frAGILE - Is NextGen marketing more chemistry than science by InSites Consulting

*Is NextGen marketing more chemistry than science?

JOERI VAN DEN BERGH KATIA PALLINI

ix years ago, Instagram was just born. Snapchat did not

even existâ&#x20AC;Ś Full-electric cars were nothing but a nice concept and we probably would have frowned upon the idea of Amazon delivering groceries on the same day, let alone Amazon taking over 430 physical stores in the US, Canada and the UK. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear that, since we published the first 2011 edition of How Cool Brands Stay Hot, a book on marketing and branding towards the youngest generation, the world did not stand still. On the contrary, the speed of change is at its ultimate high and is expected to accelerate even further in the years to come. This affects multiple consumer generations: what they value in life, how they look at their careers (see the Millennials at Work paper) and how they consume and interact with brands. There are many labels for different minus 36 consumer cohorts, but we will refer to them as NextGen, as they are the Next Generation of consumers shaping the future of brands in the next 2 decades. NextGen captures both Generation Z (born 1997-2012) and Millennials (born 1980-1996) who since the first edition of How Cool Brands Stay Hot grew up into adults. How have these consumers evolved in the past years and what are the opportunities and challenges for brands? We did expert interviews with 26 Senior Marketing Executives to hear their take on what exactly has shifted since the first publication of How Cool Brands Stay Hot and how NextGen is already changing their businesses and marketing strategies today. This whitepaper shares our insights from the interviews. Some of the interviews will be published on our companion blog: howcoolbrandsstayhot. com. I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

THE FRAG LE REALITY Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth grew up in a post-truth world, where transparency is the rule but where falsity is no exception. Where collaborative wiki software platforms like Wikipedia bundle knowledge, while others (such as WikiLeaks) try to break secrecy. Where social media install tools to flag and filter fake news. A world where everything is possible both good and bad, a truly fragile world.

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Ljubisa Preletacevic, 2017, presidential candidate in Serbia

CASE How a student mocked his way through Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presidential elections What started as a joke with his friends to mock the state of corruption in his country turned into a national political campaign for 25-year-old university student Luka Maksimovic. The 2017 presidential candidate used an alter ego, Ljubisa Preletacevic or in short Beli, which is Serbian for white and links back to his signature white suit, tie and shoes. He is a parody of how Serbs see their politicians. His campaign did not use any billboards or leaflets; instead he drove around the country with a megaphone satirizing the other candidatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; campaign promises and communicated actively on social media. Next to satirically fraternizing with Trump (which he even referred to as his colleague on Twitter), his approach was to play on emotions. Although he only announced his candidacy a few weeks before the election, the newcomer - completing his

white outfits with oversized jewelry and a characteristic man-bun - won 9.4 percent of the votes with his Hit It Hard Beli! campaign, beating the former President of the UN General Assembly Vuk Jeremic who gathered 5.8 percent of the votes.

NextGen grew up in times of technological (r)evolution, with the increasing digitalization resulting in boundless connectedness and social taking a whole new dimension. They are the first generation for whom the online world truly complements (and sometimes even overtakes) their offline existence. Lifecasting is part of NextGen’s everyday chores; broadcasting everything they do (on a multitude of social networks) to ultimately craft their social identities. They are a generation of multitaskers with devices becoming their arms’ extension, making them always-on, always connected.

“They (today’s youth) are really a tandem with their devices, it’s part of their personality. I realized that a few weeks ago when my son crashed his mobile and was without it for two weeks, it was like he was sick. All their friends, their network, it’s through their mobile, it is like a prolongation of their arm.” Johanna Andrén, Deputy Marketing Manager IKEA

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“Kids don’t see the difference between physical and digital, it’s all part of life basically.” Mikael Jensen, Chief Executive Officer 08

Momio “They (NextGen) live in a virtual world. Being highly connected, they get a lot of impressions from their network, becoming in a sense part of other people’s lives.” Erwin Segers, Chief Marketing Officer Cloetta

This infinite connectedness not only led to the democratization of information, it also resulted in information reaching people at the speed of light. This is the first generation that is so connected early on. Although information comes to them in a fragmented way, with snippets of what is happening reaching them in real-time, they have a realistic view of what is going on in the world both far and near.

“They grow up really fast, youngsters are getting older sooner. An 8-year-old today, knows as much as a 12-year-old ten years ago and a 12-year-old today probably knows as much as a 16-year-old ten years ago.” Kurt Frenier, Vice President GM portfolio transformation PepsiCo Beverages

Yet there is a flipside to this all: it makes them more than aware of the unstable and turbulent world they live in. This is a generation growing up in times of fragility on economic, environmental and political level. They feel the consequences of the financial crises. Hurricanes, natural disasters and the costs of global warming are more tangible. It’s a world where the afterlife of the war on terror is apparent even close to home and where the cracks in the political landscape not only resulted in young people like them fleeing their country but also where the fear of instability fueled political exit strategies and more extreme or right-wing thinking. This makes NextGen down-to-earth realists, unlike older Millennials who were dreamers raised with a you can do anything mentality. “The internet has enabled information-access & social media to be at its peak so suddenly all the world’s affairs become omnipresent -- so prevalent, so in your face, that they (NextGen) are just more aware of the greater matters of consequence, so to speak.” “They are a youth culture born into somewhat of a harder world. The realities of today are those of less gloss, less optimism and greater realism.” Victor Hugo, Global Brand Director Axe Unilever I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

FAMILY 2.0 The fragility is also visible inside the home with fractured and complex household compositions. NextGen is the first generation where divorced parents and new household structures are the new normal. The classic mother-and-father set-up is challenged by modern times and makes room for same-sex marriages, multi-generation compositions or single parent structures. Millennials are increasingly having (often involuntary) childless lives as a result of fractured relationships as well as postponing settling due to educational paths, careers or just exploring life while keeping all options open. More and more women are striving ÂŽ

for happiness by accepting forms of Otherhood (coined by Melanie Notkin @SavvyAuntie) to fill the gap of their delayed or non-mother10

hood. This often-overlooked social issue of our time is expected to grow and hit NextGen even more with a rising number of PANKS and PUNKS (Professional Aunts/Uncles No Kids).

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a very different and new constellation of living together. On the one hand people who are not living with kids, or people who are living with kids part of the time and living by themselves part of the time, newly composed families, or in more developing countries you can find multi-generational set-ups.â&#x20AC;? Anneleen Waterloos, Global Head of Business & Consumer Intelligence

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

Alongside this shift in household composition, there has been a change in how the family is managed. The traditional roles are fading, with men

and women taking up an equal share in the chores or with the balance even re-shifted with fathers choosing a role inside rather than outside the home. The once hierarchical structure has evolved into a horizontal equitability.

They have a very different view on how to run a family. They are more equal than previous generations; you have the father involved in the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. Housewives are not a common thing anymore; they are starting to demand involvement from fathers at home and fathers themselves demand time with their children. Carola Lundberg, Insight Director Vizeum 11

FLATAGE SOCIETY The distance between parents and children is becoming smaller, with kids having a key role in the decision making and the household shifting from an authority model to one with involvement. Research by InSites Consulting has shown how 52% of teens (aged 12 or over) in the EU influences the food consumed at home. Besides influencing food choices, 34% of the EU youth decides which programs or movies are being watched at home. This tech-savvy generation also has an important influence on the technologies which are adopted by their parents (40%). And even when it comes to picking a holiday destination, parents are not fully in control, as 38% of teens states they influence the location of the family holiday (InSites Consulting, 2015). I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

“I STRONGLY INFLUENCE MY PARENTS’ DECISION ON...”

