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Gen Z to give marketers a run for their money in 2017

Marketers must cater to post-millennials or centennials who are 27% of the world's population. Marketers need to develop mobile-led creative content which is appealing to their imagination and passion for design and music

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Gen Z to give marketers a run for their money in 2017

Gen Z to give marketers a run for their money in 2017

Marketers must cater to post-millennials or centennials who are 27% of the world's population. Marketers need to develop mobile-led creative content which is appealing to their imagination and passion for design and music

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | December 9, 2016

Kantar-Millward-Brown-Digital-Predictions-for-Marketers-2017Marketers will be busy in 2017. At the top of their to-do list will be gaining a rapid understanding of the needs, aspirations and behaviours of Generation Z (Gen Z), also referred to as post-millennials or centennials. To be accepted by this key group, now 27 per cent of the world's population, marketers must develop mobile-led creative content that appeals to their imagination and passions for design and music.

They also need to innovate to build better brand experiences and connected consumer journeys. They will focus on developing more engaging content and using more sophisticated, brand-infused programmatic targeting and less intrusive media approaches to play their part in discouraging ad blocking.

Finally, they will take advantage of new technologies which enable cross media placements that work together to drive synergies and deliver enhanced ROI. Marketers who tackle these challenges and make most of these opportunities will be leading the way in #GettingMediaRight.

Kantar Millward brown charts six media and digital predictions for 2017.

  1. Brands will re-think their digital presence to emphasise co-creation, authenticity and transparency essential for connecting with Gen Z

Brands will step up efforts to reach the emerging Gen Z consumer segment in 2017. Smart marketers know Gen Z presents an opportunity to transform their brand's meaning and salience in digital. Successful brands will embrace three paradigm shifts throughout 2017.

  • Brands will invest media dollars and focus activity in digital platforms that allow consumers to co-create a shared brand experience.
  • Brands will give their target consumers a deeper look at themselves through owned media (social, apps, and websites). Additionally, brands will share their story, their purpose and details about their production processes so Gen Z can determine if the brand's values match their own.
  • Brands will shift their focus to right-brained influence.

These shifts will help drive brand growth and increase the power of digital as a channel for brands to meaningfully connect with this audience.

  1. Brand experience takes centre stage

Today's connected world makes it too easy for brands to annoy customers with an inconsistent experience. In 2017, successful brand stories will be built on delivering a consistent experience across touch points, and less on the number of touch points used.

  1. Content marketing: a new wave of experimentation

Content marketing in 2017 will continue to gain traction at a fast pace. New creative and media possibilities, particularly on mobile, will drive innovation and experimentation in both content and formats as marketers look to provide consumers with content that is useful, entertaining, or both.

  1. The future of programmatic targeting will balance brand and behaviour to identify the most receptive audiences

Today's complex online media ecosystem will force advertisers and their media agencies to adopt more sophisticated, blended targeting approaches in 2017. The focus will be on driving brand effectiveness with critical behavioural and demographic components.

Programmatic targeting, done well, empowers advertisers to serve their media to audiences who will be most influenced – attitudinally and behaviourally. Done poorly, this targeting can be intrusive, creepy, off-point and ineffective.

In 2017, marketers will focus on finding the right balance between precision and intrusion. Advertisers and their agencies will align on the components of effective targeting based on brand affinity, interests and the appropriate demographics. One will see a shift away from simplistic blunt-instrument targeting based on a single input – be it behaviour (websites visited, items in a shopping cart), demographics, or stand-alone brand affinity.

In markets where the right data platforms exist, marketers should explore how to integrate brand affinity data into their media buying, beyond just behaviour.

  1. Galvanised by fear, the online advertising industry will more aggressively respond to ad blockers

In 2017, the online ad industry will turn a corner by adopting better ad formats and proactively persuading audiences not to block ads. Digital advertising has had its wake up call and can no longer hit the snooze button. The industry has been jolted into action by the continued rise of ad blocking software across desktop and mobile devices, and forecasts of billions in lost advertising revenue. Kantar Millward Brown predicts that marketers will fight back with genuine improvements for consumers.

Ad blocking is now the industry's problem to solve. Advertisers need to create more compelling content which will be relevant in the contexts where it is placed. Publishers need to reduce advertising clutter, and focus on polite, user-responsive formats. Media agencies need to improve targeting, using more frequency capping and retargeting judiciously to reduce irritation.

  1. Media synergies will become more important than any single channel and the collective weight of all channels

The growing significance of media synergies in 2017 offers advertisers and agencies the opportunity to leverage its power to maximise brand and sales impact.

Marketers should adapt the message to the medium while maintaining a common creative theme. It's also important that every medium has a specific role to play within the broader media mix to best drive synergies.

Click Here to View Kantar Millward Brown Digital Predictions for Marketers 2017

Info@BestMediaInfo.ccom

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