 Welcome everyone to the Generational Zeitgeist podcast by Loster UM India, this is a series of podcast where we discuss all things Gen Z. Today is the 5th episode of the podcast and today we will be discussing how Gen Z could shape the future. If you are new to the podcast, you like listening to this one, then you can go back and listen to the previous ones and also we will be dropping a few more in the next few days so you can stay tuned to listen to those ones. I am Kulnath and you will be hearing my voice through the podcast and with me, as always I have Loster UM CEO, strat guru Aditya Mishra, hi Aditya. Hi Kula, hi everyone who is tuned in today. So just before we get into some of the learnings, a quick introduction to how we actually got about doing this study and what did we actually do. So one of the interesting things when we started looking at Gen Z is how they are different from the other groups, whether it's millennials or Gen X's and to find out the real nuances, we approached this through the avenue of insiders. The Gen Z's themselves actually partnered with us to find out more about their peers, how they do things, how they engage with brands, what are their dreams, aspirations, how they are evolving actually and since this study was conducted over the last two and a half years, it has also given us an interesting view in terms of what changed. How did they actually address some of the challenges which emerged in their lives. The overall study is being done across multiple formats so we did a huge quantitative study, then we followed it up with a qualitative study and then a depth understanding of their actual usage of various products and brands and today one aspect of what we will be talking about is actually what we learned from them. Yeah, thanks for summarizing so nicely Airti, thank you so much and today's podcast what we are calling today's podcast is the shapers of the future because that's how we see the Gen Z's, they'll be the future generation, they'll be shaping the future. Not necessarily we have a time capsule with us that I can travel into time and tell you how they're shaping the future but this is from all the learnings that we have observed from all these studies and what we have summarized is that these are the four areas that we see the Gen Z's working tours in the future and really making certain impacts in various ways and then how can we connect back to brands, we'll talk about all of that. The first aspect that we see and we've listened to the previous some of the podcasts that you'll find something similar that this generation is very much finding the right balance or our right path while they have youthful exuberance and full of energy and full of view of how the future should be and how they want to shape the future but yet they have a real pragmatism that everything is rooted in reality and pragmatism so it's the right balance while on one side they have idealism and the other side is what is holding to the roots is pragmatism something that we definitely see in let's say a category like auto and how all talk about EVs and environment and that's where the future is heading towards and Gen Z is very much welcome then and they are actually experiencing all this conversation but at the same time they understand the importance of while you're talking about EVs and but how much here is your carbon footprints and where is your electricity actually coming from what's the source so it's just not just for the sake of EV EV but is the organization becoming more sustainable and all of this conversation are actually a lot of times are led by Gen Z's here yeah so I think it emerges from two things possibly you know Gen Z is a stage of change you are sort of finding out about yourself you're finding out about how you want to live in this world you are building your ideals you are maybe pulling down your ideals at the next step and in this journey the thing that really differentiates the Gen Z from maybe the millenials or previous generations is while they are idealistic they do you know dream of a better future they do dream a lot but but those dreams are very very strongly connected to reality and I think that's that's the big difference that we see so when they look at any new thing or even relook at all things the evaluation of what is on the table the evaluation of how they want to engage with that how they want to leverage that in their lives is across multiple dimensions very very information led a lot more you know focused on understanding the nuances and across multiple parameters so everything is not just one view of what a brand or a market is telling but also what people like me are saying what happens when I actually use and try something so the whole aspect of understanding and then making a choice balancing you know the asks and some of this you know you would have seen probably in the second episode of our podcast when we spoke about this interesting nuance of somebody who is otherwise fairly conventional feeling quite okay with doing puja in the morning and partying hard at night and and that's the kind of balance let's say that they have in their personal lives that is there is no dissonance in terms of you know what is that one persona I need to have so a very thought through choice and at the same time being comfortable because it's a thought through choice in terms of the balance that they want to seek or want to establish the second thing and in sort of image kula with you know the point that you raised around ev so while there are these nuances in terms of you know they are trying to understand new technology is not necessarily