July 2, 2026 • 45 mins
Some brands you grew up with stick with you forever. Others get dropped the minute you have your own grocery list. In this episode of Market Says, hosts Gayle Troberman and Marcus Collins sit down with University of Michigan marketing students to figure out what makes Gen Z stay loyal, what makes them switch, and why so many of them are happy to keep their parents' bank but wouldn't be caught dead in their parents' jeans.
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Speaker 1 (00:15):
You know, Gail, the holy Grail for every marketer is
trying to get the youth consumer, like every marketer is
fighting even AARP is trying to get younger consumers, like
the holy Grail is trying to get the youth.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
And today that youth is gen Z.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
And the question, you know, I want to ask is
that you know, when when is the moment in time
that brands go after them?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Do you go after them when they're right in a
sweet spot?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Do you try to like lay the breadcrumbs up to
that point they kind of plant the seeds before they
get there. What do you think is the sweet spot?
Do you start them young or do you get them
right when they're in the moment?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Such an easy question, you know, so obvious. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
I think so many brands start building awareness and meaning
and equid with consumers from very early years. And then
sometimes I go One of the big questions I have
for this episode, Marcus, is do you stick with the
brands that you grew up with? Is it easier to
just stick or do you head off to college? Do
you get your first apartment, do you do your first
(01:17):
grocery shopping?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
And all of a.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Sudden you go freedom my pick, and all of a sudden,
you're going to start building your own sort of roster
and portfolio of the brands that are you. And you know,
I think there's so many questions in there. You know,
I'm a huge believer that, like, you're not going to
buy things you never heard of. So I think that's
why a lot of brands have to start early and
(01:38):
find some way into that precious space in your brain.
So when you are ready to get in car insurance
or buy a car, or you know, get a mortgage
or do any of those things, like you at least
have some sense of who a brand is and what
they do.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
But I don't know, I could be totally wrong. I
want to know what the market says. What do you
guys think?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It meets a double edged sword, of course.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's like, on one end, you know, it's the things
that your parents used, and you go, great, I trust
them because I've seen them for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
They have a lot of cognitive real estate that have
been established.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
But on the other end, it's the brand my parents used,
Like I don't want to use my parents thing, you know, or.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Do I It's a tough space to play.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Which is exactly why we have the market with us,
or at least a representation of the market with us
to help us get a better understanding. So we have Tiya,
Hannah Alana from the University of Michigan of course go
Blue to help us get an understanding of what's what.
So first of all, welcome to the podcast. Welcome back
to the podcast. For some of you, this is TIA's debut. Welcome,
(02:43):
glad to have you with us.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Hello, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
So I suppose to kind of get us started. I
guess the question.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
First of all, you all are Hannah's graduated, but Tiya
and Elana are still in school.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
But you are adults.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Alana just celebrated her twenty first birthday, so you are
literally an adult.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Drinks on me exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So I guess the question is, you know, when you
think about.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Brands, which brands do you use today that you felt
you grew up on. What's the ones that kind of
come to mind that Like for me, I think about this.
When I went off to school and I got an apartment,
the first Launch Detergent that I bought was Cheer because
that's what my parents I grew up on. That Now
I have since evil not evolved, like Cheers is bad,
but like I have since moved on from Cheer and
(03:28):
kind of got my own detergent based on my own sensibilities,
but like that was a legacy from my parents. What
brands are sort of stuck around for you? I start
with you, Hannah.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I think the ones that are more like entrenched into
my upbringing, Like, for example, I'm Jewish and like every
Friday night we had like Schabbat dinners what have you,
And so there's like particular brands that I buy from
because I was so used to seeing that at the table.
Thinking about that question from like a clothing perspective and whatnot.
That's like the biggest evolution that I've had more of,
(04:00):
like the detergent and whatnot, now that I have to
buy it on my own, Like I definitely put in
my own opinion, but on the stuff where I'm like,
I've seen it, it works, this is traditional to me.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
That's the stuff that stuck with me the most.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Tya, what say you talk to us?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
For me?
Speaker 6 (04:17):
I think my mom really like put me onto you know,
downy the beats that you put into your wash and
it smells so good, and I didn't realize the difference
until I went from went out of home and I
started to do my own one room, Like, it's just
not the same. I'm not smelling anything. I smell bad,
So I think that's the one. It's it's expensive, so
I think that's one that I She really put me
(04:37):
onto that, so I have to continue using it.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
It just hits different.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I mean, it's it's interesting because like smell is the
one thing that does it's the one.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly the right.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Since is a huge memory that it makes a big difference.
I need to use it. Yeah, that's a big one, Alan,
what's say you?
Speaker 7 (04:55):
I just love Costco since I was a little kid
and I'd get to go to that warehouse and around
and try a million samples. I loved it then and
I love it now. I believe in the brand. I
understand why my parents shop there. I want a shop there.
I agree with them for all the reasons. And when
I'm at college and I don't have my parents' Costco card,
(05:16):
I beg my roommates from Michigan to take me at
least once a month because I need to do all
my restocks.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
But I love Kirkland, love Costco.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I love it.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
Yeah, and honestly, a lot of that one's true and
funny because definitely the costco mentality is so intrenched to me.
But I don't need anything in bulk, Like I am
literally never shopping for them myself. Like I had four siblings,
grew up in a big household, Costco is more of
a necessity. So yeah, that's like definitely one of those
examples where it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
For me anymore, but I make it make sense exactly.
They did such a good job.
Speaker 7 (05:48):
We're actually not the consumer anymore, but we have such
fond memories that we make ourselves the consumer.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
You guys are there for the vibes, hon exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
It's like, at least like a secondary question or follow
up question, maybe you started making your own sort of
think of your first shopping experience as an adult or
as it was even as a college student, where you
were like, this is my choice as my cart I'm
using my parents' money, but.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I'm making my own issues.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Which brands were the ones where you made a specific
choice to say, I'm going to choose something different or
I'm definitely going to go with this one.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
On the theme of grocery stores, that's where I have
like my personal values and also like I think a
gen Z value is like huge on ingredients and like
what things are made of, So like from a grocery
store perspective, like I started going to Whole Foods, and
I was like, I'd rather have less stuff for more
money that I can't afford, but I'm going to pretend
(06:45):
like I can afford it because I care more about
the quality. And that has kind of transcended now with
my own wallet where all go to Trader Joe's but
look at the ingredients. But definitely that value changed the
way that I look at like food in particular.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I mean the first so I took my parents to
Whole Foods to go shop and I was like, yeah,
it's all organic, but it was like does it taste good?
Speaker 6 (07:11):
I think for me, I think I was a different
person at the time, so I was still like a
young kid. So when I first did my own groceries,
it was whatever my parents.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Didn't let me have at home.
Speaker 6 (07:20):
So to me, it's like a kid with adult money,
and I'm like, this is fun. I get to try
whatever I want and then I can't.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Tell me no.
Speaker 6 (07:27):
So to me, it was like all the unhealthy stuff
like marshmallow fluff, like any like lucky charms.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
I was going crazy. It was whatever I couldn't get.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah, I love this rebellion. I love it.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, it was rebellion. It was my choice. Now it's
my choice.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So yeah, that's why my wife doesn't like me to
go to the grocery store. So her premise is that
marketers are the worst consumers for that reason, Like we
want to try all the new stuff and.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
All the fun stuff.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
If we call for all the and oh my god,
that twisted through it and both I have to try it.
And it's like you don't like cridinal le bars and
you don't like peanut butter. But no, I must get that.
You know, you got to try try it.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
You have to.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I tell my wife, put the brand that you want
me to consume, put the size, put everything, because like you, Gail,
I'm like, this is really interesting. I don't cook, by
the way, but I'm like, we got to try this pepper.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I think it's going to be great. Ridiculous.
Speaker 7 (08:22):
You fell for cotton candy grapes, didn't you.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
A lot of tell us about about your first grocery
store experience.
Speaker 7 (08:35):
Yeah, I hope to mature into Hannah one day. I'm
not quite there yet. I definitely went off strip for
my parents. Though my parents are ingredient shoppers. They're also
cooking for four, but they buy the veggies, the spices,
the proteins, and then they cook it throughout the week.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
But cooking for one is different.
Speaker 7 (08:53):
And I'm also not as good a cook, so I'm
a big trader Joe shopper.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
My car is basically an homage convenience.
Speaker 7 (09:00):
I get frozen meals, pre made race salad kits, really
anything that can be assembled in under ten minutes.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
So this is interesting because what I'm hearing here is
that there's some ideology that's pushing some of this is
Handah mentioned there's some conveniences that you get to benefit
from a lot of that your family didn't. There's some
rebellion happened from ts. So these are like really conscious
decisions that are being made. I feel like, you know,
for quote unquote low involvement purchases like CpG brands, you
(09:31):
are actually contributing a lot of cognitions into this consumption.
What I'm going to think about now is like what
about the things that require more resources? More time obviously
more money that are a bit more conspicuous. So think
about when you have an interview, what's informing the attire
that you wear. Like, for instance, I'm a big J
(09:53):
crue rafflorin God J cru rafflorin Levi's is my entire wardrobe.