Based on an online InSites Consulting survey among Generations Y&Z in Europe. © InSites Consulting

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“Kids play a very important role in the purchase behavior of the household because parents have the feeling: ‘oh my son/ daughter is so much better informed’.” Ingo Tanger, Marketing Director Beiersdorf The age gap closing as the result of kids getting older younger and parents wanting to stay younger longer leads to the so-called flat-age 14

society. Being well informed and raised in times where speaking up is valued, has turned kids into mini-adults, while their parents are striving for a forever-young mentality. Whereas in the past kids would intentionally distinct themselves from their parents, today’s youth feels closer to them. This is manifested in more shared interests and activities. “How kids and parents are interacting, I think that is moving; if I compare this with my generation, my parents with me, me with my kids, they are getting much closer. And you can see that the common interests are getting closer as well, mums going to concerts with kids and doing a lot of stuff together.” Ward Van Duffel, VP & General Manager Direct to Consumer EMEA

LEGO Group

NextGen, kids of the the-sky-is-the-limit achievers’ generations, are expected to be the first generation which is worse off than their parents. And this is also what they fear themselves, with only 29% of European youth saying not to be worried about their future (InSites Consulting, 2015). The quality of life, in its broad sense, has grown generation after generation. And although today’s youth is growing up in a world with boundless technological innovations and opportunities, the fragility is high because of the unstable environment around them. “These children are born in a very different environment that is a lot more uncertain than what we were born in. The diplomas will no longer be relevant when they hit the job market because work is getting automated. And I think they will need to show flexibility and it is more a question mark, what this will do with the Next generation.” Anneleen Waterloos, Global Head of Business & Consumer Intelligence

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

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THE AG LE NEXTGEN CONSUMER MIND So, what is the impact of this fragility on todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth? How are they different from their parents and the generations before them? Just like certain animals have developed a natural adaptation mechanism to blend in with their environment, the shifting surroundings have made the young consumer generations develop an agile mindset to cope with the fragile reality. Instead of merely accepting a brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rigid positioning, they challenge the main purpose of brands and want brands to cater to their individual micro-me needs. NextGen understands people make the brand.

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MICROFYING MACRONESS In contrast with previous generations, which were more focused on achieving and fitting in, todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth is all about creating their own, unique selves. They are not afraid of standing out; they want to show who they are and dare to stand for what they believe in.

MICRO-INTERESTS The accessibility of information has allowed these identity seekers to explore a broad set of interests and get a taste of a multitude of experiences. This has led to the multidimensional growth of their personal selves. NextGens develop their identity through a cocktail of micro-interests which do not necessarily have to add up to one single focus point. This is in contrast with their parents who were working towards that one greater ambition and trying to belong to a certain like-minded clique and crowd by carefully adapting lifestyles centered around more singular group norms.

Boomers and early GenXers were so focused on finding a singular passion and building that passion. I wonder if this generation (NextGen) hasn’t seen the perils of that kind of focus and (as a result) finds it more interesting to say ‘I’m into microbreweries, Japanese culture and some other random things’. Maybe it is just the collection of those micro-interests that adds up to their uniqueness.

Barbara Ward Thall, SVP Global Brand Marketing Audible (Amazon group) 19

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“Today’s youth is more diverse. In the past, you used to be one type and you would stick to that for the rest of your life, in every aspect. Today they switch regularly and this of course brings many opportunities for brands.” Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe

Anheuser-Busch Inbev

This variety of micro-passions and interests is also manifested in their consumption behavior. NextGen wants to experiment and try new products that add up to their uniqueness. While the older generations are 20

mainly driven by habits and routines in their purchases, these youngsters are driven by diversity and satisfying those micro-needs. They are unpredictable switchers that use their own value system for choosing products and brands. Their choice in brands is influenced by numerous parameters (moods, locations, social environment, timing, role…) making classic buyer typologies and segmentations (price, premium, convenience, luxury seekers...) obsolete.

“The young generation is much more into doing the extremes. If they see something online, a new food product, even if it costs three times more but it’s new, they will buy it. They are curious, they want to discover.” Joachim Rubin, VP Marketing & Store concept Delhaize Belgium

CASE Pepsi taps into the mixology trend with Pepsi 1893 To appeal to the small-batch-seeking generation and to tap into the rising interest in mixology and food culture, PepsiCo launched a new premium soda brand called Pepsi 1893 (referring to the birth year of a predecessor to Pepsi cola known as Bradâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drink). This new 1893 cola was launched in 2 varieties: 1893 Original cola and 1893 Ginger cola. Although a big brand like Pepsi is behind the product, the drink clearly taps into the microness with its unique, minimalistic design and branding. To promote this premium drink, Pepsi appeals to younger generations by blurring the lines between soda and booze marketing, using a sommelier in its advertisement who peddles the beverage like a fine whisky or wine.

ÂŠ Pepsi 1893 Original and 1893 Ginger cola

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MICRO-CRAFTING Customized products perfectly answer this quest for identity and standing out. Personalization provides them with the power of one, a form of agility where they can micro-craft products to fit their individual needs and build their I-dentity. Yet, mass customization no longer is enough. To match their unique selves, youngsters linger for micro-craftsmanship allowing them to include something of their own.

“Individuality is the new sexy, which they need to embrace, to express and in doing so they become the best

version of themselves.” Victor Hugo, Global Brand Director Axe UNILEVER

CASE Levi’s 501 Customized - micro-crafting Levi’s original craftsmanship The Levi’s 501 button fly jeans is an iconic product; the original and first ever blue jeans was produced in 1873. More than 140 years later the product is still part of everyday life. To keep the brand relevant for today’s youth, Levi’s did not only introduce a 501 Skinny recently, but they also give the possibility to taper or customize the jeans. Levi’s installed tailor shops in their key stores, where certified tailors adapt the product to the customer’s needs and wants. The customizations range from changing the fit and cutting off the sleeves to

adding embroidery. This way customers buy a Levi’s 501 yet the customization allows them to create their own unique design and product. To raise the awareness of Levi’s customized strategy, a mobile version of Levi’s Tailor Shop was brought to several music festivals.

CASE How Lost My Name made a name in customized children books The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His Name is a customized picture book for children with pages customized to the letters of the child’s name. The book tells the story of a child that has lost its name and goes on a journey to find it. The storyline introduces different characters, with a mini-story behind each character. The first letter of each character eventually allows the child to uncover its own missing name. The books are a huge success, with over 1.6 I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

million copies sold in 175 countries, offering a unique and customized read for children. In June 2016, the team behind Lost My Name released a new book to bring customization to the next level by publishing books with satellite images of the child’s very own home address. https://youtu.be/VrAkG1TemOI

This need for micro-crafting goes alongside the de-branding movement. Not only is there an increasing perception of big is bad, making it harder for bigger companies and brands to stay relevant for today’s youth, NextGen is also less inclined to manifest themselves with visible brand marks. On the contrary, they purposely wear minimal(istic) brands or logos to express their unique selves. The old Abercrombie & Fitch model (i.e. where the brand logo absorbs the product) is no

longer valid, branding needs to be discrete to appeal to this generation. This brings many opportunities for private labels. While traditionally private labels were associated with utilitarian design, they have been transforming the market in recent years by focusing increasingly on product innovation to better meet consumers’ needs. The market share of private labels has grown in the past years, currently capturing 46% share of retail in the UK, and is expected to boom in the years to come. “My daughters buy a lot of second-hand clothes and I see them browse in their mother’s or grandmother’s closet to find those unique items to mix and match.” Koen Verwee, Chief Executive Officer De Persgroep Publishing

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MACRO-MEANING Even though these micro-passions and interests do not necessarily add up to one single focus point, NextGen are purpose seekers. While their parents focused on building status and standing out in their careers, these youngsters want to make a career in every aspect of life. On a macro-level, they are on a personal quest for meaningful lives, macro-meaning. They want a smooth and happy life in all aspects and strive for what one could call ‘life careerism’.

“They really challenge everything, they do not want to work as hard as the previous generations, they do 26

want a career, to continuously develop professionally but also privately. They want to be home too, they want to be good parents, they want to be good cooks, good lovers…” Carola Lundberg, Insight Director Vizeum

“It seems to me it is a generation that has watched some of the outcomes of the attitudes of their parents. I feel there’s almost a little bit of backlash towards finding meaning.” Barbara Ward Thall, SVP Global Brand Marketing Audible (Amazon group)

Again this is certainly reflected in what NextGens expect from brands; brands should not only fuel their micro-interests; they should also add up to this meaningfulness. Brands need to have a purpose, a greater goal beyond their commercial agenda. NextGen demands from brands that they do good, that they care for the world they are taking from. Millennials and Gen Z want companies and brands to create a better world. Corporate Social Responsibility no longer is a simple checkbox, it should be a brand’s manifest. And it does not lead to market differentiation either; youth considers these programs as a minimum viability for brands to participate in today’s market.

