GENERATION Z
BRAZIL
E XECUTIVE SUM MARY

Brazil’s generation Z—the generation after the millennials,
currently aged between 12 and 19 years old—has grown
up in the most prosperous period of Brazilian history.
This makes its members quite different than their peers
in the United States and the United Kingdom, who so far
have mostly known economic malaise. Thanks to the
internet and globalization, teen culture worldwide is more
homogenous than ever before—but Brazil’s generation Z
nonetheless has a unique outlook.
GENERATION Z

GENERATION Z 3
GENERATION Z
Young people in Brazil aged 10–19 accounted for some 34.9 million
people as of July 2015, about 16.7% of the country’s total population,
according to the United Nations Population Division. This is roughly
equal to the total number of people in Canada.
Based on research into the amount of weekly spending money
this group receives, conducted by SONAR™, J. Walter Thompson’s
proprietary research unit, we estimate the annual spending power
of generation Z in Brazil at a minimum of $35 billion per year,
representing a major opportunity for marketers.
However, a single number cannot hope to reflect the realities on the
ground in Brazil. The country is known for extreme economic inequality,
which is reflected both within urban areas
and in the divide between the country’s
cosmopolitan urban centers and its far-
flung towns and provinces. A 2013 report
from the Data Popular research institute
found that the millions of Brazilians living
in favelas (informal urban settlements)
would, considered as a single population, make up the country’s fifth-
largest state; while in 2015 the number of billionaires has increased to
56, up from 48 in the previous year, representing a combined wealth of
$148 billion, according to the Hurun Research Institute.
Brazil’s generation Z spent childhood and early adolescence in a
time of sunny optimism in the country. Today’s 19-year-olds were
born two years after the implementation of Plano Real, a 1994 plan
that stabilized the country’s currency, reined in runaway inflation,
and laid the groundwork for the economic boom to come.
INTRODUCTION
Brazil protests against President Rousseff, 2015. Photography by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters.

GENERATION Z 4INTRODUCTION
As public attention in Britain and the
United States focused on austerity policies
and crippling unemployment, the future
looked bright in Brazil.
Suddenly, many families could afford luxuries like foreign trips for
the first time. About 400,000 Brazilians visited Disney World in 1997,
up from about 85,000 in 1985, according to the Florida state tourism
division. A trip that had once been a luxury of the wealthy had become
an achievable journey for families enjoying newfound security in the
upper middle classes.
By late 2009, while the West was still reeling from the Great Recession,
Brazil had emerged from a brief economic contraction to reach
GDP growth of 5%, The Economist reported, in an edition with Rio de
Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue on its cover, launching
into space like a rocket. The Economist further noted that various
forecasters claimed that Brazil was on course to become the world’s
fifth-largest economy, overtaking both Britain and France; and declared
that the biggest danger facing the country was “hubris.” The World Bank
registered healthy GDP growth of 7.6% in 2010.
As public attention in Britain and the United States focused on austerity
policies and crippling unemployment, the future looked bright in Brazil.
A 19-year-old today remembers little of the global recession that began
in 2007, while a 12-year-old remembers only a climate of optimism and
growth, until quite recently. From 2010, Brazil has consistently achieved
unemployment rates under 8% and these fell as low as 4.3%
in December 2013, according to the country’s national statistics
agency—its best performance in recent decades.
At the moment, Brazil sits between two major events: the 2014 World
Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The country has
never previously occupied such a central position in global culture, or
achieved such economic and political clout.

GENERATION Z 5
Nonetheless, Brazil is now experiencing an economic crisis worse than
anything it weathered during the Great Recession. By September 2013,
The Economist was asking whether Brazil had “blown it,” with a cover
depicting the same iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, again as a rocket,
but this time sputtering and plunging off course.
As of August 2015, experts are telling Brazilians that the current
recession could be the country’s worst in 25 years, according to
Bloomberg, with 2016 growth estimated at a sluggish 0.33%. At the
time of writing, Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff, who entered office
in 2011 after popular predecessor Luíz Inácio da Silva (known as Lula),
had an approval rating of just 8%—a record low, according to The Wall
Street Journal.
While Brazil’s achievements of the past decade have lifted the
country’s middle class and expanded its wealth, members of the
country’s generation Z must contemplate significant political
turmoil and economic uncertainty for the first time in their lives.
Top: MC Ludmilla, real name Ludmila Oliveira da Silva, from Rio de Janeiro, aged 20.
Bottom: Teenage Brazilian Barbers for Vice Media Brasil. Photography by Guilherme Santana, 2015.
INTRODUCTION

