GZV #40: The Roaring 20's For Gen Z
Welcome to all of my new subscribers, glad to have you here. As always if you ever have any questions about Gen Z, just shoot me an email at thomas@genzvoice.com.
Before we start….
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Let’s make a Racket.
Problem/trend:
I don’t know if it’s as much of a problem as it is a new trend. We have seen social audio take off in the past year, yet the forms are still often in the live room form. At the same time we have seen podcast take off over the last few years.
Solution:
Racket in my mind is like the “Youtube For Audio”, it is a place where people can listen to digestible snips of audio. Almost like a shorter form of podcasts. (Racket if you want to trademark “YouTube For Audio”, I would like credit).
Gen Z View:
Shorter content always appeals toward Gen Z. Right now I am listening to a 3 hour podcast and it’s kind of dragging on. Wish I could just get 10 minute clips of what I want to hear.
We know Gen Z has a short attention span, so a podcast-like platform with short clips that can be funny, informative, or serious has potential.
With an innovation like this product is going to have to be top notch in order to be attractive toward Gen Z, but it seems they are heading in the right direction.
Recommendation:
Talk to current podcasts and media stars and try to gather interest in making semi-live content. For example, instead of the golf podcast I like tweeting about a rule violation, release a 4-5 minute clip talking about it.
Fundraising?
Unaware of any current efforts, but here is their website https://racket.com/
The Roaring 20’s
With the vaccine rollout doing very well among the college population, we are excited for this summer. Most people are comparing it to the roaring 20’s, with everyone vaccinated and the economy opening up, things are about to get crazy. Let me shed a little insight.
How many people are fully vaccinated?
As of right now, 70% of students at Elon University have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. Most of my friends are I are fully vaccinated. In North Carolina, they did a very good job at rollout and a lot of pharmacies had extra doses for students.
What does fully vaccine mean for social life?
Ever seen Project X or The Great Gatsby? We aren’t having that big of parties, but we are sure having a great time. Bars on campus are constantly packed and fraternities are starting to host events more and more.
Where is our consumption mainly?
I would say a large expense right now is all at the bars around campus. Kids are going out 3-4 times a week buying drinks and food. This bar tabs can average $40-50 each visit. The point isn’t how much money we are spending, but rather how much fun we are having.
What does this summer look like?
I would say most kids will work their internship from 9-5 Monday through Friday and then go crazy through the weekend. I mean crazy. We hope by summer most bars will be open and most will be vaccinated so restrictions can ease up.
What does this mean for startups and products?
Alcohol is that main product that I can think of. So if you’re thinking of launching an alcohol brand or partnering with a big time influencer to push a new brand, I would do that now. Any big marketing campaigns for summer products need to start now in order to plant the seed in the minds of Gen Z. If someone finds a product they like right now, they will tell all their friends and it will explode during the summer.
No doubt though that we will be loose with our wallets this summer.
Cheers!