They are the generational relay, and for brands to master this group \u2013born between 1995 and 2015\u2013 it means showing through actions that their commitment to building a more sustainable society is intrinsic to their reason to exist and not a mere marketing strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greta\nThunberg has surrendered the world with her long braids and her upturned nose.\nHer initiative to strike school and stand before the Swedish parliament every\nFriday to call the attention of political leaders on the effects of climate\nchange has led to the worldwide movement Fridays for Future, that youngsters\nall over the world support. As a token, on Friday March 15th<\/sup>\nchildren and teenagers from more than 1.600 cities in over 100 countries joined\nGreta in her protest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From August\n2018, when she began her school strikes, Thunberg has been invited to talk\nbefore her country\u2019s Parliament, TEDx Stockholm, the UN, and Davos Economic\nForum. She has delivered her message to whoever wants to listen, and she\ndoesn\u2019t get frightened by any audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Greta, another teenager, Malala Yousafzai, received the Nobel \nPrize in 2014 at 17, for her activism in civil rights, especially \nwomen\u2019s, in her native country Pakistan. Both Greta and Malala \nrepresent and are representative of the post-millennial generation. One \nthat is completely digital, hyper-informed and conscious that future \nbelongs to them. Above all, it is a generation ready to act to provoke \nchanges in the way today Governments, businesses and politicians act \ntoday about matters such as climate change or gender equality that have a\n direct incidence in how that future is drawn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also known as Centennials or Generation Z, Post-millennials are very \ndifferent from their predecessors millennials. Generation Z is \nindependent and down-to-earth, and although they do not yet have \ndecision on buying or acquisitive power, they will. For the time being, \nthey influence their parents, their inner social circle and make happen \ntangible change in their families\u2019 and friends\u2019 day-to-day lives. Best \nexample ever, Greta\u2019s own, whose parents, opera singer Malena Ernman, \nand actor Svante Thunberg, became vegetarian and gave up flying to \nreduce their carbon footprint, convinced by their daughter\u2019s opinions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According\nto a Bloomberg\u2019s analysis based on UN data, in 2019 Generation Z will account\nfor 32% of the world population. Not a despicable figure in terms of\nconsumption potential, taking into account their influence on their parents\u2019\nand friends\u2019 buying decisions. \u201cIf a few children can get headlines all over\nthe world just by not going to school, then imagine what we could all do\ntogether if we really wanted to\u201d. Something to think about, no doubts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Z Gen is the first really being digital native and that, somehow,\n defines them. If millennials initiated the multi-screen trend \u00ad\u2013usually\n desktop and mobile\u2013, Centennials have taken it a step forward with up \nto five screens under control. But it\u2019s not the only difference: while \nmillennials communicate better through text, the Z generation does it \nthrough images; while millennials share content, the Z generation \ncreates it; while millennials live the present, post-millennials focus \non the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greta and\nMalala embody the generational relay that is storming in. They represent the\ntransparency and solidarity values that those born between 1995 and 2015 stand\nfor; also, their independence and their will to not let in somebody else\u2019s\nhands the future they consider that belongs to them by right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Generation\nZ children haven\u2019t known a world that is not digital and have been brought up\nin the middle of the antiterrorism war, the growing concern for climate change\nand a global recession. They are the DIY generation, used to solve their own\nproblems, they mobilize through clicking and just for specific reasons. They\nare active militants of the causes they embrace and believe in action better\nthan words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Herein lays\nthe big test for brands, that face a challenging consumer that demands\ntransparency in the market. Centennials want honest and loyal brands, involved\nwith society and the world. They are aware and responsible consumers that read\nlabels throughout and want to know details on manufacturing processes of the\nproducts they consume; whether they are fair trade or not; or if manufacturing\nprocesses are environmentally responsible. They are also aware of the power of\nsocial networks and it is there where they give opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Times change, and those when sustainability and environment were \nissues restricted to NGOs and Government agencies are long gone. Now, \nthey are everybody\u2019s problem. So, society increasingly demands from \nbrands to take responsibility in the building of a more sustainable \nsociety, capable to satisfy its present needs without compromising the \nfuture for generations to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nimplies to re-think how businesses processes and products are designed, but\nabove all, puts in the hands of brands, due to their influence, the huge\nopportunity to become platforms for divulging and sensitizing on the issues\nimportant to society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need\nhope, of course. But the one thing we need more than hope is action. When we\nbegin to act, hope is everywhere\u201d, said Thunberg in one of her talks. It is\nclear. For the Z Gen words are not enough. Brands can start taking note. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whiplash Team, March 2019 Facts, not words to conquer Generation Z Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg, nominated last week for the Peace Nobel Prize, embodies the transparency and solidarity values that define generation Z, hers. They are the generational relay, and for brands to master this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,24,28,25,26,29,27],"yoast_head":"\n