‘If you steal from one author it’s

plagiarism; if you steal from many

it’s research.’

2|
 pag 1 binnentitelblad 1 rechts; alleen naam boek
Dr. Jos Ahlers
René C.W. Boender
GENERATIE Z

NEW BRAINCANDIES ABOUT GENERATION Z

AND THEIR SUCCESSORS: GENERATION ALPHA!

Find out everything about Happiness, Life, Gaming,

Social Media, Care, Purpose, Religion, Hope,
Relationships Marketing, Branding, Communication
and much more…

Bertram + de Leeuw Publishers

|3
 © René C.W. Boender and Jos Ahlers 2019

All rights reserved

Bertram + de Leeuw Publishers
Creative concept: René C.W. Boender
Translation: Irene Venditti, i-write translations and texts
Art-direction & design: The Story of Brent, tsob.nl
NUR: 740
ISBN: 9789461562623
www.bertramendeleeuw.nl
www.reneboender.nl
www.josahlers.com

4|
 “LET’S REINVENT! IT’S NOT ABOUT
BREAKING THE RULES, NOW IT’S ALL
ABOUT BENDING THE RULES.”

Generation Z, and her view of the world of today and of the future, are extremely
fascinating. The Zs are quick on their feet and manage to find anything.
As opposed to us, members of a generation whose motor skills were devel-
oped by playing with building blocks, Lego and Meccano, who looked things
up in an encyclopedia, and didn’t have Google make up one third of our brain.
Through our millions of contacts with Gen Z, we feel young at heart again. And
wistfully look at our first pictures. How different things are nowadays…

The writers of the three Gen Z bestsellers in the days when kids still used to write
with pen and ink. |5
 Don’t read this piece…

Hey, why do you start reading anyway?

‘Not’ is seductive…it makes you want to read it, no matter what. Don’t
watch this; and you watch. It is the same with Gen Z. They want to know
everything, as soon as possible. That is probably why you thought the eye
opener said ‘100.000’ copies.
But that is not what it says. The words are: at the request of 100.000
keynote visitors! And by now we have crossed that magic line.
We always keep listening, watching, and learning during these keynotes.
That is why this book is never really finished. And we are never really finished
with Gen Z. When this book was about to be printed, we received new infor-
mation that demonstrated that Gen Z is prepared to pay for services ren-
dered, and even for news. A side effect of the Netflixification of spending time
online. They love honesty, and want the author to be rewarded for his or her
work! Something we applaud wholeheartedly… also on behalf of all the true
(investigative) journalists in the world. At times like this, we need interpreta-
tion and a ban on fake news! But we must
really want it. As Seth Godin wrote: it
all starts with ‘wanting it’!
‘People don’t change un-
less they want to. Humans
are unique in their ability to
willingly change. We can
change our attitude, our ap-
pearance and our skillset. But
only when we want to. The hard
part, then, isn’t the changing it.
It’s the wanting it.’
Gen Z is longing for this… so why
should we wait any longer?

6|
 “YOU CAN’T STOP THE FUTURE
YOU CAN’T REWIND THE PAST
THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN THE SECRET
...IS TO PRESS PLAY.”

How we became crazy about Gen Z…

O ur journey started in 2009. That year, we were asked to do

some research on Generation Z, who were very, very young
at that time. The older kids were about fourteen, and the younger
Zs still had to be born. There were not a whole lot of studies
available on this subject and that is why we decided to talk to the-
se youngsters ourselves. We developed our first views during dozens
of group talks, interviews, and work sessions. Apart from going online,
of course. First, through good old Hyves, MSN, and Ping, and by now it’s
Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp. Whether it was offline or online, time
and time again, we were suprised by the great value of our interactions. Ge-
neration Z was at its very best, all the time, and they overloaded us with tons
(and terabytes) of new insights.
While we were writing our second book ‘Generation Z and the Fourth (Industrial) | 7
 Revolution’, more study results and more sources were available. Moreover,
we were often asked to comment on what stood to happen in the future. The
world was still obsessed with Generation Y or the Millennials, but for the first
time, researchers started to turn their attention to ‘our’ Generation Z. This
made it a lot easier for us to write that book.
The most satisfactory thing about writing the second book, was the reali-
zation that many predictions we had made in the first book, had indeed come
true, or were still coming true. For instance, we predicted the collapse of
Hyves (the first Dutch social media platform) and the rise of Facebook, at a
time when Hyves was at the peak of its popularity. This prophecy was not
warmly welcomed by everyone, but the truth should be told. That was another
lesson we learned from Z.
We also talked at length about the far-reaching effects of the ‘networkiza-
tion’ of the world. We already predicted that Generation Z would grow up
amidst (social) networks, and that as a result, Zs would look upon authority
and seniority in a different way. In our second book, we were able to
develop these ideas further, and put them to the test.
And now we have come to our third book: about
“Longing for Change” by Gen Z, and the way in
which the next Generation Alpha will even demand
this change.
Why is this book different? The first two
books presented a kind of general survey of
Generation Z. We discussed a large number of
subjects, ranging from religion to the attitude to-
ward saving, and from education to gaming. These
books aimed (and still aim) at making the reader
acquainted with this optimistic, autonomous
generation, in a refreshing, positive way. Because yes
indeed, they are optimistic realists!
Now we take it one step further and we
mainly offer you some insights and
predictions on the subjects of real-
time life, communication, and mar-
8 | keting. Of course, we will start with
a broad, general introduction, but this time the emphasis will be more on the
technological and economic developments in the course of time, and their
influence on various generations.
Does this mean the book is especially intended for professionals in the
area of marketing communication? Yes and no. Yes, because we think that we
are offering a pragmatic translation from the rapid developments in our soci-
ety to the field of marketing communication. Believe it or not: everything is
marketing- and content-driven. And no, because we describe these develop-
ments in society in such a way that they are useful to almost anyone; profes-
sionals from other areas of expertise (education, business, or government)
can use this book to their advantage as well.
Is it absolutely necessary to have read the first two books in order to
appreciate this book? Absolutely not. It is written as an independent book,
although it is helpful if you already know something about generations in
general, and about Generation Z in particular.
“Longing for Change” does not follow a strict, linear path. You can read it
from A to Z, but you can ‘zap’ just as well. Some chapters elaborate on the
background of the differences between generations, and some chapters offer
tips, tricks, and case stories, while other chapters voice an opinion. You could
regard this book as a ‘knowledge-buffet’. And if you want to know from whom
the quotes are, just do what Gen Z would do: Google! After all, this has
become the third half of our brain by now (with all the associated risks).
Have fun reading this book, use it to your advantage, and make your life a
lot easier and more fun.

Jos Ahlers en René Boender

|9
 “NOTHING GREAT WAS EVER
ACHIEVED WITHOUT ENERGY,
ENTHUSIASM AND COMPASSION.”

10 |
Table of Contents
Marketeers, politicians… wake up! | 14
It’s the economy, stupid | 18
The generation chain | 25
Fasten your meatbelt: the technological tornado | 30
The Alphas are already on their way | 34
Gen Y is not Gen Z is not Alpha | 37
A fluid identity | 41
The secret attraction of socials | 44
The screenager myth | 52
Help: streak panic | 58
From FOMO to JOMO | 61
Will Gen Z become the BlockGen? | 64
Zs say: just get everything out in the open | 72
The sharing economy is on the way back: from laundrette to scatterbike | 77
Future Food tastes good… | 85
Shopping with Z | 89
Gen Z: the unattainable generation? | 98
How do you influence a network? | 105
Gen Z in search of authentic influencers | 111
When Greta, Jack and Steve speak, Gen Z listens | 117
Sports can make the world a happier place! | 120
Podcast revolution | 122
The outside world is where it all happens | 125
Escape from reality! What games teach us | 128
Games without frontiers | 135
Will Alexa kill the brand? | 138
A new world requires a new take on brands | 148
From CSR 1.0 to CSR 2.0 | 154
A few additional meditations that require action… | 157
Thanks to Gen Z and our friends around the world | 161
Sources | 164
| 11
12 |
“IT IS A TERRIBLE THING
TO SEE
AND HAVE NO VISION.”
 “THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE
WHO BELIEVE IN THE BEAUTY
OF THEIR DREAMS.”

Marketeers, politicians… wake up!

