: Sparks & Honey)
  • 79% of Gen Z displays symptoms of emotional distress when kept from their personal electronic devices (Source: CMO.com)
  • 25% of 13-17 year olds have left Facebook in 2015 (Source: CMO.com)
  • Gen Z prefers social networks like Snapchat, Secrets and Whisper (Source: CMO.com)
  • 1 million selfies are taken every single day in the 18-24 year-old demographic. (Source: Izzigadgets.com)
  • In 2015, more people died from selfies than from shark attacks. (Source: Donte Neal/Mashable

Article – Selfie Marketing: How to Go Beyond the Selfie Craze (How Cool Brands Stay Hot – Joeri Van den Bergh)

Brand Marketing for Gen Y and Z:

  • 64% of Gen Z’s are more likely than other generations to trust (somewhat or completely) the content on mobile apps from brands, as well as text messages from brands (Source: Grail Research)
  • 22% of surveyed Gen Z consumers say they trust (somewhat or completely) posts by companies or brands on social networking (Source: Forrester Research)
  • 34% want brands to reach them on social media and only 13% want to be contacted through snail mail (Source: Deep Focus)
  • To capture Gen Z’s attention, brands are experimenting with live streaming content. (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting – CTAM Think 2016)
  • Despite shorter attention spans, long format can still win with unskippable online ads that are fun and creative. (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting – CTAM Think 2016)

  • Gen Z is more tolerant of gender and race than any other generation causing brands to shift to match these ideals (e.g. Disney princesses have changed into strong, powerful and less girl individuals, taking on masculine roles and solving problems for themselves). (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting – CTAM Think 2016)
  • Gen Z is the “me” economy and want to do it themselves, so hyper-personalization is desired to give Gen Z consumers the ability to participate with brands they love. (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting – CTAM Think 2016)
  • Imperfect suddenly becomes perfect – perfection is boring, as Gen Z is looking for authenticity. (Source: Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting – CTAM Think 2016)

Article: 51 of the Most Interesting Facts About Generation Z (Dan Schwabel)​

Gen Z vs. Millennials

  • More tolerant than Millennials of demographic diversity
  • They are more ethnically and culturally diverse
  • Less likely to subscribe to traditional gender roles
  • Decreased brand loyalty
  • Shifting purchasing habits
  • Increased spending power (By 2020, they will make up 40% of consumers in the U.S., Europe and BRIC countries, and 10% in the rest of the world.)
  • But, interestingly…they are more frugal
  • Expect the brands they interface with to use sophisticated technology, but…
  • They do not want to be tracked and they want to retain control over their own data. 25% of 13-17 year old Facebook users left in 2014; drawn to incognito media.

Meet The Xennials (1977 – 1983)

This micro generation includes those born between 1977 and 1983 – a mix of people on the cusp of Gen X and Millennial demographics.

You Could Be a Xennial. Here’s How to Tell.

Source: USA Today

Characteristics

  • They are a mix of the pessimistic generation X and the optimistic Millennials.
  • Xennials spent their childhoods outside without the need to update social media (analog childhood).
  • They grew up in a time where landline phones were used to organize catch ups with friends, and people read the newspaper and watched the nightly news to keep up to date with current affairs.
  • They then came into the technology boom in their 20s, and are now tech-savvy (digital adulthood) being able to adopt in a selective way the new technologies with time to learn before being frazzled with kids.

Where Do Xennials Fit in?

Articles