Brands, Take Note: Music Strikes A Chord With Young Audiences

At the Youth Marketing Strategy conference, executives from YouTube Music, Pandora, and Kik played up the merits of music and chat when targeting Gen Z and Millennials.

Decade after decade, music has always been important to young people. Every emotion has a unique soundtrack, where it seems like an artist is speaking directly to you.

“Young people feel like the world around them doesn’t correspond with who they are, but music sets them free,” said Jake O’Leary, global head of brand marketing at YouTube Music, this morning at the Youth Marketing Strategy conference in Brooklyn, N.Y. “The difference today is that the younger generation has unbounded access, and not just to music. So, as marketers, how do you break through the noise?”

Many brands are reaching the youth through music. However, those succeeding are going beyond a simple endorsement deal. Just look at the collaboration between Kanye West and Adidas. “The popularity of the Yeezy line of Adidas sneakers is evidence of what happens after tastemakers adopt something,” O’Leary said. “Music is at the center of new media–you define how your brand wants to play. It’s a great way to give people a reason to love and interact with your brand.”

Heidi Browning, SVP of strategic solutions at Pandora, took to the stage to talk about a recent study the music-streaming service conducted. According to the study, Generation Z–those born after Millennials–is conservative, realistic, and has grown up in a world where diversity is the norm. Its members are self-aware and the “we” generation. Moreover, they are extremely tech-reliant.

“They’re a very different generation, with different priorities, and they’ve been wired since the womb. They are the first true ‘digital-native’ generation,” Browning told attendees.

Gen Z has boundless access to whatever they want; they are navigators and creators, who can and will change the world, Browning said. They have a vast social network and have become the most productive generation.

What’s more, she said, Gen Z is “immersed in the earbud era.” Twenty-five percent wear them seven-plus hours a day, listening to music (87%), watching YouTube videos (76%), and streaming TV (70%), according to Pandora’s study.

Music is so important to this generation that 87% listen while doing homework, 76% while texting, 70% while using social media, 55% while eating, and 44% while playing video games.

“Music is a mood enhancer, identity shaper, a human connector, and 97% of Gen Z say music makes them happy and helps them forget stress and problems,” Browning said.

Jaclyn Ling, director of retail at Kik, came on stage to talk about chat, which she called “the new brand canvas.”

The naturally conversational interface of messaging apps and chat overall has made it a hugely successful medium for talking with both Generation Z and Millennials, Ling old attendees. In fact, 42% of users, she said, want to speak directly to a brand, rather than just simply following or liking the brand on social media.

“What’s great about chat is you can segment your user base any way you want,” Ling said. “You can have one messaging strategy for teens, who are more receptive to videos and images, and a different strategy for older Millennials, who are receptive to coupons.”

Ling referenced a campaign for the movie “Insidious 3,” in which the main character, Quinn, messaged pictures of cracked walls in her bedroom to a bunch of younger people on Facebook. On average, people who engaged with the campaign sent 63 messages to Quinn and spent five minutes on average connecting with the brand.

Kik is finding that, in general, 70% to 80% of users read the push notifications they receive in messenger apps, such as Facebook Messenger.

“Teens don’t use email–they use chat,” Ling said. “And we’re finding that they will give info on themselves for a more personalized experience. When they are engaged, they are superengaged, so chat is a great new platform for customer affinity.”