T he Millennials dreamed of changing the world and making everything a

little bit better. Gen Z is done with dreaming and rolls up its sleeves,
because these are not dreamers, but realists.
They were raised by members of Generation X, and grew up during a
worldwide recession. This made them into pragmatic, autonomous, and
maybe even self-supporting human beings. Unlike the Millennials (Generation
Y), who grew up in times of economic prosperity, and were raised by activist
visionaries: the Babyboomers.
Without a doubt, ‘raising’ means getting back in your face what you put
into it, and future behavior is always rooted in the past. It will be quite intense
too... Gen Z will take control as soon as they ascend the trhone. Maybe even
sooner: just watch how a young Swedish girl manages to launch widespread
14 | environmental protests.
 Therefore, Gen Z will strive toward a new, more
decent social-economic system. In regard to what
they buy, but also in regard to from whom they buy.
And they will control and stimulate everything in
real time, all the time.
Based on our conversations with Gen Z,
we have come to the conclusion that the
new trinity must be a balanced one. This
trinity consists of the ‘purpose mission’,
the ‘economic mission’ and the ‘social
mission’. The future consumer will only
want to buy from you, vote for you, or join
your movement when these three
elements are truly balanced.
During a keynote in the USA,
this was called ‘Conscious Capitalism’. In other words: work, live and make
money, based on your conscience. Gen Z and their successors, Gen Alpha,
will build a ‘Conscious Culture’ in the near future, a society based on a higher
aspiration: a better life for everybody! MTV calls them the ‘Founders’. The
generation that will build a different, more diverse society, geared toward the
creation of happiness.
So wake up, and stake your money on this journey.
You will find that your own path in life will become much more pleasant as
well …

| 15
 “IF I HAD A DOLLAR FOR EVERY
TIME A BOOMER CRITICIZED A
YOUNGER GENERATION, I’D HAVE
ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE IN THE
ECONOMY THEY RUINED.”

It’s the economy, stupid

T his was once the slogan of a presidential election campaign in the United
States, repeated over and over again. No matter how you look at it,
almost everything is about the state of the economy. That is why we are going
to take a closer look at the generations that currently (still) play an active,
economic role in society. This chapter is both a reminder and an introduction.
We will discuss the circumstances and events that were decisive for various
generations. The way in which the generations are linked to each other is also
a part of this.
The classification we use for defining the generations, is based on interna-
tionally accepted definitions, as used by the World Economic Forum. In the
Netherlands, some other classifications are also used, but since we want to
compare our data with other countries, we won’t use these.
18 | Generations don’t live in some kind of social vacuum. Generations are not only
a part of society; the various generations constitute society. Each generation
develops in its own way, and this development is also determined by the previous
and next generations. Generations are always connected to each other.
According to Aart Bontekoning, one of the most influential Dutch thinkers
in the field of generations, each new generation can be regarded as an impulse
for innovation. Each new generation pushes society in a different direction,
usually a bit forward, towards the future. Therefore, each new generation
changes the society in which we all live. And change almost always provokes
opposition. Older generations like to hang on to their own patterns, their own
way of doing things. Of course, these patterns are a result of their own
innovational impulses, and it annoys them when they encounter new
impulses. To put it mildly.
“Our youngsters have a strong desire for luxury, bad manners, they despise
authority, and don’t respect their elders. They prefer chatting to practicing,
they contradict their parents, don’t keep their mouth shut in the presence of
others, and terrorize their teachers.” These are the words of Socrates. He
spoke these words around four hundred years B.C. But they could easily have
been spoken by one of our comtemporary columnists. It only demonstrates
that older generations have always doubted their successors.
This difficult relationship is one of the main factors in the development of
generations. Of course, there are other important elements, but the influence
of predecessors must not be underestimated. After all, each new generation
builds on the foundations laid by previous generations. Without Babyboomers,
no Generation X. And without Generation Y, no Generation Z. Likewise, without
Generation Z, no Generation Alpha. Specific generations acquire significance
in contrast with other generations.
By knowing the year of birth, we know to which generation someone
belongs. This also tells us what their formative years were. The formative
years are the years in which someone, often as an adolescent and young
adult, starts to understand and interpret the world. These are the years during
which people develop an awareness of society. These first impressions will
remain the basis for everything that follows, for the rest of their lives. Of
course, every human being keeps changing and developing, all the time, but the
formative years often remain a benchmark. They determine one’s fundamental
attitude towards life. | 19
 The social, technological, and economic circumstances during these
formative years greatly determine which innovative impulses go with a
specific generation. One’s year of birth tells us about the circumstances
during his or her formative years, and how they are bound to affect the way in
which he or she looks at the world, and how he or she will behave. In short:
how he or she relates to society.
In this chapter, we will zoom in on the state of the economy during these
formative years. Were times hard or good? Did people have faith in society?
Did they have prospects for the future? Did everyone have a job? Or did large
groups remain on the sidelines?
The oldest generation that is still active in the Netherlands, is the ‘Quiet
Generation’. These are the men and women born between 1925 and 1945. We
prefer to call them the ‘Silent Generation’, because they got on with it without
complaining, and built up the country that was literally in ruins after World
War II. This is the generation that worked so hard to rebuild the Netherlands.
As a child or adolescent, they had to endure the terrors of war, and after-
wards, they were put to work and had to rebuild everything, without getting
the space and time to process things. In the United States this generation is
referred to as ‘the greatest generation’.
If you were born just before or during the war, you would grow up in a
relatively limited, segregated world. In the Netherlands, this was often the
world of the countryside. The only things you had were the village, the church,
and the local clubs and associations. You lived and stayed within your own
social group, and this limited your social environment even further. Those
who grew up in cities, were often confined to their own area or neighborhood.
It didn’t matter that the world was actually a lot bigger, it wasn’t your busi-
ness. That was the task of the dignitaries, the leading citizens. These were the
times of sayings such as ‘just act normal, that’s already crazy enough’, ‘stick
to the job you know’, and ‘save first, buy later’.
The ‘Silent Generation’ was succeeded by a generation that was a lot less
quieter or silent: the Babyboomers. The Babyboomers (born between, roughly,
1946 and 1964) introduced a totally new phenomenon: youth culture. First
with Rock ’n Roll, and later with Pop and Rock, the youngsters developed their
own world with their own language, fashion, and ideas. The dark days of war
20 | were over, and this generation distanced themselves form the past, as much
as possible. Everything had to change. The societal groups had to disappear
or change, the windows had to be opened to allow a view of the rest of the
world, and imagination (not really the forte of the Silent Generation) should
be in charge. Social mobility should be enforced. As a result, the Babyboomers
became the driving force behing all the rapid developments in society and the
economy, from the nineteen sixties on.
The graph below displays the changes in the Gross Domestic Product,
since 1960, set against the birth years and formative years of different gener-
ations. These changes in the GDP give a good impression of the state of the
economy. Do we see a strong growth? Or just a mild growth? Or even a decrease?

Growth percentage of GDP

10%

8%

6%

4%
Nederland

2%

0%

-2%

-4%
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Born BB Generation X Generation Y Generation Z Generation A

Formative Babyboomer Generation X Generation Y Generation Z A

Years

Graph 1: Changes in the GDP, set against generations.

