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  • DECODING GEN Z
    Z
  • VIEWTILITY​
    i
  • EGOLESS MARKETING
    ii
  • PARADOX PERSONAS
    iii
  • HYPERPHYSICAL HOTSPOTS
    iv
  • MULTI-SENSORY MEDIA
    v

Gen Z : The IRL

Opportunity

In partnership with The Future Laboratory, we’ve analysed how this rebellious and opinionated generation is changing the demographic landscape of Australia; and explored how Out-of-Home can drive engagement and brand advocacy.

* DECODING GEN Z

Gen Z are culturally dominating and influential, a burgeoning and discerning economic power that demands to be heard.

Gen Z grew up at a time of technological acceleration, progressive identity politics, ecological disaster, social inequity, and political polarisation. They are shifting the political landscape with their votes and making critical buying decisions as they enter adulthood. They have the power to influence other generations, and transform industries, cultures, and societies.

Gen Z have grown up in the most diversified demographic, cultural, and social environment to date. They are exploiting years of positive development on diversity, breaking down society’s fixation on labels to continually investigate, construct, destroy, rebuild, and progress their own identities.

Gen Z seek to make meaningful change

Gen Z are activists who live by their values. They are redefining communities – stepping up to amplify their voices, champion self-expression and hold businesses accountable. Gen Z are the first generation to realise their wants can be serviced online, offline, and everywhere in between. Their identities, needs, activities, and beliefs are borderless, creating new expectations for how and where companies connect with people.

70%

SOCIAL ➤

70%

of Gen Z are strongly interested in a social or political cause, using their voice, spending power and deeds to implement change

( Edelman )

71%

PAY MORE ➤

71%

of Australian Gen Z consumers say they’d pay more for goods and services from companies aligned with their core beliefs

( CBA )

33%

ON AND OFFLINE ➤

33%

of Australian Gen Z are members of both online and offline communities

( JCDecaux Gen Z IRL Study )

What does this mean for Out-of-Home advertising?

Out-of-Home becomes a platform of choice to voice important topics, illustrate marketing shifts and unify generations. 

 

Its flexibility, ubiquity, seamlessness, and low environmental footprint will deliver experiences and narratives that are genuine, relevant, communal, and immersive.

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How Australian Gen Zs describe Out-of-Home.

JCDecaux Gen Z IRL Study, 2023 n = 1004

* ENGAGING GEN Z IN REAL LIFE

I. VIEWTILITY

Next-generation brand interaction will go beyond consumer experience and make public screens communal platforms. When the public screen blurs brand and community, these trends will emerge:

Community Comms
Me and We
What now ?

* ENGAGING GEN Z IN REAL LIFE

II. EGOLESS MARKETING

Gen Z prefer movements over moments – opting for clear change over false self-marketing or clever branding. The visibility and permanence of the public screen will enable these two trends:

Sustainable Screens
Brand Stands
What now ?

* ENGAGING GEN Z IN REAL LIFE

III.PARADOX
PERSONAS

Growing up juggling numerous digital and IRL identities, Gen Z’s beliefs, expectations and desired experiences reflect this constant change, and new cookie-less techniques are required to engage. A fluid media mix guides Gen Z’s focus from IRL to URL and back again, driving the emergence of two future trends:

Ad-nosticism
Flexible Frontiers
What now ?

* ENGAGING GEN Z IN REAL LIFE

IV. HYPERPHYSICAL HOTSPOTS

Tired of digital clutter, Gen Z are looking for sensorial moments, community connections and soulfulness that only IRL experiences can provide. To better serve individuals, communities and their needs in real time, these trends will emerge: 

Pliable Playscapes
Exploration Stations
What now ?

* ENGAGING GEN Z IN REAL LIFE

V. MULTI-SENSORY
MEDIA

Gen Z are seeking multi-sensory experiences that offer emotional, immersive and hyper-personalised possibilities that engage all five senses. Out-of-Home media adds an essential layer to multi-modal marketing with these two upcoming trends: 

Augmented Audio
Kinetic Connections
What now ?

Brands building connections with GenZ​

Check out these brands creating meaningful connections with Gen Z in the real world. Messages that are inclusive and unifying, authentically supportive of a social or environmental cause, contextually relevant, interactive or immersive creates impact with this cohort.

We are excited to unveil our Gen Z: THE IRL OPPORTUNITY report, developed in collaboration with The Future Laboratory, presenting a wide variety of findings on this one-of-a-kind generation

The full report deep-dives into each of the five themes, and their corresponding micro-trends, with local and global campaign examples, quotes from industry experts, and even more supporting stats

Download the full report here

I. VIEWTILITY

Community Comms

Gen Z trust user-generated content (UGC) more than branded material and are never passive customers. Even online, their experiences are centred on interaction, with brands and with each other.

