InstaBrain: The New Rules for Marketing to Generation Z

by Sarah Weise

Move over Millennials, there's a new kid in town.Today, Generation Z (ages 13-24) is the largest living generation, outpacing Millennials by 3 million. They represent 2 out of every 5 American consumers and influence $655B per year in purchases in the US alone! This generation is wielding its mighty influence on every other generation, in every industry. Is your marketing department still focusing on Millennials? If so, you're missing massive potential from Generation Z.This generation of digital natives is an entirely different type of consumer--one you need a fresh marketing strategy to reach. This book by internationally-acclaimed researcher and speaker Sarah Weise will teach you the new rules for marketing and brand-building for this youth generation. Packed with stories and insights from dozens of youth research projects, you'll discover what you need to know about how this next generation of customers wants to learn, transact, and engage with brands like yours.In InstaBrain, you will · Where they go for different types of content· What draws them in· How they make buying decisions· What keeps them coming back· How to tailor your marketing strategy for this new generation........................PRAISE FOR "A game-changing approach to marketing, sales, and advertising. Sarah Weise writes in clear, jargon-free prose, and the stories and examples from both B2C and B2B were right on point. This new set of rules is the how-to guide your agency needs to create irresistible user experiences that engage and connect with this powerful generation of young consumers."- Michael Salamon, Partner at UX/UI agency Lousy "Wow. I learned so much new information reading The New Rules of Marketing to Generation Z! I think I speak for lots of marketers when I say that I didn't know what I didn't know. As human beings, we assume that other generations are more or less like our own. But this is so not true with Gen Z. They bring an honest, back-to-basics, can-do, work ethic ethos to all of us and have vastly different habits when they research and interact with a brand. Sarah Weise delivers this important information in a clear, comprehensive way. I couldn't put the book down! Highly recommended for ALL business people."-Jon Wuebben, Author of Future Marketing "Sarah Weise offers easy-to-apply strategies to help make you a better marketer in today's world. You will learn techniques that will change your strategy, whether you are marketing directly to youth or not. Amazing read and right on target."- Joni Rayos Samilin, CEO of The Mindset Group

Genres: Nonfiction

236 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2019

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 11 Rules at the end of the book are very useful. If you get a little bogged down earlier, skip to that section.

I frequently found myself asking, are these trends true of all Generation Zers? Or just middle-to-upper class white kids? Very few of the data presented appear to be disaggregated by gender, race, age, family income, rural/urban, political affiliation, or any other measure. As such, some of the generalizations about GenZ seem absurdly sweeping. For example: "Generation Z may be is frugal, but they are not cheap. In fact, when they feel that something is worth the money, they are willing to spend over half of their monthly earnings for it!" I would need so much more information to truly unpack the significance of this finding. Is the "over half their monthly earnings" an average? A median? What were the characteristics of the cohort surveyed? There are many examples in this book where a broad statement is made in the form of "Generation Z does X" without explaining how such a conclusion was reached. I guess I just wanted a lot more information on the data collection and analysis methods. How were all of these conclusions about an entire generation reached? If 65% of 927 generation Z members from Washington DC agree with X, can you claim that Generation Z agrees with X?

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instabrain provides excellent insight to not only understand this new generation of consumers but how to capitalize on their many unique traits to make them not only notice your brand but have them influence others to buy your products and services.

Sarah Weise’s stories really resonate with the audience and make you feel like you were with her on her research journey and are getting first-hand insights into how Gen Z thinks and how their behavior influences buying decisions.

Sarah Weise provides key takeaways with every trend so you constantly know how to apply what you’re reading to your own marketing strategy. It’s the perfect reminder along each step of the way and allows you to immediately implement her techniques and suggestions.

Her fantastic analogies and conversational tone make you grasp the concepts much easier and she has many great stories to really paint a picture of Gen Z that makes you feel like you were with her on her journey!

Fantastic book! A must read for any marketer and anyone interested in learning more about Generation Z.

[Johnnysbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tips to market toward the new, evolving generation: Generation Z. Book is for the marketer and anyone who has a business who wants to increase their sales because this generation is making a difference.

[Patricia Fajardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful book for marketers, educators, or parents of Generation Z. Quick read with a ton of stories from qualitative research that really illustrated key points about this generation. Can't wait to read the next book on Gen Alpha!

[Carrie Bobb Shope · Rating 5 out of 5]

InstaBrain is a book I refer back to regularly. I use it for work often referencing how younger consumers are spending their time and money. I have recommended it over and over again and continue to gift it to friends in the retail industry. Highly recommend it!

