Marketing executives across the country are experiencing their very own "Nightmare Before" this year. It's not skeletons they're worried about, but new data showing that Gen-Z is projected to spend less on holiday shopping this year. According to PwC's Holiday Outlook survey conducted in June, Gen Z projects to spend 23% less on the holidays than last year.
This generation has enormous purchasing power, so the effects of this drop could be spread out across the holiday economy. But before you start breaking into a full-blown Schwarzenegger-esque "Jingle All The Way" meltdown, let CMG provide some help. With a tailored Gen-Z marketing plan in place before Black Friday, you can avoid nightmare scenarios the night before.
Why Make A Gen-Z Specific Marketing Plan?
If you don't already have a holiday marketing plan in place, it certainly isn't too late to make one. There's value in crafting an intentional holiday marketing strategy overall that only increases when you begin to hyper-target a specific generation. For starters, this is the second largest generation in the US—over 70 million Americans belong to this cohort—so they warrant their own consideration. How you market to Boomers and Gen-Z is different in July, so why lump them together come December?
But developing a holiday marketing strategy that resonates with Gen Z requires an understanding of what makes this generation tick when it comes to shopping. Though they share similarities to the Millenials before them, there are some sharp differences. Unlike Millennials, they're more likely to make intentional purchasing decisions around their values, rather than on impulse. That means your typical holiday strategies like "limited-time offers" may be limited in their impact on Gen Z.
Five Tips For Tailored Gen-Z Holiday Marketing Campaigns
When you start thinking intentionally about how to market to Gen-Z, there might be some basics that you'd reach for—social media, videos, etc. But that only paints half the Hallmark-esque picture. What do you put on social media? What goes into those videos? And when should you start holiday marketing? We address all this and more below with five holiday marketing ideas for Gen-Z customers.
1. Start Holiday Marketing Early
If you have the greatest marketing plan put together but launch on Black Friday, we have some bad news for you—it won't move the needle much. We all know the feeling of walking into a convenience store on Halloween looking for last-minute candy to find that the chocolate's gone and candy canes are in. There's a reason for that.
While the largest chunk of the population—34%—plans to start their holiday shopping in November, 68% plan to start their shopping before then. Waiting until the busiest shopping days of the year to start your holiday marketing will only leave you behind your competitors who started in September.
Instead of waiting, begin developing your holiday marketing strategy early and be ready to deploy it by the start of October at the latest. Not only will this expose your holiday offerings to your Gen-Z customers early, it will also give you time to adjust as needed. You may find that your original strategy isn't resonating, or that economic factors have changed the calculations for Gen Z. The later you start, the less time you'll have to tweak on the fly.
2. Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns Should Tell A Story
Gen-Z consumers are all about stories—Instagram or otherwise. They're not entirely unique in this sense, as humans we're born to enjoy them. But delivering key marketing messages through powerful narratives is essential for Gen-Z marketing because values direct their purchasing. Their values may also steer them away from purchasing—a third of this cohort looks to cut consumption because of the environmental impact.
Stories provide the best vehicle for conveying a convincing pitch to even the most conscious Gen-Z consumers. There's no better way to demonstrate your alignment with this generation than through an evocative uniting story. Now, you don't have to write a new Gen-Z edition of A Christmas Carol, but we're not not saying that either.
Instead of leaving your brand's story to the written word, let it jump off the page and into your target audience's mind through videos. In the last month, 7 in 10 Zoomers consumed digital video content, more than any other cohort. Having a video ready for those platforms can aid in product discovery and critical conversions. Not sure where to get started making a video? It's easier than you'd think, and we can help.
3. Highlight Your Brand's Value & Values
Now making any old video and slapping it on your website and across social media won't cut it. The story you tell in your video should also resonate with some of Gen Z's values. What are these values? Some of the top values driving purchasing decisions include the value of the product or service itself, the brand's reputation, treating employees fairly, and sustainability.
It should be said though, Gen Z is not a monolith. In fact, they're the most diverse generation in the country across a number of metrics. So if none of the above values seem like a perfect fit for your brand's identity, consult with a local marketing agency with more in-depth knowledge on some of your Gen-Z customer base's values.
With these values in hand, you can begin to craft stories that show how your brand fits into Gen Z's holiday plans. Whether they're looking for gifts or searching for the holiday essentials, your brand's values will be front and center when they go to make a purchase. Plus, working around values lets you create more cohesive holiday marketing campaigns that work seamlessly across all the places and platforms Gen-Z spends time.
4. Build Trust in Your Holiday Marketing
It's no secret that Gen-Z loves social media and that only grows as the holidays approach. The weather cools and more Gen-Zers spend time indoors scrolling their feeds for product inspiration. Last year, 44% of customers cited social media as one of the main sources driving their awareness about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It's clear you'll need to incorporate social media somewhere in your holiday marketing plan, but how?
It's impossible to know what the newest, hottest social media trend will be when Black Friday rolls around. Rather than try to quickly hop on a trend, center your social media marketing plan around building trust with your Gen-Z customers. A great way to do that would be through sharing customer reviews through social media. Nearly a third of Gen-Z shoppers said product reviews were the most influential information in a social media ad driving their purchasing decision.
It's worth taking some time to scour through your past reviews to find any that mention using your products or services as a gift. We all want to know that our gifts will be well-received and a review that signals this was the case for someone else proves that will be true. It also signals to Gen-Z customers that they can trust your brand because others have had past positive experiences.
5. Retarget With Holiday Email Marketing
Before Gen-Z takes some much needed Holiday PTO, they'll be finishing up the year scrolling through their inboxes. Social media isn't the only channel that drives awareness about Thanksgiving weekend shopping opportunities. Another third of consumers became aware of these deals primarily through email newsletters. You spend all year cultivating and managing your email lists—make sure you're using it in critical holiday marketing campaigns.
Effective email marketing not only gives you that much needed edge when you start your holiday marketing early, it can help put you over the top for your retargeting efforts. Abandoned shopping carts are the norm—there's a whopping 83% abandoned cart rate this year. Email marketing allows you to reach out to guest customers who provided their email or returning customers whose email you already have on file. With a great, value-rich and timely email offer, you can convert what would otherwise remain abandoned carts.
It's Holiday Marketing Eve. Are You Ready for Gen-Z?
The holidays should be a fun, festive, family-filled time of year. As one of the largest generational cohorts in the country plans to decrease their spending this holiday season, it could fill your holiday season with more stress than usual.
Or, you could claw back some extra time for festivities by turning over your holiday marketing plan to the experts at CMG Local Solutions. We're plugged into what matters most to Gen-Z customers in your area because we're already a part of their daily routines—through radio, streaming television, email, and social media. Contact us today to get started creating your best holiday marketing campaigns yet.