My hope, my prayer is that dad will pass on
to my kids, right knowing, Georgia, absolutely not. So the
question I have for you the law is like, what
are there some things that pass over that you're like, Oh,
I know that this is kind of the go to
power suit because my mom used to wear it and
my dad used to wear to my sister's wore whatever
(10:15):
the case may be. Is there any spillover happening there
when we think about how you project your identity through
consumption versus the more inconspicuous purchases.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
Yeah, I mean I can start us with that. I
think I actually had. That was like one of my
more like identifiable experiences in college and especially now, is
that I was so frustrated as a kid growing up
because I grew up in the South, Like the big
thing was like ooh, Lemon, Lily Pulitzer, like all of
these like super Southern chime brands, and that is so
(10:46):
counter to my identity, but because everyone's wearing it, that's
the status quo. I would get so frustrated when my
mom was like, I'm not sending that amount of money
on something that you're going to ruin.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
In two days. Super fair of her, by the way.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
But then when I went to Michigan, it was interesting
that the status quo match a little bit more of
what my identity represented. Like, for example, there's a bunch
of New Yorkers at the University of Michigan in New
York whereas black, I wear black, Like I could fit
into that box now, and I was willing to pay
a premium to kind of show off that I fit
into this. And I think, looking back now, if you
(11:20):
would have put me in the South, like I think,
I would have agreed with my mom and not bought
that stuff and not bought into it because I know
it doesn't conform to my identity. But if we would
have been, you know, like at Michigan, I would have
begged for it a little bit more because it was
more intrinsic to who I am. So in short, there
isn't stuff that I a lot of like materialistic things
that have grown up with me. And I think because
(11:42):
my mom and I are so different, our identities are
so different. So what her like tribal marks like the
things that she uses for tribal marks are so different
to mine.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
A lot of You're from the city, You're a New
Yorker in the Midwest. Here at Michigan. Has it been
like the opposites than it was with handed? Did you
put yourself so adopted a Michigan aesthetic to be of
your new identity as opposed to either what your parents
or your mother, your other siblings wore, or even New.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
York as a broader identity marker.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
I think Hannah made a good point though, that the
Midwesterners actually take on what New Yorkers wear. Yes, so
I would say more so people adopt my habits. One
of my roommate's siblings actually yelled at me and said, now,
my sister says, you has your ascent and we hate it.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And I didn't know I had an accent, so that
was a huge surprise.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
But in terms of fashion, I said this the last
time I was on the podcast, the quote I'm a
gap girl, and.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
That's the truth. I am a gap girl.
Speaker 7 (12:40):
I have been forever definitely adopted that from my mom
and my sister. We're all big on basics, so if
you let us loosen a gap, we're happy. But something
that I've adopted in more recent years that's very special
to New York is something called sample sale shopping.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
I'm not sure if everyone's aware.
Speaker 7 (12:58):
Of what that is, but please take these huge luxury brands.
If they make too much of a product and it
doesn't sell or they're just moving on a season, they'll
have the opportunity to open a storefront within these sample
sales for one week or two weeks, and you can
buy their clothing or shoes or whatever it may be
from a heavily discounted price. So I have grown to
(13:20):
really love sample sale shopping because I'm not at the
point in my life where I'm willing to spend an
exorbitant amount of money on this clothing. But I can tell,
like Hannah mentioned, it is higher quality, but I don't
yet have to spend the money on it, which I
think is really helpful. And going back to what Hannah
was saying when her mom was like, you're not taking
care of that, I think that is such an interesting
(13:41):
point that sample sales can get around because me and
my friends when we order our jewelry, it's most likely
from Amazon because we know we're probably not going to
treat it the best. So we're not at that point
in our lives where the saying, yeah, it costs more,
but it'll last you longer, you'll spend less money in
the long run, where you might not be at that
(14:02):
phase in our lives quite yet, but.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
We're getting there. You don't use the cost per wear rationalizations.
I've been using that. I'm not sure what age I started,
but I use it liberally.
Speaker 7 (14:13):
Maybe when I start, my parents cut me off the
credit card.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Maybe in the nineties, I felt like GAP was the
uniform for anything business casual that you were going on
in college, Like there's ever somebody coming on campus, you
went to the Gap to get an outfit for it.
I mean, it's like that shorthand is unbelievably strong, and
I mean, just for your understanding, Gail, University of Michigan
(14:38):
is basically baby East Coast. It really is, like it's
like a third of the University of Michigan at least
comes from.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Yeah, you're trying to create some ivy Vibes, esthetic.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Etiquete or New Jersey for sure. Now, Tia, you're actually
coming to us from across the pond. Yeah, give us
a sense here. So, like, you know, your identity is
in many ways very diverse, coming FROs exchange scenes here
at Michigan, but adapting to the culture. What things that
you hold on to from like your either where you
(15:10):
grew up, how you grew up and now that you're here,
sort of finding yourself at very least projecting yourself for sure.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
There's been a big change in the brands that I
use now. I think coming from London and coming to
the US has changed my perception on fashion.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I think I'm more expressive with it. Back when I
was growing up, my family were big on sketches.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
I don't know if you guys were into sketches, but
they love sketchers. They're like, it's comfortable, Yes, my moment,
my dad sketches, and my dad bought these sketchers where
they don't even have laces.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
There's no laces.
Speaker 6 (15:49):
He's like, this is practical, this is great, you know,
So for them things have to be practical.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Comfort is key.
Speaker 6 (15:55):
There was the Geil phone, and I used to rock
that as a kid, but I think as I started
going to university and growing up, I'm like, mom, like, no,
I need like Timberland boots now, like I need to
be cool like kids think.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I'm for laces as a busy student. Really oh yeah yeah, yea, yeah,
I have time. It's good, we can we can do
laces like it's fine. So I stopped.
Speaker 6 (16:14):
I had to tell them I'm sorry, guys, like, yeah,
this is going to change. And I think coming to
the US, I bought like my first Timberland boots and
I was like, this is cool, especially in New York,
and I was rocking with them.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
I'm like I'm cool, like yeah, I yes, slip on.
I'll send you the lengths to you. No lacing uggs too.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
Uggs are huge here and that's what I also adopted
as well, Bible uggs as well. Like yeah, my fashion
taste it really changed coming here because I'm like, everyone
thinks this is cool, so I'm gonna have to adapt.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I mean, no doubfinitely. The sketches nasty for sure for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Tia.
Speaker 7 (16:48):
That's so interesting though, because I just came back from
studying abroad and I feel like in America, I have
no style whatsoever. But when I went to Europe, I
feel like I gained a little style. So it's interesting
differently they do too much. Though they do too much.
It's too much pressure that I don't like it.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I mean the first time I went to London, first
time to London, I like you, I felt like a bum.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
I was like, I'm a hobo.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I literally almost like burn my entire wardrobe. When I
got back for the first time, I was like, I
cannot dress like this in public. But what's interesting here
is that, like there's this cognitive thing that we're talking about,
Like it's like, who am I with regards to my ideology?
Who am I with regards to like my family? Do
I want to rebel? Because this is just sort of
me finding my own space?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Who am I?
Speaker 1 (17:38):
The cognitions we think about, and then the thing we
want to project is like, and we're choosing the brands.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That help us do Yes.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
Well, it's so interesting because you guys hit on kind
of like the entire brand playbook. Right, we talked about convenience,
we talked about memory and ritual and emotional connection to
the the Shabbat dinner brand to the right, the brands
you grew up with.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
We talked about like functional benefits of brands.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
It just smells so good, right, like and that memory
and smell intersection, and then we finally got which I
thought was interesting. It took you guys a while to
get to price. Right, So those are all drivers. Like
as a marketer, right, I'm going, oh God, like, they're
all interesting, but I can't be all those things right,
(18:27):
And I guess there's even more, right Marcus, you were
just saying there's rebellion, right, there's like being new and
next of the next gem.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Like if I'm a marketer listening, and I'm going, Okay,
I gotta win with you, guys.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
I gotta win gen Z to grow, and I want
to reach you. Which lever would you pull first? Good question, convenience, rebellion,
memories and rituals, product feature benefits or price.
Speaker 5 (18:57):
I think the biggest shaw to marketers about gen Z,
and I'll speak for the gen Z public here, is
we're way less price sensitive than we're made out to
be interested. At the end of the day, we're definitely
people that want to match the status quo. The people
who go against the status quo pay for that because
against the status quo is like environmental conscious, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And that is a tiered system. But I think like
the biggest thing in terms of like that prices has sensitivity.
That's interesting is that we are investment mindset, Like where
our money goes is so different from our parents. We
didn't inherent that from our parents. From our parents.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
For them, they're investing in the future and like a
house and like assets and a growing span in terms
of like what can we tangibly have. But for us,
for gen Z, what's super important is we are the
present asset. We don't really care about that. So I'm
willing to spend money on like my food and my
products if they're portrayed of higher quality, have like those
longevity aspects, even if it is a fad, because that's
(19:59):
my big investment concern right now, because it's so out
of reach to think about investing in a house and whatnot,
because I think that that's just like inputs that the
world has given us. I'm not even saying that for age.
I think that is economically speaking, we can't even think
about it. It's not even on the platter. So if
we want to think about investing something we want to
invest in that, And so like exactly to your point
(20:20):
of like what leverash of brand pull most you can
lean into those different campaigns in different things, because at
the end of the day, if a consumer wants to
buy it from like the gen Z World, they're totally
going to find the fund.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
To buy it.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
I think what Hannah said is so interesting about comparing
our generation to our parents.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Movie tickets are not twenty five cents anymore.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
We inherently are not as independent from a financial standpoint
once we graduate right off the bat. But it's true
we're not as price sensitive. And another thing that I
want to emphasize is we're not as stupid as we look.
When a brand is clear trying to young themselves down.
If it's inauthentic and it feels forced, gen Z is
(21:06):
gonna clock it immediately and nobody will buy the brand.
So I really think authenticity is key if you're a
brand saying I would really like to appeal to the
next generation. So I'm gonna hop on this bandwagon for
a trend. Nine times out of ten, you're going to
fail and you need to find another way to reach
that market.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Hey, kids are my brands skimmity, and honestly, a lot
of that's so true.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
It's almost like a stock Like that's my ross whole
mindset right now.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
It's like you when a company like goes of value,
they have its inherent value and then they have its price.
And so a brand is either reflecting what they want
to reflect for the day and people can buy into that,
but at the end of the day are expected to return.
What we're going to get back is it's true value,
like it's authenticity. And so there's obviously consumers that are
like not going to look into those logistics. They're expected
(21:59):
rich and is going to be based off of more
of those superficial things. But I would say I agree
with Alna. I think most of gen Z is going
to look into the facts and see what aligns what's
so interesting, Like, Hannah, you hit on such a fascinating point.
We actually have another bubbler podcast we called so Get
This with John would be from the Harris pol and
their first episode was about how gen Z are more
(22:22):
likely to invest in spells on Etsy than compounding interest
because exactly what you said, right, yes, Sea.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Which Etsy witch?
