The Power of Gen-Z

Dani Jackson Smith [00:00:01] It's who you are at work after hours and back at home exploring every layer, finding out what makes you uniquely you and letting that shine back out into the world. It's authentic 365, a podcast that takes a glimpse into how some of the most inspiring people among us express themselves and make magic happen. I'm your host, Dani Jackson Smith, VP at Edelman by day, community enthusiast and lover of the people Always Edelman released the power of Gen Z Trust and the Future Consumer Report. The data identifies Gen Z as the generation of sensibility, breaking through myths and assumptions that Gen Z is simply the influencer generation cancel generation or TikTok generation. On this episode of Authentic 365, our London co-host Jermaine Dallas will be leading a conversation on Gen Z and authenticity from time spent at home and work to interacting with brands and finding truth in a sea of opinions. You will hear personal stories direct from people that identify as Gen Z.

Jermaine Dallas [00:01:09] My full Gen-Z guests are from four different countries, and they have their own experiences to share with us. So first of all is Ali Al, ultimately who is an associate research analyst from Edelman's research DXI, Ali is based in our Chicago office. Next up is Asha Jani. Asha is an Account Executive from Edelman's Brand team in London. Then we have Kristen Bettencourt's, who is an account executive and influencer marketing based in Toronto. Finally, we have Sebastian Nicholas Schifrin, who is a senior account executive in the Paris brand team. So thanks everyone for joining us on the show today. What do you expect from brands--going to come to you first, Kristen, what you expect from brands and what will influence the purchase decisions that you make, how you sort of like an activist when it comes to choosing the brands that you buy from? Or are you more driven by price?

Kristen Bettencourt [00:02:10] Yeah, I think when brands create relatable content, I'm someone that's very into fashion and lifestyle content, and I make a lot of my influence based on like, let's say, I follow an influencer. I see something come up on my for you page that I really like, like, for example, like those in North Face jackets are really popular, really kind of all around the world and everyone's wearing them and you see everyone kind of build different outfits with them. So that's kind of what drives my purchase. And even though it is a little bit more pricey, but you can see it's very diverse and you can wear them with a lot of different outfits. So when I see brands create relatable content, I know that definitely drives it. I know when we work with influencers and we work with like a specific type of influencer for a campaign, and they're creating that content that really relates to their brand, for example, and are working with HP and we work with the tech influencer them just like really getting into detail and spitting the facts and reviewing all the details of the product. You can really see how engaged their audience is because they really want to see every detail and that you're hitting all the questions.

Jermaine Dallas [00:03:22] So I know you do work with influencers a lot anyway, Kristen. But do you think the influencers really do matter then when it comes to two Gen-Z and making the purchases they make?

Kristen Bettencourt [00:03:34] I definitely do think they have a big influence because I know it works on me. Sometimes I know sometimes I'll be very rash on my decisions, so I'll see something come up and I know it's going to maybe sell out right away because the specific influencer wore it. I know that and I'm not the only one in my friend group thought that happens. Do, and we do see a lot of ROI with our our brands and like them, getting really good engagement on their posts and their click through rates have been amazing. And so we've been seeing results and we've definitely been seeing positive feedback.

Jermaine Dallas [00:04:09] Ali, are you driven by influences?

Ali Almeflehi [00:04:15] I would have to say no. So I'm not particularly social media guy, right, like I don't spend so much time on social channels, but when I do, I'm looking for content that I particularly like like, you know, business content, entrepreneurship content, stuff like that. I will say just to kind of tackle, you know, how how to get to someone like me who is young but may not be necessarily on social all of the time. You know what you say on social media matters, and I'll give you an example. I love a brand who can crush communications with Gen Z, right? Like a brand who can show up authentically in, you know, these kind of social platforms or these little hubs and destroy communications. And I'll give you an example. I was recently I was recently in in Portugal. I just got back two days ago, right? And I went to I went to Spain for the weekend, kind of like in between. And I realized that I love Spanish, like I love Spanish. I need to finish learning Spanish. And the first brand that came to mind was Duolingo. And now we have a bunch of like Gen-Z people here, and they're shaking their heads because, you know, like, this is a brand that is absolutely destroying communications with Gen Z, and they're super authentic. You know, they're really, really funny. They're they kind of, you know, balance communicating with us in the way that we like. And so that influenced my kind of decision to use Duolingo to kind of learn vocabulary and stuff like that. So those are the things that drive my purchase decisions when I'm scrolling you and the little time that I use TikTok and I see a brand like, you know, in the comments being like, really funny or I see a brand, it's like, you know, helping someone, you know where there was a there was, you know, something was light was shedded on like a particular problem that young people, you know, brought to the surface and then a brand tackled that problem. I love that. I think that's amazing.

