Youth Marketing Strategy Conference
Back in May, Niamh Robertson and Luke Gordon-Calvert from the Outreach Team attended the Youth Marketing Strategy Conference in London, to learn more about the latest trends and strategies to engage Gen Z.
Hosted by marketing agency Pion, and featuring speakers from organisations including BBC News, Channel 4, Sky, Natwest, Team GB, Expedia and more, the YMS Conference had a packed agenda exploring brand love, loyalty, and cultural credibility. Here are some of Luke and Niamh’s takeaways from the event:
Entertain or Die
Marketing executives from KFC, Oatly and Currys, gave an entertaining insight into their ‘weird’ strategies for engaging younger generations, leaning into humour, self-deprecation and mockery on social media. This is part of a broader approach of treating consumers as viewers rather than customers and being aggressively braver on social media than in traditional marketing, to live up to viewers’ demands: to ‘entertain or die’. Underpinning these strategies is a great deal of trust between executives and marketers, allowing them to capitalize on the fast-paced and unpredictable nature of social media trends to earn the attention of, and stay credible with, younger audiences. See Currys entertaining trend-hopping videos and KFC’s ‘Believe in chicken’ campaign for inspiration.
Channel 4.0
Channel 4 showcased their work building Channel 4.0, a youth-oriented digital channel featuring content creators from global majority voices, with playful content. Channel 4.0 is an example of a traditional broadcaster adapting to younger audiences and inviting them to produce engaging content.
Niamh: “I particularly enjoyed the Channel 4.0 talk as a fan of their content already. Being able to speak to the staff behind these ideas was exciting and encouraging.”
Social Media as a Search Engine
A real eye-opening session, delivered by marketing agency Rise at Seven, demonstrated the power of social media platforms being used as search engines by younger users. The likes of TikTok, Instagram and others, have search bars that are used to find content showcasing products or that signpost to online stores.
Luke: “I was really surprised to hear a student panel cite TikTok as a big influence helping them decide what to bring to university.”
Young People Actually Love the News
One of the key messages from a panel titled “Young People Actually Love the News” – which included representatives from BBC News, Google, and PoliticsJoe – was not to underestimate Gen Z’s interest in the news. News formats have changed, with video-led content across social media, tailored to different audiences on different platforms, now a dominating force. Platform strategies vary, with TikTok and Instagram prioritising short, punchy content, and YouTube supporting longer-form engagement, with long-form content appealing to a dedicated young audience.
Strikingly, what matters to young people is authenticity over authority. Younger audiences may prefer creators they feel connected to, while traditional journalists are adapting by showing more personality and individuality. Regional accents, traditionally spurned by legacy broadcasters, are embraced by young viewers as a mark of authenticity and connection.
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Luke: “I found this conference a really insightful look at the attitudes and behaviours of the new generation of students.”
Niamh: “It was a great opportunity to be able to network to those in different areas of marketing and talk about the really interesting roles the attendees had. It was interesting to listen to the speakers involved and their take on different challenges, wins and solutions they have gone through to get their companies to where they are.