Arts and Culture: how to build a relationship with your Gen-Z audience

Generation Z is a user group with massive buying power, but a widely held opinion is that they’re unattainable without a TikTok account, a viral dance routine or a flawless lip-syncing video. The truth is, they are considered the most difficult generation to create a relationship with, but fear not. As an arts and culture organisation, there are lots of ways that you can reach this audience and build a lasting and valuable relationship, whilst also staying true to your own values. The key is getting to grips with the things that really make Gen Z tick (tok). Sorry. 

Gen Z and streaming services 

Some people refer to a theatre as like a cathedral or a place of worship. But, if like many of Generation Z, you’ve never really got the comparison, the grandness of the stage might be lost on you. So, how do you appeal to a generation that just isn’t really interested in attending live performances? Well, you hook them in with something warm and familiar. A streaming service of course. Culture, but on demand. 

A recent survey showed that Gen Z is “doing more Netflixing than chilling” finding that over 40% of them stream more than 3 hours a day. That, compared with the relatively small amount (5%) that say they generally don’t watch TV on demand makes for a pretty grim picture, so if you aren’t already showing live performances on demand, it could be something to consider. Think of the musical Hamilton and the way that it burst into the public consciousness when people were able to access it on Disney+. The streaming service introduced a whole new audience to Broadway, one that ordinarily wouldn't have been able to access shows like this. Getting Gen Z into theatres and getting bums on seats, might have to begin with getting them interested in the theatre in the first place and what better way to do that than through a medium that they’re already proven to love? Streaming. 

How to reach a Generation Z audience 

Something to keep in mind about Generation Z is that they’re Digital Natives. They’ve never known a life without technology, information and entertainment being at their fingertips. That means they expect websites and apps to run as smoothly as possible. So, that being said, if you’re trying to market to a Generation Z audience, is your website configured for mobile? This is important. They won’t hang around if your site is taking an age to load or if it simply doesn’t fit their screen. 

You also need to consider how you’re getting a Gen Z audience onto your site in the first place. Where are you trying to grab their attention? Just because you’re on social media, doesn’t necessarily mean thousands of your target audience will see your posts and flock to your site. You need to make sure that you’re on the right social platforms, the ones that Gen Z use most. At the moment, that would be TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Plus, if you’re running ads or sponsored posts, you need to ensure your age, location and interest targeting is on point. 

The format of your advertising also needs to be considered. Each platform has its own trends and niches, so you need to think about that. But what’s more, you need to ensure that your creatives, whether you’re using video or imagery, are eye-catching and pique the interest of a Gen Z audience. This group generally has an attention span of about 8 seconds, and, as a result, the recommendation is to address a pain point within 3 seconds of your campaign—a pain point that your product or service fixes or addresses. 

When it comes to theatre, and attracting a younger audience, you should consider what they’re interested in or what’s important to them. What’s going to make them close their Netflix account and open up your on demand service, or booking page instead?

Aligning your values with a Gen Z audience 

If you spend 5 minutes on Twitter these days you’re sure to find accusations of Gen Z being “too woke” but really, they just care a lot more and are more active about social causes like equality and the environment than their predecessors. So, if you want to get Gen Z on your side, and create a long lasting relationship with them, they need to be able to trust you as a brand and know that you contribute towards the causes they care about. Take the environment and sustainability for instance, in 2021 more than a quarter of millennials and Gen Zs worldwide said that their buying decisions have been influenced by the impact of certain businesses on the environment. 

Basically, it goes without saying that if you want to appeal to Gen Z, you need to pull your weight, whether that’s offsetting your carbon footprint by planting trees with Ecologi, as we do here at AD, or only using sustainable modes of energy to power your productions. Whatever you do, just ensure that you’re being authentic. Being found out for claiming a false green initiative would be worse than not having one at all. 

Appealing to Gen Z might seem like a complicated process, but like every generation that’s come before, it’s all about making sure you talk to them in a way they understand. The only difference with Gen Z is that as digital natives, brands need to get on board with new platforms and technologies quickly, so as not to miss out on this huge portion of the market share. 

If you need help with your marketing, whether it’s figuring out a video on-demand service, or updating your website, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.