Ali Almeflehi [00:06:21] So I love the lingo as well. I just find that that a passive aggressive when you miss a couple. Oh, my goodness. Asha, what about you? Is the is the the brand communications important or is it all about the products themselves?

Asha Jani [00:06:37] I think for me, it's all about how a brand shows up consistent consistently across all aspects of life it touches, so not necessarily just what they're doing on social or what they do in their communications, but also, yeah, how that all marries up. So with this product, people through to what it's putting out on its platform is all about how that matter is open and is consistent with each other from one holistic brand point. And I think the big thing for me probably is is that people piece and the I think especially with, you know, such a pivotal and tumultuous time that we're living through at the moment with climate change and COVID 19. And, you know, like social justice, I think the key thing to remember is that Gen Z are watching what your how you're interacting with your people and that is influencing what we're going to buy from you now. And also what we're going to buy from you in 10 years time, in 15 years time. And I think for me in particular, with with influencers any just mentioned, I think that they'll probably impact me on sort of cheaper short term purchases, but for the long term, more expensive investments. I don't feel that they they influenced me on the day to day, which I think is interesting. So if I see an influencer, you know, pushing a piece of clothing, I might be more inclined to buy it. But in terms of more expensive purchases, like some some tech or even, you know, however many years time when I start to buy things for a house, for example, I'm not sure that influenced me that then it will be more about the brand as a whole. And yeah, I think that's where I stand on it.

Jermaine Dallas [00:08:24] So I'm hearing that the influences are important in certain situations. So all the stuff that the broader comes in, especially elements of purpose as well. Nicholas, what what influences you when you shop?

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:08:40] I think I'm going to have to thread it with Kelly on that on that one. I'm not sure that I I don't much get influenced by influencers to get a product. I don't think that I'm expecting brands to show up on certain things. I'm more expecting from myself to make sure that when I'm purchasing something that aligns with my beliefs and what I should wear, I should buy from. I mean, it's just that I'm not going to buy a product if I think that it does not fit with why I believe in the long term. But if I'm truly interesting in something like right now, I have a huge interest in my skin because of of the mask that we are wearing, and I'm seeing a lot of pimples going out and I'm like going crazy in the mirror every day and every night looking on a way to just remove them. So I started following a trend through and certain friends with skincare and beauty influencer just to have a better sense of What should I buy? And and it's not like influencer that I'm looking for, just like I'm searching for different sources and different people that like me, people that try the product. And that said, OK. And if I if I'm seeing like a lot of reviews that are that are saying that the product is the good one is a good one and you'll see the results that you're expecting, then definitely I will buy it. But it still has to fit with my beliefs. Like if if the brand are interested in diversity and inclusion, obviously that's going to be a huge part for me. And and and things like that. Yeah.

Jermaine Dallas [00:10:29] So I suppose it's not just about influences for influences sake, it's more sort of looking for people's expertize and people's experiences as opposed to just getting the celebrity to say, Buy this product, please. It's got to have that sort of level of authenticity. Which brings me to my next question. Actually, this is authentic three, six five, after all. So I want to move on to talk about what our lives are like at work. I say I feel like I'm a Gen-Z. I'm not. I wish I still am. But what about authenticity? What does authenticity mean for you, especially in the way that you show up at work? And I'll ask that to you. First, ask you.

