The 16-24 demographic, the true digital natives, are increasingly becoming a core target audience for many content producers, brands and media agencies. To gain a deeper insight into how this audience is evolving, Yahoo conducted an eight country study incorporating qualitative depth interviews, self filming, diaries and workshops as well as a quantitative online survey in all markets to get a comprehensive understanding of this particular audience.

The objective of the research was to gain a deeper insight into Gen Z and understand how best to reach and engage with them.

The research generated a three pronged model of exchanging with Gen Z creating a sustainable value exchange: 1) Let them Rule! The ability to use resources to aid self development and expression. 2) Let them Filter! Having the skill and desire to extract the meaning from the noise. 3) Let them optimise! Being adept at finding ways to squeeze every last drop out of each moment.

From these engagement methods six key actions emerged: 1) Help Gen Z move towards financial self-sufficiency 2) Be authentic in the data you collect 3) Bring expertise to their everyday 4) Make content bite-sized and more frequent 5) Streamline look and feel of all assets 6) Help them build their online identity.

How can brands relate to or interact with Gen Z? Our research found that it starts with creating a sustainable value exchange, and doing this through helping Gen Z optimise their lives, whether it be about offering financial advice in uncertain economic times, offering personalised experiences that speak authentically to their true self, or delivering content in a bite size, timely fashion.