“One of the things consumers feed back to us are our CSR initiatives, such as our global clean-beach program, in which we clean the beach with local communities. Because we as a company are part of the problem and the solutions. And consumers tell us, ‘it’s important; if you did not do this, your brand would be less important to us’. And you see that today’s youth wants meaning and if you cannot offer that, they would force you to do it.” Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe

Anheuser-Busch Inbev

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“The higher purpose is very important, so you can do it in a very transparent way. We are not 100% renewable energy providers today, but we will be and you can talk about the journey to the 100%, all the time, step by step.” Karin Rosell, Head of Brand and Marketing E.ON

CASE 28

How TOMS fuels macro-meaning by improving lives through giving TOMS, the shoe brand that also carries eyewear, bags and coffee, breathes social responsibility. The company’s famous one-for-one business model refers to its promise to deliver a pair of new shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes sold. Similarly, when TOMS sells a pair of eyewear, part of the profit is used to save or restore the eyesight of people in developing countries. Since its launch in 2006, TOMS has donated more than 70 million pairs of shoes to children in need. The brand has clearly paved the path for the rise of other private companies to engage in social change. TOMS and similar initiatives do not only do good as a company, their model, connecting one donor with one recipient, makes the connection of the good cause more tangible as such, combining macro-meaning or purpose with guilt-free consumption at the customer’s side.

This generation is consciously thinking about the day after tomorrow. They are aware of the impact of their consumption on the environment. Sustainable is the new norm and brands are challenged to give back to the planet they are taking from. NextGen demands brands to think about the long term and provide sustainable alternatives.

“After the industrial revolution there was a huge focus on consumption, almost limitless consumption, as there was no limit to consumption and what it would take from the environment and planet. Now you see the whole environmental awareness has become part of the day-today thinking of our customers.” Anneleen Waterloos, Global Head of Business & Consumer Intelligence

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

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“We see more and more youngsters entering our stores, stating ‘I would like to buy a sustainable product, can you show me what you have and how it is made?’” Anit Van Eynde, VP Brand Marketing LEVI STRAUSS&CO EUROPE

CASE The less water purpose in the Levi’s Water<LessTM jeans On average, the production of a pair of jeans requires 42 liters of water; 30

by changes in the finishing process Levi’s succeeded in creating the Water<Less™ collection which uses on average 28% (and up to 96% for some styles) less water. Since the launch of the Water<Less™ collection in 2011, Levi’s saved more than 1 billion liters of water. By 2020, the brand aims to make 80 percent of its products Water<Less™. But it does not end there; in its communication Levi’s also promotes the Water<LessTM cause by activating its customers to wash their jeans less frequently.

A product’s value is no longer only defined by what it can do today, but also by what it can bring in the future, the extent to which it can be recycled and create a sustainable base for new products to come. Brands are not only challenged to give a second life to products, but also to think about the next lives a product could bring.

“Quality used to be defined as a product that resists the torture test. For them (NextGen) good quality is a product that you could give a second and a third and a fourth life. It’s a lot more about the longevity of a product rather than the here and now.” Anneleen Waterloos, Global Head of Business & Consumer Intelligence

Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 31

CASE F-ABRIC - From fiber to compost heap After five years of testing, Zürich-based bag company Freitag introduced F-ABRIC, clothes made from all-biodegradable textile and the first product to close the cycle. The clothes are made from resources such as hemp that is grown in Europe. Not only do these fibers need less water to grow but the journey to the finished product is shorter than what you can expect from the production of apparel as everything is grown and produced within a 2500km radius. Freitag has always been leading by example when it comes to producing sustainable products, with their famous messenger bags made from recycled materials. Yet these second-life products did not close the cycle. F-ABRIC does: if you no longer want to use it, you can throw it on the compost heap and it will decompose; the product literally goes back to its roots.

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Although NextGen is in search of microness in all aspects, this macro-view on the world and acceptance of diversity have made today’s youth rejecters of micro-views and stereotypes. Brands need to corre32

spondingly reflect this macro-vision and provide a meaning.

CASE Levi’s Line 8 breaks through all the stereotypes by launching a genderless line At the start of 2017, Levi’s introduced their new Line 8, including a selection of products designed to be worn by anyone, regardless of gender. This unisex line brings gender-neutral clothing that goes beyond putting a feminine twist on a masculine style as was previously visible in the industry (with the introduction of boyfriend jeans, for example). This new line, carrying basic apparel such as slim-fit jeans and t-shirts for all, embraces diversity through equality adding up the need of macroness amongst today’s youth.

“When we create a shop or dressing room feature for our Momio avatars (Momio is a fun, safe social medium for kids), if it’s made in different colors for girls and boys, then it’s a total turn-off; it has to be neutral. In connection to that guys can wear make-up and, why not, wear a dress? And girls can be goth and things like that. And it’s up to them and not to anyone else. And as a brand, you need to facilitate this and allow them to create their own style. Mikael Jensen, Chief Executive Officer Momio I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

LIFE’S A HACKATHON In this quest for meaningful lives, trade-offs must be made. The opportunities have never been so great; the options are endless. Yet time is limited. With this scarcity, NextGen is always on the look-out for having things done rapidly, easily and hassle-free, making them a real shortcut generation. They look for hacks in every possible dimension of their lives, how they can optimize everything going from exercising, nutrition and physical space to technology. 34

“Amongst the older generation, we see a higher perception that listening to audiobooks is not as valuable as reading, that somehow it’s cheating. Whereas youngsters, they don’t put a value judgement on how they get their information. So, for them, listening to information, which can be done anywhere, while multitasking is a life-hack; an optimization, they don’t see it as a cheat at all.” Barbara Ward Thall, SVP Global Brand Marketing Audible (Amazon group)

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In that sense, an increasingly important role of brands is to make lives easier. They want things now, as fast and as easy as possible. Brands need to provide top-notch user experiences, reducing the time and efforts on the customer’s side. They demand a seamless experience, across brands, products and platforms. They expect brands to move out of their cocoon, learn and collaborate with others to provide them a ‘hackative’ experience in their search for information, brands and products.

“’I want to have it and I want to have it now’. They are not necessarily looking for brands, but rather for something they need very quickly. It is a generation that 36

expects your product to be on par and deliver a super user experience.” Ivo Wassenaar, Marketing Strategy eBay

“The expectations of NextGen today are set by other brands than before. Brands like Google and Amazon, and they don’t see why they can’t have that same kind of experience with brands from more traditional industries. If we don’t deliver, someone else will.” Anna Zanghi, Head of Global Innovation and Product Development for Youth

Mastercard

CASE Mastercard app lets shoppers pay with a selfie Mastercard has recently started accepting selfies as an alternative to password verification for online payments. The card company rolled out this new technology in October 2016 in the UK and 11 other European countries. To access the new function, customers must download the new Identity Check mobile app, through which they can authorize payment with fingerprint or face recognition. All users need to do is take a selfie with their mobile device and upload their picture to Mastercard, which then creates a digital map of their face, ready to be used whenever theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making a purchase. This app allows selfie-craze youth to pay for their purchases in literally a blink of the eye.

ÂŠ Mastercard, Mastercard Identity Check mobile App

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CASE LetGo reduces the hassle when uploading listings LetGo is a marketplace app where users can simply upload a listing by taking a picture of the product they want to sell. The app uses image recognition software to make an initial listing which users can then complete. With its snap, post, chat, sell slogan, LetGo answers the needs of this snappy generation, as, in seconds, they can put an item up for sale.

ÂŠ Letgo, Letgo App

CASE Axe Instagroom, 15-second styling hack videos to get the look Axe understood that guys are on a time crunch and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have (nor want to spend) time on styling their perfect look. The brand launched a series of Instagrooms, a set of 15-second videos where male influencers from all different

walks of life explain their hacks to pull off the perfect look in just that small amount of time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odDtT-OqcoI

Â© Axe, Axe Instagroom

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This generation of consumers wants to explore its micro-passions as conveniently as possible and brands need to facilitate this. This explains the success of fresh food delivery boxes with accompanying recipes (e.g. Hello Fresh) delivering cooking in an easy, convenient and less-time-consuming way. New supermarket concepts have popped up recently, leveraging on this very same trend. Amazon GO, the e-tailerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prototype automated grocery store without a cashier or check-out in Seattle, is one example of how offline retail spaces will have to embrace the same one-click convenience consumers find online.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The trend and passion of making good food became more important in the last 10 years, so we try to help customers to get convenience while giving them the opportunity to cook.â&#x20AC;? Joachim Rubin, VP Marketing & Store Delhaize Belgium

ÂŠ HNGRY, HNGRY store concept

CASE HNGRY - Where product aisles make room for recipe zones In an average supermarket, products are displayed in aisles organized per product category: vegetables in one section, canned food in anotherâ&#x20AC;Ś HNGRY, a new store concept in Antwerp, Belgium, taps into the growing need to combine inspiration with convenience. The traditional aisles are replaced by recipe zones where ingredients are grouped per recipe. This way, customers can easily buy all the necessary (portioned) ingredients to start cooking that recipe.