Speaker 4 (22:32):
Yeah, actually right, like actually saving for some four told
future that you don't believe is going to manifest itself.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
So it's super interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I mean, I suppose this is sort of a way
to reclaim one's agency, right, Like, if you don't know
what tomorrow is going to be and it doesn't look
like it's going to be good, you go, well, hell,
we might as well live it up today, right, like
the most out of today, because at least I can
control that, Tia, you did YouTube.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
No, for sure, for sure, I'm I'm definitely When my
parents talk about the future and like housing and all this,
it's a mind blank for me.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I'm like, I'm living day by day.
Speaker 6 (23:10):
I don't know much about this, and I feel like
it definitely is kind of like a gen Z thing
where we're more focused on today, investing in ourselves how
we look, you know, it's very important, and that's how
we show status. I feel like my purchasing patterns in
comparison to my parents are so so, so so different,
and even at their age, they want spending at what
I'm spending on now.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
You know, so because that's so true to you.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
That key thing of the thing about status is like
I feel like with my parents' generation, like they showed
status through like your house, your cars, things like that.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
It definitely holds true.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
But again, like going back to what I was saying
at first, like it's almost just so unattainable that we
have to show status in a different way, and so
I'm going to invest in different things, even if that
dilutes my future.
Speaker 7 (23:56):
And in terms of housing, my parents bought a place
in New York City in the nineteen nineties and I
plan on staying here until they kick me out.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I'm not looking. I want to stay right here in
my childhood bedroom.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
That's wise with my.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Rent controlled New York City apartment.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
I have a friend named hash Flemings, and he said
this to me like seven years ago, and it's always stuck,
he says.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Man, the real luxury is freedom.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Today as I sit, I am on a quest for that,
for freedom, and my freedom is different than yours, than
even yours, s Gale, because we all can have live
in our own worlds. But I feel like that's a
luxury that young people have that they're like, we're going
to We're going to extract all the value from it.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Right, if you're like.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Chained to a gig, you have a nine to five,
you have like you know, boxes is you have to
like check for life to be complete. You're sort of
like chained to a thing where someone goes, you know what,
I'm going to be a content creator. I'm going to
be a creator and in that I get to go
here and there and there you go, like, that's actually
a life I want to live. And the research is
showing this that that's one of the most sought after
(25:19):
jobs for gen Z to be a creator because with
that comes not only autonomy that you get to like
make choices, but you have freedom. As I'm hearing you
all talk, you know about like making choices for today
because you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.
There's a certain freedom to that that like I don't
have because I have a mortgage to pay, car notes
(25:41):
to pay for that, Like you know, one will see
that as a shackle as opposed to freedom.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, you do you see any lines into that?
Speaker 3 (25:50):
I think it's really interesting.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
I think you're hitting on such an interesting point, which
I think a lot of marketers are, you know, gen
X and millennials, and they grow up with, like you're right,
a different reality and a different set of you know, assumptions,
and I think you're right. I think you're nailing it.
Like we're putting our values on your generation, and your
(26:12):
reality is fundamentally different. Therefore it sounds like what you're
willing to invest in it might be different person to person. Right,
you might want to buy the organic produce because you
cook and you really care about ingredients, and you know,
you might want the right beauty products and or the
right kicks or you know, looks. And it's so interesting,
right because I hear like nineties New York real estate
(26:35):
and I go, oh my god, if only we could
have scraped together the money to buy that crappy little
apartment in the back of a brownstone that backed up
to the Getty station in the West Village, it would
have changed my life financially.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
But there was just no way in hell we could.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
Have come up with, like I don't know what it
was then, two hundred thousand dollars or something, right, but
I look at the compounding interest and go, oh my god,
that would have been the most amazing thing. And if
there's any way I could have made that, and I
would have. And you guys are going, that is not
probably my journey, and I don't see it right now.
So I need to build my identity and express myself
and invest in the things that bring you. I mean,
(27:11):
at the end of the day, that make us happy, Right,
it's probably worth a little more money, even if you
have to trade something.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
Yeah, I'll almost even push back on that a little Bitityeah, please,
I'll push back just a little bit, because you definitely
have the point of like I think what we're trying
to project for gen Z.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
But I will say I think that the values have
been passed.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
Down, like at the end of the day, especially what
you were saying, Professor Collins, of like creators, Like there's
a huge aspect of the financial freedom of what creators
are making today. There's no secret that you have to
make money, right, and like there's a bunch of like
different like investing formulas and this and that, And I
think that our generation is actually super hyper aware of
that and are definitely taking part in it. I think
(27:52):
the reality of it, though, is that that value isn't
as suffocating anymore. And so while we like still hold
that value, it's definitely been allocated in a different way.
So like I definitely would say that, like we're still investing,
We're still doing these things like with the research you guys,
it's gave us about you know how a gen Z's
investing in more like boutique banks that are having more
(28:14):
of an emphasis on like making it easier. Like we
still want to do those things and have that functionality,
just not with the emphasis that it was before.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It's like you're engaging in the capitalistic project but on
your own terms? Is that fair to say thing?
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (28:29):
And I think it would be impossible not to, Like
we're still growing up in an economy, like we're we're
still humans, and I think that we are just like
bucketing things of what's realistic or not.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Well, that's the cultural backdrop that we're in. You can't
get out of that, right.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
But by does big a question though, because Gail, you
were listening off some of these things like these memories, rituals, emotions,
all these things that inconvenience, price, et cetera. But there's
one thing that we haven't really touched one yet maybe
implied trust big brand word. I think out some of
the brands that maybe you don't have. So like Tia,
(29:04):
you trust your smell, right you go, I like the
smells or I like the way this smells, I can
make a decision there. You can say I like the
way this juice tastes, so I'm not going to use
this juice.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
But things like.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Insurance that maybe you haven't had a lot of experience,
like things like banking that maybe you have a lot
of experience sort of making those decisions. I wonder between
three of you all, does the calculus and what brands
you choose? Is that change at all when you don't
have a lot of experience? For since, I've been using
Chase since I was a kid, Like it was NBD
(29:36):
National Bank of Detroit to Bank One, to Chase through
all these acquisitions, and so my parents use it is
what I use today, and it's actually the county set
up for our kids. Like but I was sort of
in doctrinated into it because I didn't know better, and
I didn't want to take the time to actually do
the exploration because the insecurity I would have had because
of my not knowing.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Or do you all experience that too, or is that
a of the past.
Speaker 7 (30:01):
Yes, I'm also with Chase Marcus, and just like you,
I have been since I was fourteen and my parents
got that Chase will put the first hundred dollars in
for you. I've been a member since and like you
were saying, I'm a business student. I've learned about the
economy and investments and what the consumer wants, and yet
I still stick with Chase. And it's funny we talk
(30:22):
about that because I'm actually in the process of getting
a new credit card. I'm looking for something that is
preferably zero annual fees. But the most interesting part is
my parents are also looking for a credit card right now,
but their focus is retirement, travel, lounge access. But we're
both looking at Chase, and I feel very confident that
(30:44):
we're both going to find a credit card that matches
our desires from Chase. So when it comes to banking
and insurance, I'm definitely a traditionalist. I'm drawn to that
trust and longevity, and so if my parents have had
this relationship for however many years, I place a lot
of value in that relationship. And even if an interface
for a newer banker insurance might be more trendy, when
(31:07):
it comes to banking and insurance, which I consider to
be adult activities, I'm more drawn to trust than trends.
Maybe for something for me, I'm more drawn to trends,
but when it comes to something I'm aspiring to be mature,
I'm really drawn to trust.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, toothpaste is one thing, but to insurance is pretty fascina.
This is serious business here.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
Has anyone seen the new campaign for Chase where they're
showing all the little kids who have all their side
hustles and all their ways of making money and they
want to It implies they want to be the credit
card for the kids. And I don't know to your point,
maybe that is or is there the targeting parents or both,
but it's a great campaign.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
I saw it recently.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
I don't know if anyone else has seen it, but
it made me think about when do your first question, Marcus?
Speaker 3 (31:53):
When do you start marketing? And it sounds like maybe
with banking you should be starting sooner.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Am I hearing them?
Speaker 7 (32:00):
Or all I know is that the one hundred dollars
that I got, they're now giving one twenty five.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
So whoa they are?
Speaker 3 (32:07):
They really are targetting me young there?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
See what's your take?
Speaker 6 (32:12):
Oh? For sure, I did not know anything about this,
and for some reason I just cannot be asked to
like go through all of it so immediately. When I
when I started like looking into these things. I'm like, okay,
like gos. My dad would be like, which.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
One do I pick?
Speaker 6 (32:25):
He's like, no, it's like depending on you, like you
have to pick based on your criteria, like what do
you want.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
I'm like, okay, what do I want? And he's like,
you know, you have to do this.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
Your own research. I'm like, I'll just pick whatever you
guys do, right, Yeah, it's pretty good. It's looking pretty good,
so we'll go with that. And it's just too much
info for me to like process that. I'm like, I'm
just gonna go with whatever is easiest that my parents
are doing, and I think you'll be fine. They look
like they're living well, so it's okay, so I agree
with this. It's a shortcut. It's fine.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
I have no preference. They have all the sketchers in
the world. They're good, like, it's a good life. I'll
continue with what they're doing. So yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
I'm that's an interesting thing there.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
It's the you know, I don't have a lot of experience,
nor do I have the time or wherewithal to do
the research.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
I see evidence of the brand performing well over time.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
With people that I trust and it's working on well
for them, that is probably going to work out well
for me. Now, Hannah, you're about to go you've graduated,
you are you are literally thrust it into the real world,
and you're going to be making some of these decisions,
like a few years you won't be on your parents'
car insurance, Like all these things would be a part
of your decision making process. Are you going through the
(33:34):
same sort of calculus that we're hearing here when it
comes to these things that are more serious as a
lot of put it.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
But perhaps you don't have as much knowledge about no.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
I actually it's.
Speaker 5 (33:43):
Super interesting that they're saying that, because I would have
expected the opposite. But maybe that's just like the people
that I'm communicating with of like having just graduated, we're
all talking about where do we want our paycheck to
roll into?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Is it a parent operate account, et cetera.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
I would definitely say that in terms of like try
and like longevity, Like I have my fallbacks, like I default,
Like my mom also uses Chase, and like it's her
tried and true. She's never complained about it, So I
have like a default of like looking there first when
I was looking for credit cards. But marketing's definitely working
on me. Like I was watching the World Cup and
like sofar has like been talked about a lot, and
(34:20):
I'm having these different brand signals that are coming to mind,
and I'm like, I've been seeing it a lot.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Let me look into it.
