Online opinion can make or break the fate of even the most distinguished company or brand — and nobody is more opinionated online than Gen Z. We’re living in an age where it basically doesn’t matter how fast you spin the story of your brand: Tens of millions of social media users are already online to spin it for you. Brands willing to turn their PR engagement models into two-way, real-time dialogues between company and Gen Z consumer are set to win credibility with a generation who values responsive transparency over flash and sizzle.

1. Sponsor session:
When it comes to Gen Z, why an always-on strategy is
the new digital damage control
Marisa Allan, VP Partner Innovation

2. UNiDAYS connects brands with Gen Z
We are the world’s leading Student Affinity Network.
Our award-winning platform provides student verification
technology and integrated marketing solutions to some of
Gen Z’s most sought after brands.

3. Meet Gen Z: the smartest
kids on the internet
PR departments willing to dismiss Gen Z
aren’t thinking about their brand’s future.

4. Who is Gen Z?
• Born in the mid ‘90s
• World’s first truly global generation
• Willing to spend but want value
• Have high expectations for brands
• Communicate with brands they love
• Seek brands who reflect their values
More influential than Millennials
• Currently 26% of the U.S. population
• By 2020, they’ll be the most-diverse generation in
U.S. history
• $143 billion spending power in U.S.
• Highest lifetime value

5. Q: What percentage of Gen Zers are loyal to brands?

6. Q: What percentage of Gen Zers are loyal to brands?
A: Only 36 percent have a strong loyalty to any brand

7. Engaging Gen Z can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach

8. Ads aren’t
relevant
Watch TV
on demand
Mobile first
Quickly delete
apps
that don’t
have value
Communicate
with video
and text images
Seek out brands
who give back
Gen Z is
harder to
engage than
any other
generation.

9. ● 40 percent feel more comfortable socializing online
● Purchase based on friends, peers and social influencers
● Engage with brands that identify with their views and values
● 60 percent support brands that take a stand on issues
It’s all about establishing
● Continuity
● Credibility
● Integrity
Gen Z looks at brands through a new lens

10. Gen Z is connected
All day, every day.
Across every channel
and every device.
An always-on Gen Z strategy is the new preventative PR

11. Opportunity exists for brands who get to know them

12. ● Re-launched ecomm + social
● Brand message and
empowering imagery
● Reactivated brand w/ Gen Z
● Amplified CSR initiatives
● Student incentive program
● Gen Z conversation
● CSR engagement
● Ecommerce site traffic
● Brand favorability
● Increased purchase intent
Challenge Solution Results
● Scandal & bankruptcy
● Ecommerce and social media
channels shut down
● All retail stores closed
● Company purchased
● Brand lost its luster
An iconic fashion brand with over 250 stores around the globe had worked with UNiDAYS to create an always-on Gen Z strategy

13. non-traditional ways
to approach Gen Z
• Invite them to submit product and/or design ideas
• Create an Instagrammable environment in key locations
• Get them involved in your corporate social responsibility initiatives
• Give them something of value (incentives, career advice, internships)

14. ● Gen Z is in the driver’s seat, not your PR team… so shift PR to a
constant two-way, real-time dialogue
● Be immediately responsive: 60 percent will hang up if a business
doesn’t respond ASAP
● They mobilize on social media to effect social change in real time
● Future state: 39 percent clamoring for one-hour delivery by drone
Key takeaways: things to remember with Gen Z

15. GenZinsights.com

16. www.myununidays.com/genz | Marisa.Alan@myunidays.com

17. Resources
1. U.S. Census, Current Population Survey Table Creator
2. Millennial Marketing, “The Real Figure of Gen Z Spending” (2017)
3. NRF/IBM, “Gen Z Brand Relationships” (2017)
4. Nielsen, “2017 Mobile Kids Report” (2017)
5. The Cassandra Report, “Social (TV) Media,” (2016)
6. Gen Z Insights, "Satisfying Gen Z's Appetite For Food" (2018)