3 Trends You Can Expect to Learn About at Yms:Online

Voxburner Content Team

YMS:ONLINE is just around the corner and we cannot wait to kick off the festivities. For those of you who don’t know already, YMS:ONLINE is a virtual 3-day event environment of talks from the biggest and most disruptive brands around. We’ve curated a fully interactive exhibition hall showcasing the latest tech providers and media platforms along with a virtual networking space. It’s not just a series of webinars. We have some incredible speakers lined up who will be discussing all of the key trends you need to know about when marketing to Gen Z. To get into the spirit of things, we’re diving into 3 trends you can expect to learn about at the event.

Standing Up for Gen Z

We often talk about how values-driven Gen Z is, after all, it is one of their defining characteristics. From driving the climate crisis movement, speaking out about social injustice and actively championing diversity and inclusion. They are often referred to as the ‘change makers’ and generation controlling the future, with 75% believing that they will change the world. While they are confident in their ability to challenge conventions and shift cultures, they believe that the brands and organisations they invest in have a responsibility to invest in their future too. 69% of Gen Z think brands should help them achieve their goals and over half will consider how trustworthy a brand is before buying it. It has never been more important to ensure your young consumers feel supported and empowered. In our ‘Standing Up for Gen Z’ panel discussion, we will discuss the most effective and authentic ways of doing so.

We will be joined by the Director of Brand Marketing at Hollister, Jacee Scoular and self-care brand Blume’s Co-Founder, Taran Ghatrora, to discuss how both brands have championed causes close to Gen Z’s hearts and built authentic connections with the consumer group.

Blume
Blume

From Discounts to Luxury

As we’ve discussed, Gen Z is THE generation of the future and with that comes a sizable spending power. Our research tells us that 61% of their spending is on discretionary items, with 80% browsing online stores at least once a week. It’s a huge opportunity. While ethics and brand purpose is top of their purchase considerations, the majority are still influenced by trends and will still shop across price points- from discounts to luxury. It has been reported that Gen Z will account for 20% of luxury spending by 2025, a growth of 250% from 2019. However, they are also super savvy when it comes to making a purchase and our research shows that 44% always check if there’s a student discount available before making a purchase. So, what is really the best way to market to them given their varying spending habits?

In our session ‘From discounts to luxury: Rethinking retail to fuel Gen Z’s love of shopping, we sit down with Student Beans, the leading student loyalty network and luxury re-commerce site Fashionphile, to talk about the rise of re-commerce, sustainable vs fast fashion, social commerce and whether brands should be spending their budget on TV or TikTok.

Fashionphile Unboxing Video

The Rise of Social Audio

The landscape of social media has changed exponentially over the last couple of years, with a rapid acceleration during the year-long lockdown. We’ve seen emerging platforms like TikTok, rise to the top and new technologies come to the fore, which have completely transformed the way we interact online. Enter Social Audio. Clubhouse is undoubtedly leading the charge in this category, seeing incredible growth during the pandemic. 

The beta version of Clubhouse went live in March last year and amassed a humble 1.5k users in the months following. A year on, it had hit 2m. A month later it had reached 10m and, across the same time period, the platform’s valuation has risen from $100m to $1bn. As more and more internet users experienced Zoom fatigue and grew tired of repetitive scrolling, social audio represented a point of differentiation. The medium certainly plays into Gen Z’s online interests of; education, exclusivity and connectivity, but how long will the hype last? Is social audio a fad or is it here to stay?

In our ‘The Rise of Social Audio Era’ discussion, we sit down Emmy winning actor, producer and mental health influencer Jake Hunter and lifestyle brand August’s Co-Founder Nadya Okamoto, to understand the role that audio plays in the day-to-day life of a content-obsessed demographic and whether it can maintain its appeal post-pandemic and compete with IRL events and other non-audio social media platforms.

@jakehunterofficial

Karen said I hit her with my car when it wasn’t even on… #wow #crazy #karen #viral #foryou #foryoupage

♬ original sound – Jake hunter
Jake Hunter TikTok

These trends are just a snapshot of the topics we will be discussing at YMS:ONLINE in July. Our speaker’s range from industry experts to Gen Z storytellers, all bringing a unique point of view and actionable insights that you will not want to miss. Early Bird Tickets can still be secured from $100 per person until the end of May. Head over to the booking site now to check out the full line-up and grab your pass while our offer still lasts.

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