Specialized Unit to Reimagine Digital Creative for Youth Today
Hello Z
What is Hello Z?
Hello Z, a research unit mostly composed of junior members of Hakuhodo DY ONE, is designed to reimagine digital creative to suit the realities of the next generation.
Exceptionally diversified behavior and contact points with information among youth have made traditional marketing techniques almost unworkable. We are facing the pressing issue of how to design compelling communication as their metacognitive ability increases with the mainstreaming of “consumption with a meaning,” centered on empathy with the intrinsic values and emotional propositions of companies.
Hello Z is a marketing unit specialized in in-depth analysis and study of the values and lifestyles among youth today. Specialists in various disciplines at Hakuhodo DY ONE, including strategic planners, creators and media planners, get together to perform optimal media selection, research on creative design and the development of solutions under the theme of new marketing for the next generation. While keeping up to date on the real sentiments and trends among youth, we are engaging in research and development to help improve the performance of corporate promotion targeting this demographic.
Trends are too fast, while statistics are too slow.
You cannot go on chasing the buzz because it’s out of date by the time it shows up in numbers.
There is no such thing as business as usual when digital captures the masses.
Youth do not share the same daily life or values even if they are collectively referred to as “Gen Z” or “Gen Alpha.”
That’s because we start from a conversation with someone here and now, and not a theory of generation. We might find hidden clues in something that words can’t express.
Your theory, my discovery
We explore what’s next in marketing, working with young people living amidst change and companies intrigued by challenges.
Features of youth nowadays as defined by Hello Z
Unpredictable behavior and purchasing process that do not fit in with the funnel
The behavior of youth today, ranging from information gathering to purchase, increasingly does not fit in with the traditional marketing funnel. They are characterized by multifaceted, unpredictable purchasing behavior rather than a linear process, as purchases are directly triggered by a casual encounter on social media, or a recommendation by a friend or creator, for instance. It is thus difficult to capture their realities simply with traditional targeting and effectiveness measurement techniques.
Consumption with a meaning and high metacognitive ability
Youth demand an affinity with the intrinsic value and social contribution of the company, or the story and philosophy of the brand. With the mainstreaming of this “consumption with a meaning,” they are more focused on the truthfulness and transparency of messaging by the company or brand. And due to the demographic’s higher metacognitive ability in their relationship with advertising, they tend to sniff out and ignore traditional marketing techniques and pushy advertising.
Service offerings from Hello Z
Hello Z cares about the real voices (“n=1 voices”) of youth to find solutions to challenges facing corporate marketing for this demographic. We conduct multidimensional studies and analyses of youth while integrating behavioral data as well as attitudinal data to offer the following services.
Co-planning with students
Now that traditional marketing techniques hardly work, we propose a new marketing strategy prioritizing the real voices and sentiments of young people. We aim to deliver impactful creatives for the demographic by narrowing our focus and forming a team of student creators.
Working with media to develop packages targeting youth
We work with media companies, particularly those popular among youth, to develop effective packages for youth marketing. It is thanks to our solid partnerships built with media companies that Hakuhodo DY ONE is capable of exploring new possibilities of platforms to expand options for corporate promotion activities targeting youth.
Understanding the “now” of youth
Working with students, we conduct activities to capture, and delve into the “now” of youth, including through research on the latest trends and how they actually make use of media, and make available our findings.
Experts at Hello Z
Hello Z is a research unit largely composed of junior staff at Hakuhodo DY ONE including:
- Strategy planners in DX consulting
- Creators from specialized creative units
- Experts in media planning
- Students representing the real voices and sentiments of youth
Working as one team, these diverse experts have the advantage of seamlessly executing the whole process, ranging from insight analysis of youth and funnel-conscious media communication design, to creative implementation.