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DE-MATERIALIZED OWNERSHIP GenXers and Baby Boomers, being achievers in life and in career, unintentionally felt the need to showcase their status and success by means of the brands and goods they buy. NextGen is less status-oriented, they do not feel this need for physical manifestation of ownership. Ownership is reflected completely differently. While older generations would showcase their knowledge by means of a filled book shelf or their musicality through a massive music collection, richness for today’s youth is measured through access to content rather than through 42

the physical collection of it. For them, it is not about the product, but about what you can achieve with it. It is a generation which values the collective. For them, products are a means to an end.

“Car ownership is not that relevant anymore, it’s more about where you’ve travelled in the world and where you have lived abroad. Cars remain a kind of status symbol, yet it’s probably not the single most important thing anymore.”

Kirsten Brückner, Director Marketing and PR Mobile.de

“If I compare it to thirty years ago, you would collect information and keep it to yourself, because knowledge equaled power. Today it’s more about sharing the information that you have because if you can’t share it, you can’t multiply it.” Lucien Vieveen, Global Consumer & Market Insights Manager Perfetti Van Melle

“People used to have these giant libraries as a status symbol in some way, but even less about status as much as about a physical manifestation of information they’ve taken in. There is the sort of ‘oh, my old tattered copy of Catcher in the Rye’ or whatever is like an old friend and I want it around me, I want to carry it from apartment to apartment, from house to house etc.” Barbara Ward Thall, SVP Global Brand Marketing Audible (Amazon group)

“When I was 18, my dream car was a Golf, because that was thé car. But today’s youth says: we do not want a car at all, that is just a means of transportation. My generation wanted to own, this generation just wants to use.” Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe

Anheuser-Busch Inbev

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CASE Topics, the Spotify of media content De Persgroep Publishing, a newspaper, magazines and new media company in Belgium and the Netherlands, recently launched Topics, a new online platform for media content. One could call it the Spotify of content, currently covering thirteen newspaper titles on one platform. Users can indicate their themes of interest which together with their user behavior (such as previously read articles) is used to fill the content dashboard. The set-up of each dashboard is adapted to the reader’s interests and covers topics beyond one single newspaper, leveraging on the trend that people mix content rather than to read one single source.

Today’s youth are agile persona builders; they want to grow and stand out by learning and crafting their true unique selves, mixing micro-passions and interests. They are on a quest for purpose in life. They want

to reach this high as easily as possible and will look for products that can hack their way through it all, to ultimately craft their unique and meaningful self. These diversity seekers are a massive opportunity for brands, yet to be relevant for this generation, brands need to embrace agility on their end as well.

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SHORTENING THE CYCLES Today’s youth is used to getting things now and this impatience is also expressed towards brands. When they see something online, whether on the other side of the world or around the corner, they expect it on their doorstep the next day. Overnight or even sameday delivery is becoming the rule rather than the exception and the introduction of drone deliveries in the coming years will only spur this 46

behavior. Similarly, to stay relevant, brands must cope with this need for speed in their production cycles.

“Everything is immediate today, what they see from other people, other brands, other products, in other industries. The global borders are going away because of the power of social media. There is an instant gratification that this generation is starting to expect.”

Avery Baker, Chief Brand Officer Tommy Hilfiger

CASE Tommy Now shortens the cycle with its see-now-buy-now model With Tommy Now, Tommy Hilfiger has reinvented the classic approach to the runway by shifting its entire process to a consumer-driven see-now-buy-now model. The traditional design-to-store cycle in fashion takes around 6 months, which can result in a collection becoming obsolete even before entering the market. Especially since popular discount stores such as Forever 21 have challenged the industry with pushing the latest catwalk trends faster into its stores

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than designers used to roll out their own collections. Today’s youth wants to shop for what they see on the streets, in magazines or on the catwalk, as soon as they see it. With Tommy Now, consumers can buy the collection real-time as soon as it appears on the catwalk, shortening what was once a long cycle.

But the reduced-cycle thinking goes beyond the production process. The fast and furious environment we live in forces brands and marketers to rethink how they reach out to consumers. While in the past a marketer’s job consisted in developing four big campaigns per year, today’s business environment requires an always-on mentality. Companies need to be agile and tap into trends or things that are happening at that moment. To cope with this agile reality, many brands 48

have installed their own agencies within the company. This is how they can shorten the communication cycle, providing room for a fragmented always-on content approach.

“Marketers’ jobs are becoming increasingly more difficult due to media fragmentation, before you’d work with an agency and say: this is what I want for TV, this visual for print and in-store and this for radio. Today it’s all that, plus YouTube pre-rolls, we need 5 seconds, 6 seconds, 10 seconds, we need Facebook and Instagram, don’t forget the (Instagram/Facebook) stories, 140 characters, the Snapchat filters, influencer armies… Victor Hugo, Global Brand Director Axe Unilever

“In the past we would run a three-week TV campaign and we knew we would get in touch with 82-85% of our target audience and that they would see the ad 3 to 4 times; today that is not possible anymore.” Morten Holst Boye, VP Marketing Carlsberg Denmark

But do the traditional company structures still fit this new agile reality? Today, many companies are organized in departments and although cross-department projects are set up to speed up certain processes, one might question if this is enough. Many organizations are rethinking their business structure to cope with the sprint-paced world, often resulting in a shift from traditional hierarchy to flat management alternatives. Yet critics say the latter often lacks rigor, which is why some companies like Zappos found the answer in holacracy. At Freitag, they recently moved towards this type of organizational structure which focuses on peer-to-peer networks. Within this framework, the processes are organized in circles and sub-circles where people take on different roles. This operating system allows businesses to distribute authority, empowering all employees to take a leadership (‘intrapreneur’) role and make meaningful decisions. This new structure is set up to feed the growing need for organizational agility. NextGen’s agile mindset is a reaction to or at least the consequence of the fragile reality surrounding today’s youth. Yet at the same time, and perhaps as a counteraction to this agility, NextGen is in search of stability in life, they increasingly want to reboot and go back to the core.

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REBOOTING THE FUTURE Growing up in world of hyper-connectedness, over-choice and boundless possibilities has made these youngsters linger for what is rare. In this abundance of everything, they want to go back to the core. This re-rooting behavior is apparent in different forms of escapism but also in a renewed interest in real people behind brands and companies.

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BACK TO THE BASICS The over-connectedness has led to many initiatives of social detoxing with people putting their smartphone aside and trying to enjoy the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;real worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Not only is there a growing need to go back to real human interaction, the awareness of the health and social consequences of smartphone addiction and over-exposure to HEV light (High Energy Visible light) from screens is increasing. In schools, silent rooms are popping up, giving kids a safe place and mental rest. Yoga and mindfulness 52

activities are two of many growing forms of de-connecting and avoiding burn-out or depression. And even in food consumption, detoxing initiatives rise in numbers, with people going back to the basics by limiting certain food products for specific periods (e.g. 40 days without meat, glutenfree for other than medical reasons, no alcohol for a whole month, protein-based diets instead of carbs etc).

ÂŠ Belote, Belote evening

CASE Belote is not dead Belote is the French version of Color Whist. In recent years, the game went through a revival amongst youngsters. Trendy Belote evenings are organized where people can experience, learn and play the game. In these settings, people reconnect through the physical game and although everyone has a smartphone, the scores are kept on an old-school piece of paper.

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“You can feel this search for human emotions, for having fun. When you play Poker online and you bluff and win, that’s fun. Yet nothing beats the real thing, the fact that you see a face, the adrenalin rush is ten times higher.”

Jean-Jacques Maartense, VP Consumer Products Cartamundi

“Rather than sending out an e-mail for Christmas or their 54

birthday, we send it per post, and kids love it because they never get any post.”

Anne-Lise Johnsen, Youth and Sports Marketing Specialist Arsenal F.C.

