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GENERATIONAL MARKETING

Getting to
know Africa’s

‘tomorrow’
generation of

consumers

Today they’re youngsters. Tomorrow
they’re your customers. We take a look at

what marketers can expect of Africa’s
up-and-coming Generation Z consumers.

W ITH THE MOST RESEARCHED Nigerian market development and But there are other characteristics
generation in history, the business management specialist, Adebayo that distinguish Gen Z from previous
Millennials (those born Alonge, says of Gen Z: “As digital natives, generations. “Entrepreneurship is in their
between 1980 and 2000) soon to also they live in the technology, social media DNA,” says a 2015 study by New York-
become the world’s most powerful and Internet ecosystem. Since they live in based advertising agency Sparks & Honey,
consumers in terms of buying power,
forward-thinking marketers are now They are a generation Alonge concurs: “Nigerian youths do
looking ahead to the next important of game-changers for not have ambitions to be owners of banks
group: Generation Z. the African continent or to make ‘small money’ in careers as
white-collar workers,” he says. “They
Indeed, Gen Z as it is known – young this ecosystem, it cannot be said that they seek to make wealth quickly by creating
people aged around 5-20 (there are several are distracted by it; they simply do not things like their own music labels and
different definitions, but this range covers know any other way of life.” technology start-ups.”
most) – is heralded ‘a game-changing
generation’ because of how convincingly According to the Sparks & Honey
influenced it is by technology, most notably study, Gen Z is hungrier for education and
the Internet and mobile connectivity. knowledge than preceding generations.
Social media is considered a key research

30 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 4 2016