Believe it or not Gen Z are growing up, one of them even wrote this very article. Born between 1997 and 2012, they are the generation of the internet – raised online. They can share a screen on Teams, let you know that skinny jeans are a no-go, and cancel your CEO on TikTok before lunch.
Having grown up in a world of scams, data leaks and PR disasters, it’s unsurprising that they also have a knack for sniffing out businesses that shouldn’t be trusted.
For businesses themselves, this is both a challenge and opportunity. Gen Z make up 40% of the consumer market worldwide, meaning we have huge amounts of power and influence – much more than many CEOs or comms professionals give them credit for. Moreover, 79% of us say we need to trust a brand to use it.
Where has the trust gone?
I’ve grown up viewing constant streams of (mis)information. I have watched countless businesses overpromise and underdeliver, seen performative allyship come and go, and have watched all of this happen in real-time online. As a result, I’m pretty sceptical of anything I see and I’m not afraid to point that out.
Consequently, firms now need to do more to get Gen Z’s like me on side. But it is worth the effort. A McKinsey report found that trustworthy companies are more likely than the average business to see revenue and EBIT grow. Additionally, Edelman’s research shows that Gen Z influence all other generations, with 68% of people saying they influence where and how they shop.
Talk with them, not at them
This means businesses need to invite feedback, acknowledge criticism and showcase what they are doing to improve, and report back with results – whether successful or not.
Forbes suggests that businesses wanting to gain trust need to be willing to admit mistakes and be transparent in putting those wrongs to right. Whether your business is running into crisis after crisis, or just made an honest mistake, starting the conversations means having some control of it.
Often businesses and SLT move too slowly, leaving the youth to start the conversation themselves. I remember when Oatly (everyone’s favourite sustainable oat milk) received $200m in funding from Blackstone – the private equity firm infamous for its ties to deforestation in the Amazon.
The backlash was immediate, but Oatly’s response was not. The excuse was it was a financial strategy, but this was completely misaligned with the brand, and customers felt their explanation was overly corporate, defensive, and failed to address their ethical concerns. While the decision to partner with Blackstone eroded trust, it was their response which completely severed it.
Build in public
Gen Z trust businesses less than any other generation meaning that companies need to be doing more than ever to win them over. They aren’t expecting perfection. If your business is working to reduce emissions, fix a poor decision, or navigate a cultural issue that has made it to the press, don’t wait for the result. Using tools like LinkedIn, TikTok, and newsletters you should share the small steps in progress, showing what has and hasn’t worked, and keep people in the loop as things evolve. Trust is found here, in the process, where things aren’t polished or pretty, they are real and authentic.
Ryanair has created a hugely successful comms and social strategy built on talking about their own flaws.
It is no secret that my generation is wary. Businesses often fall quiet when the going gets rough and only start shouting when there is a success to promote. While this used to work, Gen Z see silence as suspicious and aren’t afraid to start asking questions. While building in public is inherently risky, putting brands and leadership in a vulnerable position, this is what makes it important. Gen Z understand that progress is messy, and they trust those who are brave enough to share it.
Keep your receipts
Now your business is communicating and showcasing the progress your making, one thing left is evidence. Less than half of Gen Z believe businesses have a positive impact on society. Therefore, if you want to be trusted, you need to keep your receipts. This means building layers of proof within your comms strategy. You need data, case studies, progress reports, external audits, and transparency on what is and isn’t working.
Flipping a comms crisis into a popular sensation
You would be forgiven thinking that millions of people seeing your married CEO romantically embrace the firm’s also married HR lead at a Coldplay concert would be an unrecoverable PR nightmare. However, Astronomer survived, perhaps even thrived, by handling the situation with speed, transparency, and creativity.
The story was headline news and going viral on social media. Instead of panicking, Astronomer leaned in. They quickly released a statement and the CEO resigned. This is where their genius comes in – they hired Gwyneth Paltrow (Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin’s ex-wife) as a spokesperson.
They understood that Gen Z are more likely to respond to culturally aware comms like this, rather than a characterless press release from an interim CEO, or worse, a cringey apology video from the former one. By flipping the crisis into a social media sensation, it showed confidence, wit, and it gained back some lost respect.
This is a valuable lesson that when it comes to comms, particularly in times of crisis, Gen Z need to be considered in a way businesses aren’t used to yet. It is as much about damage control as it is about reading the room and utilising what and who is available to your advantage. Instead of fumbling or burying the crisis, businesses need to respond with self-aware, firm, and fast comms.
Anything less and you can trust that Gen Z won’t be trusting you.
