A new study from Millward Brown Inc. revealed that Gen Z in the Philippines are harder to impress in comparison to the older generations.
“As digital natives, they have grown up with digital technology and, therefore, expect more from brand advertising and are less easily impressed with new formats, such as augmented reality or sponsored lenses, than previous generations, favoring humor as the key characteristic of a successful ad,” the subsidiary of the Kantar Group said.
This is the first time it has been possible to explore the opinions of the first cohort of Gen Z—now aged 16 to 19—that are becoming increasingly relevant to brand marketers across a wide variety of categories and products, the research company said on January 18. According to Millward Brown, the Gen Z population numbers approximately 2 billion globally, with Gen Z making up 30 percent of the population in the Philippines.
Key opportunities
THE study, titled “AdReaction: Engaging Gen X, Y and Z,” identifies three key opportunities for brands in the Philippines to connect with the Gen Z.
First is to respect their online space.
According to Millward Brown, within the digital space, Gen Z are most positive toward mobile rewards video and skippable preroll (with net positive scores of 52 percent and 38 percent). However, their least favorite formats are the invasive kind—for example pop-ups, which score -5 percent.
Second is to find the right creative approach.
“Globally, the use of music and celebrities make Gen Z more receptive to advertising than other generations,” Millward Brown said. “However, in the Philippines, the difference is less pronounced.”
According to the firm, the Gen Y is the group that find these cultural aspects most appealing, with 62 percent agreeing that music makes them more receptive and 27 percent citing celebrities (compared to 47 percent and 23 percent for Gen Z, respectively).
“The characteristic that makes Gen Z in the Philippines most positive toward ads is the use of humor, at 53 percent,” Millward Brown said. “However, this is still far lower than the scores for Gen X [65 percent] and Gen Y [67 percent].”
Be more social
FINALLY, the company recommends retailers to “be more social”.
“Gen Z are heavy users of social platforms when it comes to the number of platforms they visit,” Millward Brown said. “These range well beyond Facebook and YouTube, and include Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.”
According to the firm, 25 percent of Gen Z in the Philippines access Instagram several times a day and 13 percent access Snapchat at the same frequency. The Gen Y is even more social, with 32 percent and 14 percent, respectively, while Gen X is less engaged on these social channels, with 18 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
“Having grown up in an on-demand world of infinite choice, Gen Z in the Philippines are harder to impress than previous generations. Gen X and Y are more receptive to novel formats, such as sponsored lenses or native ads than Gen Z,” Jane Ng, group account director for technical and innovation at Kantar Millward Brown in the Philippines, was quoted in a statement as saying. “Brands that want to target Gen Z effectively need to concentrate on providing their audience with humorous executions that resonate with the interests and issues facing this younger, more skeptical generation.”
Mobile tech
INTERESTINGLY, the study discovered that Filipinos of all generations are happy to watch longer video formats.
“Globally, all generations prefer short videos,” the study said. “However, in the Philippines, all generations favor video ads of up to 20 seconds.”
The Gen Z are starting to use ad-blocking software, with 29 percent using it on desktop and 17 percent using it on mobile. But it’s not just the younger generation—Gen Y are also using blockers, with 32 percent using desktop blockers and 20 percent using mobile.
“With their skepticism toward advertising, it’s harder to engage Gen Z with branded content compared to Gen X and Y,” the company said. “Although tutorials and expert reviews are popular across all generations, scores remain the lowest amongst Gen Z.”
To drive the success of branded content, marketers will need to ignite Gen Z’s love for the brand, the company recommends.
“No generation is a monolith and Gen Z is no exception. Their upbringing, expectations and access to technology, however, has created a range of attitudes and behaviors that will challenge marketers,” Duncan Southgate, Kantar Millward Brown media & digital global brand director, was quoted in the statement as saying. “Only where brands take all this into consideration will they be successful in engaging this increasingly critical and fast-emerging group of consumers.”
Mobile tech
DESPITE being the generation that grew up with mobile technology, Generation Z’s daily usage of the technology is lower than that of older generations.
According to the study, 66 percent of Gen Z spend more than an hour a day on their mobile device, compared to 81 percent of Gen Y and 84 percent of Gen X. However, TV, radio and print consumption are also all lower for Gen Z, with just 49 percent of Gen Z watching an hour or more of TV each day, compared to 74 percent for Gen Y and 86 percent for Gen X.
“This means brands need to work hard to capture the attention of Gen Z when they are consuming media—either traditional or digital—or risk being missed altogether,” Kantar Millward Brown said in the statement.