Speaker 5 (34:24):
And I definitely do think there's a different level of trust.
Like I will say I'm taking more of a risk
by going with a different bank because it's not to
tried and true, But I will also say that it's
just more independence and responsibility. So I think that it's
easier that I can't blame my mom if it doesn't
work out because it was her brand, her image, whatever.
(34:44):
Like I'm taking that step to my independent brand identity,
and if it goes wrong, it's my fault.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
It's like that default.
Speaker 5 (34:51):
Like actually, my mom signed me up for a Discover
credit card when I was in college, and like we
didn't talk about.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
It, like whatever, And I'm sure it Discover works for
a lot of people. It's whatever.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
It wasn't my card for abroad, and I wish I
would have looked into it myself, Like I wish I
would have looked into like the different features, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
And taken that risk independent.
Speaker 7 (35:11):
I think that's so funny because I would very much
consider myself that I stip of my parents when it
comes to a lot of brands, and like Tia mentioned earlier,
a lot of it has to do with rebellion, and
I truly believe that growing up, I never really felt
like my parents were being unreasonable. They never forced me
to eat foods I hated, they didn't forbid junk food.
(35:33):
And so as a result, I look at the product
and the brands that I've grown up with, and I
never really had that desire to leave because I mostly thought, yeah,
that was a sensible decision, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I we grew up as a Ford family, Like that's
the only cars we ever had, And when I was
in college, I drove a Ford.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I graduated from college, I drove a Forward. But when
my wife and I started dating, and she was like
a Ford.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
They do it, and I was living in New York
and like, I never even thought of like a car
outside of a Ford family. It wasn't even in like
the ram of possibilities. And we ended up going with
the Volkswagen and bought like many Volkswagens. After the fact,
it was like we were a Volkswagen family. I remember
the first time I drove my Volkswagen to Detroit to
see my family were lived in New York, and I
(36:19):
could see like the heartbreak of my dad's face.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
It was like, what is this are you?
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I can't comment on that. I don't have my driver's license.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Yeah, I mean you're in New York, of course not.
Of course my wife didn't have any sustion like twenty five.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Oh, I'm good, Dan.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
We are approaching that part of the show when we
do our rapid fire Care Don't Care. Essentially, we want
to get a sense of like all the conversations we've
had so far, which has been just so illuminating for
me as an individual, for me as a gen xer Hala,
and for me as a marketer, it's like wow, Like
I didn't even think about it that way, which the
show always does without fail, so really quickly. When it
(36:58):
comes to car brands, Care don't Care. Would you stick
with what your parent's bought or are you pushing the
envelope to your own thing?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Care don't Care, don't Care pushing that in vobe Okay, Tia.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
I think Care Yeah, I like their taste with cars. Actually, yeah,
I like that.
Speaker 7 (37:16):
Okay, Yeah, Ronna, I'm also going to care considering I
don't have a license. I truly have no expertise, and
my parents have been driving for forty years. So I'm
definitely not defaulting to my own judgment for this specific topic.
Other ones we can debate.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
That's totally fair, Okay.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Brands trying to target you when you're young to get
you when you're in the sweet spot of young consumer care,
don't care.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I care when it's done wrong, say more.
Speaker 7 (37:45):
I think there's a lot of brands right now, specifically,
that are trying to target a specific age group, and
I think that'll fail for a number of reasons. The
first one that comes to my mind is J fourteen Magazines. Now,
it's exactly the title just for fourteen J fourteen, But
I've read JA fourteen when I was eight years old.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
When I became fourteen, I wouldn't be caught dead with that.
Speaker 7 (38:09):
So I think a brand can succeed when it's more
values based, because, as Hannah and Tia mentioned, gen Z
is becoming way more aware and way more opinionated, and
I think that if you treat us like an adult
and you talk to my values instead of my age,
then I'm going to respond a lot better.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Hannah, Care, don't care exactly what Alana said, couldn't have
said it better.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Myself love a good Caul side to you.
Speaker 8 (38:34):
Care don't care great care for sure, if I feel
like they should grow with them, then if you're like again,
like I agree with what al I'm saying is dephitie,
Like if you talk to me when I'm like younger
and then as an adult, it's like way, it makes
a big difference for sure.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
You know, it's so interesting, like one of the categories,
and we've talked about it in some other episodes, Marcus, like,
insurance is one of those categories that you know, they
have reasonably exciting large budgets, and because of that, they're
doing a lot of like reaching every generation with a
lot of their messaging and NFL and NBA and big
platforms that cross generations. It's so interesting because they're building
(39:12):
these brands. I don't know if they're intentionally targeting youth
or not, but like when you go out for Halloween,
inevitably you're going to see young kids dressed as pretty
much every insurance brand. I come right you're going to
low Jake and the le MoU MoU, And I always
find that such you know, to the interesting category right,
(39:34):
Like you guys are probably just around the age where
you're starting to maybe be almost maybe Hannah, y're about
there hor you'll have to start picking your insurance versus
your parents picked it. But I find it so interesting
that they've embedded into culture in a way that like
five year olds are dressing up as insurance brands. What
is that about, Cail.
Speaker 7 (39:53):
I like to say that when you're still in the
age where birthdays are still fun, everybody wants to seem
older and.
Speaker 3 (39:59):
More mature than they really are.
Speaker 7 (40:01):
So like I mentioned j fourteen, Forever twenty one, no
twenty one year old shops there and no fourteen year
old Jay fourteen.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
So I like exactly what you mentioned.
Speaker 7 (40:10):
Like our age group, I think we're still at the
point where we like our birthdays. I think thirty might
be the number when you're targeting our age group.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
I think it's a big mistake to try and target
me exactly where I am.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
So here's one last question for you, and this is
sitting in the care don't care. We've been talking about
brands talking to you all when you're younger to get
you when you're older. But what about brands who talk
to you today about who you might be tomorrow? Are
you receptive to those things? Are you feel like, hey, man,
don't age me up? Be like I remember the first
(40:45):
time an ARP showed up in my mailbox. I was offended.
Are you fitting that?
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Don't you ever, ever, ever ever?
Speaker 5 (40:53):
You know?
Speaker 1 (40:53):
So the question becomes do you feel like if marketers
want to get you in this sweet spot where you are,
to fill their pipeline for where you might be, do
you feel like that can be also a bit off putting.
Speaker 7 (41:08):
I think it depends on the industry. One that immediately
comes to mind is the beauty industry. And I've always
found that as a woman, you're either young and meant
to accentuate that, or you're old and you're meant to camouflage.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
And I just think that's so flawed.
Speaker 7 (41:22):
And when twenty year old to twenty one year old
are now being marketed, if we don't use retinol, then
we're going to age horribly, Like, I just think there's
major flaws in that.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
So I think it can be used in a very
beautiful empowering way.
Speaker 7 (41:36):
But it depends on the industry and if you do
it right, because what does your industry say about aging?
Speaker 2 (41:42):
That's a really good shout Tiya, what say you?
Speaker 3 (41:45):
I agree?
Speaker 6 (41:45):
I feel like I don't need to be ten steps
ahead of my life right now. I feel like, as
I am, I just want to live for now and
make my own decisions. And if someone's telling me, oh,
you're going to need this, you're going to need this,
like be prepared, be prepared, it's stressing me. It's stressing me.
It's too much for me, it's too overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
No.
Speaker 7 (42:00):
No, And with AI like jobs are changing, everything's changing.
You don't know what I'm going to use in ten years?
What about them?
Speaker 4 (42:07):
It makes me think, Marcus, your question totally makes me
think about like, I don't know, maybe because I'm old,
I see an inordinate amount of these But pharma ads
marketing you, you know, diseases and issues and illnesses and
problems that you may have never heard of and you
may never have but targeting you now with some of
these things, how does that hit?
Speaker 3 (42:29):
I guess it's recalled at the right time. I don't know.
Speaker 5 (42:32):
I guess I see the importance because exactly what you're saying,
Like these Halloween costumes of these insurance companies whatever, Like
these jingles are coming up in my head when I'm
thinking of these important decisions where I wouldn't have thought
of them before, maybe without them trying to do that.
I think Alana has such a great point of like
it definitely is industry dependent, but like it doesn't scare
(42:53):
me for like banking company to talk about socks and
be like you're going to set up be set up
for the future. Like maybe I don't care as much,
but I guess that's the right type of sweet spot targeting.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
I mean, I definitely know more about shingles than I
thought I ever would, and I'm definitely afraid of it.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
What's our term fifteen plus?
Speaker 1 (43:11):
But Hannah, I mean, I think this is a really
strong note to end on that these things are industry dependent,
so understanding the context of the industry in the minds
of the people you're targeting matters. But even more so,
the Great God rests her soul. Aliyah once said age
ain't nothing but a number. I think the idea here,
at least what I'm pulling from this is that this
(43:32):
is really about identity and cognitions that for some people
to see it this way and for others they see
it differently. Some people want to project themselves one way
and other people who don't understanding sort of the calculus
between the context of the industry and the disposition of
the person, not the box, but the person. I think
that's what really unlocks this, at least that's why I
(43:54):
take away. Gail, Yeah, I think you know, this was
so fascinating.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
I think my most optimy mystic takeaway is I think
we've got a really as marketers. I think we've got
a fairly maybe the most educated and empowered and thoughtful
consumers we've ever faced in the marketplace. So brands, listen up.
I think your jobs are going to get harder, not easier,
because I think gen Z's kind of onto how we market,
(44:22):
and so we've got to be pretty thoughtful about when
we show up, how we show up. And I think,
if I'm hearing you like being true to who we are.
I think some of the tricks and tropes and things
we're going to get called out on. So you guys
just raise the bar for the marketers. It's probably a
good thing, but it's gonna hurt. In business school, we
(44:44):
learn that demographics are such.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
A full part of the picture.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Now yeah, amen, preach, preachs Tia, Hannah, Alana, thank you
so very much for continuing to make me proud, but
also to shine some light on the market when it
comes to the youth, so that US marketers can get
better at engaging collectively. Gail, it's always a great learning
experience with you everyone who joined the podcast. Thank you
(45:07):
for being with us for another episode of Market Says,
and we'll see you next time peace.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Market Says is a bubbler media. iHeart podcast production. If
you're not in the conversation, you're not in the game.
