Bauer Media celebrates launch of Syrup with Gen Z research
Bauer Media has launched its Gen Z platform Syrup, a digitally-led fashion, beauty and culture brand, with new research into the demographic it aims to serve.
The Offscript research has found 14-24-year-olds, or Generation Z, are more considered than previous generations and highlighted the points brands should hit to market to them.
Syrup is aimed at 16-22-year-olds, and features articles, galleries and video content covering love and sex, real life, news and politics and fashion.
Gen Z represents 3.4m Australians and Bauer’s research said they prioritise ordinariness over individualism and ambition, with community ties and enduring relationships paramount. While they have an entrepreneurial appetite, they also have modest financial goals and grounded aspirations, the research said.
The Offscript research was commissioned using artificial intelligence to understand the thoughts, feelings and social media behaviours of Gen Z. The program analysed more than 2,000 Instagram posts to discover and classify the underlying clusters of themes that connect the generation. This methodology was supplemented with qualitative research and manual semiotic analysis to provide context.
Anna Preston, head of strategy at Bauer Media, said there’s never been a generation like Generation Z.
: “It was great to partner again with the leading research agency, The Lab, to apply this ground-breaking methodology to uncover the emotional signature. We have never seen a generation like this one before. They are less rebellious than those which preceded them. They are also more thoughtful about how they chose to live and the choices they make.
“For advertisers, Gen Z is an opportunity, but also a challenge as it’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Communication needs to be tailored, authentic and engaging in order to connect with them and through this study we now have a clearer understanding of the best way to achieve that.”
Editor Mahalia Chang said Syrup has a responsibility to give Gen Z the tools they need to take on challenges, a sentiment that informed Syrup’s ‘We Arm The Future’ purpose.
“Whether it’s optimism, positivity, self-love, information or inspiration, Syrup wants to provide this generation with the tools they need,” Chang said.
“From questions on identity, sexuality and expression, to even ‘How do I pay my taxes?’, Syrup is a trusted and authentic resource.”
Monisha Rudhran and Julian Rizzo-Smith are the primary reporters on Syrup, alongside Chang who came across from Elle Australia and Harper’s Bazaar.
Good to see a Gen-Z platform focus on real life issues and concerns, rather than just making memes about The Voice or something. Whatever happened to Punkee and Pez anyway?
As with any of these platforms though, will be interesting to see whether they’re actually effective in building an audience of their target generation.
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