Asha Jani [00:11:13] I think for me, it's incredibly important to bring my authentic self to work, and I think. Having only been in the workforce for the last two or three years, I'm still figuring out exactly what that means and and also having worked in two different companies. I think that means something different depending on the people that are around you. So my first company, I worked in an office that was, you know, 25 minutes from where I'd grown up my whole life. So I felt like all of the people around me or a lot of the people around me had similar experiences. The now working at Edelman, I've moved down to London and I do find that the people around me are probably less similar in terms of experiences and growing up than they were when I was when I was living at home. But I think in a way that means that I bring something very valuable in that I've had a different, you know, I've grown up in a different place and and in London as well, it being such a hub of, you know, multi culture, everybody and everyone brings something different. And that's something that I feel like it's really important to lean into, especially in the in the line of work that we do. And I think kind of from a Gen Z perspective, we are all really conscious and aware of the fact that we have a, you know, an important voice around the table at the moment and that people are really interested and invested in hearing exactly what we think. And so I think we just need to make sure that the authentic self that we're bringing to work, we're doing confidently and, you know, feeling empowered to share how we really think about something because that might have an impact on the work that we do and the ideas and creative concepts that are taken forward because our our our voice is important around the table at the moment. And I think it will be so painful. And so for me, it's it's important and it's important to do it confidently.

Jermaine Dallas [00:13:07] Yeah. And and I suppose I mean, you actually wrote both of and kindred spirits in that we both moved from towns up north in the north of the country. So you go to the bright lights of the city, but I suppose everyone has that sort of some sort of challenge or that balance to to hold when it comes to work. So I'll do you have a sort of a home persona and work persona, do you mix the two? How does that manifest in your life?

Ali Almeflehi [00:13:35] I try to show up the same like I my family knows me. Of course, they know more of me than, you know, I guess my coworkers do, but they kind of know me to be the same person, if that makes sense. And the reason that I try to do that is because I think it's I think it's too much work to not show up as yourself, right? Even if it's, you know, just kind of on the surface acting differently and not necessarily having conversations that you would have with people and interacting with people like you typically do. You feel it on the inside, right? Like you, you're it's it's somewhat conflicting, I think, to show up and not be yourself. And then the thing that I found is, you know, when you show up as who you are, particularly in your work place, it inspires people to be themselves in the workplace, right? And you know, I just I love my team. They know me. I'm like, I'm like a very I'm like a social butterfly, right? Like in the house and, you know, here at work and. Yeah, I think it just. It's just like it's just who we are like, it's easy, it's it's, I think, a little bit difficult sometimes for people to it to show up, to work as as themselves for fear of judgment. But what you find is when you actually show up to work authentically and you know, you get to inspire people to be themselves better work is done right. So it's it's a super cool thing.

Jermaine Dallas [00:15:03] What about you, Nicholas? Do you ever feel like you can't be yourself fully at work?

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:15:09] I yes. I mean, no, it's weird because, you know, in a way, I do think that I'm trying to be all of the time me. But sometimes that is a different version of myself when I'm at work because I can be a little bit crazy sometimes with my friends. So definitely I'm going to have to be a little bit more concrete when I when I'm at work. But what I loved in the Paris office is that it kind of is that tried to get people with personality. So it's not that much difficult for you to be yourself and within the office. Everyone is so much inspiring. And I mean, you can you can feel you can feel everyone's energy all of the time and the work and within the workplace, we have so much little time together, so it's not really difficult, even if you kind of have to be and a slight down version of yourself when you were with your clients. But when you when you wave your coworkers, it's it's easier because they tend to become your friends in a sense. So it's not that hard. But I do. From time to time, I change my personnel just to be to do to play the part. I think.

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:16:36] Kristen, is there a work, Kristen in her home, Kristen? How were the two different?

Kristen Bettencourt [00:16:40] Yeah, I definitely think I try to bring my most authentic self to the table, but I think especially on boarding virtually, I haven't been able to fully kind of show my full personality. I know, like you kind of have like 30 minute meetings or you have brand team meetings that are team wide, but I feel like I haven't been able to fully kind of give my full, authentic self. But while I have those little snippets, I try to be completely myself. And like Ali said, just honestly, you just you get more work done when you're yourself and and you just gets to communicate people the way you want to do it makes you want to show up to work when you're pretending to be someone that you're not it, it kind of makes you uncomfortable and it's just not comfortable. And yeah, I just think it's it's difficult online. So I kind of just try to make the best of it. And I hope that everyone thinks that I'm being my authentic self.

Jermaine Dallas [00:17:48] That's brilliant.