You know, Gail, the holy Grail for every marketer is
trying to get the youth consumer, like every marketer is
fighting even AARP is trying to get younger consumers, like
the holy Grail is trying to get the youth.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
And today that youth is gen Z.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
And the question, you know, I want to ask is
that you know, when when is the moment in time
that brands go after them?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Do you go after them when they're right in a
sweet spot?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Do you try to like lay the breadcrumbs up to
that point they kind of plant the seeds before they
get there. What do you think is the sweet spot?
Do you start them young or do you get them
right when they're in the moment?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Such an easy question, you know, so obvious. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
I think so many brands start building awareness and meaning
and equid with consumers from very early years. And then
sometimes I go One of the big questions I have
for this episode, Marcus, is do you stick with the
brands that you grew up with? Is it easier to
just stick or do you head off to college? Do
you get your first apartment, do you do your first
(01:17):
grocery shopping?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
And all of a.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Sudden you go freedom my pick, and all of a sudden,
you're going to start building your own sort of roster
and portfolio of the brands that are you. And you know,
I think there's so many questions in there. You know,
I'm a huge believer that, like, you're not going to
buy things you never heard of. So I think that's
why a lot of brands have to start early and
(01:38):
find some way into that precious space in your brain.
So when you are ready to get in car insurance
or buy a car, or you know, get a mortgage
or do any of those things, like you at least
have some sense of who a brand is and what
they do.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
But I don't know, I could be totally wrong. I
want to know what the market says. What do you
guys think?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It meets a double edged sword, of course.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's like, on one end, you know, it's the things
that your parents used, and you go, great, I trust
them because I've seen them for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
They have a lot of cognitive real estate that have
been established.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
But on the other end, it's the brand my parents used,
Like I don't want to use my parents thing, you know, or.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Do I It's a tough space to play.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Which is exactly why we have the market with us,
or at least a representation of the market with us
to help us get a better understanding. So we have Tiya,
Hannah Alana from the University of Michigan of course go
Blue to help us get an understanding of what's what.
So first of all, welcome to the podcast. Welcome back
to the podcast. For some of you, this is TIA's debut. Welcome,
(02:43):
glad to have you with us.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Hello, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
So I suppose to kind of get us started. I
guess the question.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
First of all, you all are Hannah's graduated, but Tiya
and Elana are still in school.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
But you are adults.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Alana just celebrated her twenty first birthday, so you are
literally an adult.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Drinks on me exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So I guess the question is, you know, when you
think about.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Brands, which brands do you use today that you felt
you grew up on. What's the ones that kind of
come to mind that Like for me, I think about this.
When I went off to school and I got an apartment,
the first Launch Detergent that I bought was Cheer because
that's what my parents I grew up on. That Now
I have since evil not evolved, like Cheers is bad,
but like I have since moved on from Cheer and
(03:28):
kind of got my own detergent based on my own sensibilities,
but like that was a legacy from my parents. What
brands are sort of stuck around for you? I start
with you, Hannah.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I think the ones that are more like entrenched into
my upbringing, Like, for example, I'm Jewish and like every
Friday night we had like Schabbat dinners what have you,
And so there's like particular brands that I buy from
because I was so used to seeing that at the table.
Thinking about that question from like a clothing perspective and whatnot.
That's like the biggest evolution that I've had more of,
(04:00):
like the detergent and whatnot, now that I have to
buy it on my own, Like I definitely put in
my own opinion, but on the stuff where I'm like,
I've seen it, it works, this is traditional to me.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
That's the stuff that stuck with me the most.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Tya, what say you talk to us?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
For me?
Speaker 6 (04:17):
I think my mom really like put me onto you know,
downy the beats that you put into your wash and
it smells so good, and I didn't realize the difference
until I went from went out of home and I
started to do my own one room, Like, it's just
not the same. I'm not smelling anything. I smell bad,
So I think that's the one. It's it's expensive, so
I think that's one that I She really put me
(04:37):
onto that, so I have to continue using it.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
It just hits different.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I mean, it's it's interesting because like smell is the
one thing that does it's the one.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly the right.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Since is a huge memory that it makes a big difference.
I need to use it. Yeah, that's a big one, Alan,
what's say you?
Speaker 7 (04:55):
I just love Costco since I was a little kid
and I'd get to go to that warehouse and around
and try a million samples. I loved it then and
I love it now. I believe in the brand. I
understand why my parents shop there. I want a shop there.
I agree with them for all the reasons. And when
I'm at college and I don't have my parents' Costco card,
(05:16):
I beg my roommates from Michigan to take me at
least once a month because I need to do all
my restocks.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
But I love Kirkland, love Costco.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I love it.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
Yeah, and honestly, a lot of that one's true and
funny because definitely the costco mentality is so intrenched to me.
But I don't need anything in bulk, Like I am
literally never shopping for them myself. Like I had four siblings,
grew up in a big household, Costco is more of
a necessity. So yeah, that's like definitely one of those
examples where it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
For me anymore, but I make it make sense exactly.
They did such a good job.
Speaker 7 (05:48):
We're actually not the consumer anymore, but we have such
fond memories that we make ourselves the consumer.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
You guys are there for the vibes, hon exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
It's like, at least like a secondary question or follow
up question, maybe you started making your own sort of
think of your first shopping experience as an adult or
as it was even as a college student, where you
were like, this is my choice as my cart I'm
using my parents' money, but.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I'm making my own issues.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Which brands were the ones where you made a specific
choice to say, I'm going to choose something different or
I'm definitely going to go with this one.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
On the theme of grocery stores, that's where I have
like my personal values and also like I think a
gen Z value is like huge on ingredients and like
what things are made of, So like from a grocery
store perspective, like I started going to Whole Foods, and
I was like, I'd rather have less stuff for more
money that I can't afford, but I'm going to pretend
(06:45):
like I can afford it because I care more about
the quality. And that has kind of transcended now with
my own wallet where all go to Trader Joe's but
look at the ingredients. But definitely that value changed the
way that I look at like food in particular.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I mean the first so I took my parents to
Whole Foods to go shop and I was like, yeah,
it's all organic, but it was like does it taste good?
Speaker 6 (07:11):
I think for me, I think I was a different
person at the time, so I was still like a
young kid. So when I first did my own groceries,
it was whatever my parents.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Didn't let me have at home.
Speaker 6 (07:20):
So to me, it's like a kid with adult money,
and I'm like, this is fun. I get to try
whatever I want and then I can't.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Tell me no.
Speaker 6 (07:27):
So to me, it was like all the unhealthy stuff
like marshmallow fluff, like any like lucky charms.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
I was going crazy. It was whatever I couldn't get.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah, I love this rebellion. I love it.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, it was rebellion. It was my choice. Now it's
my choice.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So yeah, that's why my wife doesn't like me to
go to the grocery store. So her premise is that
marketers are the worst consumers for that reason, Like we
want to try all the new stuff and.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
All the fun stuff.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
If we call for all the and oh my god,
that twisted through it and both I have to try it.
And it's like you don't like cridinal le bars and
you don't like peanut butter. But no, I must get that.
You know, you got to try try it.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
You have to.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I tell my wife, put the brand that you want
me to consume, put the size, put everything, because like you, Gail,
I'm like, this is really interesting. I don't cook, by
the way, but I'm like, we got to try this pepper.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I think it's going to be great. Ridiculous.
Speaker 7 (08:22):
You fell for cotton candy grapes, didn't you.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
A lot of tell us about about your first grocery
store experience.
Speaker 7 (08:35):
Yeah, I hope to mature into Hannah one day. I'm
not quite there yet. I definitely went off strip for
my parents. Though my parents are ingredient shoppers. They're also
cooking for four, but they buy the veggies, the spices,
the proteins, and then they cook it throughout the week.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
But cooking for one is different.
Speaker 7 (08:53):
And I'm also not as good a cook, so I'm
a big trader Joe shopper.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
My car is basically an homage convenience.
Speaker 7 (09:00):
I get frozen meals, pre made race salad kits, really
anything that can be assembled in under ten minutes.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
So this is interesting because what I'm hearing here is
that there's some ideology that's pushing some of this is
Handah mentioned there's some conveniences that you get to benefit
from a lot of that your family didn't. There's some
rebellion happened from ts. So these are like really conscious
decisions that are being made. I feel like, you know,
for quote unquote low involvement purchases like CpG brands, you
(09:31):
are actually contributing a lot of cognitions into this consumption.
What I'm going to think about now is like what
about the things that require more resources? More time obviously
more money that are a bit more conspicuous. So think
about when you have an interview, what's informing the attire
that you wear. Like, for instance, I'm a big J
(09:53):
crue rafflorin God J cru rafflorin Levi's is my entire wardrobe.
My hope, my prayer is that dad will pass on
to my kids, right knowing, Georgia, absolutely not. So the
question I have for you the law is like, what
are there some things that pass over that you're like, Oh,
I know that this is kind of the go to
power suit because my mom used to wear it and
my dad used to wear to my sister's wore whatever
(10:15):
the case may be. Is there any spillover happening there
when we think about how you project your identity through
consumption versus the more inconspicuous purchases.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
Yeah, I mean I can start us with that. I
think I actually had. That was like one of my
more like identifiable experiences in college and especially now, is
that I was so frustrated as a kid growing up
because I grew up in the South, Like the big
thing was like ooh, Lemon, Lily Pulitzer, like all of
these like super Southern chime brands, and that is so
(10:46):
counter to my identity, but because everyone's wearing it, that's
the status quo. I would get so frustrated when my
mom was like, I'm not sending that amount of money
on something that you're going to ruin.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
In two days. Super fair of her, by the way.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
But then when I went to Michigan, it was interesting
that the status quo match a little bit more of
what my identity represented. Like, for example, there's a bunch
of New Yorkers at the University of Michigan in New
York whereas black, I wear black, Like I could fit
into that box now, and I was willing to pay
a premium to kind of show off that I fit
into this. And I think, looking back now, if you
(11:20):
would have put me in the South, like I think,
I would have agreed with my mom and not bought
that stuff and not bought into it because I know
it doesn't conform to my identity. But if we would
have been, you know, like at Michigan, I would have
begged for it a little bit more because it was
more intrinsic to who I am. So in short, there
isn't stuff that I a lot of like materialistic things
that have grown up with me. And I think because
(11:42):
my mom and I are so different, our identities are
so different. So what her like tribal marks like the
things that she uses for tribal marks are so different
to mine.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
A lot of You're from the city, You're a New
Yorker in the Midwest. Here at Michigan. Has it been
like the opposites than it was with handed? Did you
put yourself so adopted a Michigan aesthetic to be of
your new identity as opposed to either what your parents
or your mother, your other siblings wore, or even New.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
York as a broader identity marker.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
I think Hannah made a good point though, that the
Midwesterners actually take on what New Yorkers wear. Yes, so
I would say more so people adopt my habits. One
of my roommate's siblings actually yelled at me and said, now,
my sister says, you has your ascent and we hate it.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And I didn't know I had an accent, so that
was a huge surprise.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
But in terms of fashion, I said this the last
time I was on the podcast, the quote I'm a
gap girl, and.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
That's the truth. I am a gap girl.
