BY KATRINA CAMPANALE

The Year is 2020. Your Spring semester was cut short. Your Friday nights shifted from campus parties to nailing the latest TikTok challenge from your childhood bedroom. You pivoted to online classes and events, and you STILL graduated. You spoke up. And you showed up. And you have BIG plans to make your mark on the world.

Welcome to the world of Gen Z in 2020. The generation of resilience and of change-makers. And the generation that all smart marketers know has the power to change culture and brands for the better.

Maybe you are reading this piece and wondering why Gen Z matters? Or why you should be thinking about Back-to-College Marketing in the middle of a pandemic? Let’s break it down.

Welcome to a New Generation

Generation Z is defined as anyone born from 1998 through 2012 with the oldest Gen Zer being 22 and youngest being 8, and is the most ethnically and racially diverse generation in history. With $143 billion in spending power, these point-of-entry consumers are gaining access to buying power, making their own purchase decisions (often for the first time), and establishing brand loyalties that will last a lifetime.

With $143 billion in spending power, these point-of-entry consumers are gaining access to buying power, making their own purchase decisions (often for the first time), and establishing brand loyalties that will last a lifetime.

Gen Z is not just your regular point-of-entry consumer. They’re a ~cool~ consumer, they have an aesthetic, and they care about brand values more than customers of the past. They consume media differently, they have their own language (yeet!) and their megaphone is, *highkey*, louder than any past generation.

And they are STILL going back to college.

Back-to-College?!

These point-of-entry Gen Zers I described earlier also happen to be the same generation as the 21 million college students and incoming freshmen waiting, wishing, and hoping that they can have the college experience they dreamed of this Fall.

76% of colleges have announced that they are planning to open for classes either IRL (65%) or in a hybrid format (11%).

Here’s the good news. As of mid-June 2020, 76% of colleges have announced that they are planning to open for classes either IRL (65%) or in a hybrid format (11%). Even though campus social life, housing, classrooms will not look the same as they have in past years, these students will still be in college and looking to have a college experience. Be the brand who shows up and gives them just that.

How to win with Gen Z as a brand marketer? We “spill the tea.”

For Gen Z, Back-to-College is often the moment they are spending the most dollars and establishing many of their brand loyalties. This demo spends nearly $55 billion annually on Back-to-College purchases alone and 95% say they make or influence these purchasing decisions. Back-to-College is the ideal moment for a brand to introduce their products and message to Gen Z when they have the highest potential for relevance and ROI.

Gen Z spends nearly $55 billion annually on Back-to-College purchases alone and 95% say they make or influence these purchasing decisions.

At Her Campus Media, we have been the trusted leading media source for college students over the past 11 years through our properties Her Campus, Spoon University, College Fashionista, and the InfluenceHer Collective. With over a decade of experience powering marketing campaigns with brands like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, and Walmart, we’re going to let you in on a few of our secrets on how brands can win with Gen Z this Fall 2020.

1. Content: Gen Z-ify Your Message

We asked 12,000 college students what messages they look for from a brand:

• 85% say understanding a brand’s values is somewhat or very important to their decision to shop there (and 70% have boycotted a brand they used to shop from due to a misalignment of values).

• 88% want to hear about a brand’s sustainability efforts.

• 74% say they would trust or purchase from a brand that is supporting a giveback initiative.

In addition, below are some of the top trending content with Gen Z that we are seeing across our portfolio of sites - HerCampus.com, CollegeFashionista.com, and SpoonUniversity.com. We are seeing an uptick in content engagement for:

• General workout content

• Skincare routine content

• Hair content

• Activism content

• Entertainment content

• General career content

• And subject lines including Entertainment (specific to TV/Movies), Career, Decor, and Humor (Twitter/TikTok)

2. Media Distribution: Meet Gen Z Where They Are

With over 70% of Gen Zers saying they are still shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, brands need to make sure their message reaches them in the right place to stay top of mind. Below are the top media channels that influence them to purchase a brand’s products or services:

• 96% say peer-to-peer recommendations/trialing → Win through college ambassadors and nano-influencers (2K-10K followers) such as College Fashionista or Her Campus Trendsetters.

• 92% say a trusted publisher/editor recommendation → Win with branded content on their trusted websites and social media publishers such as Her Campus.

• 73% say influencers (in comparison to only 22% of Gen Zers who say that they prefer celebrity endorsements) → Win with micro-influencers (10K-100K followers) such as the InfluenceHer Collective.

• 77% say Instagram is their favorite platform for engaging with a brand and 68% say they are more likely to click on an Instagram ad from an influencer or publisher than directly from a brand → Partner up with trusted voices for your social ad strategy.

• 67% say at a virtual or IRL event → Win with virtual experiences such as online campus events, student club meetings, online conferences and more.

• 43% say they still aren’t on TikTok, but those who are spend an average of 3 hours on it per day → Have a presence on TikTok directly or through influencers (such as the InfluenceHer Collective), but take a cross-channel social approach to reach Gen Z.

3. Flighting: Reach Them At The Right Time

It’s not just right content, right place, but also right time. Make sure you show up during these top moments for Gen Z:

• Shopping/Packing: July - August 2020. The majority of colleges will be starting classes early the first week of August and wrapping up the semester by Thanksgiving in an attempt to avoid a second wave of the virus this winter.

• Acclimating, Studying, and Socializing: August - November 2020. 73% of college students say they shop all semester long (not only before classes start). Stay present and pulse through the Semester for mid-semester purchases.

• Resting/Rejuvenating: November-December 2020. College students will be back at home with a whole new set of wants and needs.

• Shopping/Packing Again: December - January 2020. Don’t forget to re-push media for the second Back-to-College window before the Spring semester starts up again to stay top of mind both for students returning to campus and those going back for the first time this school year.

4. Impact: Break Through the Noise

On average, Gen Z consumers require 6-8 touchpoints from a brand before taking action to shop. It’s critical that brands plan for enough paid media impact to break through the noise. Take a multi-touchpoint, cross-channel approach to stay top of mind with this short-attention span generation.

By following our marketing playbook - content, distribution, flighting, and impact - your brand will ace this semester and win with Gen Z now and for years to come.

Questions about Gen Z or Back-to-College marketing? Interested in an advertising campaign with Her Campus Media? Contact me at KatrinaCampanale@hercampus.com. Her Campus Media is the #1 media portfolio for college students and Gen Z, and a full-service Gen Z marketing agency for brands.

Survey data from Her Campus Media survey to 12,000+ Gen Z / college students, March - June 2020.