GENERATION Z 6TRENDS
G E N E R ATIO N Z BY N U M BE RS
They’re ambitious about their role in the future…
78% agree “It’s up to my generation to change the world”
…but jaded about institutions
92% agree that “politicians today are corrupt”
They love YouTube…
50% watch more than two hours of YouTube content each day
…but with poor internet connections, traditional
media remains popular
Only 12% stream movies online in a typical week, while 51%
watch movies in a theater
They still love Facebook…
94% use Facebook, far more than any other social network
…but they’re cautious about what they post
87% think carefully about what they put on social media
They’re happy shopping online…
72% say they are as comfortable purchasing online as offline
…but they prefer shopping offline
64% would rather shop in stores
They’re progressive about race…
59% participate in online or offline events fighting racial discrimination
…but acknowledge there’s more to be done
93% agree racial discrimination still exists today
They think men and women are equal…
77% say that men and women are pretty much equal today
…but they still see discrimination in the workplace
47% think men and women are treated equally in the workplace

GENERATION Z 7TRENDS
ATTEND MUSIC CONCERTS
STREAM MOVIES
PLAY A SPORT
WATCH MOVIES IN A MOVIE THEATER
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
UK
12%
UK
32%
UK
41%
UK
24%
11%
US
32%
US
37%
US
22%
US
22%
BRAZIL
12%
BRAZIL
46%
BRAZIL
51%
BRAZIL
Leisure activities during a typical week

GENERATION Z 8
Student
Paulo de Faria, São Paulo state
I go to a private school which is about 36 km from where I live, in a small
city. I’m studying to do a course in medicine, which is the career I want
to have. I also take English classes, as ever since I was a child I have
always wanted to communicate with other people in the world. Now I
can have a reasonable conversation with my American friends.
I use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and occasionally Snapchat.
WhatsApp is used a lot in Brazil. I don’t follow anyone famous on
Instagram. I’m not very interested in the world of fame, but I love the
vlogger JoutJout Prazer with a passion. She uses simple analogies to
talk about serious topics. I admire my former teacher who published
three books, as he came from a poor family and I see him as like a
father to me.
The situation in Brazil has gotten a lot better. My father, a lorry
driver, knows how to write his name and has managed to get ahead
professionally, with a lot of effort, and my mother has finished school.
GABRI E L A ROSSI , 16
8
The situation in
Brazil has gotten
a lot better.
8GENERATION Z 88CASE STUDIES

GENERATION Z 9
I am classified as someone with an upper-middle-class income now.
But the government invests in some things to make us smile, and takes
away our happiness with others. They are always short-term solutions.
I think feminists can be over the top, though most of the time I support
their causes. I think the rapist is to blame, not the victim, and short,
low-cut clothes are not an invitation for rape. But I think that your
appearance is what you are selling to the world about what’s inside.
I’ve got dyed red hair and I’ve never been bullied for it, but I’ve seen it
happen to others. Once I qualify as a doctor, I will change my hair back,
as it could make me seem adolescent or even a bit of a rebel. Brazil is
still quite conservative, I think.
I don’t like to spend too much on clothes as I already spend a lot on
my studies, so I buy a lot from fairs which my dad takes me to. The
first time I dyed my hair, it was in the salon, but I maintain it at home
with L’Oréal Professionnel. I love makeup and I use Maybelline—
I think it’s great quality for something you can buy in the pharmacy.
When it comes to Brazilian brands, Vult is good, it has the best
translucent powders.
I haven’t had a smartphone for three months. As the economy
isn’t great at the moment, I haven’t bothered my parents about it.
I survived before I had one and I can carry on without one
perfectly well.
99GENERATION Z 99
Brazil is
still quite
conservative,
I think.
CASE STUDIES

The Innovation Group is J. Walter Thompson’s futurism, research and
innovation unit. It charts emerging and future global trends, consumer
change, and innovation patterns—translating these into insight for brands.
It offers a suite of consultancy services, including bespoke research,
presentations, co-branded reports and workshops. It is also active in
innovation, partnering with brands to activate future trends within their
framework and execute new products and concepts. It is led by
Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group.
The Innovation Group is part of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, a platform
for global research, innovation and data analytics at J. Walter Thompson
Company, housing three key in-house practices: SONAR™, Analytics and
the Innovation Group. SONAR™ is J. Walter Thompson’s research unit that
develops and exploits new quantitative and qualitative research techniques
to understand cultures, brands and consumer motivation around the world.
It is led by Mark Truss, Worldwide Director of Brand Intelligence. Analytics
focuses on the innovative application of data and technology to inform and
inspire new marketing solutions. It offers a suite of bespoke analytics tools
and is led by Amy Avery, Head of Analytics, North America.
Contact:
Lucie Greene
Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group
J. Walter Thompson Intelligence
lucie.greene@jwt.com
Report authors: Lucie Greene and Shepherd Laughlin