Speaker 7 (12:40):
I have been forever definitely adopted that from my mom
and my sister. We're all big on basics, so if
you let us loosen a gap, we're happy. But something
that I've adopted in more recent years that's very special
to New York is something called sample sale shopping.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
I'm not sure if everyone's aware.
Speaker 7 (12:58):
Of what that is, but please take these huge luxury brands.
If they make too much of a product and it
doesn't sell or they're just moving on a season, they'll
have the opportunity to open a storefront within these sample
sales for one week or two weeks, and you can
buy their clothing or shoes or whatever it may be
from a heavily discounted price. So I have grown to
(13:20):
really love sample sale shopping because I'm not at the
point in my life where I'm willing to spend an
exorbitant amount of money on this clothing. But I can tell,
like Hannah mentioned, it is higher quality, but I don't
yet have to spend the money on it, which I
think is really helpful. And going back to what Hannah
was saying when her mom was like, you're not taking
care of that, I think that is such an interesting
(13:41):
point that sample sales can get around because me and
my friends when we order our jewelry, it's most likely
from Amazon because we know we're probably not going to
treat it the best. So we're not at that point
in our lives where the saying, yeah, it costs more,
but it'll last you longer, you'll spend less money in
the long run, where you might not be at that
(14:02):
phase in our lives quite yet, but.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
We're getting there. You don't use the cost per wear rationalizations.
I've been using that. I'm not sure what age I started,
but I use it liberally.
Speaker 7 (14:13):
Maybe when I start, my parents cut me off the
credit card.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Maybe in the nineties, I felt like GAP was the
uniform for anything business casual that you were going on
in college, Like there's ever somebody coming on campus, you
went to the Gap to get an outfit for it.
I mean, it's like that shorthand is unbelievably strong, and
I mean, just for your understanding, Gail, University of Michigan
(14:38):
is basically baby East Coast. It really is, like it's
like a third of the University of Michigan at least
comes from.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Yeah, you're trying to create some ivy Vibes, esthetic.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Etiquete or New Jersey for sure. Now, Tia, you're actually
coming to us from across the pond. Yeah, give us
a sense here. So, like, you know, your identity is
in many ways very diverse, coming FROs exchange scenes here
at Michigan, but adapting to the culture. What things that
you hold on to from like your either where you
(15:10):
grew up, how you grew up and now that you're here,
sort of finding yourself at very least projecting yourself for sure.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
There's been a big change in the brands that I
use now. I think coming from London and coming to
the US has changed my perception on fashion.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I think I'm more expressive with it. Back when I
was growing up, my family were big on sketches.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
I don't know if you guys were into sketches, but
they love sketchers. They're like, it's comfortable, Yes, my moment,
my dad sketches, and my dad bought these sketchers where
they don't even have laces.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
There's no laces.
Speaker 6 (15:49):
He's like, this is practical, this is great, you know,
So for them things have to be practical.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Comfort is key.
Speaker 6 (15:55):
There was the Geil phone, and I used to rock
that as a kid, but I think as I started
going to university and growing up, I'm like, mom, like, no,
I need like Timberland boots now, like I need to
be cool like kids think.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I'm for laces as a busy student. Really oh yeah yeah, yea, yeah,
I have time. It's good, we can we can do
laces like it's fine. So I stopped.
Speaker 6 (16:14):
I had to tell them I'm sorry, guys, like, yeah,
this is going to change. And I think coming to
the US, I bought like my first Timberland boots and
I was like, this is cool, especially in New York,
and I was rocking with them.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
I'm like I'm cool, like yeah, I yes, slip on.
I'll send you the lengths to you. No lacing uggs too.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
Uggs are huge here and that's what I also adopted
as well, Bible uggs as well. Like yeah, my fashion
taste it really changed coming here because I'm like, everyone
thinks this is cool, so I'm gonna have to adapt.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I mean, no doubfinitely. The sketches nasty for sure for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Tia.
Speaker 7 (16:48):
That's so interesting though, because I just came back from
studying abroad and I feel like in America, I have
no style whatsoever. But when I went to Europe, I
feel like I gained a little style. So it's interesting
differently they do too much. Though they do too much.
It's too much pressure that I don't like it.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I mean the first time I went to London, first
time to London, I like you, I felt like a bum.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
I was like, I'm a hobo.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I literally almost like burn my entire wardrobe. When I
got back for the first time, I was like, I
cannot dress like this in public. But what's interesting here
is that, like there's this cognitive thing that we're talking about,
Like it's like, who am I with regards to my ideology?
Who am I with regards to like my family? Do
I want to rebel? Because this is just sort of
me finding my own space?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Who am I?
Speaker 1 (17:38):
The cognitions we think about, and then the thing we
want to project is like, and we're choosing the brands.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That help us do Yes.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
Well, it's so interesting because you guys hit on kind
of like the entire brand playbook. Right, we talked about convenience,
we talked about memory and ritual and emotional connection to
the the Shabbat dinner brand to the right, the brands
you grew up with.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
We talked about like functional benefits of brands.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
It just smells so good, right, like and that memory
and smell intersection, and then we finally got which I
thought was interesting. It took you guys a while to
get to price. Right, So those are all drivers. Like
as a marketer, right, I'm going, oh God, like, they're
all interesting, but I can't be all those things right,
(18:27):
And I guess there's even more, right Marcus, you were
just saying there's rebellion, right, there's like being new and
next of the next gem.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Like if I'm a marketer listening, and I'm going, Okay,
I gotta win with you, guys.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
I gotta win gen Z to grow, and I want
to reach you. Which lever would you pull first? Good question, convenience, rebellion,
memories and rituals, product feature benefits or price.
Speaker 5 (18:57):
I think the biggest shaw to marketers about gen Z,
and I'll speak for the gen Z public here, is
we're way less price sensitive than we're made out to
be interested. At the end of the day, we're definitely
people that want to match the status quo. The people
who go against the status quo pay for that because
against the status quo is like environmental conscious, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And that is a tiered system. But I think like
the biggest thing in terms of like that prices has sensitivity.
That's interesting is that we are investment mindset, Like where
our money goes is so different from our parents. We
didn't inherent that from our parents. From our parents.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
For them, they're investing in the future and like a
house and like assets and a growing span in terms
of like what can we tangibly have. But for us,
for gen Z, what's super important is we are the
present asset. We don't really care about that. So I'm
willing to spend money on like my food and my
products if they're portrayed of higher quality, have like those
longevity aspects, even if it is a fad, because that's
(19:59):
my big investment concern right now, because it's so out
of reach to think about investing in a house and whatnot,
because I think that that's just like inputs that the
world has given us. I'm not even saying that for age.
I think that is economically speaking, we can't even think
about it. It's not even on the platter. So if
we want to think about investing something we want to
invest in that, And so like exactly to your point
(20:20):
of like what leverash of brand pull most you can
lean into those different campaigns in different things, because at
the end of the day, if a consumer wants to
buy it from like the gen Z World, they're totally
going to find the fund.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
To buy it.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
I think what Hannah said is so interesting about comparing
our generation to our parents.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Movie tickets are not twenty five cents anymore.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
We inherently are not as independent from a financial standpoint
once we graduate right off the bat. But it's true
we're not as price sensitive. And another thing that I
want to emphasize is we're not as stupid as we look.
When a brand is clear trying to young themselves down.
If it's inauthentic and it feels forced, gen Z is
(21:06):
gonna clock it immediately and nobody will buy the brand.
So I really think authenticity is key if you're a
brand saying I would really like to appeal to the
next generation. So I'm gonna hop on this bandwagon for
a trend. Nine times out of ten, you're going to
fail and you need to find another way to reach
that market.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Hey, kids are my brands skimmity, and honestly, a lot
of that's so true.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
It's almost like a stock Like that's my ross whole
mindset right now.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
It's like you when a company like goes of value,
they have its inherent value and then they have its price.
And so a brand is either reflecting what they want
to reflect for the day and people can buy into that,
but at the end of the day are expected to return.
What we're going to get back is it's true value,
like it's authenticity. And so there's obviously consumers that are
like not going to look into those logistics. They're expected
(21:59):
rich and is going to be based off of more
of those superficial things. But I would say I agree
with Alna. I think most of gen Z is going
to look into the facts and see what aligns what's
so interesting, Like, Hannah, you hit on such a fascinating point.
We actually have another bubbler podcast we called so Get
This with John would be from the Harris pol and
their first episode was about how gen Z are more
(22:22):
likely to invest in spells on Etsy than compounding interest
because exactly what you said, right, yes, Sea.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Which Etsy witch?
Speaker 4 (22:32):
Yeah, actually right, like actually saving for some four told
future that you don't believe is going to manifest itself.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
So it's super interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I mean, I suppose this is sort of a way
to reclaim one's agency, right, Like, if you don't know
what tomorrow is going to be and it doesn't look
like it's going to be good, you go, well, hell,
we might as well live it up today, right, like
the most out of today, because at least I can
control that, Tia, you did YouTube.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
No, for sure, for sure, I'm I'm definitely When my
parents talk about the future and like housing and all this,
it's a mind blank for me.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I'm like, I'm living day by day.
