Have you heard of Group 7? What about the lioness trend? Gen Z lives on social media and wants to see the brands they love participate in their discourse.
Using RTM and connecting to trends can be the leap you need to be authentic, provided you don't come off as cringe.
Nara Smith is probably one of the most known Influencers, a model and TikTok personality with over 12 million followers. She went viral when she started uploading videos of herself preparing complex meals, from scratch, while wearing designer clothes.
Example of good use of a trend? Marc Jacobs did a collaboration with Nara Smith and in the first 48 hours on TikTok, it reached over 13 million views. And if you want more proof of her popularity? She’s now the face of SKIMS holiday campaign -
Marc Jacobs is considered a very popular brand with Gen Z, especially thanks to their subsidiary brand, Heaven, and their extensive use of trends on TikTok.
A less successful example? The collaboration between Dove and the trendy cookie chain, Crumbl, created a deodorant with a cookie scent. The TikTok generation is not enthusiastic-to say the least.
Connect to Gen Z trends-and speak their language-to strengthen their connection to the brand. But, make sure it connects to who you are and what you are. Don't try to be someone and something you're not-that's exactly the way to fail.
if you've been on TikTok or Instagram in the past two years, you're probably aware of the obsession surrounding lip care-lip glosses, lip oil, lip masks-there are a million products and they're all trending all the time. Rhode (and if you are focused on gen z and don’t know Hailey Bieber - now is the time) cracked the code, and released a winning combination-a phone case with their popular lip mask. Why is it brilliant? You don't have to carry it separately, it's always with you and it’s the must-have accessory.
It’s so must-have that it’s sold as a resell for thousands of dollars.
Why does it work? They were the first to do it, identified a pain point for their consumers, and solved it for them relatively easily.
As always - data, data, and more data - conversations with our target audience will reveal their challenges and pains and allow us to create solutions that are right for them.
As the generation that was born into the digital world, and does not remember a time when Facebook was the place where people uploaded entire albums from one evening, social networks have become less and less social networks over time, and more like digital billboards.
The solution? Creating communities in the form of gaming platforms, such as Roblox. Gen Z not only play more, with over 85% of Gen Z identifying as gamers, but they also consume content related to these worlds, such as watching others play (Twitch and Discord) or listening to podcasts in the field.
E.L.F Cosmetics created a game in Roblox called E.l.f. Up! Where Gen Z can build their dream startup or a non-profit of their choice, combined with Elf products. In addition, the brand distributed unique products to the platform to the participants.
The reason Gen Z chooses these platforms is because social media feels more like media and less like social, you don't have to use the platforms (although it's worth it)-try to create a real sense of community for them.
should we talk about Taylor Swift and the phenomenon of the Eras tour? The tour earned $2 billion from ticket sales and created a variety of trends, the biggest one being the friendship bracelets that Swifties distributed at the shows, causing a 500% increase in bead sales.
How important is this to them? 67% of Gen Z identify as part of a fan community, and 62% say that brands that take part in their fandom create a sense of community and trust.
And no, we don't mean the 400 brands that jumped on the Wicked bandwagon and released branded products around the movie, but those that take an active part in the online fandom phenomenon.
For example, in September 2023, Taylor Swift was spotted at a Kansas City Chiefs game, eating chicken nuggets with ketchup and ranch. The internet was buzzing (as befits Swifties) about what was called the "seemingly ranch." Heinz jumped on the saga within 24 hours!! They released a new product-ketchup mixed with ranch.
Participate. Take part. Find a way to be engaged around relevant content.
