STOCKTAKE: Can we calm the chaos?

By Louise Burgers, Retailing Africa Editor. As we usher in this New Year, which despite being framed in the fuzzy perfect peach of Pantone’s new Colour of the Year, is proving every bit as chaotic and challenging as 2023, we still have hope that 2024 will open the door to peace on all fronts. Even those of us who hit pause over the festive season, feel that we were launched back into the year at speed, given global events, local challenges, and the continued cost-of-living crisis. Uncertainty remains.

Given how poorly mega brands are performing in this highly emotive environment, it seems as if it is time for a total rethink of media and brand communications strategy – especially for advertising agencies, which have provided more global WTF moments in recent times than I can remember in my time as editor of various marketing and advertising publications, once upon a time (*side eyes* Zara). What is apparent is the massive gap between brands and their ad agencies and their consumer messaging. Maybe it’s a generational thing. Us Gen Xers and older are used to being slower and more deliberate in our strategies – thinking, testing, reevaluating, retesting, talking, more thinking, etc, before taking decisions by committee. Whereas Gen Z, who are used to posting on social media three times a day about everything (if you want to keep your social media clout and account monetised), expect instant and coherent communication.

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As someone who has been through major political, economic and social upheaval in my 35 years in the media industry – tracking the rise of branding agencies and the shifts in media and marketing online – I have no doubt that another seismic shift is happening. This time it is rooted in the evolution of social media and how information is curated and consumed (this includes brand and advertising messages). Everything is content and everything can be monetised. But the big shift is going to be how consumers are organising into closed communities, based on preferences and interests. A socialverse strategy shift is needed for brands and marketers to actually understand how their messaging is being shared and where and when. Because there is a clear generation gap in the speed of communication expected and brand messaging.

READ MORE: Successful strategy for the socialverse

We’ve seen the more inclusive, diverse Gen Z annihilate brands which get it wrong, take up social causes to create meaningful change and dominate social media evolution online since Covid. But Gen Alpha is who you need to be tracking too. They are going to turn every single sector on its head – from shopping to banking to education to politics.

Yes, they are still at school, but most of them have been online since 8-years-old and even younger, playing sophisticated multidimensional games, building multiplayer worlds, using virtual currency to transact, creating and monetising within these virtual games, connecting with their peers all around the world, becoming nano-influencers before the age of 12, driving global product trends (remember the disgusting Prime energy drink? And now the surge in popularity of the Stanley Cup?). By the time they are 18, many will already have their own media empires and brand extensions. You think I’m kidding? It’s happening already – here’s the top kidfluencers of 2023.

And speaking from personal experience also, I watched my 11-year-old build her social media channel based on her gaming, animation and music video edits, in only 4 months, reaching 5,000 subscribers and having several of her videos go viral, with one reaching over half a million views, a couple of others  at the 100k mark. With no help from me or any other professional – just YouTube videos and friends having fun teaching themselves editing and animation software. It’s not about monetisation at this age, but about having fun and sharing their creativity with their peers around the world. And this is not a particularly unique story. There are hundreds of thousands of youngsters doing exactly the same, all around the world. So watch out, the 11-year-olds are coming for our jobs – whether it be media, branding, marketing or advertising. It’s hella fire, as they would remark! (*Translation: It is very exciting!)

All the best for 2024 to all our readers and partners! Keep Calm and Curb the Chaos!

Stocktake is a weekly roundup of current FMCG retailing and brand news and commentary curated and edited by Retailing Africa Publisher & Editor, Louise Burgers. Keep the industry updated and send your announcements and news to: news@retailingafrica.com.

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