[Dominere Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good! I see myself a lot within Generation Z, even though I’m not. I’m a photographer, as well as marketing major, and came across Sarah Weise’s book on Amazon. This book has some good information in it if you’re starting a business or majoring in marketing. Good read!

[Yates Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Step Into The GenZ’s Perspective

The author is one of the first I have read that captures the most recent generation of consumers’ priorities and narketing approach. While this account is mostly qualitative research based, and subject to huge error depending on individual variation there is a first very sincere attempt to be transparent about who these new people are.

The author is very US focused, many of the insights would not cross, and even might not be as relevant in the US across income and regional variations.

Overall I found the text useful and insightful.

[Sarah Crowder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read with helpful insights and lots to think about, but repetitive and SO MANY typos.

[Rin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Weise presents some information from her research on generation z on how generation z uses different social media platforms, and how you can use this information for upgrading your marketing strategy. The book is broken in two sections. The first, a walk through as she learns information and snippets from different interviews, and the second is more of a summary and how to apply into different marketing rules.

This book was first recommended to me buy an entrepreneur who found the book significantly helpful for upgrading her marketing and drawing in new customers. Coming from the generation, oddly enough I lacked how to market to my peers. As I read, I found the information insightful on how to stay organized with marketing, how to market, what platforms to use, and some basic summaries and questions that I can use as a baseline when creating quarterly marketing goals.

Something I did struggle with at different parts of the text was how the author spoke down to her audience like in this paragraph:

"Have you noticed that I've been using the term "hollywood Celebrities"? Just saying "Celebrity" is no longer enough because there are Hollywood Celebrities, Instagram Celebrities, LiveJournal Celebrities... Ok, maybe not the last couple, but I wanted to make sure you were still playing attention!"

I understand the author is breaking up the information given, but as the tone overall in the book is already lighthearted and the text is simply written, it felt a little overdone. Some sections felt like they were slightly drawn out too much, stating same information more than once.

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who need a starting point in understanding generation z, or fairly new to using social media in their marketing strategies. Each chapter has a bullet point list of what it talks about and what is the take away, which is great for referring back later.

[kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book for my intro to marketing class trade book review assignment (as a non-marketing major, i chose something that seemed easy to follow, not too jargon-y, and had a nice cover lol). so the following is from said trade book review:

while i didn’t agree w some of the generalizations she made about gen z’s mindset, ideals, and values, her book does other aspects well. this includes using personal anecdotes to back up statistics relating to gen z behavior; they make the numbers and percentages feel more grounded in truth. she also compares gen z consumer behavior with boomer and millennial consumer behavior, allowing her to demonstrate to marketers why they should approach marketing now differently than they did in the past with previous generations.

overall, I would rate this book a 7 out of 10 (no half stars on goodreads, curse u). It was easy to follow and gave many examples of how marketers could better engage with this younger generation. Weise’s use of a “main takeaways” section at the end of the chapter follows her own advice of giving compact versions of larger pieces of information. through this implementation of her own suggestion, Weise allows readers to see firsthand the effectiveness of her strategies. though the second half of her book feels like a repetition of earlier chapters, it is her way of reinforcing her ideas and assisting readers in the application of suggestions. it would be beneficial for readers to consider her arguments, as I found them to be mostly accurate about myself and those in my age group.

thank u for coming 2 my ted talk, hope this helps someone else in intro to marketing w their assignment lol

[Joni Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking book for marketers, educators, or even parents of teens. This was a quick read with a ton of vivid stories and quotes direct from teens. I've read a lot about this generation for my business, and I found this the most comprehensive, easy-to-read overview of this youth generation. I know I said this already, but I sincerely appreciated how readable this book was... a quick read that I know I'm going to be turning over in my head for quite some time!

[Megs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good, super fast read. It's been a while since I sat down with a book where 50 pages were gone in a blink, and this is one of those. Great introduction and overview of this youth generation. Any book about consumer data could have been dry, but the way this was written was brilliant. The stories made it fun, and checklists at the end of each chapter recapped takeaways.

[Meli · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best part about this book is that it’s actionable. That alone led me to want to rate this at least 3 stars. Plus, as an outspoken #womamsupportingwomen, I hate to write an unsavory review of a book that the author put so much labor into. I also hesitate to write this review because, as a professional in this area, the author is clearly much more knowledgeable than me on the subject, so who am I to bring skepticism on an internet forum that can affect her success? If you’re a marketer looking to target Gen Z, this book may be helpful.

