Engaging Gen Z through Advertising

Engaging Gen Z through Advertising

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The pandemic has affected the companies brutally but now as they are climbing up the stairs to prosperity, the next obstacle lies ahead is engaging Gen Z (born between 1995 to 2010).

It is predicted that Generation Z (also known as, Gen Z) will have $44 billion in buying power and they make up 27 percent of the U.S. population. 

They are the generation who prefer to play video games, stream music, and engage on social media, often simultaneously, rather than just watch TV or movies, which makes it hard for advertisers to reach them through traditional commercials and advertisements. 

In this article, we are going to discuss the tips and tricks for engaging Gen Z through Digital Advertisements.

JND based ads 

It is very important for Gen Z to have no distractions and interruptions while they are browsing/streaming. For having a focused environment, they prefer to pay extra money. In order to reach this type of audience, advertisers should adopt JND theory, i.e., Just Noticeable Difference, wherein the advertisers are supposed to create content/ads which are not considered as an interruption, contrary to the traditional ads, but to make it to the maximum impact as possible. 

This theory if used in ads to target the Gen Z would be a success, as their flow of work won’t be disturbed plus it’ll still be able to leave an impact on them.

Personalized Content 

People tend to tune out the content which is not relevant to their interests and it’s not only applicable to Gen Z but other generations as well. This can be achieved by displaying ads which are of the interests of the users.

Here, tracking the behavior and interests of a consumer becomes an absolute necessity in order to have a better reach and being able to engage your audience. 

Interactive Ads

As mentioned above, Gen Z prefers gaming and engaging on social media rather than just watching TV or Movies. This is the reason why few of the advertisers have started to create interactive ads in order to increase engagement and capture the attention of the user, for eg, 3D Impact Creatives.

Especially after the pandemic, interaction has become a requirement for the consumers and a basis for them to relate with a company/product. It can be used as a leverage in ads, making the ads interactive and interesting for them so that even if it breaks their flow, they’ll be intrigued to pay attention to the ad and not consider it as an interruption. 

According to a study, interactive video ads can drive a 47% lift in time spent with the ad, compared to non-interactive video ads. This makes the ad type 32% more memorable than standard ads, with 9x higher impact on purchase intent.

Interactive advertisements can include video, GIFs, Quizzes, QR Codes, Surveys, etc. 

Making Shorter Ads 

The attention span of Gen Z is very short and to be able to capture attention, the ads should be shorter than the traditional ads. 

Based on the marginal utility theory, ads should be short enough to satisfy the customers but also make them wait for the other ad, which will result in increased consumption of the content and the impact of the ad.

Ads on Social Media

Gen Z prefers engaging through social media and spends a lot of time scrolling through social media in search of new content. This can be leveraged by advertisers by promoting their company/product on social media through ads. Many advertisers have changed their marketing strategies, post pandemic, due to a significant increase in consumption of content on social media by the users. 

Conclusion

As tough and complicated it seemed earlier to connect with Gen Z, it is much easier and simple if you follow the above tips and keep in check the technology you leverage for the same. 

It is recommended to advertisers to keep all the above mentioned factors in mind while creating advertisements for targeting and engaging Gen Z.