This need for re-rooting is also manifested in NextGen’s search for products and brands. While their parents favored unlimited consumption, the next generation wants genuine products. They want to go back to the core, they are in search of products that do the trick and answer their core needs, nothing more, nothing less. Show-off features are not valid anymore if they don’t clearly add up to a product’s core functionality.

“At a certain point it was all about showcasing ‘how many features you had’. The core is moving back to functionality rather than the number of gimmicks a product has.” Jean-Jacques Maartense, VP Consumer Products Cartamundi

CASE How Peugeot started from scratch with the Peugeot 308 If you consider the typical car advertisement, besides promoting the car’s design and quality, the ad will most likely highlight the tech savviness of the vehicle. Peugeot understood that the days are over of having a dashboard full of switches which the average consumer does not know of what they are all for anyway, so they approached it differently. Instead of adding functionalities (and switches), the Peugeot 308 advertisement shows how the make erased the whole dashboard during the design process to start from a clean slate and how they only put back those features that have an actual purpose. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBbARgeLiHE

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BACK TO THE ROOTS Accompanying the awareness of the commercial layer around brands, todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth is also a lot more conscious about how and where a product is made. They are a generation of do-gooders, trying to do good for their health, the environment and their community. They are 56

more actively looking for brands that stay true to their roots.

LOCAL ROOTS This generation wants to have the good conscience that they are buying well; buying local gives them that feeling. They are in search of local and low-scale products; in many cities farmer markets relive because of the youthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quest for local. This back to the roots is also visible in the retail environment. While in the past brands would make sure all their retail touchpoints looked identical, store owners today try to preserve the roots of the buildings they use and smartly blend the brand in with these locations rather than the other way around.

“Local provides them with reassurance, because it’s closer to them and they feel they know what they are doing and associate it with healthiness. It provides them with a good conscience as they have the impression they support their community.” Joachim Rubin, VP Marketing & Store concept Delhaize Belgium

Apple NYC Grand Central Station store

CASE Grand Central Station starring the NY Apple store In New York Grand Central Station, Apple opened a unique store in a unique location. The store features Apple’s typical service stations, including a training room and a room to learn how to use the Apple products, yet the true eye-catcher is the location itself. The store wraps around the main concourse of the station, with its large arches and antique chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, adding a unique, authentic layer to the Apple store experience.

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FAMILY ROOTS The gap between parents and kids is decreasing, with a deliberate distance having made room for shared interests. Yet, parents struggle with juggling their careers, family lives and personal time while youth is challenged to combine their education (or first career steps) with their palette of micro-interests. While the closeness is there, it is sometimes hard to express, in their demanding lives fueled by social media and emoji conversations. Brands go back to the emotional bonding layer and try to link their purpose to this quest for family closeness. Procter & Gamble’s thank you mom campaign tapped into the mother-child relationship during the last Olympic Games in Rio and Sochi.

CASE Nivea strengthens the timeless bond between mother and child As a family brand, Nivea has found a hook with its Mother’s day’s campaign to facilitate sharing between families. The campaign taps into the emotional side of the brand and provides relevance by linking the brand message to the timeless bond of mother and child. With these campaigns the brand wants to take the role of normal family communication and accelerate it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBWwmzCYW5o

By going back to the past and introducing nostalgic themes in products, brands succeed in leveraging this bond by providing a common story for parents and children.

CASE LEGO Star Wars brings common story for parents and kids Although the first set of Lego Star Wars was already launched in 1999, the theme still is relevant for today’s youth, as it allows to create a connection between parents and kids. Even though many of the young generations haven’t seen the first Star Wars productions, they buy in to the theme because of its bonding character. It provides a common story for parents and kids.

“We ran a ‘Back to The Future’ activation in the US end of 2015 (in honor of the 30th anniversary of the movie, launching the iconic Pepsi Perfect that featured in Back to the Future: Part II), an activity centered very much around nostalgia. Funny thing was: this wasn’t just nostalgia for us (the older generations), but also for the next generations, as they massively bought these items for their coolness, specialness, experience.” Kurt Frenier, Vice President GM portfolio transformation PepsiCo Beverages

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This is also where rituals come in, linking brands back to the past and making them relevant for NextGen today.

“The younger generation needs to get its own traditions, its own experiences with a brand. 60

So it’s important to create new ones.” Annika Lindholm, Nordic Media Manager Mondelez

CASE How Marabou started a new Christmas ritual In the Nordics, the tradition is to make gingerbread houses around Christmas. Marabou, a Swedish chocolate brand, wanted to make the brand relevant around Christmas and came up with a more interesting take on gingerbread houses. They did so by creating a new ritual for Christmas, starting with the younger generations, namely chocolate Marabou Christmas houses. The campaign - also using local YouTube stars - was a success, has been repeated for a few years in a run already and is slowly expanding to other demographic groups.

©Anty, Marabou Gingerbread house

BRAND ROOTS

Another form of re-rooting in branding is the relaunch of the classics. By doing so, brands tap into the need for stability without spending huge marketing budgets on brand building. By integrating relevant features and small tweaks, brands succeed in bringing relevance today.

“We see in these fickle times that the iconic traditional brands hold. You could say that it is the flipside of the technological evolutions, that people have a need to cling on to the traditional values.” Erwin Segers, Chief Marketing Officer Cloetta

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CASE Läkerol makes refugees (learn to) talk (Swedish) Läkerol, the Swedish brand of sugar- and calorie-free pastilles, recently went back to its old slogan makes people talk. To create relevance, the brand is trying to build meaning by linking it to relevant content today. For years, Sweden has marked itself as a country which does not fight wars but offers shelter to war victims. The country has accepted more refugees in proportion to its size than any country during the humanitarian crises in 2016. Yet the integration of those entering the country has not been easy. A recent campaign of Läkerol tried to facilitate this by introducing an app that teaches immigrants to speak Swedish and thus make them (learn to) talk. It is a nice example of how to strengthen the brand essence by adding content that is relevant in today’s context. 62

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVdGumFgnEs

CASE PepsiCo goes back to its roots with Mountain DEWshine Mountain Dew (or Mtn Dew) is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo since 1960. Yet, the original formula was invented in the 1930s by the Hartman brothers who stoked their own alcohol at home (so-called moonshine), as a reaction to the prohibition in the US at the time. The Hartman brothers began bottling a lemon-lime soda as a whiskey chaser and called it Mountain Dew. In 2015, PepsiCo (temporarily) launched Mountain DEWshine, to stir up nostalgia for the sodaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s origin. Mountain DEWshine is a craft version of Mountain Dew - in its original formula, with the authentic visual identity (an old-fashioned-looking label). In its advertising, the brand also referred to the roots: in the TV commercial, you see 3 burly men forging glass bottles and then pouring a clear liquid from dusty barrels in some dark cabin in the woods. www.youtube.com/ watch?v=iVrnai0u9sc

ÂŠ Pepsico, Mountain DEWshine

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BACK TO THE FUTURE Yet while going back to the roots, brands need to make sure to stay relevant for the future. NextGen is a demanding generation, they are doers and expect brands to move forward with them. Although there is a quest for re-rooting, their expectations keep growing. Brands need to accept this duality by smartly integrating future-proof innovation thinking while keeping hold of the essence of the brand; they need to reboot the future.

CASE Carlsberg’s Rebrew project - where innovation meets history 64

Researchers from Carlsberg’s laboratory have managed to extract living yeast cells from a bottle of beer from 1883 that was found in the brewer’s Copenhagen cellars. With this yeast, they produced a limited quantity of beer using brewery craftsmanship from 1883. youtu.be/eNHKr0dD2tg

CASE Lego boosts the past with the future, with Lego Boost In August 2017, Lego will launch its unique sub-brand Lego Boost, which will allow children to let their Lego creations come to life. The base set contains a combination of sensors, motors and a unique companion app that will teach children how to code and program their own robot creations. With this set, Lego links the classic constructing experience with new future-proof technologies, staying relevant for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth.

ÂŠ Lego, Lego Boost

The flipside of the agile mindset is the growing need for stability. NextGen wants to re-connect with what is essential. More than ever, brands are to expose their real authentic selves and open up their core and let consumers experience the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose.

