After a decade of Millennial obsession, the marketing world is increasingly buzzing about the next generation around the corner — Generation Z.
Studies highlight their buying power of $44 billion, that they’ll be 40% of the population of US, Europe, and BRIC by 2020, and that they are naturally immune to advertising. Agencies are lining up to offer tools and tricks for brands to “engage” with Generation Z.
And yet, as with Millennials, I’m not sure how useful these broad-brush generational stereotypes really are. Generations are not monoliths. Can a generation-level insight really help a brand engage with such a large and diverse group of people in a meaningful way?
I heard an expression somewhere that “it’s like saying everything living in the ocean is a fish.”
Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years.
Who else should we target?, August 2014
Marketing to Generation Z, March 2015