During the formative years of the Babyboomers, we notice that they have
actually seen nothing but growth. Unemployment was at a historical low in
that period. There were jobs for everyone, and even a shortage of workers. So
we imported them from Italy, Turkey, or Morocco; the foreign labourers. The
economic boom and the high level of employment resulted in a large part of
the population having a lot of money to spend, more than ever before. The
sky was the limit, so it seemed, and in a sense, this was even true.
The Babyboomers are a generation that grew up in times of staggering
economic growth (the biggest leap forward in the history of mankind, | 21
 according to some), steady technological progress, and radical changes in
society. Some call the generation of the Babyboomers the ‘I-generation’.
A spoiled generation with a slight tendency toward narcissism.
The rise of television is closely linked to the rise of this generation.
In 1991, the novel ‘Generation X, Tales for an Accelerated Culture’ by Canadian
author Douglas Coupland was published. In that book, he introduces a group
of young people that don’t want to be identified with the Babyboomers any
longer. They are not prepared to take part in the struggle for status and wealth.
They regard themselves as Generation X. And this name stuck. Therefore, the
Babyboomers were succeeded by Generation X, born between 1965 and 1979.
Many people (especially those who belong to previous generations) say
that this is a ‘lost generation’ that has never fully suc-
ceeded in escaping from under the wings of the
Babyboomers. The graph above shows that the
X-generation grew up during a period of economic
stagnation. Once the members of Generation X had
reached their formative years, the world was a whole
different place, compared to the world of the
Babyboomers.
The oil crisis, the high interest on loans,
the rapidly rising inflation, the beginnings
o f
automation and computerization, all led
to large groups of unemployed
l a b o u r e r s ;
all these things ushered in a de-
cade of economic stagnation. If
you add the enormous housing
shortage in cities that were quic-
kly going downhill, this generation didn’t have a lot of high ideals left to fight
for. Securing a basic livelihood was all that mattered. By the end of the nine-
teen seventies, the punk movement sang ‘No future’, and when Queen
Beatrix ascended the Dutch throne, the rallying cry ‘geen woning, geen
kroning’ (no home, no crown) could be heard in the streets of Amsterdam.
22 | As the eighties went by, the economy got back on its feet again, but many
Xs couldn’t get rid of the fright that had dominated their first adult years.
Indeed, the basic attitude you develop during your formative years, is often
deeply rooted.
After Generation X, we got Generation Y, which was to be expected. A
somewhat complacent name, but that’s just what the Babyboomers (that is:
their parents) thought of this generation: little imagination and spoiled by a
lot of material wealth. Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1995), is known
by a series of other names, none of which have stuck: Generation Next, Net
Generation, Echo Boomers, and Peter Pan Generation. In the USA they are
often called Millenials, and they have exhaustively been researched and
discussed.
The formative years of Generation Y (the Millennials) were exactly the opposite
of the formative years of Generation X. Generation Y was on its way to maturity
during a period of great economic growth. The economy became ever more
digitized, and this led to new economic impulses. Real estate prices soared,
and there was even talk of a ‘New Economy’. But the economy soon came to
a standstill after the start of the new millennium. The so-called ‘Internet bubble’
was punctured, real estate prices dropped, and unemployment quickly rose.
On top of this came the financial crisis (the credit crunch), and that was when
many Ys saw their glowing future disappear into the darkness.
Another interesting fact is that this generation is growing up, or has grown
up, in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, in a world where the threat of
widespread violence has vastly increased, after having been a much lesser
concern for decades on end.
Generation Y were raised with the Internet, cell phones, and email, but can
still remember a world where all those things were not available. Although
they are technologically advanced, they still think and act from an offline per-
spective. They only knew longlasting economic setbacks as (young) adults,
and in spite of the heightened terrorist threat, this has produced a generation
that appears to have a prevailing belief that ‘anything is possible’, ‘everything
is permitted’, and ‘everything must be this way’.
This is also the generation that has produced the ‘Hipsters’. A subculture
that has possibly arisen out of disappointment with mainstream culture, and
politics that didn’t result in a better world, but in economic decline and
geopolitic threat. As a result, this generation decided to revert to ‘vintage’, | 23
 racing bikes, growing their own food, folk music, and a clothing style that
draws on the style of the fifities and sixties of the previous century. When the
future is frightening or disappointing, looking back offers an alternative, and
nostalgia becomes attractive.
When we take a closer look at the formative years of Generation Z, we see
some similarity with Generation X, at first glance: starting with a vast
economic crisis and moving on to better days. When the oldest Zs started to
take a serious interest in society, we were still knee-deep in crisis, but as we
progressed into the second decade of the twenty-first century, change was
going to come. The digital start-ups, in particular, provided fresh impulses,
while the economic dinosaurs of the twentieth century became less relevant,
and often disappeared alltogether.
How will things go for Generation Alpha? The formative period of the first
Alphas will begin around 2025. How will the economic situation be at that
time? From past experience, we know that economists are better at explaining
things in retrospect, rather than predicting things, but let us discuss the
expectations anyway.
Acoording to McKinsey consultancy bureau, there are two main variables:
worldwide economic growth and cooperation between countries. In the best-
case scenario, growth will speed up, and the synchronicity between the world
economies will rise. If that happens, the European economies will grow by
approximately 1.5% per year. At worst, the worldwide growth will slow down,
and economies will not cooperate well. In that case, we can’t expect a growth
of more than 0.4% in Europe. The difference between the best- and worst
case scenarios is not extremely big. Or will the Boris Brexit, the Trump shuffle,
or the Xi move change everything in one big blow? Probably not. Let’s just
assume that Generation Alpha will mature in a moderate, somewhat troubled
economic climate. At least, as far as Europe is concerned. Things will be more
tense in Asia and Africa. One thing is clear: nothing comes naturally. It is best
to be careful, but will the Alphas accept it when older generations tell them to
be cautious?
We think that some things of the past will be reversed at a lightning speed.

24 |
 “WHEN SOMEONE IS CRUEL
OR ACTS LIKE A BULLY, YOU DON’T
STOOP TO THEIR LEVEL. NO, OUR MOTTO IS,
WHEN THEY GO LOW, WE GO HIGH.”

The generation chain

A part from economic and technological factors, social factors play a big
part as well, as we already indicated. And the most prominent social
factor is the family you grow up in, of course. Especially the view of the world
imparted by your parents. Or should we say ‘caregivers’? Will AI or even Alexa
play a part in that? As always, their world view is also influenced by their year
of birth, to a large extent.
Different generations are alternately linked to each other, roughly speaking.
The members of the Silent Generation are often the parents of Generation X,
who in turn are often the parents of Generation Z. Then again, the
Babyboomers are the parents of Generation Y and the grandparents of
Generation Alpha, the successors of Z. The image below illustrates these
connections.
| 25
 Silent

Babyboomer

Generation X

Generation Y

Generation Z

Generation A

Graph 2: Mutual connections between generations.

Generation Z was raised by Generation X, who in turn were raised by the

Silent Generation. The grandparents and parents of this generation have
grown up in hard times. The grandparents even during the war, or in the
tough years immediately after the war. The parents stepped into adulthood
during the deep crisis of the seventies and eighties. The oldest Zs have
themselves experienced the economic setbacks at the beginning of this
century. This affects them. Compared to the Ys, for example, we see that Zs
appear to manage their money more sensibly. They certainly appear to be
more pragmatic, and are convinced they need to take the initiative and work
hard. These are values they were taught at home.
The ideas of the Babyboomers are often reflected in members of Generation
Y, whose parents were actually Babyboomers, of course. The
individualism and the belief that everyone should choose his or her own
path in life, seems to be passed on by the Babyboomers. Concentrate
on the things you like or find important, and don’t worry about the
economic consequences. Furthermore, don’t be hampered too much by
rules or authorities. Do your thing and make your own choices. Moreover,
we also see the consumerism and hedonism of the Babyboomers (who
grew up in times of unprecedented economic wealth and material luxury)
reflected in the behavior of the Ys. Everything is possible and should be
allowed.
It is quite funny to see how many Babyboomers are now annoyed by the
pampered behavior of these Millennials. But, whose fault is it anyway?
26 | If we follow the logic, the grandparents of Generation Alpha are often
Babyboomers, and their parents are often members of Generation Y. Two
generations of idealists, of whom one (Generation Y) got the door slammed
in their faces. How will this affect the basic attitude of the Alphas?
We expect them to face their uncertain future with confidence, and maybe
even some bravado.

| 27
 “THE REAL PROBLEM IS NOT
WHETHER MACHINES THINK,
BUT WHETHER MEN DO.”

Fasten your meatbelt:

the technological tornado

A third important factor that influences the development of generations,

is the state of technology. Of course, we mean the innovative tsunami
that is washing over us at the moment. In ‘Generation Z and the Fourth
(Industrial) Revolution’, we have already discussed these technological
changes in depth, so we will keep it short here. And why meatbelt? What’s
wrong with seatbelt? Well, we have all put on some weight around the waist,
haven’t we? So it’s important to fasten everything and not be blown over by
the innovations.
We are now in the middle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is
driven by an unstoppable stream of technological innovations that surprise
us almost daily. Genetics, Robotization, the new space race, Internet of
30 | things, Nano technology, Blockchain, 3D printing, and Artificial Intelligence
are important fields in which breakthroughs are realized almost every day. It
is fascinating to see how these technological fields influence each other too.
In the upcoming decade, we will experience the consequences of this enormous
acceleration and fusion of technology in our daily lives. It is difficult to predict
what exactly will change, but things will change – that’s why it is a revolution
-; that much is sure.
So we find ourselves in the midst of a technological tornado, and the wind
will keep blowing for some time. To the moon? No problem. People on planet
Mars? In about 25 years. New heroes like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk love to
stir up things. When, after ten years time, we look back at these days, we
won’t even remember how and how fast everything went.
An important trend has already been set a number of years ago and will
gain in importance: the ‘networkization’ of the world. We are connecting
everyone and everything with each other, at the speed of lightning. The world
is becoming a comprehensive network of people, systems, and objects. The
development is toward organic, self-controlled networks in which intelligent
systems will control our daily lives, on the basis of self-evolving algorithms.
A simple example: traffic lights will not be operated by mechanical timers
anymore, but by auto-thinking systems that regulate the streams of traffic in
the city. When we get into our car in such a world, such a car will find the most
efficient trajectory towards our destination, all by itself. If there is a traffic jam
somewhere during our journey, or, for example, if an ambulance needs us to
clear the way, our car will choose an alternative route, without our help. After
we have gotten out of the car, the car will park itself and start recharging the
batteries. By the time we want to go home, we grab our cell phone and call
our car. The car will pick us up where he dropped us off. To Babyboomers, this
is pure science fiction, but this future is just beyond the horizon. This will be
daily routine for Gen Z and Alpha!
In order to demonstrate this enormous acceleration of developments, we
have plotted the points in time when important consumer technology was
introduced, and set these against the formative years of various generations.
Of course, this is a random selection, but still, we have selected technology
that causes long-term changes in the way we live our daily lives.

| 31
 Ipad
Breakthrough Facebook
Spotify
Iphone
Ipod
ISDN/ADSL Modem (commercial Internet)
56K Modem
CD
Commercial cable television
Video recorder
Colour tv
Television
Radio

Formative years Babyboomer Generation X Generation Y Generation Z

Graph 3: Availability of technology per generation.

