Generation Z (people born after 1995) currently constitute 20% of the population in Poland. The oldest are 24 years old now. They grew up with smartphones, Snapchat, Twitch, and YouTube, surrounded by technology. From year to year, they will be an increasingly significant purchasing power on the market. There is one expressly efficient way to interact with them and engage them as a brand. And this is YouTube.
Research confirms that Polish Generation Z’s attention is the most attracted by video. Therefore, marketers should bet on mobile and interactive formats such as gifs and creative video content. This generation is a group of active – not passive recipients. According to a recent study made by Visual Objects, the most-visited website by Generation Z is YouTube. YouTube is by far one of the most important social media platforms in Poland. The latest analysis conducted by Polish company LifeTube confirms that YouTube engages its recipients more than twice as much as Facebook. And, as we know, Facebook is already dead for Generation Z. But – how to engage Polish Z Generation on YouTube?
Show them your brand’s philosophy
Polish Generation Z doesn’t want to feel that someone is trying to sell them something – everyone who advertises any product must understand its message and brand philosophy one hundred percent. Young Poles are aware of how they can positively influence the environment, and they also need to express themselves through their participation in social activities. Brands can build their value through these aspects of activities as well. If you want to reach young Poles efficiently, show them what you DO believe, speak about your philosophy and show that they, as recipients, are more valuable than your disposal. That’s what Polish Rimmel London did in one of their last video campaigns – “Discover your self-confidence” made in cooperation with the #mamygłos foundation.
It was also an amazing opportunity to create a contest for their young clients. The mission was to improve self-confidence in Polish young women. And we support this kind of effort.
Storytelling – use it!
Polish Generation Z demands from brands the virtues of only showing themselves from their best side. If you want to reach them; take care of design, music, and creation. However, even the perfect visual aspect may be not enough. Polish Generation Z prefers to invest in them and experience, instead of material products. Create an authentic, trustworthy, branded content that includes some storytelling. Make use of the milieu they already know about, and combine it with your brand’s message. Netflix did such an excellent job promoting the new season of Stranger Things TV series (directed to a young audience). The brand transformed a small part of Warsaw into a town known from the series – and it went better than well!!
The personal opportunity to participate in the event and a perfectly created video report was the key to engaging the young audience on YouTube. Moreover, there were many exciting voices from people from other cities in the comment section.
Adapt to the formats that rocks on YouTube
Many Polish brands make one dangerous mistake, a particularly BIG mistake when communicating with Generation Z. This mistake is… not knowing how YouTube works. Some companies treat this channel as a platform for uploading all video content they have made and their traditional TV commercials, hoping that it will go viral. It rarely happens. To be successful on YouTube as a brand, you must play by the YouTube rules. Get to know what is currently trending and what formats engage young viewers and use it in your campaign. A perfect example of adapting YouTube mechanisms is “Tymbark Studio” by Polish brand Tymbark. They invited influencers to help with this project, making the channel kind of a personal platform.
We can find there various videos created by the YouTubers themselves, who, like nobody else, know what content would be attractive and engaging. And the product itself is just a small element of the entire project.
Engage real YouTubers
Since we’ve mentioned influencers so many times, we must consider whether they should be at the centre of all the brand’s YouTube activities – or not. In our opinion – they definitely should. Polish Generation Z perfectly understands that to function on the Internet in the long run, it is impossible to survive without cooperation with brands. But first, you need to carefully consider what influencer will best suit the brand, its philosophy, recipients and the campaign itself. You can invite them to co-create an internet spot on the brand’s channel, just like New Ballance and YouTuber Ajgor Ignacy did:
You can also use the YouTuber’s reach and carry out the entire campaign only on his channel. This is the solution chosen by TVN television. They cooperated with YouTuber Stuu who promoted the Big Brother reality show on his own channel:
YouTube contests
Polish Generation Z, as active recipients, want to decide by themselves what they consume and in what form. They like to feel that they are participating in something that seems natural, authentic and engaging. This is where the popularity of YouTube contests comes from. For marketers, it’s worth cooperating with the personality that young Poles follow on a daily basis on YouTube. Not only to arouse interest in a brand but also to increase the reach of a campaign. This is what Slime brand did recently by involving many YouTube entertainers, who aim their content at the younger part of the Polish Z Generation.
Unboxings and reviews
In an IBM report on consumer behaviour of Generation Z, 42% of respondents confirmed that they are willing to participate in any testing or product reviews. Young Poles want to be a part of a community where ideas and opinions can be easily exchanged. What’s more, reviews and unboxings are a means of getting to know the product before the actual purchase. According to the Ipsos study, 80% of Generation Z teens say that YouTube helped them become more knowledgeable about something. Therefore, when communicating with them through video content, a brand should focus on presenting products honestly. Traditional advertising does not work for Generation Z in Poland. Young audiences value the genuine opinions of users. These kinds of videos can take various forms, such as reviews of brand cosmetics:
Or, product unboxing made by YouTube influencer:
Avoid traditional forms of ads
As we wrote earlier, Generation Z in Poland doesn’t like typical ads, even in social media. They skip YouTube ads quicker than the Y Generation. Statistically, we have less than ten (9.5) seconds to interest this recipient. They filter the content instantly and the decision about whether they want to watch an advertisement or not take less time. It is worth considering whether it is worth investing in advertising on YouTube at all. Maybe it is better to spend the promotional budget on creative content that will be engaging?
Stand out visually and be different
Polish Generation Z values the simplicity of the message, humour, well-matched music, and great design. They are aware of how the digital media world works. The brand doesn’t have to fake or cover its marketing activities. When creating content for Polish Generation Z, you should pay special attention to the visual, sound and design. Taking care of these elements and controlling the advertising stream should guarantee success. Remember, if you want traditional advertising video to reach the Z generation – you have to stand out! Here are some ads from the brands that definitely did their homework:
These were just a few of our secrets about creating a video campaign and YouTube-based content. As an advertising agency with the experience in building long-term relationships with the recipient, we adopt the type of activities to the characteristics of the individual project and client. If you want to engage the young Polish Generation Z by creating an original video for them, please contact us. We will be happy to share our experience with you.
1 https://semahead.pl/blog/pokolenie-czyli-generacja-ktorej-znacie-sa-zetki-nich-dotrzec.html
2 https://visualobjects.com/web-design/top-web-designers/how-different-generations-use-top-websites
3 http://media.lifetube.pl/31368-youtube-bardziej-angazujacy-od-facebooka-wyniki-analizy-lifetube
4 https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/uniquelygenz
5 https://semahead.pl/blog/pokolenie-czyli-generacja-ktorej-znacie-sa-zetki-nich-dotrzec.html