Ali Almeflehi [00:17:49] Just to add a point, Jermaine real quick. I wonder if, like I think the thing, I think work and life have been the waters have been kind of muddied a little bit, right. Like we sit in our homes, we open our computers and we're already at work, right? And so I wonder if because that's the case there is there's a bit of a push to be yourself a little bit more because you're already working from your own home, right? You're a little bit more comfortable than you would be, you know, walking into an office. Sometimes you I'll take meetings, I'll run downstairs, I'll be on my phone, I go grab a cup of coffee, talk to my mom, sometimes put myself on mute, right? And I wonder if that's that kind of thing is pushing people to be themselves a little bit more just out of, you know, like a place of comfort. The other thing is is it's it's kind of hard to be inauthentic now because everyone's watching, right? Like, everything is so open in this generation. I don't know if you saw the research, but like 70 percent fact check what you say and will unfollow you if you're being untruthful, right? Like this is a generation that like searches for transparency and truth and all of these different things. And so because that's the case, there's a little bit of social pressure to to be you or social pressure. And kind of we have like a social anxiety because people are watching if you're not being you right? And so I just wanted to add that I think it's it's cool and it's something that's a little bit different and definitely probably brought on by the pandemic or exacerbated by the pandemic.

Kristen Bettencourt [00:19:26] Can I just jump in there? Yeah, sure. I think it's funny that you kind of brought that up, too, because I do know a few influencers personally, just from friends and growing up. And I do know, like a lot of it's been kind of known lately that people are coming out that on the internet, like they're showing like their best versions of themselves. And obviously, you do have the influencers where they show you every detail, but they do say it's kind of hard to kind of disconnect from the two because you're showing your whole life on the internet. So sometimes it gets hard because you're constantly showing people like the positive sides, all your wins. Meanwhile, like behind the scenes, like, obviously you're human, you're going through normal things. So sometimes differentiating like you're obviously not going to put your failures all the time. Of course, there's like influencers like Remy Batali, but she kind of blew up on TikTok and she she's known for doing her plus size like outfit reviews, and she blew up just showing like her most authentic self, like even behind the scenes, like her struggles with mental health. So it was really cool seeing that. But for the majority, I know there's a lot of influencers that do struggle like behind the scenes, but on the surface level they look like amazing, like everyone thinks they have the best life. So it's kind of like a fine line. Like, obviously you're going to go fight like trusting what you see on the internet and you're going to see a lot of people posting the same things. But sometimes there's a fine line on the internet with like, who's really like showing you everything? And like, can you really trust that influencer and all of that as well? It's what I've noticed do, and even just working on the platform, sometimes I find when I'm constantly on Instagram and TikToks, I work heavily on it for being an influencer marketing. I need to disconnect after like, it's very, very hard. I find it it. It definitely affects my mental health more than you think sometimes. But just finding that disconnect is something that is very important.

Jermaine Dallas [00:21:22] Ali, you made an interesting point about it possibly being an area of comfort working from home that you have that sort of that connection that is the familiar with you. And which I think is interesting because one thing that I hear a lot, especially from Gen Z, is that sometimes it can be difficult to acclimatize to a new business when you are not based in the office. I'm going to come to you, Ashley, because I know you've joined Edelman at a time when you went straight away going into the office all the time. So what were the expectations for you going into the world of work and coming into Edelman, where you weren't able to be in the office straight away?

Asha Jani [00:22:02] Yeah, I think one of the main reasons that I joined Edelman was because I really craved the kind of collaboration, creativity, the teamwork and those sorts of, you know, real people, elements of the job where we were going to be working closely together. And yeah, I joined in in last March. So that was right at the height of lockdown in the UK, and I was probably working at home before I went into the office at all for four or five months. And you know, it's all a point, I think. Working from home and trying to get your personality across virtually is something that I found challenging. And again, I think it is that the balance of really wanting to make your mark on a team, but also sometimes challenging people or coming up with new and different ideas can can be slightly more daunting when you're virtual. And you know, you have to really kind of make an effort to cut through the noise rather than you saying across the office. And, you know, conversation just happens a little bit more naturally that, you know, you're not having to unmute yourself and try and jump in. But to me, I think I really came into my own at Edelman as soon as I saw going into the office. And that's something that I noticed was huge and something that I didn't really think about too much before I joined Edelman, and I didn't think that working from home, which would be an issue and it wasn't an issue, but I have just found that I enjoy it so much more when I'm in the office and were able to have those collaborative conversations and creative brainstorming and things a lot in person. It's just something that happened so much more naturally. But then equally, I wouldn't give up working from home completely. I think, you know, flexibility and the ability to choose when and where you work has this huge benefits, I think for me. And as a young person, I definitely crave that the social aspect of of the office. But I also appreciate the ability to be able to work from home. Make your working environment work for you.