In this graph we can clearly see that the number of radical innovations was
relatively small, in the period between the end of the fifties and halfway the
nineties. The digital revolution only picked up speed during the formative
years of Generation Y. This generation is the first generation that has
consciously experienced this development. They still have a sense of the
sequence of the innovations, and a clear awareness of the progress being
made. Where Generation Z is the first generation that is used to these inno-
vations, since they have always been around. They are much less aware of
progress; to them, it’s the normal state of affairs. New developments are
continuously being introduced, of course, but Gen Z is long past the ‘eureka’
moment, or the ‘wow’. It is not special to live in a world where everything is
digitized; it’s the world in which they grew up. This is the new reality.

32 |
 “YOU CAN’T CONNECT THE DOTS
LOOKING FORWARD; YOU CAN ONLY
CONNECT THEM LOOKING BACKWARDS.
SO, YOU HAVE TO TRUST THAT THE DOTS
WILL SOMEHOW CONNECT IN YOUR
FUTURE. YOU HAVE TO TRUST IN
SOMETHING - YOUR GUT, DESTINY, LIFE,
KARMA, WHATEVER. THIS APPROACH
HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN, AND IT HAS
MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE.”
 “HE WHO DOES NOT TRUST ENOUGH,
WILL NOT BE TRUSTED.”

The Alphas are already on their way

T he beauty of these times is that the youngest generation is living in the

here and now. And becomes smarter due to live experiences.
Generation Alpha is the first generation to grow up in times where the first
true consequences of climate change will be perceived, with all the upheaval
that goes with such a change. What can we expect? More and different influxes
of refugees, conflicts about drinking water and food, floods, extreme weather,
and so on. They will grow up in a world where the geopolitical interests will
differ hugely from the current interests.
China’s role as the great driving force behind the world economy will surely
go on for some time, but the leading economists of McKinsey and Company
expect that countries such as India, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka,
Laos and Vietnam will develop into fast growers. The Southern Hemisphere
34 | (always the weaker party) will quickly gain more economic influence.
An unlikely prospect, is it not? But it appears to
come true. The United States will remain a
powerhouse, but their protectionist policy
weakens their influence. The power of Europe
will diminish as well, due to growing internal
discord. Generally, people expect Russia to
implode in a political and economic
sense, and here too, uncertainty and
turmoil will increase.
Toward the end of the eighties (in the
20th century), the American armed forces
introduced the acronym VUCA (volatile,
uncertain, complex, ambiguous)
to characterize the geopolitical
situation after the Cold War.
Consultancy companies such as McKinsey and Boston Consultancy took
over this term and used it to describe the state of society in general. Not only
politics have become VUCA, but so have all parts of society, indeed. Parallel
to this apparent disintegration of world order as we know it, we will still
perceive enormous leaps forward in the field of technology. In the digital,
biological/medical, and mechanical fields of expertise, revolutions will take
place on almost a daily basis, as we wrote in the previous chapter. Revolutions
that will not impress Generation Alpha, but will surely change their lives
significantly.
Generation Alpha will live in a radically different world than us oldtimers.
It is just not very clear what this world will look like, only that it will be different.
On the website Quantumrun.com you can find 189 predictions for the year
2025, and if you read the list, you will be shocked, surprised, and curious. To
name a few: artificial intelligence will become mature, superfast quantum
computers will be mainstream, some devices will be able to read your mind,
the contraceprive pill for men is on the market, and ever more types of gene
therapy will be available. If even half of this long list would come true, the
changes will still have enormous consequences. Things that currently take
place in sealed-off labs, will be widespread by 2025.
As we said before: each generation can be regarded as an impulse to the | 35
 innovation of society. At the moment, we can only guess which innovations
will be developed by Generation Alpha. Technology that is completely unknown
to us, will pervade our everyday life, the world will change drastically in an
economic and political sense, and even the weather will become ever more
unpredictable.
We expect Generation Alpha to disengage from everything that has taken
the world to the point where we are now. Generally speaking, their predeces-
sors, the members of Generation Z, appear to choose the pragmatic, hands-
on approach. Gen Z makes the best possible use of the networkization of the
world, and of the available technology. We think that Generation Alpha will go
a step further. We predict that Generation Alpha, as children and grandchildren
of activists, will choose a fresh start. A flight into the future. They will get rid
of old conventions, old dogmas, of all existing boundaries. Never again the
same meat, but different gravy; the world demands new solutions.
We predict that Generation Alpha will set this new course. Maybe, this
generation will save the world …which is urgently needed. In that respect,
there is no time to loose!

36 |
 “EVERY TIME YOU ARE
TEMPTED TO REACT IN THE SAME OLD WAY,
ASK IF YOU WANT TO BE A PRISONER
OF THE PAST OR A PIONEER OF THE FUTURE.”

Gen Y is not Gen Z is not Alpha

T There will always be differences, and that also applies to the way in which
generations develop. As we mentioned before, economic factors, and
nowadays mainly technological factors heavily influence this. Furthermore,
the differences of opinion will become greater, and so will the polarization.
Just take Simon Sinek, the author of the succesful book ‘It starts with why’.
He was interviewed by entrepreneur Tom Bilyue in December 2016, for his
YouTube channel ‘IQ Inside Quest’. The subject: the Millennials (Generation Y),
and this did not go unnoticed. Sinek went crazy and the YouTube video of his
frontal assault on this generation was shared millions of times. He portrayed
the Millennials as a generation of spoiled would-be princes and princesses,
who think they deserve to get everything they want. Selfie-addicted slackers
without focus. They are quick to be disgruntled, and incapable of working
hard for longer periods of time in order to maintain relationships and/or have | 37
 any kind of future. Sinek compares them to alcoholics. The same way an
alcoholic cannot leave the bottle alone, the Millennials cannot stay way from
their cell phones. According to him, the consequences are devastating.
Sinek thinks that this is not really their fault; Generation Y members have
just got a bad break. They are ill-bred (spoiled), surrounded by addictive tech-
nology (social media), impatient (again, badly raised), and are forced to work
for companies that have more interest in short-term profits than in the long-
term development of their employees.
Sinek’s story was blindly copied by many others, and, just as uncritically,
applied to Generation Z as well. And this is a great mistake. Therefore we
think an explanation is appropriate, even though we are fans of Simon’s!
In the first place, Sinek emphasizes a number of negative excesses,
completely unsubstantiated, and then doesn’t hesitate to apply them to an
entire generation. His story doesn’t do justice to all the positive changes
brought about by Generation Y. He exhibits the typical behavior of a mid-
dle-aged man who cannot keep up with the advances of a younger genera-
tion, and his only solution is to label this generation as a failure.
In the second place, Generation Z is not the same as Generation Y (the
‘Millennials’). These are two totally different generations that have arisen out
of totally different social, economic, and technological circumstances. We are
not going to repeat this story here, since we have discussed it in the first
chapters of this book.
By the way, this mistake is often made: copying and pasting characteristics
from Y to Z. It is understandable, up to a point. Both generations are extremely
digitized, individualized, and forced to live in an uncertain and chaotic world.
But they are not identical, let us be clear on this.
Generation Alpha will be different too, that’s for sure. Even more digitized
and individualized, and probably growing up in a more globalized and chaotic
world than their predecessors. These are the children of a new world order.
Therefore, attributing traits of Generation Z to Generation Alpha without
reservation is just as insane as doing this for Y and Z. Although you can learn
a lot from the differences, if you are able to interpret them well …

40 |
 “THE PAST IS ALWAYS TENSE,
THE FUTURE PERFECT.”

