Episode 1: Chloe Combi, writer and expert on Gen Z

Forget millennials – how should brands be engaging with the emerging Generation Z and what do we really know about them? What are the secrets to designing a marketing strategy that will speak to them?

“The most aspirational job for a 14-year-old is to be a YouTuber, Instagram or Snapchat star. Gen Z will film, photograph and doctor every part of their lives. Everything is thought through the lens of ‘How will this look online?’. Every single kid sees themselves as a potential brand".

Chloe Combi’s book Generation Z: Their Voices, Their Lives – an enlightening, sometimes shocking, account of being young in modern Britain – has received widespread critical acclaim. Chloe has become a regular speaker on TV and radio on a wide range of issues including youth culture, sex, social media, pop culture in the 21st century, brand relationships, beauty and self-esteem. She has consulted for a range of brands including Pepsi, Google, Virgin Media, Boots, Sainsbury’s and Lynx.

In this episode, Chloe discusses:

How we define Generation Z and the values that are important to them; how this generation is pushing for positive social change; the age of anxiety and the generation of stay-at-home socialisers; How to market to Gen Z and the kind of brands that resonate with Gen Z in this age of uncertainty

Check out Chloe at her website www.chloecombi.net. Her book, Generation Z: Their Voices, their Lives, is out now.

This podcast is brought to you by Speed PR and Communications. The award-winning agency staffed by a team of creative and quick-thinking types who are passionate about communications and its ability to change the world like little else can.

Interview by Jim Gillingham

Recorded by Dan Osborne