Jermaine Dallas [00:24:17] Nicholas, what about you? How have you found working from home for so much of the early part of your career? When a lot of people would be wanting to be in the office as much as possible to learn things firsthand from people?

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:24:32] Well, to be honest, it was a really difficult experience because I was alone in my apartment in Paris, I mean, out there. So it was it came down a little bit hard on me. So I was really, I wouldn't say depressed, but not far from that because being away from my friends, my family for such a long time. And then I had the ability just to to move to the countryside with some friends. So we were like for a long time, seven of ourselves together in a place, enjoying ourselves for seven months and then go back to my place all alone so that that was like a really depressing moment for me. And I started meditating things to say, which does not sit well with my personality. I'm going to say that for sure that for the first time, for the first lockdown, I thought I tried meditating and I think I closed my high for 10 second and listening to to a YouTube video on how you should meditate. And I think about 10 seconds when I was, I said, OK, no, that's not for me. I'm going to stop. So I try sports. So I was like, I was doing a lot of sport in my apartment. Every at noon, every day. I had somewhat a coach that was helping me trying to get fit for the summer because I didn't know if I was going to be able to to get to the beach. So some of these guys do that at all and always

Jermaine Dallas [00:26:08] good to be prepared just in case,

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:26:11] just in case. And then I think I downloaded the application that Edelman provided for everyone and which has been of tremendous help. I'm going to say just that because it helped me started just to have a better sense of how you should take that in so that it's OK to feel depressed. But you can have you can exercise yourself in a way that you train your brain on to seeing the positive outlook on your life. Early morning and when you go to bed. So that was definitely of a huge help to go through that.

Ali Almeflehi [00:26:53] And then, Sebastian, if you don't mind me asking if you don't mind me asking, Did you work in the office prior to the pandemic? Where have you been at Edelman long enough to work in the office?

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:27:05] Yes, I mean, hours before so. So it was kind of hard for me just to. I was I was in the office for three years because before the pandemic, so and so I spend almost a lot of time getting to know all of my coworkers working on their accounts very closely on the same office, I mean, within the same offices. So yeah, that was that was the hardest part because I knew my coworkers and I knew how how fun it was to go to work.

Ali Almeflehi [00:27:34] And so now that you have experienced both? Which do you prefer? Because I think I think this is going to be this is so awesome to explore because many of us don't have a point of reference as to what work was like prior to the pandemic. Asha, myself, I don't know. The three of us here don't know what it was like to go in and work with your coworkers in person. But now that you've experienced both, what do you prefer and why? What are the what are the like? Just talk about that a little bit, if you don't mind.

Sebastien-Nicolas Chiffrin [00:28:05] I think I love a good balance of first. I'm not going to say why. I mean, yes, I do it. I'm going to say, I think that's a morning when I'm not just like heavy on going to work, you know, I mean, it's not that. It's just that sometimes when you just get out of bed, it feels like, OK, I'm going to take that call from from my, from my desk and from my. I mean, it's going to be just easier for me because in terms of the mental space that I'm in, I don't feel like going. I'm taking the train and seeing a lot of people, and I'd rather be just by myself. And sometimes when you were at your place, you can scream at your computer and no one will be mad at you. So it's also easier just to express yourself in some ways that you won't be able to when you were in the office, to be honest. And at the same time, I do love my coworkers, and I do enjoy the times that we get to spend together. I have also a lot of people that I have to train, some interns and such. So it's it's not easy just to share. Your knowledge and just to explain people things over the phone over and over and over things, even if it's a great platform just to that has been a tremendous help. But I think sometimes it's also viewed to be in the office just to connect with the people that you're working with.