A fluid identity

A t present, you are born as a human being, first and foremost. Anyway,
that is how Gen Z perceives it.
Man or woman? Heterosexual or homosexual? Two simple, binary questions
that could classify the whole world, or so we thought. It didn’t get much more
complicated. Until now.
We have noticed that to Gen Zs, everything is a bit more complicated.
Many members of Generation Z regard ‘gender’ as something that is not
necessarily completely fixed. It might well be a sliding scale. There is no need
to feel completely male or completely female; something in between is just as
acceptable. And if you find you are this way, you don’t need to hide it. What’s
more: you have every right to demonstrate it.
This doesn’t mean that Generation Z is becoming transgender ‘en masse’.
You cannot become transgender, since you were born this way. But it does | 41
 mean that this generation is rapidly breaking free of traditional ideas concerning
gender definitions. Your biological sex (male or female) does not have to be
identical to your gender. Gender tells you something about the group you feel
you belong to, and that offers many more choices than just the sex you were
born into.
By now, Facebook users can choose between dozens of different gender
options, besides male or female. Androgyn, cis, gender fluid, non-binary,
pangender, two-spirited, to name a few. Older generations tend to scorn this,
but we predict that this way of thinking will become the predominant social
standard.
Just a few decades ago, women in ‘men’s’ professions were dismissed and
belittled, and women were not allowed to play soccer. The times are truly
changing, because by now, women’s soccer has become very popular and
loved. Indeed, female soccer players have become icons!
This also has consequences for marketing tactics and brand management.
Researchers have found that Zs think it’s not overly important to buy products
such as cologne, deodorant, clothes and shoes that are exclusively made for
their own sex. More than half of the interviewees don’t care if the clothes or
shoes are designed specifically for men or women. They buy what they like
and what suits them.
The implication is that marketeers who promote brands for explicit male or
female target groups, risk alienating a large part of Gen Z. The future is unisex.
Gender is not the same as sexual orientation, although they are not completely
separated. Here too, we see a clear difference of opinion between Generation
Z and older generations. Recent studies demonstrate that 66% of Gen Z
state that they are only attracted by the opposite sex. In other words: they see
themselves as exclusively heterosexual. For Generation Y, this percentage is
71%, for Generation X it is 85%, where the Babyboomers score the highest
with 88%.
A third of the Gen Zs indicate that they are still not a hundred percent sure
about their sexual orientation, or have decided to leave it open for the time
being. An unprecendeted percentage.
Of course, this could also be caused by an age-effect and not so much by
the generation to which they belong. That is because young adults are still
42 | searching for their true indentity. Nevertheless, the fact that they don’t choose
to give a socially acceptable, heteronormative answer is significant in itself.
Apparently, Generation Z does not regard it as a problem to keep searching
for a while, to doubt and experiment a bit.
Like is the case with gender, the question of sexual orientation shows a
shift from binary answers to answers on a broader scale.
The description of these issues and shifts in standards regarding gender
and sexual orientation might suggest that Gen Z is very preoccupied with
sexuality. Well, maybe in their heads, but not at all in their behavior. Quite the
opposite.
Statistics show that youngsters start having sex at a later age than ever
before. By now, the age at which half of the interviewees had sex for the first
time, has risen to 18.6 years. While the penultimate survey resulted in an age
of 17.1. In five years’ time, this age has increased by a year and a half. At least,
here in Europe. Although this trend can also be perceived in the rest of the
world (even in Africa).
These grandchildren of the sexual revolution are clearly more aware and
more thoughtful than their parents and grandparents. Letting yourself go at first,
and coming to your senses when you are a bit older is not the trend anymore.
No, now it’s about thinking and reflecting first and then doing the things that
feel good. This attitude toward life is also reflected in the statistics on the use
of drugs and alcohol, and criminal behavior: Zs have significantly lower
scores than other generations at a similar age. ‘Sex, drugs and rock ’n roll’
has now become a slogan for the middle aged groups in our society, rather
than for the younger ones.
An explanation for this ‘new prudishness’ (as some call it in a condescending
tone) might be that this generation does not feel the need to prove how liberated
they are. They were born liberated. And they handle this exactly like you would
expect from Generation Z: pragmatic, honest, and open.
If we want to be successful in communicating with Generation Z, we would
be wise to replace the old saying ‘sex sells’ by ‘connection sells’, or even
‘empathy sells’.

| 43
 “SOME OF THE BEST ADVICE
I’VE BEEN GIVEN: ‘DON’T TAKE
CRITICISM OR BUY SOMETHING FROM
PEOPLE YOU WOULD NEVER GO
TO FOR ADVICE’.”

The secret attraction of ‘socials’

O ne of the recurring themes in our story about Generation Z, is the rapid

‘networkization’ of the world. Sometimes, it seems that the whole world is
already involved, but that is not (yet) true. About half of the world’s population
has access to the Internet (and to social media), but the other half is still on
its way. Although this is changing very quickly, we have only just begun!
In Europe and North-America, almost everyone has an Internet connection,
but in Asia they are halfway, and in Africa, two-thirds of the population is still
excluded from the Net, according to international research agencies Statista
and Internet World Stats. This situation won’t persist very long, because
developments are moving along very fast. And once you are online, what do
you do, as a member of Generation Z? Right, you subscribe to one or more social
networks, because that’s the place to be. Here in the West, you use Instagram,
44 | Snapchat, Whatsapp and Facebook. In China, everyone is ‘on’ WeChat, but
also QQ and Qzone. In Russia, it’s VK and Facebook. In South-America, you
meet your friends on Taringa and, of course, Facebook. In spite of all the
scandals, FB is here to stay.

Why does Generation Z (and we too) use socials so much?

Where does this immense popularity of the social media come from? And
how is it that they managed to become an indispensable part of our lives so
quickly, especially of the lives of Generation Z? The big international break-
through of, for example, Facebook, took place around 2008. Not very long
ago! We prefer to call them socials instead of social media. From one person
to another; at least, that’s what you hope for!
The question remains: why? Why do people want to subscribe to social
platforms? Why do we suddenly feel we can’t do without them? Why do the
youngsters, in particular, spend so many hours a day using Whatsapp, Instagram,
Snapchat, Facebook? In order to answer these questions, we need to ask another,
more fundamental question first: why do people subscribe to groups, anyway?
In other words: what drives us to want to be part of a larger social entity?
Scientists in the field of social psychology have researched this, and they
came up with some interesting theories that explain why fundamental human
needs are fulfilled by being members of a group. Currently, there are three
theories concerning how and why we are motivated to be part of a group.

Sociometer Theory: self-esteem as a motivator

The first theory is the ‘Sociometer Theory’ of Mark Leary. A number of
studies showed that people have more self-esteem when they are accepted as
a member of a group. Conversely, when they feel excluded, they have less
self-esteem. We are afraid of being isolated, because our self-esteem
diminishes when this happens. There is a direct relation between feeling
accepted by a group, and the extent to which we appreciate ourselves. The
fascinating thing is that the degree of self-esteem is leading in this process. It
is not so much that people feel appreciated because they belong to a group,
but people seek to become part of a group in order to boost their self-esteem.
Self-esteem functions as a kind of sociometer, a measure of the degree to
which we are part of a group. Self-esteem is a compass that shows us the way
to group membership. | 45
 This search for self-esteem is a strong motivator for our social behavior.
Subscribing to online groups through social media, feeling connected to
others, has a direct, positive effect on our self-esteem. This might be the reason
we are so upset when someone ‘defriends’ us. Even if it’s a person whom we
don’t know very well, or didn’t often contact. The depth and content of this
connection is not very important, it’s the connection itself we aspire to, in
order to feel better. The simple fact of being a member lets us take a positive
view on ourselves. To put it short and simple: happiness is an accepted
friend request.

Terror Management Theory: fear of dying as a motivator

The second theory we discuss here is the ‘Terror Management Theory’,
formulated by psychologists from the University of Kansas. There are few
psychological theories that capture the imagination as much as this one. The
theory is based on the perception that people, as opposed to animals, have
the mental capacity to anticipate their own death. Animals do not know they
will die eventually, but people do. This frightening type of self-reflection
distinguishes humans from animals. Everyone must die sometime, and we
all know it. We are – almost – continually conscious of the fact that it may all
be over in a minute.
To cope with this potentially crippling insight (why would you get out of
bed if you know you’re going to die anyway?), people have developed a number
of defense mechanisms. One of the major mechanisms is affiliation to a
group. Their existential fear motivates people to engage in relationships with
others. These relationships make people feel they are immortal, figuratively
speaking, and sometimes also literally speaking. The way in which we perceive
the world, and the way in which we interact with the outside world, are anchored
in the groups we belong to. Thanks to our group memberships, we are less
afraid of dying (since our view of the world, our ideas, and our memories will
live on), and that increases our self-esteem. Social cohesion lends meaning
to our lives, and gives us a future. It makes us rise above our existential fears
and we feel better.
Short and simple: every accepted friend request makes us a little
more immortal.
46 | Social platforms such as Facebook are the ideal place for validating
our view of the world, and making us feel part of something bigger. Precisely
the big motivators, according to the Terror Management Theory. ‘Anything
you put on the Internet, is there forever’, is a statement you often hear. Every
status update and photo will survive the user. Just look at the Facebook pages
of deceased celebrities. They are a powerful antidote to our basic existential
fears. Even the timeline on your Facebook page starts with your birth, and
basically, it continues forever. Many people find this a comforting idea.

