How Has Gen Z Helped Create New Forms of Marketing?

The oldest members of Gen Z are part of an unfortunate group that was raised in households affected by the Great Recession and sent into the job market during Covid-19. These young adults are already showing spending patterns similar to their Millennial counterparts, which isn’t much of a surprise as both groups have struggled to find economic footing. What does this mean for companies looking to market to this crucial upcoming generation?

Most of these twenty-somethings have spent more than half of their lives with a phone. They have been taught how to effectively research with ever improving search engines that have made it easy for these young consumers to find exactly what they are after. Companies have to be clear and honest with their brand, products, and marketing as research has shown that Gen Z’s technological prowess has made them skeptical of larger companies and institutions.

Money doesn’t come or go easily. Coupled with the willingness to research anything, this group is also willing to completely cut out some purchases to have enough money to spend more on what they really want. Companies are going to need to prove that their product or service is more than worth it.

Gen Z is spending an average of over 7 hours a day online. More conventional entertainment like cable television and radio continue to decrease even though average media consumption is on the rise. YouTube and Netflix still hold the top two spots for internet traffic for arts and entertainment.

Compared to previous generations, Gen Z is spending less and researching more. How should companies use newer forms of media to engage with and advertise to this crucial group?

For years now targeting different social media platforms has been the go to method for most companies looking to capture the attention of Gen Z. This has caused the platforms to become saturated with brands, products, and posts that have further increased Gen Z’s disdain for impersonal advertisements. The increased importance of relevant advertising is a lead contributor in the changing landscape of advertisements over the last few years. The growing number of “partnered” advertisements on platforms like YouTube and Twitch are done largely because they get more engagement from the younger viewers that are slower to trust bigger companies.

The next major shift in marketing is the growing environments of esports and live streaming. These two categories are remarkably similar to a more conventional form of entertainment, live sports. Initially advertisements for esports competitions that were streamed live over Twitch were very similar to what one would find on a sports broadcast. Banners around the venue, regular commercials throughout, and sponsorships for teams and players. Broadcasters would soon find out, however, that these live streams contained an important variable that their television counterparts did not; immediate feedback, engagement, and the incomparable value of a live chat.

One company that sought to enter the space in an interesting way was Bud Light that joined with popular esports game, Overwatch League, in 2019. They also held a charity tournament in Call of Duty which contained athletes and superstars like Marshawn Lynch, Allie Long, and Paul George. Now Bud Light has worked into partnerships with NBA 2k, Magic Gaming, and Fnatic making them one of the biggest sponsors in esports. What makes Twitch so incredible? There is still so much room in the industry for large and small companies to flourish.

Not all companies can spend the resources on building out the presence that Bud Light has created over the last few years, and the unfortunate truth is that most advertising on Twitch causes more harm than good. Pre-roll and mid-roll ads are used by YouTube with fewer problems because of one reason; Twitch is live, and viewers are there for an immediate viewing experience. Some companies that are advertising on Twitch have found that a great way to generate engagement is to partner with the streamer and to avoid the generic style advertisement altogether. Companies like G-Fuel, Razer, and Nvidia work with streamers to create a marketing campaign that fits within the stream and attracts viewers because the streamer personally uses and recommends the brand.

Currently, there is no simple method for a business looking to find a streamer to partner with. The exhaustive process includes searching for a content creator that fits within your brand, trying to get in contact with the streamer, and then spending time working out a contract and agreement that works for both parties.

How can a business best balance its brand image and successful engagement when advertising on Twitch?

One of the best options for a business that can afford it is to run big campaigns that include a competition or event and partnerships with big name streamers or celebrities. For businesses that do not wish to pay the higher price and spend the time putting this all together, a great option is to work with streamers to show your ad directly on their stream. This is not an easy process, and it is where our platform comes in to makes the process simple.

ADS x IGNTE is the most convenient way for businesses to find great streamers and advertise on their channel. Our system works so well because of how it captures important real estate on a stream without interrupting the content in the same way most advertisements do. This is important because of how negatively Gen Z reacts to the more conventional commercial style advertisements that have occupied media for so long. On our platform, businesses’ advertisements appear on the stream and a message pops up in chat at the same time. Through an involved process, we have creatively approached and solved many of the problems that companies are having marketing to younger audiences.

More than two-thirds of the audience on Twitch is between 13 and 34. The platform works as one of the greatest avenues to directly target Millennials and the critically important Gen Z. Our platform allows you to put your advertisements directly in front of the audience you are after, in a way that is tailor made to best produce engagement without hurting your brand image. Decades of experience and years of testing has brought our platform to where it is, and we can not wait to see how it shapes the landscape of modern advertising.

Thank you for your time,

Jacob

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Statistics above from Global Web Index and Twitch Tracker