Review of NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenochand Clark Whitepaper

Who s up NXT? A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing November 2015 A Badenoch & Clark whitepaper www.badenochandclark.be

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Contents 01 02 03 04 05 Overview Badenoch and Clark Key elements Conclusions Feedback p 03 p 05 p 06 p 10 p 11 www.badenochandclark.be

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Overview Badenoch & Clark is a leading international recruitment firm. Our professional recruitment services bring together senior-level, qualified professionals with an impressive client network across a range of specialist markets. Our specialist areas range from Accounting & Finance, Banking & Financial Services and Legal to HR, Sales & Marketing and Executive Search. At Badenoch and Clark, we are always aiming to build long-term partnerships with our clients. Our personal approach means that our consultants will act as a trusted advisor to provide you with feedback at every step in the recruitment process. This is why on Oct 21 Badenoch & Clark, together with Modis and Euro Engineering, organized their second CxO event and invited Joeri Van den Bergh, co-founder of InSites Consulting and renowned trend watcher, to share his insights on the differences and similarities between different generations and how companies should embrace the younger generations or NXTGen - in order to ensure their marketing and branding remain future proof.

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing/ A Badenoch and Clark whitepape The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in stead of exercise. These are not the words of a disappointed father or a nostalgic grandmother. It s a quote attributed to Socrates, written more than 2000 years ago. It demonstrates that the cross-generational challenge is of all times and all cultures. This white paper, based on research and an expert s opinion, approaches the topic from different and new perspectives. Late baby boomers/early Gen X ers often lift an eyebrow when being confronted with snappy communication based on emojis, phygital consumption, gender neutrality, enoughism, Me-conomy, failosophy, it challenges their paradigm.

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Badenoch and Clark We, at Badenoch and Clark, have been introducing new technologies and ways of working towards the different generations. Today we offer our customers and candidates Skype interviews to win time in the recruiting process and to better meet the candidates availability. Consider this document a step to shift our paradigm towards a future that is already here today, a first step towards a better understanding of NXTGen. And one final thought : is behaviour influencing technology or is technology steering behaviour? Let us know what you think. Enjoy the reading!

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Key elements Before going into detail on the cross-generational marketing, attendees were given a clear overview of the various generations that were scrutinized by InSites: Baby boomers are people between 51 and 69 years old and are followed by Generation X, the age group of 36 to 50 years. Their children, Generation Y or the so-called Millenials, are 19 to 35 years old and now a new generation is already stepping up: Generation Z, the group of young people aged 4 to 18. The combination of Gen Y and Z is called NXTGen. Generation Z 7 Key elements Although Generation Z still seems very young, companies who want to remain competitive will have to take into account their behavior and way of thinking and adapt their HR, marketing strategies and business models in line with this generation s expectations. After all, they are tomorrow s consumers of your product or service ánd your future employees. 1 2 3 4 Spending Patterns Communication The Age of Impatience Gender Equality 5 Perfectly Imperfect 6 Personalisation 7 Idealism

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Spending patterns Research by InSites clearly proves that these youngsters - regardless of their young age - indeed already have an impact on economy. A striking 27% of the 4 to 10 year olds get a weekly allowance of on average 10.5 Euro, which is in 80% of the cases spent immediately and only 20% save the money on the bank. Food snacks, video games, clothing and hobbies rank among the most popular spending categories. And not only do these youngsters have a direct impact on the economy, they also indirectly influence the buying behaviour of their parents, making them undoubtedly a Generation each company should reckon with. Communication For Genereation Z everything needs to be snappy: short, efficient, direct and witty. This also explains the success of emoticons and ephemeral media such as Snapchat and Vine with this target group: in just a couple of seconds the attention is grabbed and then they move on to another thing. Firing a 20 or 30 commercial at this group might not be the best way to convince them of your product, company or service. The age of impatience In line with their penchant for snappy communication, Gen Z can also be characterized as the age of impatience. They urge for on-demand experiences and services. And it also led to a new phenomenon: phygital consuming. Buy online (digital) and pick it up at a store near you (physical). Companies like UberFresh, with a guaranteed food delivery within 10 minutes, Amazon with their within 24 hours delivery promise or Starbucks with their online coffee buying app have understood what makes this generation tick.

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Gender equality The 2 generations that are the most in favour of gender equality are Gen Z and surprisingly the Baby Boomers. For Gen X and Y, this seems less the norm. Nevertheless, the rising of gender-neutral collections is undeniable. Big fashion brands no longer make the distinction between male and female and also Disney has jumped on the bandwagon. Until 2008 the leading characters in their cartoon movies were always men, but as of 2009 they shattered the tradition role patterns and launched female protagonists such as Princess Tiana, Rapunzel and Anna & Elsa. This evolution in society is also visible in the toy industry: STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) toys are booming and doll manufacturers launch strong female role models. Perfectly imperfect For Gen X failure is not an option, NXTGen on the contrary gives evidence of perfection fatigue. To them perfection is boring and hence, making mistakes is perfectly accepted. As a result, imperfect people, products or food are more successful than ever before. Failosophy seems to be NXTGen s religion or in other words I can t is the new Yes, I can.

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Personalisation Whereas Gen X was driven by image, status and prestige and Gen Y by co-creation and the collective feeling, Gen Z puts the individual central. Their ME-conomy thrives on locally crafted products, personalized items and tutorials that help them to turn mainstream products into unique pieces. This individual drive also explains why Gen Z is more likely to start an own business than the other generations. Idealism NXTGen is also very concerned about big environmental issues such as global warming and climate change and adapt their buying behaviour accordingly. Companies that have integrated 141 or the one for one business model (buy one - donate one) in their marketing strategies, clearly have a competitive advantage with this target group. Gen Z is also characterized by enoughism as an antidote to binge behaviour they avoid extremes and adhere to phenomena such as car-free or shampoo-free week and alcohol-free morning or lunch parties. The share economy then again with Airbnb and Uber as well-known examples is something typical for Gen Y.

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing / A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Conclusions Companies who are dealing with this new generation as consumers or employees will have to rethink their marketing, communication and way of working or recruiting. The love brands of NXTGen are fast, on-demand content brands, Macro-Do brands, Micro- Me and Beta-Dream brands. And in a work environment, this generation is looking for companies that contribute positively to society and as employees, they can be motivated by giving them the freedom to decide when and where they work.

of 11 A cross-generational view on NEXTGEN Marketing/ A Badenoch and Clark whitepaper Feedback Next to the networking aspect, attendees also found the presentation very inspiring and interesting. And although presented material was not always new to them, they state that it was a good reminder or it made them think again. Not surprisingly, think differently was often mentioned as the code word to reach NXTGen. Nevertheless, companies do realize that adapting will not be that easy and will be characterized by a lot of trial & error. The importance, on the contrary, of being able to bond with these new generations cannot be overestimated. Attendees acknowledge that NXTGen are the consumers and employees of tomorrow, and understanding them can make the difference between a winning or losing business idea or between hiring them and keeping them as a motivated employee. Or as one participant mentioned it: If you don t adapt as a company, they will find shortcuts and will cut you out. And they will move to your competitors, who do take into account their wishes. www.badenochandclark.be