79% of  Gen Z  consumers prefer community and user generated content.

Source: Deloitte

I. VIEWTILITY

ME AND WE​

Gen Z believes ads should connect them to others, create a sense of community and engage people across demographics through share experiences.

61% of Gen Z believe companies that celebrate what unites us will enhance a country’s social fabric

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer

I. VIEWTILITY

What now ?

  • Marketers should consider embracing an anti-demographic mindset that unites communities through the qualities they share, rather than the ones they don’t. With the public screen able to target everyone and anyone, consider how Out-of-Home can become a medium that fosters conversation and shared experience
  • Consider how Out-of-Home can work alongside the communities it wishes to reach. How might a collaborative project promote a community cause or motive?

II. EGOLESS MARKETING

Sustainable Screens

Sceptical about green marketing, Gen Z reject organisations that use slogans or one-off stunts in favour of long-term, substantial change.

60% of Gen Z in Australia shop sustainably, compared to 55% of all Australians, which is significant given its greater cost.

Source: Afterpay

II. EGOLESS MARKETING

Brand Stands

Gen Z want businesses to focus on purpose rather than promotion. Social justice and equality must go beyond marketing. It must be engrained in the business. 

53% of  Gen Z consumers believe brands should address at least one non-business-related societal problem.

Source: Edelman

II. EGOLESS MARKETING

What now ?

  • To go beyond greenwashing gestures, marketers must view sustainability and eco-guardianship as an integral part of their business model.
  • Consider working with a community embedded in the issue you’re amplifying to ensure your stance is relevant and authentic.

Iii.PARADOX PERSONAS

Ad-nosticism

New digital technologies are opening exciting, fresh avenues for Out-of-Home, offering cross-platform activations that will recognise Gen Z’s IRL and URL footprint. An omnichannel approach is crucial.

88% of Australian Gen Z are interested in engaging with augmented reality to drive consideration and purchase.

Source: Snapchat

Iii.PARADOX PERSONAS

Flexible Frontiers

Many Gen Zs are more inclined to engage with brands that employ both online and offline advertising.

85% of Gen Z have engaged with public campaigns and taken action online.

Source: OAAA and Harris Poll

III. PARADOX PERSONAS

What now ?

  • Immersive digital experiences have the potential to foster IRL communities and experiences. How can Out-of-Home campaigns reward viewers with digital perks for their physical viewing?
  • Gen Z’s digital and physical lives have never been closer – and they expect brands to follow suit with the same interchangeability. Consider how Out-of-Home can become a fresh canvas for digital-first brands – strive to bring their physical and digital lives closer together.

Iv. HYPERPHYSICAL HOTSPOTS

Pliable Playscapes

Gen Z have grown up with 24/7 entertainment and brand messages, so it takes more to engage meaningfully. Campaigns that emphasise interaction, personalisation, fun and buzz are crucial.

64% of Australian Gen Zs agree brands should use Out-of-Home more often to truly engage consumers.

Source: JCDecaux Gen Z Study, 2023

Iv. HYPERPHYSICAL HOTSPOTS

Exploration Stations

The lives of Gen Z were interrupted by the pandemic; many of their formative activities have taken place online, leaving the offline world open to fresh discovery and interpretation.

53% of Gen Z revalue in-person interaction because of the isolating experience of the pandemic.

Source: Human8

IV. HYPERPHYSICAL HOTSPOTS

What now ?

  • How can businesses reposition Out-of-Home ads as landmark places that serve more than transactional requirements as generations migrate to IRL destinations?
  • Personalised data is not required for contextual, meaningful connections. Dynamic and interactive marketing may seamlessly engage communities with what they need, when they need it.

V. MULTI-SENSORY MEDIA

Augmented audio

Future-facing brands use audio content as a multi-sensory layer to Out-of-Home. At its most simple, QR codes direct the IRL gaze to a complementary podcast, playlist or voice recording, providing respite away from digital clutter and creating deeper brand engagement. 

58% of Gen Z  use audio to discover new topics and ideas.

Source: JCDecaux Gen Z Study, 2023

V. MULTI-SENSORY MEDIA

Kinetic Connections

Multi-sensory campaigns can bring new meaning to everyday experiences. In rail environments in Asia, Out-of-Home displays respond to footfall sensors and attunes ambient audio to the emotional state of visitors.

51% of Gen Z believe that impactful Out-of-Home advertising has the power to engage several senses

Source: JCDecaux Gen Z Study, 2023

V. MULTI-SENSORY MEDIA

What now ?

  • Immersive Out-of-Home is transforming consumers into active participants. Consider how multisensory activations can merge voice, sound, entertainment and haptics to facilitate deeper connections between brands and individuals.
  • Create an immersive, multimedia experience, catering for environments and consumers’ needs.