Marketing to the Generation Z population isn’t what many companies are used to. You can’t use the same techniques as you’d use for someone older. Gen-Zers are the young adults born in the latter part of the 1990s to the early-2000s. The actual dates are up to debate, but the American Psychological Association and the Pew Research Center go with 1997 to today. These men and women have grown up on the internet. They get social media, and they’re extremely comfortable with technology. Your marketing campaign must target their desire to experience something rather than be told its key points.

To market an idea or product to the Gen-Z crowd, it’s important to use experiential marketing techniques. This is a form of marketing that captures the emotions and provides an experience that the consumer won’t soon forget. It’s designed to get consumers talking, engaging with the brand, and forming positive memories of that brand.

What’s Changed?

Go back a few decades and look at ways brands marketed themselves. Advertisements in newspapers, phone books, and magazines were one of the best ways to reach people. Compare that to today. How many younger adults do you see that are walking around with a phone book, newspaper, or magazine tucked under their arm?

Television commercials were another way companies could spread information to the masses. How many young adults do you know that stream videos and shows rather than subscribing to cable television? Per BGR Media, 6 out of 10 households in the U.S. have cut the cord. People are ditching cable TV at record rates and that means they’re seeing fewer, if any, television ads.

Gen-Zers have gotten very good at ignoring ads. They may run multiple adblockers to keep that noise to a minimum. If you’re expecting ads to work, you’re going to miss your mark. It’s time to try new methods.

Instead of typical print and TV ads, the Gen-Z crowd gain interest through experiential methods. Social media is one of the biggest ways to reach them. They see people talking about it, they try it out (free trials are great at gaining new consumers), and love it. They share their experience on blogs, vlogs, Tweets, Instagram, and Facebook posts.

Pop-up stores, mobile tours, and event production are other smart experiential marketing options that capture the attention of younger generations. All establish experiences that consumers remember days, weeks, months, and even years later. This trend is here to stay and companies are increasing their experiential marketing budgets for that reason. It’s effective. It works.

Social media and reviews also allow you to gain valuable insight into what the consumers are thinking. You can reach out and ask questions, get feedback, and use that insight to improve your product or how you’re reaching out to consumers. It helps your marketing team make marketing decisions and build strategies that are what the consumers want.

What About the Other Generations?

Doesn’t experiential marketing ignore other generations? If that’s your fear, you can combine marketing techniques. In 2018, there were 293 million internet users in the U.S. There were 3.9 billion users worldwide. It’s not just Gen-Zers using the internet. Of men and women aged 30 to 49, 97% of them use the internet. For men and women between the ages of 50 and 64, 87% use the internet. And, 73% of those over the age of 64 use the internet. They’re using the internet to read the news, chat with friends and family, play games, watch movies and shows, work, shop, and so many other reasons. Each of those avenues gives you an easy and effective way to reach the Gen-Z crowd, millennials, Gen-X, and boomers.

How Can You Measure How Effective Your Marketing Campaign Is?

Over the years, companies have been able to understand their return on investment by counting how many people came to them after seeing a coupon in a newspaper or called after seeing an ad on TV. As the internet grew, analytics helped companies track how many hits were coming in from internet ads or sales links.

When you’re using an experiential marketing method, how can you measure your return on investment? It may not be as simple, but it’s still possible to keep track. You need to determine what your ultimate goal is. It might involve counting how many new consumers sign up for your newsletter, how many samples are given out, or how many people attend a festival you’re sponsoring.

You Don’t Have to Struggle

If your marketing team isn’t sure where to go next, don’t give up. Factory 360 works closely with your company to help create a winning experiential marketing campaign. We use a number of techniques that are customized to best represent your brand. Give us a call to discuss the message you want to send and what your goals are when it comes to marketing your product or service.