Uncertainty-Identity Theory: finding self-assertion with others as

a motivator
Finally, we have the ‘Uncertainty-Identity Theory’. This theory states that
people become members of a group in order to minimize feelings of
uncertainty. According to this theory, it’s not about reducing fear (as proposed
in the Terror Management Theory), but about reducing uncertainty. A subtle,
but important distinction. We define the world around us on the basis of the
groups we feel we belong to. We search the certainty of others in order to
understand ourselves, and describe ourselves. Like-minded
peers act as a mirror in which we recognize ourselves.
A little bit of uncertainty is often good for people. It
forces them into action and growth. But fundamental
insecurity regarding our place in the world is con-
traproductive, it hampers our life. An effective way
of solving this uncertainty is by identifying with a
group of like-minded human beings. Suddenly,
we know exactly who we are again, how we view
the world, and how we are supposed to behave.
Thanks to social media, we can always keep in
touch with these all-important, like-minded
people. There are no limits regarding
space and time, there is no
difference between people
who are close by, or
thousands of miles
apart. Everyone can
be in charge of his | 47
 insecurity by swiping, pressing a button, or clicking a mouse.
Short and simple: every accepted friend request gives us more insight in
who we are. This desire for self-assertion is so deep that we prefer to look for
it 24/7. We want to be assured that we are not alone, over and over again.
That we are seen and heard.
Probably, the three theories discussed above will all work to some extent.
They are not necessarily independent from one another. Fear of isolation, fear
of dying, uncertainty as to who we are: these are all fierce emotional motiva-
tors that form the basis of our search for social connectedness. The social
media act on this, and they have found the perfect answer. Becoming and
remaining a member of social media are ego-driven activities: we don’t do it
for others, but for ourselves.
Generation Z is growing up in a world where the Internet and social media
have always played a part. From early childhood on, the Zs have been ‘played’
by social media platforms. Their perception of the world and of themselves
has partly been shaped by social media, from a young age. In this they differ
from the previous generations. These older generations still have (often fond)
memories of a world that was completely offline. Generation Z is fused
together with social media, and by now they can’t do without the stimulation
that Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat provide.

The irritation factor

Well, by now it is clear that social media fulfill a deep-seated need for
people, especially for Generation Z. It explains our worldwide love affair with
those social media. It is evident that they can do things for us, but what do
we miss, what can’t they do for us? Why are we so deeply annoyed by social
media, sometimes? If we want to answer this, we need to revert to the scien-
tists, once again.
Social-psychological research into social identity and group dynamics
demonstrates that groups that function optimally, are also the groups in
which people feel at ease the most. Being a part of a well-functioning team
makes an important contribution to our feeling of self-esteem. Generally
speaking, these kinds of groups have a number of distinctive characteristics.
The first set of characteristics describes the level of organization within the
48 | group. We perform better in groups that are clearly recognizable, have clear
boundaries, and a transparent internal structure. Ambiguity breeds uncertainty,
and this is what we so desperately want to avoid. As is demonstrated by the
Uncertainty Identity Theory we described above.
The second set of characteristics is about the expectations of the group
members. Do they feel a shared destiny? Are there common goals? Do the
members recognize mutual characteristics in each other?
It is interesting to see that the popular social media are capable of fulfilling
the basic, ego-driven need for being part of a group, but fail to deliver when it
comes to the characteristics of groups in which we truly feel very much at
ease. For instance, in Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram we do not perceive any
common goals, much less a shared future. Furthermore, the degree of
organization is unclear. There are no limits; everything is open, and ambiguity
rules. Anyone can add anything to the platform, but there is no true
cooperation. Every new post is chucked on a great heap, and then you have to
wait and see if anyone reacts, which fulfills our ego-driven needs once again.
It is every man for himself, and the social media for all. As mentioned before,
the social media platforms are predominantly ego-driven. They promote shop
window behavior, and are barely equipped to handle true, meaningful
interaction.
In some way, we are all aware of this, since this is exactly what is bothering
us: although we are connected, we are still acting individually. We don’t get to
cooperate or really connect, while this is actually what we are looking for.
You could probably say that social media make us less unhappy, because
they fulfill a distinct psychological need. On the other hand: they don’t make
us any happier, because true social connectedness is virtually non-existent.
The platforms of today, such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, have
demonstrated how strong the desire for social connectedness is. How
irresistable even a flawed sense of social connectedness can be. And how
hard it is not to be sucked in. Even though the current social media only fulfil
our needs up to a certain, very limited, point, it is almost impossible to
withstand teir attraction.

Everything balances out

The fascinating thing is that Generation Z, in particular, appears to be
searching for a new balance. Of course, social media are omnipresent, | 49
 indispensable, and will never again disappear, but Generation Z appears to
develop a different relationship to this phenomeneon.
Jos tells us about his old father, who didn’t’ have electricity on the farm
where he grew up as a child. When they connected to the power grid, it was a
miracle. His father kept switching the light on and off, because he wanted to
experience the miracle over and over again. But after a while, the magic faded,
and he only switched the light on when it became dark. Electricity in the home
had become the new ‘normal’. Just like the first telephone in our home, writes
René. All our neighbors came to us if they needed to use the phone, and paid
us a dime for each call. And you alerted the neighbors in case you got a phone
call for them. Nowadays, everyone can be reached, and this is normal to us.
In the same way, Generation Z seems to deal with the Internet and social
media. The miracle has become the normal state of affairs. The excitement
has gone. Slowly but surely, social media will descend from ‘high interest’ to
‘low interest’. From a luxury article to a commodity.
Generation Alpha will probably go a step further. Socials will become a
kind of infrastructure to them. They are not interested in the origins of the
phenomenon, the same way they are not interested in electricity, tap water, or
railroad tracks. All these things are important and indispensable, but you only
use them because you need them, not because you are so excited about
them. And much less to experience the ‘wow’ factor.
In this context, it would be a good idea if the government were to nationalize
Facebook, and the likes of it. Why not? If this is indeed essential infrastructure,
it might not be such a good idea to leave it in the hands of a listed multinational
company.

50 |
“DON’T SAY YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH
TIME. YOU HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME
NUMBER OF HOURS PER DAY
THAT WERE GIVEN TO LOUIS PASTEUR,
MICHELANGELO, DA VINCI,
AND ALBERT EINSTEIN.”
 “BELIEF CREATES
THE ACTUAL FACT.”

The screenager mythe

P lease take a moment. Do we really believe everything that is posted on

the Internet? We believe it’s time to refute the myth about ‘Screenagers’!
Which is a nickname some people use for Generation Z. They mainly organize,
understand, and live their lives through a screen. Preferably a portable screen.
At least, that’s what older people think.
A quick Google search provides a good impression: social media are
responsible for flaws in the development of the brain, for loss of privacy, loss
of self-confidence, a distorted body image, aberrant sexual behavior, and lack
of sleep. It‘s a miracle that using a cell phone has not been yet forbidden to
anyone below the age of twenty-one.
You will also find stories about suicide, self-mutilation, outbreaks of
violence, depression, anorexia, and bullying. All as a result of spending too
52 | much time on social media sites. Undoubtedly, the words ‘social media
addiction’ will also turn up soon. Although we don’t want to deny the truth of
some of these stories, we think it’s important to make some subtle
distinctions.
You see, many of these negative conclusions regarding social media are
based on flawed or incomplete research, on anecdotes or personal experiences
of the authors, who are almost always middle-aged. ‘Annoying’ does not
automatically mean ‘harmful’, let’s not forget this. The excesses might be very
painful, but they don’t tell us how the average Gen Z member handles social
media.
The most important question, that of causality, has not
been properly answered, until now. In other words: what
causes what, exactly. Does a struggle with mental
problems lead to extensive use of social media, or does
the use of social media lead to an increase of mental
problems? Who is to blame?
Until now, the blame is mostly pinned on
the social media platforms. We think this is
because this explanation is more suited to
the problematic relationship older generations
have with those platforms. ‘I don’t understand
Snapchat and Instagram, so it’s probably
dangerous’, is an over-simplified explanation
of their reasoning.
Recently, a scientific study con-
ducted by researchers Orben,
Dienlin and Przybylski at Oxford
University, was published. In this study, the data of a survey among a group
of 12.672 British youngsters between the ages of ten and fiteen were analyzed.
These youngsters filled in questionnaires every year, between 2009 and 2016.
This is probably the first large-scale study that is truly equipped to draw
conclusions. The study focused on the relationship between the use of social
media and the satisfaction with one’s own life.
The effects of social media were examined in two ways. The first question
was: do youngsters who spend a lot of time on social media differ from
youngsters who spend little time on social media, with respect to how | 53
 satisfied they are with their life? These are differences between individual
persons. The second question was: do we perceive a change in the degree of
satisfaction with their own lives through time, depending on how much time
the youngsters spend on social media? These are differences within a person.
The results will come as a surprise, especially to older generations. The
effect of the amount of time spent on social media with regard to life satisfaction
was negligible. Any difference found, was so marginal that no scientist would
dare to draw conclusions from it. Youngsters who spent a lot of time visiting
social media platforms, were not less or more satisfied with their lives than
youngsters who visited these platforms less frequently. Time spent on social
media platforms was not a factor.
Nor did the scientists perceive the satisfaction with their own life changing
during the course of time, depending on the amount of time spent on social
media. Young people who spent more time on social media on average and
those who spent less time, didn’t change more or less than the others.
In short: being satisfied with their own lives was not
influenced in any way by the amount of time
the youngsters spent on social media
platforms. This nuances the idea that lots of
screen time leads to all kinds of undesirable
effects, to a very high extent.
In the words of the head researcher,
professor Przybylski: “99.75% of satisfaction
in life has nothing to do with the use of social
media.”
This study has only taken into account
the amount of time spent, and that is a
limitation, of course. The time spent
online may not be important, but what
they do online may very well be
important. This will need to be
researched further in future studies.
Nevertheless, here too, we should not
forget to look for causes. What is caused
54 | by what? Could it be that troubled youths
go looking for like-minded spirits online, to find confirmation for their
problems? Or do youngsters become unbalanced by the things they see and
experience on the social media platforms? Do girls with an eating disorder
actively search for ‘pro-ana’ websites, where anorexic behavior is celebrated?
Or do they develop an eating disorder because they have visited these
‘pro-ana’ websites by accident? We don’t know this (yet). What we do know:
it’s easy to jump to conclusions.
Another thing is that we no longer need to argue about the time spent
looking at screens, at the dinner table or at school. As long as caretakers pay
attention to what the youngsters are up to online, it doesn’t matter how much
time they spend online, apparently.