better technology unless it's it's like proven so unless you have really you know checked out all the details and one of the interesting things that that you know we are doing at ipg for example is looking at what is the carbon footprint of your media activity you know is it is it okay to do 10 out of home sites or are your media partners really understanding what's the carbon footprint so I think as responsible citizens of the world while we are not Gen Z Gen Z but but we are definitely you know living the world and sort of crafting it for the future for the Gen Z and and generations beyond so it is it is important for marketers and brands to be conscious about some of these aspects as well yeah certainly certainly that's a very important aspect which is all about idealism balancing with pragmatism way another aspect that they are constantly seeking the right balance is all about finding the right value proposition for them the price and quality they are always balancing both the site together it's not just always about obviously they have lesser resources maybe so therefore they are obviously focused on price at all the time but at the same time they are also looking at the quality is it the right actual quality that you get in that price so they will always chase for that so that value proposition for the audience for the Gen Z is very much critical and brands should work towards that finding that sweet spot and that's that's where it will definitely make much more sense for the audience Gen Z to like a brand to subscribe to a brand or to be an advocate for the brand yeah so one quote that will listen to one that person is Anurag he's from Srinagar he is about 18-year-old he talks about why we always all know social media and all of that is really good everywhere but how he struggles to find to cope up with all of this information overload convention so you have like restricted amount of information like get my new sugar so there are like 100 articles right not more than 100 articles but on online platform i will get thousand or lakhs of article in a day so it's really i'm unable to process it so i'm struggling right now with digital platforms so very very interesting quote you know typically we think that everybody's digital and everybody wants to be digital and this sort of you know pulls back the story to say what is really digital so yes digital is a form of access i will access information but i don't want to be inundated i want to be able to make choices and i see the value of what is coming to be on another medium and and i will probably use a mix of both it's not just good enough for you to bombard me on digital and then expect that you know that's what i'm buying into so i think that that is an interesting nuance to keep as marketers at the back of our mind that it while the generation or even people like us today are a lot more digital but digital is a way of being digital is not equal to digital media alone yeah so that's the nuance i think that that we need to keep at the back i think i guess we also have to fight the right balance yeah yeah yeah of course yeah and so here this person talks about so and he evaluates everything so rationally and looks at that's actually the next area that we see that Gen Z is evolving that they are they are very much critical thinkers and they will they evaluate everything very rationally and that's how i i personally also see that they they will evaluate everything in the future very rationally because they have so much access to information they can while you're telling them something they will see they will hear that from one point of view they will go back they will do their own research because access to information so much information that's available they'll do their due diligence and then they will evaluate basis their own rational thought process so they uh so therefore it is imperative for the brands and whoever's interacting with them to also keep that thing in mind that their the next generation is definitely becoming more intelligent maybe uh we always talk about customer being smart or intelligent yes they are becoming more and more intelligent more informed more equipped to handle everything that's thrown at them so that that that's how i i see that uh in the future critical thinking will be part of the consumer journey or consumer decision making process so i don't know i think you know maybe critical thinking has always been there it's it's just that what are the levers or what are the parameters you know that that are important at at any point of time and and therefore you are evaluating your choices against that parameter so for example if if you know looking good is important to me for others then that's the parameter i'm going to evaluate any decision against versus if it is about learning and growth then there's a different parameter i believe but i think what what is holding all Gen Z together vis a vis any other generation in the past is that there is a very clear and a singular focus on self so it is it is not in a negative or a selfish way but i think there is clarity in terms of the fact that it is with me where things start so so therefore uh you know uh keeping self development as focus keeping where do i want to go as a person as focus and then evaluating analyzing things with that lens so all information that i get all things that i can do is is starting a lot with me yes i take everybody's inputs i try to balance the other things that are there but i'm okay questioning paradigms i am okay looking at newer ways of of doing things and using a combination of old ways new ways old tools new tools so there