Some New Kids: What Works with Generation Z?

They see everything, but remember only what captures them in eight seconds. And that is if it is authentic. And if it is not cringe. And if it is not fake. And if it speaks the language they speak. And if it understands them. And if someone they can and want to identify with talks about it. When it comes to Generation Z, there are many new rules for marketers and PR professionals. Suddenly, there are some new kids on the block, and we all wonder if it is time for a new set of rules and a completely different brief, while sometimes we think we might be overreacting. Experts from Lider agree that both are on the table. They are neither that original nor that different, but they are not entirely the same either. So how do you ‘sell them a story’?

Less text, more experience

So, for starters, do not sell them anything, say Lider’s interlocutors. Only campaigns that do not feel like ads work with Generation Z, says Lucija Škrtić, PR manager from the IMC agency. According to her representatives, she adds, only content that they would share with friends works, campaigns that are short, witty, and sincere, and if they are on social media that they like.

– Good content works like digital word-of-mouth: when everyone talks about something, it creates the impression that it is worth attention – emphasizes Škrtić and reveals that humor is also very important to this generation, but only if it comes naturally and has a dose of intelligence.

Nano-influencers have special value because they bring what cannot be bought, and that is credibility.

– Their smaller but extremely engaged audience trusts their opinion more than the most expensive advertising campaigns – claims Škrtić.

Sanela Seferagić Filipić, director of the RED agency, summarizes the communication rule with this generation in four words: less text, more experience. According to her, this audience reacts to content that involves them, entertains them, and feels ‘theirs’.

– Generation Z has an extremely developed ‘radar for inauthenticity’. When a brand tries to be cool forcefully, uses artificial slang, overdoes humor, or copies trends, the audience recognizes it. What works are sincere, witty, and visually original campaigns that encourage dialogue, not monologue. They want collaboration, inclusion, and transparency – notes Seferagić Filipić and adds that campaigns involving nano-influencers or creative, humorous formats achieve significantly higher engagement and stronger connections with the audience than classic promotional posts.

Communication failures

Sandra Vranješ Milić, general manager of Conor communications, clearly states: Generation Z will trust influencers more than celebrities, recognizes insincerity and forcing, so there can be the most common communication failures, and excessive use of slang in communication is perceived as cringe (uncomfortable, inauthentic).

So how do you measure success? Kristina Gotovac, communication manager of the Communication Laboratory, says that the success of communication with this generation is not measured only by numbers but also by audience reactions. She recalled the ‘Pistachio Gate’ campaign that her agency conducted for McDonald’s, which showed that engagement comes when a brand is not afraid of direct communication and humor.

– It was about open communication regarding the shortage of the popular pistachio ice cream, instead of hiding the problem. It was honesty and humor that triggered a wave of comments, but also the takeover of communication by other brands; suddenly everyone was talking about pistachio – Kristina recounted.

Old stories, new labels

Boris Vukić, PR creative director at 404 agency, is on a completely different scale. He claims that the communication industry has a habit of mythologizing new generations as if they are a homogeneous mass. Every 10-15 years, the same conclusions are drawn, he says, just with new labels: ‘this generation is different’, ‘they have shorter attention spans’, ‘only they understand digital’.

– The reality? We are talking about 25 percent of the global population as if it is a homogeneous mass that reacts according to the same patterns. That is intellectually lazy and operationally useless. The problem is not attention; the problem is relevance. If you are not interesting in the first eight seconds, you will not be in the next 80. Generation Z communicates in an environment of infinite choice and zero cost of attention switching. If you are boring, you do not exist. That is not a generational insight; it is simply bad content – believes Vukić.

Wonder in the world

Marko Janković, director of the Jedinica agency, is on a similar track and says that we in marketing have one incredible flaw: as soon as a generation younger than us appears, we behave as if they fell from Mars.

– Instead of seeing them as people, we study them like an archaeological find. We order research, read reports, listen to what psychologists say about them, study their fashion, and in the end, we put goofy-looking young people on skateboards next to graffiti in our ads and call our product Cool, and then we wonder why it did not work – emphasizes Marko and adds that they may have been born in a world that is constantly online, where information is infinite, and attention is limited, but the basic need remains the same: to be seen, understood, and accepted.

– And we will not achieve that if we underestimate them by trying to merely mimic their aesthetics without a real message beneath the surface – claims Janković.

Fad or not?

For them, for example, socially responsible campaigns work well. As Marta Grubić Paver, senior advisor at Madison, points out, this generation accepts them best because they are campaigns that take into account their needs, context, and opinions, and in socially responsible campaigns, real change is also key. She recalled the ‘I am like you’ campaign, which the Madison team designed and implemented for the kolekTIRV association, and when they had, she says, just such an approach: humorous, everyday situations that emphasize similarities among people. One of the visuals clearly shows this: ‘I am like you. I binge the same series as you.’

– In the ‘I am like you’ campaign, we conducted research before and after the campaign: the share of young people who believe that transgenderism is a fad fell from 25 to 18 percent. This is, in our opinion, a true indicator of impact and confirmation that successful communication with young people is not reduced to form but to trust, which is built through consistency, authenticity, and understanding – believes Grubić Paver.

Imperfect reality

For Gen Z, transparency has the greatest value today, is the stance of Barbara Đuran, integrated communications expert at the Abeceda communications agency, that is, she says, it is necessary to show the processes, people, and values behind the product. A brand is no longer just a story about the product but also about how and why that story comes about.

– This is precisely the common denominator of successful campaigns that have managed to connect with this audience. Gucci x The North Face showed how luxury and spontaneity can coexist. They engaged an unusual but extremely authentic model and influencer Francis Bourgeois, a young man known for his passion for trains. His infectious honesty turned the campaign into a global hit and an example of how unpredictable choices can produce a strong emotional reaction. Another great example is Spotify, which with the ‘Wrapped’, ‘Blend’, and ‘Daylist’ campaigns has redefined personal connection with users. Instead of talking about itself, Spotify allows users to tell their own story about music, mood, and identity. This is the essence of communication with Generation Z, personalization that is not perceived as selling but as a shared experience. As a local example, Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ campaign in collaboration with Hiljson Mandela is also worth mentioning. The campaign combined music, emotion, personalization, and moments, and local relevance and a sense of personal involvement elevated the recognizable global concept to a new, warmer level – Đuran noted.

Andrea Husain Orlić, head of the Public Relations Office of Triglav Insurance, notes that Gen Z thinks about the future when life asks something concrete from them. So, if a brand shows that it is with them in important moments, for example, when buying their first property, first car, or wedding, then the timing is right, and they consider it relevant and worth considering when purchasing products, achieving interest.

– Generation Z does not seek perfection but reality. They want to know who we are, what we do, and why we do it as a brand, and with consistency comes recognition. I will give the example of Ryanair, which uses its authenticity in the best possible way, with the help of humor, so on social media, they post, for example: ‘Emotional baggage is charged extra’ – noted Andrea.