The Gen Z Playbook

The Gen Z Playbook by business intelligence service PSFK decodes Gen Z’s changing priorities and provides a strategic framework that brands and retailers can use to redesign their brand experiences for this new generation of consumers.

The 50+ page report presents 8 trends that represent key opportunities to activate Gen Z consumers, supported by 24 best-in-class case studies and quantitative and qualitative consumer insights collected from the Gen Z Survey, a survey of over 1,000 consumers conducted by PSFK and our quant research partner Suzy.

This survey shows a generation of true digital natives that perceives the world through a unique lens, moving seamlessly between the online and offline worlds and naturally embracing digital technology as a tool for self-expression, community building, entrepreneurship and social change.

The Gen Z Playbook by PSFK shows how forward-thinking brands are aligning with Gen Z’s values and building platforms that invite authentic engagement and foster long-term relationships.

Business intelligence platform PSFK found that there are key trends defining how Gen Z structure their identities, communities and personal goals. Those trends include:

Synced Living: Using immersive platforms to socialize and collaborate with friends, using shared real-time experiences to enhance, not replace, real life relationships

Democratized Commerce: Embracing peer-driven marketplaces that enable individuals to market and sell their favored products and services to like-minded audiences

In addition to the trends research, by working with polling partner Suzy, the research companies surveyed Gen Z and Millennial consumers and found the following consumer insights that tapped into the trends:

• Their mantra is ‘Be Yourself’: Open-mindedness is the top generational trait for Gen Z, with 36% choosing it as the adjective that best describes their generation. This is an 8% increase over Millennials.

• They live online and offline simultaneously: 34% of Gen Z say ‘my online and offline selves are very similar’ and 29% ‘see no difference between my online and offline selves.’

• They’re forging their own paths: 55% of Gen Z feel that their generation is more entrepreneurial than previous generations.

• They seek brands whose purpose aligns with theirs: When asked to choose the most important trait for a brand to have, 58% of Gen Z choose a brand’s purpose, values & mission, making it their #1 most important trait, whereas Millennials rank it as their third most important trait.

Published: July 2019