is an evolution in that sense in terms of how they are looking at things and this is highly compounded by access improved through technology and and the change which is happening in their lives you know whether it's in terms of the the information or data available whether it's in in terms of just uh you know media choices available uh you know we we talk with traditionally about things like you know from 80 channels to 800 channels 10 publications 10 000 and everything available at the push of a button everything just accessible yeah so what is it that i'm choosing to base my decisions on is all centered around you know that need to grow as a person and in a in a much more rational and balanced way than before yeah certainly and you talk about need to grow as a person and that's what in fact is happening and the whole pandemic time period actually gave a lot of a lot of gen z's that much needed break also for for for a few months maybe that they could evaluate they could hone some skills and that's what Ananya from deli she speaks about that how she utilizes various of the time that she had uh to become more grateful or grateful grateful oh yes i see yeah so what happens is COVID has made me realize that i am probably one of the most privileged persons on earth okay uh i get the resources and the very many other things that let's say billions of people basically COVID in today's world they want that they need that they want that for basic survival i already have that you know what my concerns are on a daily sort of basis yeah my some i concern the fact that someone ghosted me is a concern um the fact that oh maybe i said the wrong thing on a conversation and the fact that maybe oh i have a project to submit who are not as privileged as i am so towards understanding how i can make the best use of my privilege because so see i'm 18 i'm still studying i have a lot a lot finishing my academics but not as privileged i think when it comes to being able to help and being in that capacity so so they're like it's it's a very powerful thought process that she goes she's gone through during this time period where she saw around her um that uh how people are struggling that made her think so it's a it's a evaluation of where she is and what are her concerns versus what are actual life concerns and i think that you spoke about that it's a time of transition also their career their life stage is also evolving and they they are see able to grasp around grasping across on things that how different challenges are in life so yeah it i think what what is interesting is that there is a fair amount of self-awareness there is a there's a lot of like i said it starts with peace so therefore understanding yourself understanding what is happening around you what is your view about rest of the world and therefore how you want to evolve and and a clear mapping in your mind of you know possible steps that you may need to take so so a lot of thinking around some of these aspects i think i think that's interesting um and and also interesting is you know as they understand uh what is it that is really being sought by yourself so you know what am i seeking how do i make it happen what are the steps that i want to take so that i think is an interesting thing and and this this generation gen z has has i think gone a lot more deeper than perhaps generations before yeah and that has pushed them to uh work towards on work on themselves like you said and therefore we see a lot more focus on like all of these uh ad tech platform and then different different of these platform where they can pick up quick quick skills and add to their skill set and develop themselves groom themselves better and move into the future and that's where i would move to the next point where it is all about uh because why why do they do all of these things why do they pick up all of these skills because they want to constantly evolve and do better and constantly push certain limits uh to chase their dreams and to chase certain ambitions that they have along with the ambition they're willing to work towards it and that therefore an action and ambition goes very hand in hand with them uh with the gen z's and that's what they are doing uh like we have i think previously we've spoken about spoken about heard from people who participate in going out to NGOs and put in work to help people around them to help kids and teach them on something or educate them and take the time out to help the society become better so that's what that's what they this generation is all about pushing the limit so similarly going into the future this this trend or this this urge to push limits and uh uh get the best things out of things around you will not go away so the brand should should also be uh helping them to get the best thing uh best product out there and also play the gen z's experience the brand in that way so i think two things uh uh one is this this whole sense of comfort with change you know uh i'm doing something now this is how it may evolve i will experiment i will try and i myself will also keep evolving so so there is no static one view of this is how i want to go and this is therefore how life will happen but comfort with fact that things will change i'm okay with changing things and and there is no problem it is it is not an issue that you know i'm not thinking 10 years down and i'm sure about where i want to be so uh that is is something which then starts reflecting in how they make uh their brand choices uh so you know legacy brands and brands that have always been using are not necessarily the brands that i also want to use tomorrow they may