How NFL and Webtoon cracked marketers’ most elusive target: Gen Z

The elusive Gen Z is usually top of mind for marketing professionals, and that's never been truer than it was this week at Advertising Week New York, which is celebrating 20 years.

As marketers convened for a week of panels and networking, the challenge and opportunity of reaching and engaging this generation emerged as a major talking point. Given that Gen Zers spend more per capita than any other generation at the same age, and their spending power is growing, marketers continue to explore ways of gaining their loyalty.

That might be easier said than done, as evidenced by one panel called “Gen Z Hates Your Ads (Here’s How to Reach Them Anyway).” The key takeaway: Brands need to move at the speed of culture to capitalize on the latest trends in authentic ways.

“Brands have to have a better way of adapting to the culture faster, other than going through the corporate cycle,” Josh Glodoveza, co-founder and COO of Panel, said on Monday. “You lose the momentum and the connection and the authenticity when you go through so many processes. That’s one thing that brands get wrong is not being in the moment.”

The Current gathered the biggest insights that marketers need to know about Gen Z from Advertising Week New York.

Brands can tap in to Gen Z fandom

Some brands are diligently keeping their fingers on the pulse of Gen Z culture, eyeing the growing popularity of online storytelling platform Wattpad and the digital-comic platform Webtoon, which are under the same umbrella.

The platforms have a combined 170 million monthly active users; 83% of Webtoon’s users are Gen Z and 68% of Wattpad’s users are, panelists said. That means they go to great lengths to cultivate a strong social presence that is quick to respond to Gen Z interests. In other words: They’re in the moment.

“We take the fandom and the lore that’s on the platform and bring it to the community on social,” said Megan Weales, social media manager at Wattpad. “Our fans want to nerd out about their favorite stories, and we want to be right there with them.”

Marketers also grappled with the question of how to get in front of young sports fans, who engage with live sports across multiple platforms, a break from more traditional ways of watching games. That poses a challenge for marketers eager to adapt to these changing consumption habits.

To that end, marketers are diversifying their content across as many different viewing platforms as possible, which Sarah Bishop, VP of growth audiences at the NFL, called an “intentional decision.”

“We’re constantly looking for ways that we can future-proof our business and reach the next generation of fan,” Bishop said during the “Using Data to Rally Today’s Sports Fans” panel on Tuesday.

For instance, the NFL is experimenting with innovative ways of reframing the live broadcast, using alternate broadcasts, Bishop said. Think ManningCast, where former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning offer commentary during games, or Nickelodeon broadcasts intended for kids.

“These are incredibly critical opportunities for us to give new and diverse audiences different ways, and more memorable ways, to experience the game,” she said. “I can only imagine that we will continue to evolve and add on from there.”

Brand collaborations should be authentic

Speakers across various panels emphasized the importance of authenticity in brand collaborations. For instance, if a celebrity doesn’t have a history or standing with the brand, then Gen Zers will be turned off.

“When brands ask me who they should work with, I tell them to look for people who are as passionate as they are about the products,” Glodoveza said. “Gen Z is very quick to know when somebody is just doing it for the bag.”

(For those unaware, “getting the bag” is a slang term for getting money.)

Janina Santillan, director of brand and social media at Adore Me, said that the brand managed to stay authentic to its Gen Z customer base (after Victoria’s Secret acquired it last year) by “listening” to them.

“I want to know what they’re watching and doing, and then we’re able to translate that into a marketing campaign,” Santillan said during the “Gen Z Hates Your Ads” panel. She added that she found that many of their customers were fans of romance novels, which informed Adore Me’s Valentine’s Day campaign.

For Webtoon and Wattpad, panelists noted how a lot of Gen Z users “grew up” with their favorite creators on the platform. Some have even inspired movies and TV shows: Beth Reekles first published the young adult romance novel (speaking of romance novels) The Kissing Booth to Wattpad, and it was then adapted into a popular movie for Netflix.

Gen Z fans are happy to support their favorite creators with any brand collaborations, according to Chris Mathieu, director of brand partnerships at Wattpad Webtoon Ad Solutions.

“If you can figure out a way to talk with Gen Z across fandoms as opposed to at them, if you can utilize creators who know their fan bases super well, you’re going to win them over,” said Mathieu. “It’s when you start throwing things at the wall to see what sticks or yelling at Gen Z that they totally tune you out.”