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REAL IS THE DEAL FROM BRAND TO PERSON Back in the days, brands could simply wrap their product in a nice commercial and it would probably sell. Today’s youth however, being bombarded with advertisement messages every minute of the day, sees through these ads. They are aware of the commercial layer of brand communication and consequently their distrust is high.

“I have the feeling that NextGen is really against anything commercial, even though in fact it is a very commercial generation. They are very demanding; they are looking for the best in technology as well as in brands. But as soon they feel it is too commercial, they are out.” Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe

Anheuser-Busch Inbev

“It becomes even more important that the way your brand story shows up, feels very true to your brand DNA, and that you don’t try to pretend you are something that you are not. Consumers respond to something that feels honest.” Avery Baker, Chief Brand Officer Tommy Hilfiger

“Ultimately, everything evolves around authenticity; they want realness and see right through the commercial agenda.” Kurt Frenier, Vice President GM portfolio transformation PepsiCo Beverages

Whereas in the past, marketers could create this fictive dream world around brands, today’s youth wants real, authentic brands showcasing real people. They embrace brands that are perfectly imperfect, just like them. I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

“They (NextGen) don’t want commercials the old way. Now it’s more about producing lots of material, which is not so fine-produced, not so perfect. In the beginning with Halebop (a Swedish telecom provider), we were even shooting (commercials) with mobile phones, as they are used to seeing things and films like that. They like that more than the wellproduced commercial things.” Karin Rosell, Head of Brand and Marketing E.ON and former Marketing Manager Halebop

CASE Axe moves from magic in the can to magic in people 68

Because of changes in society, Axe recently reinvigorated their position, moving from accentuating primal to progressive masculinity. In the past, the Axe advertisements played on predatory conquests, where the Axe fragrances would (unrealistically) serve as a magnet to attract perfect women. Today the brand no longer focuses on the magic in the can but rather on the magic in people, embracing individuality. The new role of the product is to amplify a person’s individual magic. This change in positioning is also visible in the brand’s recent ads, which showcase imperfect individuality rather than unrealistic six-packed men showing off their muscled bodies and being chased by a wild bunch of model-like women. © Axe, Axe Find your Magic

Simply adding a popular celebrity in your spot using the brand without any relevance doesn’t work anymore. “In the 80s, youth advertisement was done through big celebrities. Alan Pottasch, one of the first and biggest advertising gurus at PepsiCo, used to say back in the day: ‘If you have nothing to say, just sing and dance’. That’s what Pepsi did, working with Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Ray Charles and many others. That was a big thing, and it worked to ‘borrow’ imagery. Today this is not done anymore. The celebrity advertising model has completely changed.” Kurt Frenier, Vice President GM portfolio transformation PepsiCo Beverages 69

The classic power of the brand is fading while the influence of real people like popular vloggers or CEOs of innovative companies is still growing. That’s why the branding paradigm has shifted from the “brand as a hero” model to the “user as hero” focus. It is also why influencer marketing became so important to many brands. Vloggers are youth’s peers, very close to their own age group, imperfect and experimenting just like them. Although many of them have created a lucrative business, almost all of them started in a fragile way, taking risks in front of their computer’s webcam. This has made them more trustworthy for NextGen than their Hollywood celebrity counterparts. Vloggers are an important channel to reach young audiences and in their effort to strengthen the match and brand relevance with these influencers, brands even give them a role beyond spokesperson, by involving them in the product design and development phase. I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

“They are interested in authentic role models, even if imperfect. In a way, they are drawn to more real, more organic types of celebrities.” Victor Hugo, Global Brand Director Axe Unilever

“This generation looks at influencers, but to work with influencers, it must be relevant and it must be a longterm relationship. You should find somebody that will 70

live the brand, otherwise the influencers become brands themselves.” Karin Rosell, Head of Brand and Marketing E.ON

“We have partnered with Gigi Hadid and she is one of the first, if not the preeminent social supermodel. And the ability to have a partner that has an incredible influence and a very credible and honest voice with their fan base can be extremely positive for your brand – if done well.” Avery Baker, Chief Brand Officer Tommy Hilfiger

CASE Bibi’s Beauty Palace disrupts the toiletry business Bianca Bibi Heinicke is a 24-year-old vlogger that not only has more than 4.5 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, but also broke the classical branding model by launching her own line of successful body products. Through her vlog, she launched Bilou, a new brand of shower foams in frisky colors and flavors (using food references as scent labels). The products, although premium in price, were a huge success amongst youngsters and even became collector’s items. Bilou very quickly went from 0% to 15% market share, which was unseen. The marketing was done through her vlog where she would invite her followers to spread the love and post pictures of themselves with the products, thus creating wide reach at virtually no cost. 71

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Influencers are the celebrities of the current time, they share their vision, experience and thoughts with their network. These strong, influential personas ultimately become their own brand. More than ever, people become brands, which is also visible in the strength of iconic founders behind companies like Facebook, Apple, Netflix... These business leaders are the personification of the brand, making it more tangible, authentic and real. They literally breathe the brand. It also makes leaders more vulnerable as their opinions and behavior have a stronger impact on the brand than before. Think of how the ex-CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch had to step down in 2014 due to his quotes on overweight and uncool people (even though his comments were uttered 7 years before the actual publication) or the more recent resigning of Travis Kalanick, founder and now ex-CEO of Uber after complaints about a sexual harassing working culture. 72

Brands and the people behind brands need to be honest and authentic, there is no sense in pretending to be something you are not. NextGen is a critical generation, they don’t buy into fluffy promises and expect the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Although they have a critical mind, they accept realness even with its flaws. They want brands to fill them in, even if it’s not so perfect. Transparency is key; you can only win their trust by honestly telling what makes you you.

“It’s transparency all the way, you can’t hide things today. And if you fail, which all companies do sometimes, just say so. People buy that.” Karin Rosell, Head of Brand and Marketing E. ON

FROM WATCH TO TOUCH The increasing connectedness and socialness has made brands more touchable than ever. NextGen grew up in an environment stimulating them to say what they want, when they want and literally to whomever they want. They expect to be able to ask questions and get immediate answers, even from brands. The days are long gone when consumers would passively watch and listen to what brands had to say. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth wants to be involved, they want to be part of the conversation and have a say. Brands need to remove the invisible fence, dare to open up and embrace a two-way conversation. Artificial Intelligence & chatbots are new ways of picking up conversations at a more personal level.

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“If today a customer is not happy, they can basically let the whole world know. They can interact with brands, celebrities and politicians. It’s just the norm.” Anneleen Waterloos, Global Head of Business & Consumer Intelligence

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

“A must is to involve this generation in how to reach this generation.” Ivo Wassenaar, Marketing Strategy Manager eBay 74

But is goes beyond creating a two-way conversation stream between consumer and brand. NextGen wants to be involved in every aspect, they want to have a co-creative role and be part of the story and the product. In recent years, new initiatives have risen where consumers can co-design products, co-decide on innovations or investments of their love brands and shape the future of brands. In December 2016, Elon Musk used Twitter to ask Tesla clients what their biggest frictions were. One of them mentioned Tesla drivers using Supercharger stations as a parking. Musk replied he would take action. Just six days later he announced a $0.40 idle fee for every additional minute a charged car remained on the Supercharger. Some weeks later Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, asked social media followers: if Airbnb could launch anything in 2017, what would it be?

CASE Social Embassy hires a 14-year-old CEO for Snaplabs Isobar / Social Embassy is an agency specialized in assisting brands in managing and facilitating online conversations with their consumers. To be more relevant and daring towards the youngest generations, they hired Max, a 14-year-old GenZer that will take the position of CEO and will challenge and advise clients on how to use Snapchat in conversations. Next to that, they have a board of advisors consisting of NextGens to council the agency in its journey. 75

“We try to include youth more

“It’s an involvement culture,

into our decision making.

they (NextGen) do not

Really, the brains behind the

want to be bombarded with

success with them is not me,

products and offers, they

I’m just making the decisions

want to be involved and be

and going with what I think is

part of the creation.”

right. But a lot of it comes from them. I’m a huge believer of cocreation.”

Kurt Frenier, Vice President GM portfolio transformation PepsiCo Beverages

Anne-Lise Johnsen, Youth and Sports Marketing Specialist Arsenal F.C.