| 55
 “HOPE AND HYPE ARE GOOD FRIENDS,
BUT ALWAYS:
HYPE YOUR HOPE.”

Help: streak panic

B y now, we know that the stories about Generation Z’s addiction to

screens are often exaggerated and needlessly panicky. When we were
young, our parents kept warning us that watching tv would result in square
eyes, and that we would all need spectacles sooner rather than later. Television
was also said to make us stupid and illiterate. And well before that, when the
steam train was introduced, people were warned that the high velocity (some-
times even 25 miles per hour!) would cause irreparable damage to our internal
organs. Pregnant women were advised not to travel by train.
New and unfamiliar technology always gives rise to unfounded assumptions
and fear, mostly with the older generations who need time to get used to the
innovations. As is the case with social media.
Does this mean we applaud everything about it? Certainly not. The omnipresence
58 | of the social media platforms surely has its darker sides. Just consider current
phenomenons such as fake news, cyber bullying and ‘Big Brother’ behavior
by governments, companies, and institutions. These are extremely dangerous
developments that must be closely monitored and opposed.
On a micro level, we see some dangers as well. Most social media apps
have built-in characteristics that force us to start up the app over and over
again. Such as red alert balls, or Whatsapp checkmarks; we are constantly
asked to check in. Research by the Pew Institute, among others, demon-
strates that we spend more than 2 hours a day on social media, on average.
This is a worldwide phenomenon, and the average time increases every year.
Some social media apps have developed even more ways to keep the users
online. Instagram, for instance, has a feature called ‘three pictures in a row’.
The idea is that visitors of your Instagram page don’t see a random sequence
of photos, but rows of three photos that have some visual connection to each
other. For example, three photos in a row with predominantly blue colors, or
a photo of a bridge, cut in three pieces and spread out over three photos.
This forces the participants in this three-in-a-row game to upload three
photos that are somehow connected, every time they use the app. Just taking
a picture on the spur of the moment and uploading it, has become some-
thing of the past, because the holy trinity must always be maintained. We
talked to the Zs about this, and they indicated they had to work hard to keep
up with this three-in-a-row trend. Which causes them stress, obviously.
If you are a true fanatic, you go for the three by three option. That forces
you to create a grid of nine photos that are connected to each other. You won’t
be surprised to find that this is a day job. Some users get stuck in the mess
of keeping their grids in tiptop shape.
Snapchat takes it to a new level with the ‘streak’. A snapstreak is created
when two users send each other messages for three days in a row, all within
twenty-four hours. When this happens, Snapchat will insert an emoji of a
flame next to the name of the person with whom you started a streak. And
you also see a number that indicates how long the streak has been going on.
When the streak is broken (because one of the users reacts too late),
everything expires, and the whole thing starts again.
This whole thing is propbably incomprehensible to older generations, but
these snapstreaks are extremely important to a specific group of snapchatters
(fortunately, the vast majority couldn’t care less). Breaking a streak may lead | 59
 to panic, anger, stress, and even mourning. And since such a streak is mainly
built between friends, it may also lead to quarrels and broken friendships.
Snapchat uses a mechanism here that is quite cunning. First, the users are
rewarded for their behavior: they receive a badge of honor, in the form of an
emoji and a number. But they don’t have much time to enjoy this, because
from the moment the streak starts running, the relationship is threatened by
time pressure: one mistake and it’s over. The two snapchatters engaging in
such a streak are holding each other hostage, more or less. The user who
breaks the chain, is hurting the other.
Thus, snapstreaks facilitate emotional blackmail.
As we have often stated: we believe that the advantages of socials and the
networkization of the world outshine the disadvantages, but we are not naïve.
As is the case with all other innovations, we will need to learn to handle the
darker, troublesome sides, both on a social and on a personal level. The first
step is to acquire knowledge. And then you can start making things better, by
engaging in a healthy dialogue. Just think about it for a minute …

60 |
 “TO RE-CONNECT TO SOMETHING,
SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO DISCONNECT
FROM EVERYTHING.”

From FOMO to JOMO

T he market for old-fashioned board games has been steadlily growing for
years. The growth figures for recent years were even up to 20%. Another
analogue passtime, reading a book, is also clearly more popular than using
an e-reader. The young ones, especially, seem to prefer the traditional printed
book. What is going on here? Aren’t we supposed to go digital? Swap our
board games for online games, and our printed books for e-books? Not
always, it appears. Zs actively search for ‘unconnected’ amusement ever
more often.
Generation Y, the Millenials, were very aware of the digital revolution. They
went from sending hand-written notes in class to MSN, Facebook, and
Whatsapp. From a stuttering 64 KB modem to WiFi. Every morning, they
woke up to a new, revolutionary application. And they welcomed all the
innovations. The world around them became more and more digitized, and | 61
 the Ys enthusiastically embraced this new domain. The rise of social media
turned their social life upside down. Online retail turned the whole world into
a big mall. Dating no longer took place in the bar, but online, virtually. There
were endless opportunities. This increased the choice overload, and the fear
of missing out. Before long, the right term was found for this panicky feeling:
‘fear of missing out’. In short: FOMO.
Although it was never proven that youngsters are more susceptible to this
phenomenon than older people, it attracted a lot
of attention in the media. In our talks with mem-
bers of Generation Y, we also noticed that they
were often very busy in keeping up with all the
events in their digital life. It seems fair to con-
clude that almost every Gen Y member has
experienced FOMO at some point.
It also seems that Gen Z has a more balanced
approach toward all these digital options.
They don’t pursue every hype without
thinking; they are ‘digital natives’,
born after the digital transforma-
tion, and they look upon digital
technology as a commodity, rather
than as something special. We
already mentioned it before:
access to the Internet is the
same as turning open the tap
and getting water. It is important, the quality must be guaranteed, and it
must always work. But it isn’t very special or magical. It is more or less a
public utility function to them. As opposed to the attitude of the Ys, who can
hardly resist the online world.
Generation Y had no problems in sharing everything on Facebook and
Twitter, whereas Gen Z are more restrained. Instagram and Snapchat provide
more sense of control, and give the impression that all your personal data
aren’t publicized right away, and that is a good thing.
Still, social media are the primary frame of reference, the natural environment
62 | of Zs. It remains the lifeline that connects them to the world around them.
 Nevertheless, as an extension of the increased reluctance to share things
online, especially by seasoned Gen Zs, we see the beginning of a new trend:
JOMO. JOMO stands for ‘joy of missing out’. Yes, that’s what is says. First we
had the ‘fear of missing out’, and now we have the ‘joy of missing out’ as well.
We perceive a growing trend to stop sharing where you are all the time, and
that is considered to be cool. Also, sharing things with anyone, no matter
who, is being replaced by sharing things with one special person. Zs indicate
that it is a blissful feeling to be together with another Z and spend time only
with each other, without annoying bleeps and red balls sent by Whatsapp,
Snapchat or Instagram. It is remarkable that this news was brought to us by
Google.
Granted, it is much too early to start cheering, but it appears that we (and
Gen Z for sure) are going to determine when and where we want to be
connected, and when not, without pressure from apps! The Zs will surely
fight for the right to be invisible, now and then. And once facial recognition
becomes omnipresent in public spaces, it might even become a sport to see
who can travel from A to B without leaving any digital trace. Maybe the new
popular pastime?

| 63
 “ANY SUFFICIENTLY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
IS INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM MAGIC.”

