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Gaining Access into the Minds of Gen Z and Brand Loyalty; Key Insights with Henry Lichtblau

Engaging Gen Z
In the events and marketing industries, there has been a higher priority placed on the focus of community driven event experiences. Generation Z communicates and connects through various modalities that include physical, digital, and social. For brands looking to connect, being present in all of them is a must. It’s inherently clear that having sustained access to these channels and communities will allow us to tune into the conversations and deliver on the preferred experiences. At the Experiential Marketing Summit, Henry Lichtblau, Vice President of Client Solutions with Riddle & Bloom, and fellow panelists shared the success of, “the Xfinity HBCU Tour”, created to connect their brand with Generation Z consumers through community and outreach. The Scoop spoke to Henry about the need for this type of brand connectivity and why it’s so relevant to this generation. Generation Z views brands and products through a different lens than the consumer generations that came before them. While past generations put more of a premium on price, quality or familiarity, more studies find that Generation Z is looking at the company or brand as a whole and what they stand for, as well as how they incorporate those stances into their message to include such elements as values and community connections through a brand or product. Given this perspective and observations into the consumers of Generation Z, one of the fickler generations, as their tastes shift more often than previous consumer groups, here are top questions we discussed with Henry that provide insights into forging a deeper, ongoing connection with a generation that is at the current stage in life, are forming habits, emotional connections and affiliations for brand preferences and loyalty. What are the dos and don’ts of effectively engaging this audience? “You don’t have to be perfect; you just have to be real. You don’t have to get it right all the time, but the stuff that you are getting right, lean into that. You don’t have to be all things to all people but be authentically who you are”. For Gen Z, there is a lot of focus on sustainability and taking care of the environment. What can we do to connect with them on this specific value? There are small choices you can make. Three or four years ago, we were including welcome kits with mostly cardboard packaging whereas now it might be something like a reusable bag. Let’s actually solve the sustainability problem while providing the consumer with something of more value. There’s a way to find a win from a brand presentation perspective and a consumer needs perspective. The key to developing a relationship with them is ACCESS. Access to their conversations and preferences, whether that be through a digital or physical experience, they’re willing to tell you, if you’re willing to listen, receive and deliver a memorable experience that leads to not only a loyal customer, but a brand advocate.

“You don’t have to be perfect; you just have to be real. You don’t have to get it right all the time, but the stuff that you are getting right, lean into that. You don’t have to be all things to all people but be authentically who you are”

About the Xfinity HBCU Tour Xfinity, in partner with Riddle & Bloom, took a specific set of streaming products and created peer-to-peer as well as community driven engagement experiences across more than 100 schools, with the goal of transforming students from passive streamers into regular streamers. By driving engagement through meeting students in their own environments, listening to them as opposed to simply selling them a brand, Xfinity curated an experience that this generation subset will now be talking about and looking for in the future. For more details on the Xfinity HBCU Tour, check out the full Scoop interview Henry Lichtblau here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJSsnmy67B4&t=78s Interested in bringing The Scoop to your next event? Contact us today to speak to one of our expert humans! https://beedance.co/contact/
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