Jermaine Dallas [00:29:34] Exactly. Yeah. Before we get out of here, I want to go onto and quickly talk about what is truth and how we define truth. So I'm Ali. You mentioned in the Gen-Z research that Edelman conducted that the majority of people think that 70 percent of Gen Z fact checked, fact check even, the information that they receive. So I'm going to start with you, Kristen. How do you define truth and whose opinions do you take on board?

Kristen Bettencourt [00:30:02] And yeah, I think it definitely comes, comes and goes. For me, I feel like I'm just really heavily the influencer because I'm always on social media. So that's where I fact-checked a lot of my things. I feel like I go straight to the comments and then I will see like hashtags and see if there's other reviews on it. I definitely want to. I do like my research. I do heavy on my research because I know that sometimes obviously there's situations where influencers were post something and they don't necessarily use that. There's always occasions where that comes up, but I go straight to the comments. I look at what people are giving feedback if they say, Oh yes, I've tried to do its work great on me, and then I look at the hashtags and see if other influencers have use it, or even just regular people that aren't influencers that are just posting about it, and they're just sharing their honest feedback and reviews. That's how I kind of base my feedback off of. And then obviously, I have my my girl group chats I like I'll. I'll kind of check in and we'll chat and see if anyone has tried it or they have any feedback, too. That's kind of where I check most of my stuff just because I'm just so heavy on social media, unfortunately. And that's how fortunately, but fortunately. But yeah, that's where I fact check a lot of my stuff

Jermaine Dallas [00:31:18] and I'm going to and finally ask you that same question, Asha. Where do you get your truth from?

Asha Jani [00:31:25] Yeah, I think what Kristen said, that was really, really interesting because from the Gen-Z research, I also thought it was really interesting that 84 to 88 percent of us find inspiration from our friends and family, and I think that truth is something that aligns with inspiration in that way because I think I totally agree that like both inspiration and truth, the first place that I would look to discuss that with is probably friends and family. And then like, those conversations in that discourse helps me inform where the next step might be. I go to get my truth and I think similarly to Kristen, I'm a huge researcher and I wasn't necessarily thinking of truth in terms of like influences and reviews and that sort of thing. But because you mentioned it, I'm a huge foodie and if I'm going to go on a holiday, for example, and I'm looking at places to eat or drink when I'm away, I will read realms and realms of reviews. Mm-Hmm. And I read the comments of Typekit in on Twitter. And I think that that's just about Gen Z, you know, rigorously fact checking and researching. I really I really do agree with that. I think it's almost second nature to us that if we see something on social media or in the press, that we will then type in on Google Typekit and on Twitter, ask our friends about it. Even if it doesn't feel like we're fact checking, we're probably doing it indirectly through having conversations with people every day. And then I guess, yeah, I think the truth also is just something that comes from in our line of work. I guess like reading around the topic and making sure that we are informed and we have those like differences of opinion. So that's something that I definitely do as well is that if I've read one opinion on something, I actually try and seek out the opposing opinion and then make my own call on where I sit within the spectrum. Mm hmm.

Ali Almeflehi [00:33:30] Yeah, I I I don't think it's a coincidence that we're all this way. Also, by the way. I don't think it's a coincidence. I think I think it's super cool that young people are finding their way to the truth. And the reason I don't think I don't know if any of you read the recent Edelman 20 22 Trust Barometer report, but misinformation and disinformation is at an all time high, right? It seems like in a world where truth is scarce, we're trying to search for the breadcrumbs and figure out our way to actually what is right, what is correct, what is. And I think it's super cool, but I don't think it's a coincidence.

Jermaine Dallas [00:34:09] Yeah. Well, I think that's all the time. We have to really appreciate your time. So, Kristen, Asher, Allie and Nicholas, thank you so much for joining us on authentic three six five. If you want to find out more about the Gen Z research, you can find all the information at Edelman.com

Dani Jackson Smith [00:34:28] And that's a wrap for this episode. Many thanks to you for walking with us. And until next time, keep it authentic all day, every day. Shout out to our team behind the scenes Faith McIver, Emma Marie MacAfee, Trisch Smith, Denise Busch, Sarah Neil, Pamela Blandon, Emma Dowling, Ryan VandenBosch. Authentic 365 is brought to you by global communications firm Edelman.