be yeah i may be okay i but but i may evaluate and decide that i want to do something different and there's no problem with it it's it's fine so uh this this whole comfort of experiencing width of experiences width of brands width of things that i want to see and do uh versus committing myself to an in-depth siloed approach devan that is a big difference yeah and uh building from what you were earlier talking about because there is action with ambition they they are looking at a certain kind of future and and brands which therefore are meaningful for them is is also reflected in in this sense of purpose that brands need to talk about you know what is the brand giving me how is the brand connecting with me beyond just the product of the service what is it standing for is it doing the right things yeah is it standing for the right things so while they do understand and i think we had a quote from someone saying that you know i understand every brand can't be doing purpose campaigns i get that but at heart are they at least taking steps to be more meaningful yeah so that is a question which they are now progressively asking and and that's why we see that you know when legacy brands need to continue to be meaningful for this generation even if it's a brand that i've been using for the last five eight years i still need to do things which continue to strengthen my meaning yeah constantly you have to engage yes so just like they are evolving and they are asking questions or they are checking the brands also have to continue to be meaningful by you know i would say recasting how they are seen by by checking am i being meaningful am i sharing my purpose in a larger way with this audience yeah you have to brands have to do that certainly because they are very clear like you said right you have to be purposeful that they're very clear in fairly clear in their thinking and also they are very purpose driven they're very rationalized thinking so that so that obviously the brand should definitely do the other aspect is that we'll listen to Riya now where she talks about that whole startup and then how she wants to work on startup and that that's what i think the other thing that whole entrepreneurial spirit that pushes them to like go to the next step chase their own ambition or tell their own story maybe so that that's something that we'll hear from Riya she's from there and then she speaks about that so that's that's it so i think you spoke about this in one of the previous episode and we are referring back to our previous episode say yeah that they are willing to take that chance yeah they have lesser probably fear of failure yeah so therefore they they are willing to take that chance and then they are okay that they will work for a startup for four five years they'll try something on their own they want to achieve success if not they're not disheartened by that they will probably pick up learnings from that and move on to the next thing so that's and you know maybe something to think about is that's what perhaps covid did you know it told you that there was no guaranteed things in life you know you certainly could there could be a situation where you had to re-evaluate everything there would be you know sure short things which could fail and i think that has also made them because of the period of the study that we have done it has made them more okay with not necessarily the you know the view of success that they had seen earlier yeah so it's okay to fail and learn and to fail and learn and it's okay as a cycle it's not it's not a concern in that sense yes certainly certainly so so now we'll move over to the last point and this is all about how they are the future looks very full of technology and all about the world which moves towards tech but and tech certainly gives a lot of convenience and comfort but there's the other side of technology also tech influences and add a lot more to their life but also it adds into certain maybe it makes you a little bit lazy at times and it overwhelms you with a lot of information as what we have heard from Anurag previously so that's the other side so the world that will be in the future while they and they're becoming more and more conscious about that aspect so in the future when they'll evaluate a different aspect then they will also be addressing that aspect that how they need to balance and juggle between things that will be one challenge for the Genzies and brands which can actually help them navigate those situations will be much more closer to them closer to the Genzies I think so that's what I felt after listening to all of these people and understanding this yeah it's true also because of this whole aspect of self-awareness and you know being informed and and reading more and talking about what's happening in their lives with peers so things are a lot more open you know they're not under wraps there because I have information available I can see what people are saying doing engaging so there is comfort in being straight or being you know a lot more open than earlier and that has also led them to understand that you know there is this blurring which is happening in terms of what is really essential on digital or what do I really need to do versus where am I slipping because I'm getting caught in that magic so I think we've seen some different examples as there's somebody who's looking at relying on digital to drive their passions but at the same time understanding and looking at the real world for you know work or things that they may want to do also this balancing of how you know engagements and social and staying connected all the time with