Connection between brands, Gen Z creates opportunities for new behaviours to emerge: Lodestar UM's Aditi Mishra

With the advent of technology, people have become somewhat detached from genuine experiences, leading to a change in how content and information are consumed. Furthermore, the connection between brands and the desires of Gen Z is creating opportunities for new behaviours to emerge, Aditi Mishra, CEO at Lodestar UM, said.

Talking to BestMediaInfo.com on the sidelines of Goafest 2023, Mishra said that technology is not just about changing media behaviour, it is about changing people as a whole. 

“While at one time, technology makes things easier, what it also does is it somehow desenses you from immersion in some real experiences. Technology is changing the way people consume content and information. Therefore, the way consumers decode messaging or advertising is changing and hence you need to work a lot harder in terms of capturing their attention and what you are talking about is more relevant,” she stated. 

“This interaction between brands with GenZ is opening up the opportunity for a lot of new consumer behaviour to emerge,” Mishra added.

She shared that Lodestar UM has done four rounds of surveys with Gen Z and the unique thing was that they actually got Gen Zs to talk to their peers. The studies were conducted over different kinds of things in the last three years. 

“What we have found out is very interesting. The youth today in a lot of ways is very grounded. They want success in their lives but not at the cost of spoiling things. So, they are very conscious about what they are doing.,” she added.

Mishra went on to state that the focus of Gen Zs is on what they want as an experience rather than the platform where they are getting it from. “So, it's a very different kind of a thing and what that does is that the loyalty to the platform or provider starts getting questioned, because they are so focused on the experience. That is the challenge for most media people today, how do they (media agencies) ensure providing a seamless experience to the consumers.” 

Furthermore, Mishra added, “The fun part about technology today is that you and I can be as big of an influencer as anybody else. But what it has also done is that it has started making people question when a celebrity says something what does it really mean? People have started questioning if the influencer’s voice is authentic.”

“Earlier, when a celebrity used to say something, everybody would be wowed by that thought but today there is a lot more questioning. So, proving your credentials and ensuring that you have the credentials is important on social media especially,” Mishra said. 

Mishra further said that on certain short-video form platforms, there are a lot more checks in place regarding brand and influencer partnerships.

Mishra also shared that she has been trying to find ways to enable micro-influencers to tell their stories better, as the number of small and localised influencers is only going to grow in the days ahead.

Mishra stated, “Their voice is going to be a lot more important to me than generic influencers. The more a marketer and a brand can understand that and be a part of their journey, the stronger the connection with the brand will be.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com