Speaker 6 (23:10):
I don't know much about this, and I feel like
it definitely is kind of like a gen Z thing
where we're more focused on today, investing in ourselves how
we look, you know, it's very important, and that's how
we show status. I feel like my purchasing patterns in
comparison to my parents are so so, so so different,
and even at their age, they want spending at what
I'm spending on now.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
You know, so because that's so true to you.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
That key thing of the thing about status is like
I feel like with my parents' generation, like they showed
status through like your house, your cars, things like that.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
It definitely holds true.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
But again, like going back to what I was saying
at first, like it's almost just so unattainable that we
have to show status in a different way, and so
I'm going to invest in different things, even if that
dilutes my future.
Speaker 7 (23:56):
And in terms of housing, my parents bought a place
in New York City in the nineteen nineties and I
plan on staying here until they kick me out.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I'm not looking. I want to stay right here in
my childhood bedroom.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
That's wise with my.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Rent controlled New York City apartment.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
I have a friend named hash Flemings, and he said
this to me like seven years ago, and it's always stuck,
he says.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Man, the real luxury is freedom.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Today as I sit, I am on a quest for that,
for freedom, and my freedom is different than yours, than
even yours, s Gale, because we all can have live
in our own worlds. But I feel like that's a
luxury that young people have that they're like, we're going
to We're going to extract all the value from it.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Right, if you're like.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Chained to a gig, you have a nine to five,
you have like you know, boxes is you have to
like check for life to be complete. You're sort of
like chained to a thing where someone goes, you know what,
I'm going to be a content creator. I'm going to
be a creator and in that I get to go
here and there and there you go, like, that's actually
a life I want to live. And the research is
showing this that that's one of the most sought after
(25:19):
jobs for gen Z to be a creator because with
that comes not only autonomy that you get to like
make choices, but you have freedom. As I'm hearing you
all talk, you know about like making choices for today
because you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.
There's a certain freedom to that that like I don't
have because I have a mortgage to pay, car notes
(25:41):
to pay for that, Like you know, one will see
that as a shackle as opposed to freedom.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, you do you see any lines into that?
Speaker 3 (25:50):
I think it's really interesting.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
I think you're hitting on such an interesting point, which
I think a lot of marketers are, you know, gen
X and millennials, and they grow up with, like you're right,
a different reality and a different set of you know, assumptions,
and I think you're right. I think you're nailing it.
Like we're putting our values on your generation, and your
(26:12):
reality is fundamentally different. Therefore it sounds like what you're
willing to invest in it might be different person to person. Right,
you might want to buy the organic produce because you
cook and you really care about ingredients, and you know,
you might want the right beauty products and or the
right kicks or you know, looks. And it's so interesting,
right because I hear like nineties New York real estate
(26:35):
and I go, oh my god, if only we could
have scraped together the money to buy that crappy little
apartment in the back of a brownstone that backed up
to the Getty station in the West Village, it would
have changed my life financially.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
But there was just no way in hell we could.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
Have come up with, like I don't know what it
was then, two hundred thousand dollars or something, right, but
I look at the compounding interest and go, oh my god,
that would have been the most amazing thing. And if
there's any way I could have made that, and I
would have. And you guys are going, that is not
probably my journey, and I don't see it right now.
So I need to build my identity and express myself
and invest in the things that bring you. I mean,
(27:11):
at the end of the day, that make us happy, Right,
it's probably worth a little more money, even if you
have to trade something.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
Yeah, I'll almost even push back on that a little Bitityeah, please,
I'll push back just a little bit, because you definitely
have the point of like I think what we're trying
to project for gen Z.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
But I will say I think that the values have
been passed.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
Down, like at the end of the day, especially what
you were saying, Professor Collins, of like creators, Like there's
a huge aspect of the financial freedom of what creators
are making today. There's no secret that you have to
make money, right, and like there's a bunch of like
different like investing formulas and this and that, And I
think that our generation is actually super hyper aware of
that and are definitely taking part in it. I think
(27:52):
the reality of it, though, is that that value isn't
as suffocating anymore. And so while we like still hold
that value, it's definitely been allocated in a different way.
So like I definitely would say that, like we're still investing,
We're still doing these things like with the research you guys,
it's gave us about you know how a gen Z's
investing in more like boutique banks that are having more
(28:14):
of an emphasis on like making it easier. Like we
still want to do those things and have that functionality,
just not with the emphasis that it was before.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It's like you're engaging in the capitalistic project but on
your own terms? Is that fair to say thing?
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (28:29):
And I think it would be impossible not to, Like
we're still growing up in an economy, like we're we're
still humans, and I think that we are just like
bucketing things of what's realistic or not.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Well, that's the cultural backdrop that we're in. You can't
get out of that, right.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
But by does big a question though, because Gail, you
were listening off some of these things like these memories, rituals, emotions,
all these things that inconvenience, price, et cetera. But there's
one thing that we haven't really touched one yet maybe
implied trust big brand word. I think out some of
the brands that maybe you don't have. So like Tia,
(29:04):
you trust your smell, right you go, I like the
smells or I like the way this smells, I can
make a decision there. You can say I like the
way this juice tastes, so I'm not going to use
this juice.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
But things like.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Insurance that maybe you haven't had a lot of experience,
like things like banking that maybe you have a lot
of experience sort of making those decisions. I wonder between
three of you all, does the calculus and what brands
you choose? Is that change at all when you don't
have a lot of experience? For since, I've been using
Chase since I was a kid, Like it was NBD
(29:36):
National Bank of Detroit to Bank One, to Chase through
all these acquisitions, and so my parents use it is
what I use today, and it's actually the county set
up for our kids. Like but I was sort of
in doctrinated into it because I didn't know better, and
I didn't want to take the time to actually do
the exploration because the insecurity I would have had because
of my not knowing.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Or do you all experience that too, or is that
a of the past.
Speaker 7 (30:01):
Yes, I'm also with Chase Marcus, and just like you,
I have been since I was fourteen and my parents
got that Chase will put the first hundred dollars in
for you. I've been a member since and like you
were saying, I'm a business student. I've learned about the
economy and investments and what the consumer wants, and yet
I still stick with Chase. And it's funny we talk
(30:22):
about that because I'm actually in the process of getting
a new credit card. I'm looking for something that is
preferably zero annual fees. But the most interesting part is
my parents are also looking for a credit card right now,
but their focus is retirement, travel, lounge access. But we're
both looking at Chase, and I feel very confident that
(30:44):
we're both going to find a credit card that matches
our desires from Chase. So when it comes to banking
and insurance, I'm definitely a traditionalist. I'm drawn to that
trust and longevity, and so if my parents have had
this relationship for however many years, I place a lot
of value in that relationship. And even if an interface
for a newer banker insurance might be more trendy, when
(31:07):
it comes to banking and insurance, which I consider to
be adult activities, I'm more drawn to trust than trends.
Maybe for something for me, I'm more drawn to trends,
but when it comes to something I'm aspiring to be mature,
I'm really drawn to trust.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, toothpaste is one thing, but to insurance is pretty fascina.
This is serious business here.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
Has anyone seen the new campaign for Chase where they're
showing all the little kids who have all their side
hustles and all their ways of making money and they
want to It implies they want to be the credit
card for the kids. And I don't know to your point,
maybe that is or is there the targeting parents or both,
but it's a great campaign.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
I saw it recently.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
I don't know if anyone else has seen it, but
it made me think about when do your first question, Marcus?
Speaker 3 (31:53):
When do you start marketing? And it sounds like maybe
with banking you should be starting sooner.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Am I hearing them?
Speaker 7 (32:00):
Or all I know is that the one hundred dollars
that I got, they're now giving one twenty five.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
So whoa they are?
Speaker 3 (32:07):
They really are targetting me young there?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
See what's your take?
Speaker 6 (32:12):
Oh? For sure, I did not know anything about this,
and for some reason I just cannot be asked to
like go through all of it so immediately. When I
when I started like looking into these things. I'm like, okay,
like gos. My dad would be like, which.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
One do I pick?
Speaker 6 (32:25):
He's like, no, it's like depending on you, like you
have to pick based on your criteria, like what do
you want.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
I'm like, okay, what do I want? And he's like,
you know, you have to do this.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
Your own research. I'm like, I'll just pick whatever you
guys do, right, Yeah, it's pretty good. It's looking pretty good,
so we'll go with that. And it's just too much
info for me to like process that. I'm like, I'm
just gonna go with whatever is easiest that my parents
are doing, and I think you'll be fine. They look
like they're living well, so it's okay, so I agree
with this. It's a shortcut. It's fine.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
I have no preference. They have all the sketchers in
the world. They're good, like, it's a good life. I'll
continue with what they're doing. So yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
I'm that's an interesting thing there.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
It's the you know, I don't have a lot of experience,
nor do I have the time or wherewithal to do
the research.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
I see evidence of the brand performing well over time.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
With people that I trust and it's working on well
for them, that is probably going to work out well
for me. Now, Hannah, you're about to go you've graduated,
you are you are literally thrust it into the real world,
and you're going to be making some of these decisions,
like a few years you won't be on your parents'
car insurance, Like all these things would be a part
of your decision making process. Are you going through the
(33:34):
same sort of calculus that we're hearing here when it
comes to these things that are more serious as a
lot of put it.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
But perhaps you don't have as much knowledge about no.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
I actually it's.
Speaker 5 (33:43):
Super interesting that they're saying that, because I would have
expected the opposite. But maybe that's just like the people
that I'm communicating with of like having just graduated, we're
all talking about where do we want our paycheck to
roll into?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Is it a parent operate account, et cetera.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
I would definitely say that in terms of like try
and like longevity, Like I have my fallbacks, like I default,
Like my mom also uses Chase, and like it's her
tried and true. She's never complained about it, So I
have like a default of like looking there first when
I was looking for credit cards. But marketing's definitely working
on me. Like I was watching the World Cup and
like sofar has like been talked about a lot, and
(34:20):
I'm having these different brand signals that are coming to mind,
and I'm like, I've been seeing it a lot.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Let me look into it.
Speaker 5 (34:24):
And I definitely do think there's a different level of trust.
