Patriotic marketing won't win over Gen Z: new poll

Brands are rolling out plenty of red-white-and-blue this Fourth of July. But if marketers are hoping to win over young consumers with patriotic plays, they might be disappointed in the results. Gen Zers are largely ambivalent to overt displays of flag-waving, according to a new Ad Age-Harris Poll. The poll found that 36% of Gen Z respondents are neither more nor less likely to buy from a brand that uses patriotism in their advertising, and 32% percent would be less inclined. Only 12% responded that they were “much more likely” to shop with a brand that spoke about patriotism in their commercials. This stands in contrast to 39% of millennials who feel more positively towards brands who celebrate the U.S. in their advertisements, as well as 49% of Gen Xers, 50% of Boomers, and 42% of Silent Generation respondents. (Gen Z refers to people who are now between the ages of 9-24, but the poll limited the surveys to people who are at least 18 years old.) "On the whole, we see that Americans value themes like family, equality and localism that tie into the Fourth of July holiday," said Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson. "That said, we’re seeing an emerging trend among Gen Z consumers, who are less likely to buy from brands that embrace these values—so it’s key for brands to segment messages to their core audiences, especially around holidays like Fourth of July.” While the stars and stripes might not be the way into Gen Z’s wallets, there were several values the cohort responded favorably to. When asked “Which of the following values, if any, would you want to see in advertisements?” 48% of Gen Zers reported they would like to see brands advocating equality, followed by open-mindedness at 47%. Gen Z was notably the only age demographic to not have family in their top spot for favorability—Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and the Silent Generation all had family as their most desirable value, at 46%, 45%, 47%, and 49% respectively. Millennials and Xers had equality in their second-place spot at 44% and 41%, whereas Boomers and The Silent Generation ranked localism second at 46% and 42% favorability. Faith was the least influential value for Gen Z, with only 15% of respondents ranking it as something they would want to see from brands. This is an 11 point drop-off from millennials, though it was also their lowest-ranked, tied at 26% with patriotism. Faith was also the lowest for Gen X at 22%. Boomers ranked uniqueness the lowest at 23%, and the Silent Generation put self-reliance in their last ranked spot at 13%. When it comes to what works with Gen Z, 54% of 18-24-year-old respondents said they were more likely to shop with a brand that took a stand on social justice issues. Millennials were also highly responsive to socially conscious campaigns at 48%, followed by the Silent Generation at 42%, Gen X at 38%, and Boomers at 35%.

Patriotic marketing won't win over Gen Z: new poll

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