You thought Millennials are hard to please? Are you ready for Generation Z? This was the topic of the panel moderated by our CEO Tiago Aprigio at the Prague Gaming Summit recently. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the highlights of the panel and give our top tips for Gen Z content creation.

Millennials, also known as Generation Y (or simply Gen Y) are those born between 1981 and 1996 and form the demographic cohort following Generation X (baby boomers) and preceding Generation Z. Millennials are often described as optimistic people who share information more willingly.
The younger Gen Z are thought of as independent people born between 1996 and 2010 and are noticed to be more realistic and private in comparison. This has probably a lot to do with the fact that Millennials have been exposed to the technological revolution of the 21st century from their teens, where the internet, social media, smart technology and AI are part of Gen Z’s DNA.

What did the people on the panel say?

Even though Gen Z is not yet at a legal age to access gambling websites, their opinions and expectations are valuable tools that contribute to the entertainment industry by raising the standards for how the majority of gambling concepts, products and services are created.

Zoltan Tundik, the main man behind the Prague Gaming Summit, explains why they dedicated a discussion panel to Gen Z.

“We are always keen on addressing interesting topics and the future player is among them. Generation Z is not to be ignored and if the industry does not find a way to cater to their needs, we might see the industry disappear by 2050.”

Our very own Tiago Aprigo was the moderator of the panel. He had this to say:

“The panel discussion about the Digital Generation’s (Gen Z’s) impact on the gaming industry’s ecosystem was great – a number of interesting points were brought up. We discussed the changes in esports, the opportunities the new market could
bring along and we even analysed Generation Z’s definition of sports compared to other generations.”

Maximilian von Portatius, co-founder of sponsor.online, gained some interesting thoughts about how to educate sponsors and football teams on new channels and opportunities:

“Football teams still need to see the potential of Generation Z and shape their sponsoring opportunity offerings accordingly.” 

Vlastimil Venclik, CEO at oddin.gg, commented on how esports is playing a big role despite being relatively new in the market:

“The esports fanbase is growing by the day, which opens up a great opportunity for iGaming companies to tap into a new market.”

John Mallia from trustly.net commented from a payment point of view:

“Generation Z is surely shaping the future of payment solutions and simplifying the process – a further improvement that has imprinted on the iGaming sphere for secure and speedy payment methods.”

From Super Mario to VR and AR

The gaming world is in constant development; innovations swarm through the market at a constant and steady pace; while Millennials have their versions of Super Mario and Street Fighter, Gen Z is fully adapted into Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) – two technologies that have elevated the experience of gaming quite dramatically. These improvements in the gaming world, that in effect, set higher standards for both online and offline game development.

While both Millennials and Generation Z regularly play video games, the latter spend a lot more time with a controller in their hands. Generation Z gamers think of gaming as part of their identity, they think of gaming as a ‘cool’, ‘fun’ and ‘social’ event that ‘helps them to stay close with their friends’, as noted by 4A’s. Although Generation Z has been classed as the anti-social generation; their means of communication and socialising has simply shifted from face-to-face discussions about the latest Wolfenstein II set on PS4; to a virtual YouTube vlog about PS4’s Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot VR upgrade.

YouTube, vloggers and brand ambassadors have played a significant role in the gaming world. And this sort of marketing approach is how content creators and translators can best appeal to Generation Z.

Youtuber Markiplier (25M subscribers) is one of the most popular gaming influencers.

Speak the language of Generation Z

Keeping Generation Z happy is all about communicating the right message in the right tone, on the right medium, just as any other generation, but whatever floats their boat is not the same. Here is what we think will work judging by our own research.

1) Get right to the point
To present a message to Generation Z it needs to be quick, engaging and short – around 8 seconds short. Think of the rapidity of a TikTok video and the huge impact it has on the viral world – good content on this platform grabs your attention, makes the content memorable and reaches its goal in the process.

2) Communicate in a personalised way
For Gen Z, the ‘right’ content is more likely to be a personalised message. Choosing the right content, and delivering it in the right language is vital to any generation, but given that Generation Z are looking for content that is easily accessed and understood requires a native localised touch that is genuine to them.

3) Choose the right format for your content
55% of Generation Z use their smartphones five or more hours a day, and over a quarter (26%) use their phones 10 or more hours a day (source: CGK). Gamers looking for content on a video game are more likely to follow their favourite YouTuber, who is probably someone they relate to and speaks their own language.

But while visuals can be the best way to catch their attention once you convince them that you’re worth their time they will become interested and perform in-depth research on any topic. This is where translations are a valuable part of delivering the right message.

4) Demonstrate your company authentic purpose
Honing in on sustainability, your brand’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and overall philosophy is a great way to connect with Generation Z. Generation Z play an “honest” game, they look for the good qualities in a brand, company or gaming giant and support what they think fits their ‘bigger picture’. So highlighting your best assets and staying true to your company’s core values may attract the right market and keep the communication, albeit virtual, constant.

We are looking forward to this crazy ride with the new Gen Z, and so should you, there’s nothing more exciting than conquering new heights and we are here to help when it comes to communicating in the right language.