Millennials VS. Gen Z. What's the Difference?

When you sit down to decide on a campaign strategy think about this, would you target Baby Boomers and Gen X in the same campaign? For most marketers the answer is simple. No, because they have different life experiences and different values. Making one campaign for these two generations would be a fail. However, understanding that Millennials and Gen Z need to be marketed separately is harder for people to realize.

Many want to lump Millennials and Gen Z into the same category. But understanding their differences can make or break your campaign strategy. Here are some of the biggest differences you should consider before setting up your campaign.

  1. Millennials use social media to share their lives vs. Gen Z who uses social media to be entertained

  2. Millennials favor social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Reddit Vs. Gen Z that prefer social platforms like Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, and more recently TikTok

  3. Millennial’s compare themselves to their peers and suffer from “FOMO” where Gen Z values individuality.

  4. Millennials have a longer attention span when looking at social post. 12 seconds vs the 8 seconds of their Gen Z counterparts

  5. Millennials are more likely to watch and respond to online ads whereas Gen Z openly admit to scrolling past ads as quickly as possible

  6. Millennials have more brand loyalty but are far more price conscious vs. Gen Z that have higher expectations and their brand loyalty can waver

Additionally, it’s very important to understand that while both generations grew up with technology. They still had vastly different experiences. While Gen Z was immersed in technology from day one with video streaming, endless Wi-Fi, and video driven social platforms like Vine and TikTok. Millennials grew up in a time of technological grow. They watched dial up turn to Wi-Fi, waited patiently for that movie they have been dying to see to be released in the nearest BlockBuster, and most importantly Millennials were the pioneers of Social platforms like Myspace and Facebook.

So, how do you market to these vastly different generations?

When setting up your marketing campaign for Millennial focus on building trust and relate-ability. Marketing to this generation is about engaging them in your content. On the other hand, when marketing to Gen Z your focus should be attention grabbing videos and mobile friendly applications for this entertainment focused generation.

Edith Duran