Like I will say I'm taking more of a risk
by going with a different bank because it's not to
tried and true, But I will also say that it's
just more independence and responsibility. So I think that it's
easier that I can't blame my mom if it doesn't
work out because it was her brand, her image, whatever.
(34:44):
Like I'm taking that step to my independent brand identity,
and if it goes wrong, it's my fault.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
It's like that default.
Speaker 5 (34:51):
Like actually, my mom signed me up for a Discover
credit card when I was in college, and like we
didn't talk about.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
It, like whatever, And I'm sure it Discover works for
a lot of people. It's whatever.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
It wasn't my card for abroad, and I wish I
would have looked into it myself, Like I wish I
would have looked into like the different features, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
And taken that risk independent.
Speaker 7 (35:11):
I think that's so funny because I would very much
consider myself that I stip of my parents when it
comes to a lot of brands, and like Tia mentioned earlier,
a lot of it has to do with rebellion, and
I truly believe that growing up, I never really felt
like my parents were being unreasonable. They never forced me
to eat foods I hated, they didn't forbid junk food.
(35:33):
And so as a result, I look at the product
and the brands that I've grown up with, and I
never really had that desire to leave because I mostly thought, yeah,
that was a sensible decision, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I we grew up as a Ford family, Like that's
the only cars we ever had, And when I was
in college, I drove a Ford.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I graduated from college, I drove a Forward. But when
my wife and I started dating, and she was like
a Ford.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
They do it, and I was living in New York
and like, I never even thought of like a car
outside of a Ford family. It wasn't even in like
the ram of possibilities. And we ended up going with
the Volkswagen and bought like many Volkswagens. After the fact,
it was like we were a Volkswagen family. I remember
the first time I drove my Volkswagen to Detroit to
see my family were lived in New York, and I
(36:19):
could see like the heartbreak of my dad's face.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
It was like, what is this are you?
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I can't comment on that. I don't have my driver's license.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Yeah, I mean you're in New York, of course not.
Of course my wife didn't have any sustion like twenty five.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Oh, I'm good, Dan.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
We are approaching that part of the show when we
do our rapid fire Care Don't Care. Essentially, we want
to get a sense of like all the conversations we've
had so far, which has been just so illuminating for
me as an individual, for me as a gen xer Hala,
and for me as a marketer, it's like wow, Like
I didn't even think about it that way, which the
show always does without fail, so really quickly. When it
(36:58):
comes to car brands, Care don't Care. Would you stick
with what your parent's bought or are you pushing the
envelope to your own thing?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Care don't Care, don't Care pushing that in vobe Okay, Tia.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
I think Care Yeah, I like their taste with cars. Actually, yeah,
I like that.
Speaker 7 (37:16):
Okay, Yeah, Ronna, I'm also going to care considering I
don't have a license. I truly have no expertise, and
my parents have been driving for forty years. So I'm
definitely not defaulting to my own judgment for this specific topic.
Other ones we can debate.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
That's totally fair, Okay.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Brands trying to target you when you're young to get
you when you're in the sweet spot of young consumer care,
don't care.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I care when it's done wrong, say more.
Speaker 7 (37:45):
I think there's a lot of brands right now, specifically,
that are trying to target a specific age group, and
I think that'll fail for a number of reasons. The
first one that comes to my mind is J fourteen Magazines. Now,
it's exactly the title just for fourteen J fourteen, But
I've read JA fourteen when I was eight years old.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
When I became fourteen, I wouldn't be caught dead with that.
Speaker 7 (38:09):
So I think a brand can succeed when it's more
values based, because, as Hannah and Tia mentioned, gen Z
is becoming way more aware and way more opinionated, and
I think that if you treat us like an adult
and you talk to my values instead of my age,
then I'm going to respond a lot better.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Hannah, Care, don't care exactly what Alana said, couldn't have
said it better.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Myself love a good Caul side to you.
Speaker 8 (38:34):
Care don't care great care for sure, if I feel
like they should grow with them, then if you're like again,
like I agree with what al I'm saying is dephitie,
Like if you talk to me when I'm like younger
and then as an adult, it's like way, it makes
a big difference for sure.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
You know, it's so interesting, like one of the categories,
and we've talked about it in some other episodes, Marcus, like,
insurance is one of those categories that you know, they
have reasonably exciting large budgets, and because of that, they're
doing a lot of like reaching every generation with a
lot of their messaging and NFL and NBA and big
platforms that cross generations. It's so interesting because they're building
(39:12):
these brands. I don't know if they're intentionally targeting youth
or not, but like when you go out for Halloween,
inevitably you're going to see young kids dressed as pretty
much every insurance brand. I come right you're going to
low Jake and the le MoU MoU, And I always
find that such you know, to the interesting category right,
(39:34):
Like you guys are probably just around the age where
you're starting to maybe be almost maybe Hannah, y're about
there hor you'll have to start picking your insurance versus
your parents picked it. But I find it so interesting
that they've embedded into culture in a way that like
five year olds are dressing up as insurance brands. What
is that about, Cail.
Speaker 7 (39:53):
I like to say that when you're still in the
age where birthdays are still fun, everybody wants to seem
older and.
Speaker 3 (39:59):
More mature than they really are.
Speaker 7 (40:01):
So like I mentioned j fourteen, Forever twenty one, no
twenty one year old shops there and no fourteen year
old Jay fourteen.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
So I like exactly what you mentioned.
Speaker 7 (40:10):
Like our age group, I think we're still at the
point where we like our birthdays. I think thirty might
be the number when you're targeting our age group.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
I think it's a big mistake to try and target
me exactly where I am.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
So here's one last question for you, and this is
sitting in the care don't care. We've been talking about
brands talking to you all when you're younger to get
you when you're older. But what about brands who talk
to you today about who you might be tomorrow? Are
you receptive to those things? Are you feel like, hey, man,
don't age me up? Be like I remember the first
(40:45):
time an ARP showed up in my mailbox. I was offended.
Are you fitting that?
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Don't you ever, ever, ever ever?
Speaker 5 (40:53):
You know?
Speaker 1 (40:53):
So the question becomes do you feel like if marketers
want to get you in this sweet spot where you are,
to fill their pipeline for where you might be, do
you feel like that can be also a bit off putting.
Speaker 7 (41:08):
I think it depends on the industry. One that immediately
comes to mind is the beauty industry. And I've always
found that as a woman, you're either young and meant
to accentuate that, or you're old and you're meant to camouflage.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
And I just think that's so flawed.
Speaker 7 (41:22):
And when twenty year old to twenty one year old
are now being marketed, if we don't use retinol, then
we're going to age horribly, Like, I just think there's
major flaws in that.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
So I think it can be used in a very
beautiful empowering way.
Speaker 7 (41:36):
But it depends on the industry and if you do
it right, because what does your industry say about aging?
Speaker 2 (41:42):
That's a really good shout Tiya, what say you?
Speaker 3 (41:45):
I agree?
Speaker 6 (41:45):
I feel like I don't need to be ten steps
ahead of my life right now. I feel like, as
I am, I just want to live for now and
make my own decisions. And if someone's telling me, oh,
you're going to need this, you're going to need this,
like be prepared, be prepared, it's stressing me. It's stressing me.
It's too much for me, it's too overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
No.
Speaker 7 (42:00):
No, And with AI like jobs are changing, everything's changing.
You don't know what I'm going to use in ten years?
What about them?
Speaker 4 (42:07):
It makes me think, Marcus, your question totally makes me
think about like, I don't know, maybe because I'm old,
I see an inordinate amount of these But pharma ads
marketing you, you know, diseases and issues and illnesses and
problems that you may have never heard of and you
may never have but targeting you now with some of
these things, how does that hit?
Speaker 3 (42:29):
I guess it's recalled at the right time. I don't know.
Speaker 5 (42:32):
I guess I see the importance because exactly what you're saying,
Like these Halloween costumes of these insurance companies whatever, Like
these jingles are coming up in my head when I'm
thinking of these important decisions where I wouldn't have thought
of them before, maybe without them trying to do that.
I think Alana has such a great point of like
it definitely is industry dependent, but like it doesn't scare
(42:53):
me for like banking company to talk about socks and
be like you're going to set up be set up
for the future. Like maybe I don't care as much,
but I guess that's the right type of sweet spot targeting.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
I mean, I definitely know more about shingles than I
thought I ever would, and I'm definitely afraid of it.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
What's our term fifteen plus?
Speaker 1 (43:11):
But Hannah, I mean, I think this is a really
strong note to end on that these things are industry dependent,
so understanding the context of the industry in the minds
of the people you're targeting matters. But even more so,
the Great God rests her soul. Aliyah once said age
ain't nothing but a number. I think the idea here,
at least what I'm pulling from this is that this
(43:32):
is really about identity and cognitions that for some people
to see it this way and for others they see
it differently. Some people want to project themselves one way
and other people who don't understanding sort of the calculus
between the context of the industry and the disposition of
the person, not the box, but the person. I think
that's what really unlocks this, at least that's why I
(43:54):
take away. Gail, Yeah, I think you know, this was
so fascinating.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
I think my most optimy mystic takeaway is I think
we've got a really as marketers. I think we've got
a fairly maybe the most educated and empowered and thoughtful
consumers we've ever faced in the marketplace. So brands, listen up.
I think your jobs are going to get harder, not easier,
because I think gen Z's kind of onto how we market,
(44:22):
and so we've got to be pretty thoughtful about when
we show up, how we show up. And I think,
if I'm hearing you like being true to who we are.
I think some of the tricks and tropes and things
we're going to get called out on. So you guys
just raise the bar for the marketers. It's probably a
good thing, but it's gonna hurt. In business school, we
(44:44):
learn that demographics are such.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
A full part of the picture.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Now yeah, amen, preach, preachs Tia, Hannah, Alana, thank you
so very much for continuing to make me proud, but
also to shine some light on the market when it
comes to the youth, so that US marketers can get
better at engaging collectively. Gail, it's always a great learning
experience with you everyone who joined the podcast. Thank you
(45:07):
for being with us for another episode of Market Says,
and we'll see you next time peace.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Market Says is a bubbler media. iHeart podcast production. If
you're not in the conversation, you're not in the game.
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