By Prof. Rajita Chaudhury

We are almost half way through the year and it is turning out to be an interesting one. Apple has redefined luxury by launching a new watch, Google has tested it’s driverless cars, Nokia the once undisputed ruler of the mobile phone category does not exist anymore, as Microsoft has now rebranded the Nokia phones as Microsoft Lumia, India has a new party and a new Prime Minister in power , Rahul Gandhi has transformed, Kingfisher Airlines that once ruled the skies is out, Ratan Tata has put his faith and money into the Chinese mobile company Xiaomi.

Old brands are being replaced with new ones. Old norms, old ways of doing business will be replaced with new models and new ways. As is clear brands, people, countries ,business all are changing at jet speed and at the root of all these changes is the growing importance of the internet.

It’s time we changed the way we market .

It’s time we changed the way we look at the internet.

Is Facebook history?

Almost every intelligent marketer today knows that for his brand to be noticed he definitely needs a Facebook page. However if Facebook is the only thing you are banking on then you may be in for a rude shock for some of you may not find a large number of your fans, your current customers, your potential customers here. This would be specially true if your target customers are young people.

Today the definition of ‘customer’ has changed. There is a whole new generation that is taking over the world today. It’s the ‘Generation Z’. It is made up of all people born after 1995. This set of customers is totally different from the ones you have been used to dealing with. If you want to succeed this is the group you most definitely need to connect with otherwise you would soon be finished. The interesting part is that a large part of this group is absconding from Facebook. Facebook is so last generation to them and they do not want to hang out in places where their parents and grandparents are constantly peering over their shoulders.

Where are these guys?

They are on networking sites like Snapchat. The unique thing about Snapchat is it’s elusive images. A snap traditionally lasts for 10 seconds before it disappears forever. This is the feature the young generation loves. If you thought they used it primarily for sexting you may again be in for a shock! Of course, you might find some having fun sending each other naughty pictures, or even using sex toys like light up butt plugs. However, there is more to it!

Here are some facts about Snapchat. According to Business Insider it has nearly 200 million active monthly users. 43% of Snapchat users are between 18-24 years old. If you look at the number of brands making exclusive content for Snapchat it would be enough to convince you that that’s the place to be. Universal is using Snapchat to promote its movies. It released a 20-second trailer of its horror movie Ouijja on Snapchat. This year Robin Williams final film ‘Absolutely Anything’ had it’s world premiere on Snapchat . For one day the trailer of the British comedy was available exclusively for Snapchat users. Madonna premiered the first music video of her latest album Rebel Heart on Snapchat. Other big brands making a beeline for this happening app are fashion labels like Michael Kors, Victoria’s Secret, magazines like People and Cosmopolitan , car companies like Audi and Acura and the list goes on. Taco Bell uses Snapchat to announce it’s special promotions so you need to follow them to be the first to know about their schemes. General Electric is using Snapchat to promote science and innovation to it’s younger audience. They share fun facts and brain teasers, and just to make things more interesting they celebrated their 40^th anniversary by introducing Buzz Aldrin to the young followers. He was the second person to walk on the moon !

To summarize every brand is trying to reach this ‘elusive generation’.

The reason I call this generation elusive is because it consists of a group of people born under very interesting circumstances. This generation is the most well connected generation and likes to network constantly, it is tech savvy ,it grew up with Facebook and Instagram and has been typing, creating videos ,texting, listening to music on iTunes since kindergarten ! They don’t care what their parents or elders tell them as there is absolutely nothing they cannot Google into and find out about and make their own opinions ! Before they decide to do anything they research it on YouTube or any other social media. They are so comfortable with the internet and know exactly how it works and use it effortlessly to make sense of the world around them. Hence they know for sure that all social media channels are not the same. If the previous generation (the Millennials ) used Facebook this generation prefers Whisper, Snapchat ,Secet and the likes. They talk in emoticons, they have a very short attention span ( eight seconds max ) they think visually. They can switch between four to five screens ( Tv, laptop, desktop, mobile phone, iPod) and talk to each other through photos, videos and emoticons

They interact with the world differently- be it the real world or the virtual world. Hence they will interact with your brand differently too.

Why should brands be bothered about these kids?

If statistics can help then according to Mashable reports, this generation contributed $44 billion to the US economy. So its time you started preparing your business for Generation Z before you become redundant.

If there is one brand that has shown how targeting generation Z is worth it ,it’s the sports brand Under Armour. It came from almost nowhere and shook up Nike the world’s number one sports brand. The strategy was simple . Under Armour kept it’s focus on Generation Z and literally grew up with them.

It’s interesting to note that both the brands have been started by former athletes, both focus on the higher purpose. So while Nike says ‘Just do it’ Under Armour says ‘I will what I want”. Both have a similar interesting story to tell of how they started their companies with the soul purpose of improving performance. However when Under Armour planned on taking on the world it decided to focus on the kids the generation Z. It promoted youth sports, supplied gear to college teams and actually nurtured and grew with its young consumers who were too small to have a strong brand loyalty. As they were exposed to the brand so early they started developing a fondness for the brand and very soon Under Armour was sitting on a loyal consumer base. If queues outside stores are anything to go by while defining loyalty then when Under Armour was about to open it’s first store in Philippines people queued up outside the first Under Armour store in Philippines. Even though Nike is still 10 times bigger than Under Armour the company is growing fast and it might be giving sleepless nights to Nike considering the fact that it has already beaten Adidas and become the second largest sports brand in the US. The company also has a very intelligent ‘under-dog-story’ ad campaign which the young consumers just adore. It has chosen Misty Copeland as its spokesperson. She is a dancer with the American Ballet Theater and was once rejected as they said she did not have the body of a ballet dancer. Today she is a famous dancer and the right choice to be the brand ambassador of UA.

If you want a place in the future then it’s Generation Z in whose heart you must find a place. If you can do so you can take over the biggies and turn them into have-beens !

The highly visual platform of Snapchat is what makes it a playground to let your creativity run wild and tell your story in a way the young audience likes to hear them. Brands are working very hard to give interesting information and keep the young followers hooked on and they only have 10 seconds to sell. It’s tough but it’s worth it. So if you want to make it big this year think ‘10 second videos, think in pictures, think visually, think Snapchat’. Just a Facebook page will not take you far.

No strings attached.

If there is one sentence that defines this generation then that is ‘it wants to move ahead with no strings attached.

Things are changing so fast and products, services, brands are getting obsolete so fast that no one wants to be stuck with an outdated product. As a result a new generation of customers is crowding the market who gives little or no value to ownership. This is a very very interesting and alarming trend for many products and services. Right from cars, to TVs to shopping malls – everybody will feel the heat.

Prof Rajita Chaudhuri

Dean, Centre for Undergraduate Studies at Planning and Management.

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