Travel Marketing Summit: ‘Is Gen Z a generation misunderstood?’ How lazy cliches are missing the marketing mark
“Is Gen Z a generation misunderstood?” It’s a question that Maria Parisi and Jayesh Kesry frequently ponder.
As marketing director and head of marketing, respectively, at Contiki Oceania, both feel that marketers are in danger of misrepresenting an entire generation – turning them into cliches based on splashy media headlines.
“We’re essentially speaking to a caricature of a generation rather than the generation itself,” Parisi explained at the Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit last week.
She reasons that Gen Z isn’t easily identified by either the brands they value — as with previous generations — nor by easily bundled character attributes that marketers and journalists seem determined to pin on them: “socialist, sort of celibate, activist, eco-warriors – the kind of extremities of what we think Gen Z are,” as she puts it.
“I really can’t name a lot of new brands that are around,” Parisi admits, before clarifying she falls outside of both the Gen Z age range and Contiki’s key demo of under-35s.
Contiki’s own research found that the younger generations are increasingly looking to the past for their favourite brands and products — everything from Barbie to wired headphones — with 40% of Gen Zers saying they would most like to live in the ’80s or ’90s. In terms of naming their favourite ‘brands’. Gen Z is likely to identify the likes of TikTok, Google, and YouTube – services that aren’t primarily aimed at the youth.
Parisi quotes the 2011 Woody Allen film Midnight In Paris, which claims that “nostalgia is denial of the painful present”, and points out that, while nostalgia has always been in favour with younger generations, the cycle is getting shorter — in the 1960s they looked back to the 1920s, these days Gen Z is likely to fetishise DVDs.
“We’re beginning to believe it’s kind of around escapism or longing for simpler times, but maybe it’s more than that,” Kesry said.
“And it begs the question, are Aussie Gen Z romanticising the past because they can’t relate to the brands of today? Aussie Gen Z’s are looking for something, and they’re finding it in these brands of yesteryear that they can’t find in a brand of today.”
As has happened with all generations, Gen Z is finding itself being increasingly turned into a caricature. Parisi and Kesry pointed to a number of ‘studies’ and headlines carried out and reported upon by the mainstream media.
“It’s an interesting collection and comment on the way that we, as a collective, perceive this generation.”
Among the claims published across outlets, including the BBC and Harvard Business, are that 76% of Gen Z are activists; Gen Z is turning to socialism; Gen Z is choosing to be sober; and Gen Z don’t see themselves as environmentalists because they “aren’t just motivated by climate change, they’re downright traumatised by it”, according to the BBC.
“These are repeated headlines that we tend to see,” Parisi noted, saying it does a disservice to a generation that is far more varied and nuanced than given credit for, one that included those who will drink seltzers with turmeric while on hunting weekends, blending partying with gym sessions, and cold plunges with card games.
Politically, a lot of this generation is central, with recent polling indicating that 44% of Gen Z planned to vote for Trump, and 56% for Harris. “On the ideological scale, Gen Z males are more ‘left’ than any of the previous generations,” Parisi said, research that rubs against the prevailing fear of mindless young males being recruited to the right.
“What’s happening here is that maybe are they less extreme and just a bit more balanced than we’re giving them credit for,” reasoned Parisi.
“And, you know, maybe a little bit smarter than generations before, where millennials and our generation would just go out and party non-stop and then pay for it on Monday.
“They’re trying to do things to get the balance. They still want to party, but they want to enjoy their health and fitness and the like. They find that balance in their lives, of alcohol and fitness and fun.”
So, how should marketers appeal to Gen Z? Kesry said the answer is easy.
“Just don’t be a dick – and you’ll be fine.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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topics
Contiki
Gen Z
Jayesh Kesry
Maria Parisi
Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit 2024
Travel Marketing Summit
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