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FROM STORYTELLING TO STORYDOING Telling consumers how real, relevant and authentic you are no longer is enough. Around 4,000 to 10,000 brand interactions reach consumers daily, making it hard for brands to be heard. So, if broadcasting your 76

story is not enough, how should you get your story out there? More than ever, actions speak louder than words. With NextGen expecting to be part of the brand and even its story, brands need to move from storytelling to storydoing. This implies a do-mentality for the whole organization. As a brand, you create experiences for consumers to participate in and share with others. Great storydoing implies purpose: define a greater ambition beyond the commercial agenda and incorporate this in everything you do. And in doing so, brands need to leverage on people’s emotions. Only by reaching people’s hearts can you leave an imprint. US Outdoor retailer REI is closing all stores – including the digital one – on Black Friday and offering all employees (more than 12,000) a paid holiday. The webpage of the shop is stating everyone should #optoutside on Black Friday and enjoy the outdoors. In the YouTube campaign, the CEO of REI is sitting behind a desk in a beautiful landscape, stressing

the purpose of the brand is to deliver unforgettable and mindblowing outdoor experiences that improve the quality of life. The brand cooperated with 170 organizations including a long list of National Parks offering free entrance on Black Friday. In last year’s campaign 1.4 million people opted outside.

“With the volume of commercial noise & an unparalleled abundance of brand promotion in marketing today, the brands that can provide a direction of purpose, empowerment, value and utility are the ones that will stand out.” Victor Hugo, Global Brand Director Axe Unilever

CASE Halebop puts a mark through love-bombing Halebop is a Swedish telecom provider which focuses on the youngest consumers. The brand disrupted the telecom business, which at a certain point was an industry hugely distrusted by consumers, especially by NextGen. They won this young generation’s love by being very transparent and sincere in their communication and focusing on true emotions. The brand claimed a new word, love-bombing, which they not only used in their advertisement but which also became an actual mantra within the organization. Halebop lovebomb people in everything they do.

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CASE E.ON’s Solfarmare spreading the solar energy On its mission towards 100% renewable energy, E.ON has moved towards storydoing. Through a competition, the company selected people to become Solfarmare (translated as sun farmers): they got solar panels installed on their roof and were followed for two years to share their experiences with green energy. Similarly, the brand connected with people from outside Malmö, an area housing many foreign people that try to hold small restaurants and shops to survive. As these people don’t have a lot of money, E.ON is installing a solar park to make their lives easier and reports on the experiences of these real people to mark the brand and its journey towards 100% renewable energy.

EXPEDERIENCE: CREATING BRANDED EXPERIENTAL ESCAPADES Creating experiences does not only allow you to move towards storydoing, but also to connect with today’s young consumer generations. NextGens are experience seekers both in life and with brands. Rather than saving up for future home projects or a stable living environment, they are more inclined to discover the world and tick off items from their bucket list. Life is short and this carpe-diem generation will make sure to enjoy it. They also seek experiences when it comes to brands. For them, an experience should not only have entertainment value but also social value. It’s not enough for youth to experience something on their own, there is no value if they can’t share it. Brands should function as experience facilitators.

“If they have $2000 in their bank account, they are more likely to use it on travel or adventure than to go and get an object. So, that’s why I think experiences are more important to them.” Barbara Ward Thall, SVP Global Brand Marketing Audible (Amazon group)

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“It’s all 4D for this generation, involving all senses, 2D is not enough anymore, they want more tactile, they want to feel, see, smell and taste it.” Kurt Frenier, Vice President GM portfolio transformation PepsiCo Beverages

“Whereas in the past you would put a brand on the market through media, pay of media mix, now you use more pay of experiences.” 82

Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe

Anheuser-Busch Inbev

While online is a key channel for today’s youth to gather information, get inspired and shop, there is a massive opportunity for brands to create a complementary experience with the offline world. Offline channels function as experience hubs. NextGen likes to visit offline brand touchpoints if it is a real experience, with retail points becoming more than shopping and turning into a unique social experience that is in tandem with everything else. In this sense, store managers should function as brand ambassadors; their role is to immerse consumers in a unique full-contact brand/lifestyle experience.

“Stores are becoming important social moments to connect with others. It’s about socializing, about eventising and having that real-world experience to complement the convenience and the immediacy of mobile or online purchasing.” Avery Baker, Chief Brand Officer Tommy Hilfiger

“People will still go to the stores, maybe not like in the past but it’s more about experiencing and being immersed.” Ward Van Duffel, VP & General Manager Direct to Consumer EMEA LEGO Group

“Store staff is super important, because when you get youth in your store you have to have the right staff that can talk to them and interact with them in the right way. You can’t imagine how many selfies are taken with our staff. When they buy our product, the first they do is take a selfie, so you need to facilitate this in-store.” Anit Van Eynde, VP Brand Marketing Levi Strauss&Co Europe I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

CASE Samsung 837, the store where you can’t buy but can feel Samsung The Samsung 837 store, located at 837 Washington Street, New York, isn’t the type of retail touchpoint you would expect from a tech brand. It serves as a technology playground and cultural destination for consumers. You can’t purchase a single Samsung product anywhere inside the 55,000-foot store; instead the store functions as a physical manifestation of the brand where consumers can experience the Samsung technology in all its facets. In the kitchen, consumers can for example experience the next innovation in cooking through workshops demonstrating the new Samsung technology.

Experiences allow consumers to connect with brands on a new dimension. They allow to immerse consumers in the brand DNA while also providing a level of exclusivity. In a world full of abundance, consumers search for uniqueness, something exceptional and exclusive. A brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical touchpoints can bring this level of exclusivity and inclusion that NextGen is looking for.

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CHEMISTRY OR SCIENCE? In recent years, the Kotlerian (i.e. Philip Kotler) approach to marketing and branding has been challenged by many new theories and frameworks. These can be grouped in three schools of thoughts or, as we like to call them, Brand Religions, namely the Penetration Religion, the Influencer Religion and the Relationship Religion (see Brand Religion paper). Each of these religions provides a framework on how to grow your brand and connect with your consumer. While some of these religions preach brand love, others reject the concept of loyalty. To conclude our paper on NextGen branding and marketing, we asked ourselves and our interviewees: does brand love (and loyalty) still exist amongst the Next Generation of consumers?

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“The Kotler thinking, saying that your brand stands for this and that, this is your brand DNA and it should be strictly reflected in all your communication. We see that that does not work anymore. We need to adapt our proposition to the sub-cultures and the sub-sub-subcultures. Being a relevant and real part of a community or culture is today’s marketing challenge.” Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe Anheuser-Busch Inbev

Even though this generation grew up in a fragile world, brands still have an important role to play in expressing themselves, in crafting their identity. Today’s youth still shares certain feelings for certain brands. Yet, marketers agree the notion of love and loyalty has shifted, it has been redefined.

“I’m a huge believer in creating that one moment in their life that will make them a fan and then it’s our job to engage them, commit them for life. We can’t just sit back.” Anne-Lise Johnsen, Youth and Sports Marketing Specialist Arsenal F.C.

“The need for brand love is still there, that has not changed. People still want to identify with certain brands, yet the way this is done is fundamentally different.” Erwin Segers, Chief Marketing Officer Cloetta

“They are moving all the time, so I don’t think that we can expect to have brand-loyal consumers that are sticking to our brand for ages just because we were able to catch them when they were young. I think it is much more important to be part of their repertoire.” Morten Holst Boye, VP Marketing Carlsberg Denmark

“I think brands are still important for them, yet I think they hop more from brand to brand; for them it is enriching to consume one type of media next to another. You now see today’s youth reading the Guardian next to the NY Times and HLN (Belgian newspaper). When I was younger, you would choose a brand as part of your identity. That is much less today and has probably been facilitated through social.” Koen Verwee, Chief Executive Officer De Persgroep Publishing I N S I T E S C O N S U LT I N G

Unlike the previous generations that would cling on to their love brand, this generation has a more volatile relationship with brands. They are a generation fueled by micro-interest that link brands to these micro-moments. A brand can have an important meaning at a certain moment or context while it can be hollow in others. The one size fits all approach to branding does not work anymore and brands need to adapt to these micro-movements. Brands can’t just sit back and relax, they need to have an agile mindset and incorporate agile thinking in their day-to-day business.

