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GENERATIONAL MARKETING

CHARACTERISTICS Gen Z girls use mobile technology to
connect with others near Degan in Ethiopia
OF GENERATION Z

The following are important
characteristics of the Generation Z
group of consumers:
¦ Connected to technology and
connected to one another by
the same technology.
¦ Influenced by people that they
admire and their contemporaries,
but also influential themselves.
¦ Entrepreneurial, creative and
keen collaborators.
¦ Expect to be entertained.
¦ Inspired by images, sound and
video; but keep it simple.
¦ Care about the environment.
¦ Are liberal, impatient and
frequently outspoken.

Source: Adebayo Alonge, Addis
Alemayehou and Ranjana Foogooa

your message. Influencers also play an still at a nascent stage when building their marketing strategies at women as the PHOTOS: ISTOCKPHOTO
important part in young Nigerian’s lives. marketing strategy around Gen Z.” primary decision-makers in homes.
Use influencers – particularly musicians –
to deliver messages via social media.” Among those businesses that are Foogooa, whose company provides a
successfully communicating with this wide range of marketing services, from
Foogooa agrees that influencers – audience in Mauritius are restaurants research and strategy to implementation,
mostly celebrities such as models, singers Ocean Basket Mauritius and Moka’z. is excited by the future and what it means
and actors, but also popular vloggers (video Their campaigns, largely carried by social to communicate with this group.
bloggers) and Instagrammers – play a media, are lively, engaging and relevant
persuasive role in young Mauritians’ lives. to the demands and desires of Gen Z. “Targeted and intelligent marketing
has to be put in place to understand the
“But they are also influencers Generation Zs are behaviour of Gen Z. What they do, where
themselves,” she adds. “Parents tend to considered to be they are at what time, what platforms they
ask this generation their opinion before powerful influencers use to communicate, what they search
buying anything. They influence household for, which platforms allow for accurate
purchases, not only because they are In Ethiopia, the brands that are targeting, which apps they interact with,
the most connected generation, but also targeting Gen Z include Coca Cola, cereal and so on,” she says.
because they are confident about what and snack food producer Enrich Agro “One simple change can make a huge
they want and more outspoken than Industry, and fruit juice company Prigat difference towards building brand
previous generations.” Juice. But, says Alemayehou, Ethiopian loyalty and inspiring Gen Z. This can be
companies are still largely directing their a straightforward change such as using
Who is getting it right? the local language for communication. Of
Like us on Facebook: course, every strategy has to go hand-in-
“Marketers who’ve done their homework Strategic Marketing hand with the brand positioning and overall
well are definitely excited about Gen Z Africa Magazine brand objective.”
in Mauritius,” says Foogooa. “We have
clients who have built complete retail For daily marketing
concepts around the generation. However, news updates, go to
there is huge opportunity to exploit this www.africanmc.org
segment. While most of us are aware of
their influence, many retail companies are

32 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 4 2016