Step aside, millennials; a fresh generation is in town – Gen Z has taken the spotlight. Born between 1997 and 2012, these digital natives are rewriting the rules of everything, from fashion to politics, and most importantly, how they consume information. For Gen Z, the search engine is now a TikTok, a YouTube tutorial, or even a casual browse through Amazon. This seismic shift in behavior presents a golden opportunity for savvy brands.

With an estimated spending power of $360 billion & an increasing influence (41 million GenZers shall be eligible to vote in 2024 US elections. Their influence extends beyond consumer choices to shaping the political landscape. As the torchbearers of the future, Gen Z demands a nuanced approach – one that not only caters to their preferences but also resonates with their aspirations and ideals.

But these digital natives tick differently. They crave authenticity, not airbrushed perfection. They value experiences that enrich their lives aligning with their beliefs, not just catchy slogans. So, how do the marketers navigate this brave new world and win their hearts in 2024?

Key trends that will define how brands can win over Gen Z in 2024

1. The Rise of the Social Search Engine

Google, move over! Gen Z turns to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok for answers. These platforms, with their curated feeds and engaging content, are becoming new search engines. This shift opens doors for brands to be discovered organically. Think of it as a giant virtual party where you’re not just selling, but joining the conversation.

In the past year, several platforms introduced search advertising offerings, indicating an increased focus on social search that marketers are likely to prioritize in 2024.

For advertisers, it’s not about shouting your message; it’s about being present where they are, answering their questions, and sparking their curiosity in a natural, engaging way.

2. Fashion & Beauty: Get Weird, Get Wonderful

GenZ now makes up more than 40% of Pinterest’s 482 million active monthly users and is the platform’s fastest-growing demographic. Prepare to be dazzled by aquamarine makeup, chunky hoops the size of planets, and hairstyles inspired by jellyfish!

Pinterest, a Gen Z haven, predicts these Gen Z fashion trends will explode in 2024. Campaigns with themes such as “eclectic grandpa” style, a quirky blend of retro streetwear, and chic cardigans, are gaining traction. Given the platform’s impressive 80% accuracy rate in predicting past trends, marketers are encouraged to pay attention.

What drives this maximalist aesthetic? According to Pinterest, it’s all about squeezing every ounce of joy out of life and surrounding yourself with things that make you happy. For marketers, this translates to creative freedom. Embrace the bold, the weird, and the playful. Create campaigns that encourage self-expression and individuality, while experimenting with new formats like augmented reality filters or interactive quizzes that tap into GenZ’s love for games and experiences.

3. The Midas Touch with a Conscience

Gen Z has the power to make brands soar, but they’re also incredibly mindful. They care about equality, sustainability, and the impact their choices have on the world. A recent Edelman study revealed that 73% of Gen Z consumers choose brands based on their values. So, it’s not enough to simply be trendy; brands must demonstrate a genuine commitment to making the world a better place.

In the upcoming 2024 U.S. election, the influence of young people will be substantial, as millennials and Gen Z voters are projected to make up 40% of the electorate. Nevertheless, both Democrats and Republicans will face challenges in mobilizing Gen Z voters to participate in the electoral process.

Beyond the Trends: Building Lasting Connections

While these Gen Z trends offer a roadmap, the crucial takeaways are, that they’re diverse, nuanced individuals with unique interests and aspirations. The key is to move beyond the trends and focus on building genuine connections. Engage with them in authentic conversations, listen to their concerns, and create experiences that enrich their lives.

In 2024, the brands that win Gen Z’s hearts won’t be the loudest or flashiest. They’ll be the ones who understand their language, respect their values, and offer them more than just a product – they’ll offer a sense of belonging, a platform for self-expression, and a chance to make a difference. So, dive deep into the world of GenZ. Embrace the weird, the wonderful, and the socially conscious.

Video advertising has become a highly effective tool for brands and advertisers to communicate their messages to online audiences. In the year 2021, $ 55.34 billion was spent on digital video advertising in the United States alone.

Since its inception, video advertising has faced criticism for being inherently interruptive in nature. Online users tend to skip or ignore ads that appear to them as annoying or interruptive. 

This non-engagement of users with the ads is a serious headache for advertisers, and they are struggling to find a way out.

Role of Video Ad Formats in Grabbing Viewer’s Attention

Research shows that brands are now increasingly concerned about the interruptive user experience when running their video advertising campaigns. 

Brands are trying to make in-video ads more engaging and less annoying for users. In order to draw effective user engagement, ads should capture the user’s attention in the first few seconds.

Video ad formats also play an important role in driving better user experience and engagement. By deploying better formats, marketers can make their advertising strategy more effective. 

According to eMarketer, 60% of video ads fall in the in-stream category. Most marketers are currently deploying interruptive in-stream ad formats that can be easily skipped or ignored. 

Pre-roll and post-roll are used more often over other formats such as overlay video and mid-roll. 

Overlay ad format, which places an ad over the video content, offers an advantage over other in-stream formats of not overtly interrupting the underlying video content being watched by the user. Thus, overlay ads are less annoying and tend to provide a better user experience.

Mid-roll format is least favored by marketers, especially for short video content, because it is highly interruptive. Therefore, marketers are currently mainly utilizing pre- and post-roll in-stream ad formats for achieving their advertising goals and the whole video content itself needs to be accounted for. Here, the overlay format comes to the rescue. It allows marketers to capitalize on unutilized video content without being interruptive to users.

Contextual Advertising: Not Letting Irrelevant ads Annoy Users

Brands have identified certain obstacles in the path of video ad innovation. These include inadequate budget, lack of in-house expertise, misaligned in-house teams, lack of agency relationships, and lack of strong external technology partnerships. 

To achieve their video advertising goals, brands and marketers should focus on innovative, non-interrupting ad formats. 

But only using the right in-video ad format will not work, marketers should make use of robust, efficient, and effective advertising technology such as AI-powered advertising, and give utter importance to context. 

They should serve contextually relevant in-video ads that are well-aligned with the content the user is consuming.

According to industry experts, video advertising strategy in the future will be impacted by factors such as demand for non-interruptive ads, growth of over-the-top and connected TV ad formats, growth of social networking and video-sharing advertising formats, and demand for contextual advertising.

Users’ demand for non-interruptive ads on connected TV has grown over the years in sync with the growth in its viewership. 

Currently, in-stream video advertising on this platform is largely interruptive in nature. Contextual video advertising offers an effective solution to marketers to mitigate this interruption on connected TV and enhance user experience.

By using the right mix of in-video ad formats and contextually aligned ads, advertisers can turn upside down the user experience from being interruptive to engaging. To display contextually aligned video ads, a highly effective solution is afforded by AI-powered in-video key context technology.

Mirrors’ Computer Vision Technology 

AI-advertising solutions that are dependent on machine learning, NLP, and semantic analysis, miss the mark when it comes to understanding the sub-text, nuanced contexts, and complex relationships words have in written or spoken language.

Mirrors’ computer vision contextual advertising technology provides a very high degree of contextual relevance. This technology works by accurately identifying key contexts in videos such as faces, emotions, brands

, objects, scenes, and activities in order to display in-video ads that are in line with what the user is actively engaging with. 

Last Words 

Highly contextually relevant ads appear non-interruptive and appealing to users and boost the chances of users watching or clicking them. With AI-powered contextual video advertising, marketers can seamlessly integrate ads with the video content the user is watching, thereby providing a non-interruptive, highly engaging user experience. To know more about Mirrors and how it can unlock your brand’s revenue potential, fill up the form on your right, and a member of our team will soon contact you.