Finally, I decided to go with the 1-star rating I kept going back to. This is because if you’re going to base your book premise on a comparison between Gen Z and millennials, you need to get your baseline right. And man, does the author not get millennials. I’m situated right at the cusp between these two generations, so I have a great view into both of them. Nobody that I know would describe Millenials as “spiritual optimists who backpack through Europe, have quarter-life crises, and life coaches to tell them to live their true selves.” (??? is this some white upper-crust elite millennial the author seems to be thinking of, or?) This book seems to pull from an abundance of data but many of the outcomes rely on interpretation. Or perhaps the problem is that the data was biased to begin with.

The author supposedly observes that through the power of new tools like Instagram and the contemporary function of YouTube, Gen Z is the go-getter do-something generation. In reality, this fact doesn’t at all differ from its predecessors. Perhaps those marketing to them just failed to recognize this fact with their tinted glasses seeing Millenials as people doing narcissism “on a pandemic level.” Millenials are, after all, the ones that brought us these platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Etsy, etc). Moreover, the author repeatedly references the experience of Gen Z in a recession (not the current pandemic) as the reason behind their supposed frugality. She writes,

“In contrast to Millennials, Generation Z was raised in an environment of economic instability and social change, churning out a generation of strong, resolute, earnest, hard-working, entrepreneurial, responsible teens and young adults.”

Am I missing something or did Gen Z, in fact, experience ‘08 to any significant degree (in the fact that they were small children)?? Was it not in fact Millennials in middle and high school who witnessed their parents suffer through furloughs, layoffs, and forced early retirements without pension? Millennials are known for their absolute frugality because they went through this harrowing experience, can't afford a home, are competing for low-wage non-union jobs without pension or healthcare unlike their Boomer predecessors, and have monumental loans they were forced into. Consequently, for example, Millennials changed the real estate industry; this industry targeting new graduates saw millennials skipping the starter home as they could only afford a room in a shared 4-room flat with strangers until the age of 35.

Another thing I gaped at was how the author kept describing Gen Z as socially liberal and financially conservative. Not only are these ideas somewhat incompatible (in the historical US budget sense of the word: if we ignore the police and military budgets draining our tax dollars how will we pay for the social programs?) but it’s really a failure in political understanding by the author. As a political scientist, this part really gave me a rash. Being frugal is not synonymous with being financially conservative. Gen Z doesn’t call for trickle down economics or a local budget leaning towards “law & order”. We want our wages to be living wages that allow us to save (the same as Millenials). This aligns with what the author writes about how brand loyalty has changed, but for a different reason. Both gens are selective about what business to support based on business ethics like sourcing, footprint, and #bizhumanrights. With Millenials' demands for greater social accountability and justice, we saw the consumer revolution forcing marketers and businesspersons to revisit their ingredients lists and carbon footprint. We saw long-standing products and industries die because they failed to capture Millenials' loyalty. Gen Zers don’t just support frugality in the name of conservative values, they support it because they want radical things like living wages, savings, and divested funding towards social programs and healthcare.

Plenty more to write here but I won’ lend any more energy to this review.

The biggest gripe I have with this book is maybe not even how (poorly) this author positions one cohort against another, but the fact that they are oppositely positioned at all. What about pulling from the power, interests, values, and capabilities of these two together to build better? There is so much room for opportunity here that I don’t see organizations or businesses grabbing at… but this is probably unfair since it might admittedly be outside the scope of this book.

Overall, if you’re in marketing and are trying to venture into or improve your Gen Z targeting, this book is helpful, but with caveats. I wouldn’t rec it to others, though.

[Hannah West · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some surprising and genuinely helpful insights included in this book, but the amount of typos alone made me question the soundness of some of the research. The conclusions drawn were very broad so I feel like while it is a good start, there is still so much more research to be done (especially considering this was published in 2019… pre-tiktok!)

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book's recommendations for marketing to Gen Z. The layout and format of the book itself bothered me a bit with typos and repeated phrases and paragraphs in different sections, but the main messages and takeaways are solid.

[Karoleen Raja · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a great book that provides wonderful insights about how the Gen Z mind works and how to catch their attention. I especially enjoyed the practical tips and questions to ask yourself as a marketer. The only downside is that I often found the points and topics a bit repetitive.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super useful book that's inspired a lot of ideas. Now to see if I can get the buy in/have the follow through.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of useful information, but my god this book needed an editor. The amount of typos was super distracting.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely informative about how Gen Z will and is changing the market. This is pre-TikTok however I can already notice many brands not following these rules *cough* Bud Light…

[Patrick Cho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the concepts of the book, but there was decent bit of verbatim repetition of the same points.

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some useful information in the book but became repetitive.