“Guido Gezelle (Belgian writer) once said: everyone’s friend is nobody’s friend and 90

I think this is very relevant in these times.” Jean Jacques Velkeniers, Business Unit President Western Europe

Anheuser-Busch Inbev

“I think they still can love brands, but as soon as a new brand comes along that inspires them more, gives them more kick, they drop you. If you can inspire them, be unique and different, they love you. But it’s not like with the older generations that would buy a brand from a young age and would cling on to it till their death, so to speak. Lucien Vieveen, Global Consumer & Market Insights Manager Perfetti Van Melle

Yet, this is where microness purpose is key. NextGen demands brands to bring value and answer any friction they might have, as easily and seamlessly as possible. A brand’s role is to help youth hack their way through life, while at the same time providing macro-meaning. Brands need to have a true purpose, a sustainable core that adds meaning to both consumers and the world around them. Brands should actively pursue a bigger purpose and in doing so, move from storytelling to storydoing. The days when marketers could simply wrap their product in a nice ad are over. Brands need to drop the curtains and reveal their true selves. They need to be real, almost human. People are the new brands and this is also demonstrated in the power of vloggers and social influencers. Influencer marketing allows to connect with today’s youth, yet one can find successful NextGen brands throughout all the brand religion frameworks. Regardless of your brand religion, influencers are key and important channels in the marketing mix. Authenticity and transparency allow to remove the distrust amongst today’s youth, yet it needs to go beyond a one-way stream. Today’s youth has a powerful voice and is not afraid to use it. Whether they disagree or feel left out, they will make sure to let you know. NextGen wants to be part of the brand, its story and its products. Brands need to open up and let them in.

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CASE The hijacks on Burger King’s Google Home hijack to advertise the Whopper In April 2017, Burger Kind launched a clever (and at the same time horrifying) 15-second ad that intentionally sets off Google Home and Android devices to advertise the Whopper. The ad features a guy in a Burger King suit that simply asks one curious question OK, Google, what is the Whopper burger?. This simple sentence triggers Google Home speakers in people’s homes to cite the Whopper Wikipedia page. What first started as something funny turned into a complete editing battle. People hijacked the ad by editing the Wikipedia page so that Google Home would cite the weirdest things as the burger’s ingredients. After only three hours Google disabled the functionality and Wikipedia 92

locked the editing mode on the particular page.

Marketing is both science and chemistry, and just like in science you need to accept the laws of nature. NextGen is different from the previous generation; they grew up in different times which results in them having different needs. The fragile environment fueled their agile mindset, yet at the same time this agility is countered with a quest for stability, where they linger for what is rare. In our view, brands need to adjust to these changes and keep the chemistry in place by applying agile thinking while exposing their real fragile self.

THANKS! This paper would not have been possible without the insights, experiences and thoughts on NextGen Marketing and Branding from the 26 Senior Marketing Executives who were willing to join the conversation. Our special thanks also goes to: Mattias Behrer, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network in Sweden and Rasmus Dige, VP Viacom International Media Networks in Denmark. Both guys helped me to set up meetings with interviewees in the Nordics. And last but not least to Anne-Laure for making sure every audio interview got transcripted. Of course we are very grateful to all the wonderful people who took the time for an interview. Many thanks for sharing your insights 94

and ideas with us.

• Andrén Johanna, Deputy Marketing Manager at IKEA Sweden • Baker K. Avery, Chief Brand Officer at Tommy Hilfiger • Boye Holst Morten, VP Marketing at Carlsberg Denmark • Brückner Kirsten, Director Marketing and PR at Mobile.de, an online vehicle marketplace in Germany • Brunschwiler Oliver, L ‎ ead Link Commercial Circle (MarCom, Sales, Product Development) at Freitag • Fellinger Christoph, Talent Relationship Management at Beiersdorf • Frenier Kurt, Vice President GM portfolio transformation at PepsiCo Beverages • Hugo Victor, Global Brand Director Axe at Unilever • Jensen Mikael, Chief Executive Officer at Momio, a company specialized in online social products providing kids their first social media experience

• Johnson Anne-Lise, Youth and Sports Marketing Specialist at Arsenal F.C. • Lindholm Annika, Nordic Media Manager Mondelez • Lundberg Carola, Insight Director at media agency Vizeum • Maartense Jean Jacques, VP Consumer Products at Cartamundi, a cards and board game manufacturer • Rosell Karin, Heads of Brand and Marketing at E.ON, energy supplier in the Nordics • Rubin Joachim, VP Marketing and Store concept at Delhaize retailer in Belgium • Segers Erwin, Chief Marketing Officer at Cloetta • Tanger Ingo, Marketing Director at Beiersdorf • Van Duffel Ward, VP & General Manager Direct to Consumer EMEA at LEGO Group • Van Eynde Anit, VP Brand Marketing at Levi Strauss&Co Europe • Velkeniers Jean-Jacques, Business Unit President Western Europe at Anheuser-Busch Inbev • Verwee Koen, Chief Executive Officer at De Persgroep Publishing, newspaper, magazines and new media company in Belgium and the Netherlands • Vieveen Lucien, Global Consumer & Market Insights Manager at Perfetti Van Melle • Ward Thall Barbara, SVP Global Brand Marketing at Audible, part of the Amazon group, selling and producing audio entertainment such as audiobooks • Wassenaar Ivo, Marketing Strategy Manager at eBay • Waterloos Anneleen, Global Head of Business & Consumer Intelligence at Inter IKEA Systems B.V. • Zanghi Anna, Head of Global Innovation and Product Development for Youth at Mastercard

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Joeri Van den Bergh Co-founder & NextGen/Millennials expert InSites Consulting Joeri is an awarded global thought leader and marketing author on the impact of Millennials and Generation Z on marketing and business. He has extensive experience of all aspects of branding, marketing and advertising to kids, teens and young adults and is a frequently booked speaker around the world. His best-selling marketing book How Cool Brands Stay Hot: Branding to Generations Y and Z has been awarded several times (a.o. The American Marketing Association Berry-AMA Book Prize). @Joeri_InSites 96

joeri@insites-consulting.com

Katia Pallini Content Impact Manager InSites Consulting Katia is part of the ForwaR&D Lab and Marketing team at InSites Consulting, where her focus lies on research innovation and content marketing. Areas of expertise are implicit research, making research NextGenproof and branding. @KPallini katia@insites-consulting.com

Marketing@insites-consulting.com @insites

HOW COOL BRANDS STAY HOT Branding to Generations Y & Z

How Cool Brands Stay Hot analyzes Generations Y and Z, the most marketing-savvy and advertising-critical generations yet. It reveals how they think, feel and behave, offering applicable, proven strategies to market more effectively to these age groups and remain a relevant, appealing brand. Featuring interviews with global marketing executives of successful brands such as Converse, Tomorrowland and DIESEL along with case studies from companies including LEGO, Always, MTV and TOMS, it guides you in developing the right strategies to reach these critical age groups and leave a lasting impact on your business. Previous editions of the book have won the prestigious 2012 Berry-AMA Book Prize for the best book in marketing and the 2012 Expert Marketing Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marketing Book of the Year award. To book a workshop or speech, interact with the authors or be updated with the latest NextGen news, visit the companion blog www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com.

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n today’s post-truth society change comes rapidly and unexpectedly. We’re living in a world where facts can be alternative facts, where truth and stability are hard to find, where gender and age are blurring and family structures are unstructured. To cope with this fragile environment, NextGen (Gen Y & Z) consumers developed an agile mind and they expect the same agility, speed and good sense of brands and companies… So how do brands speed up their marketing strategies to get ready for the new decade? Based on dozens of international expert interviews with senior marketing executives of renowned brands (such as PepsiCo, LEGO, Freitag, LEVI’s, Beiersdorf, Audible, Mastercard, AB InBev, eBay, IKEA, Tommy Hilfiger…) the fr*AGILE paper shares insights on brands that bond beyond disruption. Discover how brands are introducing agile marketing thinking to keep up with the pace of the new decade. In a world full of augmented, virtual and hyper-reality, real reality is bringing back the comfort zone… Joeri Van den Bergh is co-founder & NextGen/Millennials expert at InSites Consulting and Katia Pallini is Content Impact Manager at InSites Consulting.

ABOUT INSITES CONSULTING From the start of InSites Consulting in 1997 until today, there has been only one constant: we are continuously pushing the boundaries of marketing research. With a team of academic visionaries, passionate marketers and research innovators, we empower people to create the future of brands. As one of the top 5 most innovative market research agencies in the world (GRIT), we help our clients connect with consumers all over the world.