my friends is important and and that's what's happening digitally but at the same time I love to spend time with my family also and in a way perhaps it's it's like more so earlier I would do this or that now I'm doing this and that so I'm at home I'm talking to my family and I'm also at the same time probably using my phone and at that fragmented attention is something that you know you step back and realize oh maybe this is not the best way and I need to detox myself and that's that's an interesting word some of them use saying that you know there are times that I have to keep it away I have to detox and I have to get out of this so from brands which are sort of especially talking only to this audience it's it's important to understand how we are building that balance yeah am I enabling this experience am I helping them make this choice is there a way that I can you know limit and and even tech platforms you know like for example Microsoft talks about the fact that you know what's been your screen time do you need to cut it down so depending on you know what kind of parameters you set yourself these are things which are available yeah these are things which are possible yes the choice remains with the Gen Z you know how much they want to do and what they want to choose yeah anyway we are discussing right now I was just going back to this documentary like social dilemma I was going back to that whole documentary and I'm not sure if that documentary was targeted to Gen Z's but yeah it was more from maybe from outside we could learn a lot from them but even the Gen Z's are having similar sort of conversation maybe not in that depth as of now with so much data and all that they're they're realizing that fact and they are also working towards how to get the right balance again here definitely tech they can't let go of tech tech is providing a lot of convenience a lot of knowledge etc and making life easy and comfortable but yet how to balance the over excess use of tech so that's the thing so Shreya she's from Jaipur she's only 15 year old and she has this point of view on how tech probably is making her lazy technology is very very lazy I have Alexia at home I just shout everyone Alexia Alexia Alexia she will do everything for me she will do switch of the light she will set the alarm she will call somebody and so I think it is everyone becoming very lazy now and even do either exercise yes but usually when I'm in the night when I'm lying down on the bed I just shout Alexia Alexia so I think this is we are becoming very lazy and because of technology but also we are becoming very much aware and once you see propaganda is being spread through technology only and twitter on facebook or whatever so you will see there are fake propaganda being spread so that is also because I think this is one of the main things so there she is fairly self-aware that yeah on one side she has all of this knowledge and information where some of the fake propaganda she's getting and on the other side technology is making her lazy so that's why she's not very happy with it yeah so that's the that's the thing that's so that's what this young person who's talking about technology from a very different perspective yeah so see I think that that is at the heart of really what Gen Z is all about you know this this interesting quote by Shreya that you know I understand I I know how I'm using it I know maybe I'm not doing the perfect thing but that's okay as long as I know it and I'm aware that not everything is to be believed so so they do they do get that you know it's it's not that they they don't understand but I think at the same time it doesn't take away the the responsibility that media needs to have that partners like us need to have in terms of how we are addressing the Gen Z how we are using data what should be the rule social dilemma was I'd say two years back and and you know three years back perhaps and things have evolved things have changed I mean you see what's happening to Twitter now and you know frankly my Twitter feed has suddenly changed I'm like getting all kinds of random things which I would have never got earlier and and I'm just like trying to figure out should I stop it should I just let it be and see how things change and and maybe it's a part of the role that you know not not just as a consumer but but as a professional maybe I should just keep checking what's happening there yeah but and and that's just one platform and there are same kind of things which which may be happening on WhatsApp I mean the news today of WhatsApp allowing you to now just quickly directly address a business new new things let's see let's see how some of these offerings pan out yeah but what's important I think is to be very careful in terms of how responsibly the platforms are behaving and what is the way all this engagement and then this data that is getting collected how is that used a lot of impact will come in from the new data policy is just opened up for feedback right now so let's see how that evolves but definitely definitely we need to keep our eyes very very closely on that because not just it'll impact the Gen Z of today it'll also impact the media of tomorrow yeah both for both purposes it's going to be absolutely critical yeah so that's it so these are the four quick points that we wanted to just bring to you for your knowledge that how Gen Z might just impact the future in certain ways so if you like listening to this I want to listen more of such podcasts subscribe to Generation's I guess so thanks for listening bye bye stay tuned guys and you'll hear more from us next time thank you thanks bye