Will Gen Z become the BlockGen?

B y the end of October, 2008, an article was published on the cryptovest.

co.uk website, under the name: ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash
System’. In no more than nine pages (including references), the writer outlined
a model for a secure, online, decentralized payment system. This article resulted
in the creation of the first Bitcoin in 2009, and afterwards in roughly 1500
other so-called cryptocurrencies.
Until today, nobody (except the writer(s) of the article) knows who the
author and inventor of Bitcoin is. The name by the article, Satoshi Nakamoto,
is a pseudonym. And a closely guarded secret. The hunt for the real identity
of this Nakamoto has now gone on for a decade, but nobody has managed to
reveal his/her/their identity. Every once in a while, a name pops up, but it
doesn’t tell us much. Although we do know that Nakamoto is the owner of a
64 | staggering 980.000 Bitcoins. Converted into ‘real’ currency, this would make
its owner a multi-billionaire, provided they convert their Bitcoins into a
tangible currency, of course. This will also reveal the identity of the inventor
of the most important online innovation since Tim Berners Lee proposed the
www-protocol in 1991. Until now, nothing of the sort has happened, and the
world holds its breath. Will the real Nakamoto please stand up?
For the moment, Bitcoin with all its cousins seems to be mainly a thing for
criminals and rogue investors. The world of the cryptocurrencies is a totally
different universe that has only marginal connections with the real world and
the real economy. There is a good chance this will not change any time soon.
No way will we pay for our bread with Bitcoins, Ethereum, or any other
cryptocurrency, in the near future. But the true innovation is not the virtual
money, it is the underlying technology that will revolutionize things.
Bitcoins are bits of computer code with a certain value. However, how do
you determine the value of this piece of computer code without a central bank
and a foreign exchange market? How do you guarantee ownership, without a
local bank or bank statement? As an answer to these questions, Satoshi
Nakamoto (whoever this is) invented the Blockchain.
This Blockchain is the true game changer. It is a bit of a cliché, but the word
‘disruption’ can truly be applied to the Blockchain. The general assumption
among specialists (accountants such as Deloitte, and banks such as the
Credit Suisse) is that the Blockchain technology will change all our – economic
– dealings. This will not be long, given that IBM has already invested 200
million dollars in Blockchain technology, as rumour has it.
We all know that you do not need to understand the way a television set
works in order to watch The Bold and the Beautiful. Likewise, you don’t need
to understand Internet technology in order to send emails, stream, and watch
YouTube videos. In the same way, there is no need for us to understand the
exact technology of the Blockchain, in order to understand its implications.
By the way, the only people who are able to grasp the technology are graduated
with honors from Stanford or MIT. And preferably from both universities.
It is more interesting to watch the ‘what’ instead of the ‘how’. What does a
Blockchain do?
A Blockchain is a public, decentralized accounting system that cannot be
changed, once an agreement has been reached and verified. It is a chain of
sealed, virtual boxes (blocks) with agreements. The system is designed in | 65
 such a way that once the agreement has been confirmed, nothing can change
the contents anymore. The block system is very secure and virtually
unhackable, because the code of one block is always linked to the code of the
previous block. Hence the name ‘chain’.
If you want to commit fraud, you would need to break open the entire
chain, and this is impossible. Furthermore, the whole Blockchain is public,
and shared on hundreds of different computers and systems. Which means
that it won’t help you to tamper with one or a few of these computers, because
the majority of the other computers will reveal the truth, and also any attempts
to defraud the system.
You could say that a Blockchain is a network in which the truth has been
captured. Within this network, there is no room for discussions about right or
wrong, as so often happens in our everyday life.
Currently, if we want to purchase anything, such as a house, we are forced
to trust all kinds of third parties. For starters, we must hope that the data in
the land register are correct and up to date. We also need to assume that the
realtor who sells the house has not concealed anything, that our own realtor
hasn’t engaged in secret price-fixing, that the mortgage bank offers us an
honest deal, and that the notary can be trusted. We are continuously forced to
trust a whole bunch of intermediaries that all control a small part of the total
transaction, and all try to make some money out of it. All these intermediaries
have every reason to close the deal in a way that is favorable to themselves.
Since we don’t have any other option, we have accepted this is the way it
works. We have learned to ignore that nagging feeling of insecurity, or to
simple outshout it.
The Blockchain solves all these problems in one go. Because everything is
public, and everything is recorded and fixed. And because the system is
designed in such a way that cheating is almost impossible, so there is no
need to be afraid. Every agreement is transparent. What you see, is what you
get. Or, even better: you get, what everybody can see.
For the first time in history, ‘trust’ has become superfluous when dealing
with one another. From now on, we can interact with each other without hav-
ing to trust each other. Indeed, the trust part is taken care of by technology.
We can skip all these intermediaries we had to trust out of necessity, we don’t
66 | need them anymore. Now we have a system in which clumsiness, mistakes,
half-truths and corruption have become impossible.
Closing deals without needing to trust each other. That may be the reason
Bitcoins are so popular with criminals.
Indeed, ‘trust’ is precisely the thing that bothers Generation Z. This generation
has learned to mistrust things. Generation Z is on the lookout for certainties
in a world where institutions, companies, politicians and celebrities slip up
every other minute. During the formative years of the Zs, banks that could
simply not fail, still went under. Unflinching chain stores disappeared from
the streets. Every year, about sixty politicians are compromised, on average
(in the Netherlands only). The online world is teeming with fraudsters and
phishing. Anything you buy on Dutch Marktplaats or Ebay feels a bit like a
gamble, let alone if you purchase anything via Ali Express. Democratic elections
in the United States and Europe are tampered with. To name a few things.
If this is the world you grow up in, you have learned to mistrust everyone
and everything at an early age. In such conditions, a system that is not based
on forced mutual trust, but on encryption
and transparency, is a much appre-
ciated innovation. The Blockchain
is perfectly suited to the
needs of Generation Z.

What can we expect?

During the first half of
the nineties, in the previ-
ous century, the develop-
ment of the Internet was
predominantly driven by
porn, gambling, and
gaming. These were the
first applications to
gain widespread popu-
larity. We will probably
witness the same thing
with the Blockchain. Early
examples are the Spank- | 67
 Chain for sex, and the FunFair for gambling and gaming. The second site is a
casino, where you can play and bet with your own cryptocurrency tokens.
Through the use of Blockchain technology (for the fans: Ethereum), the player
is completely anonymous, and always remains the owner of his or her virtual
money. ‘Traditional’ online casinos often have the rule that you are not allowed
to cash in all your money at once, in case you have finally won a substantial
sum. This won’t bother you at FunFair. Also, the casino cannot sell your personal
data, because you are always the owner of these data.
Generation Z is not about to start gambling and watching porn, of course
not. They will do other things, such as donate to charities through a Blockchain.
This enables them to circumvent organisations with well-paid employees,
expensive campaigns, pompous buildings, shady deals (for example, Foster
Parents Plan and Alpe d’Huzes), and misappropriations. Corruption on the
part of the recipient will become impossible as well. After all, the donated
amount of money will only be released when the entire blockchain has confirmed
that the money will indeed be used for the intended goal. The idea of donating
money to a group of people (and hoping they will do some good with it), will
become obsolete.
In 2017, the World Food Programme of the United Nations has used Blockchain
technology when they were distributing food among 10.000 Syrian refugees
in Jordan. Usually, these refugees receive a kind of food vouchers that allow
them to do some ‘shopping’ at the supermarkets in the camp. This requires
quite a lot of accounting, to determine how many vouchers each refugee gets,
and which vouchers have been cashed in. Lots of bureaucracy. Thanks to the
Blockchain technology, this whole bureaucratic process (including all the
mistakes and corruption that go with it) could be minmized. The iris of the
visitor was scanned in the supermarket, and then the Blockchain took care of
the rest. The iris scan tells the system who is entitled to what, and all transac-
tions are directly registered on an individual level, in a Blockchain. This saves
millions of dollars in accounting costs, and this money can be used for more
help.
If a refugee camp in Jordan can use this technology, when can we expect
this at our local supermarket?

68 |
Here are some other options:
About one third of all the second-hand cars in Germany have had their
odometer reading tampered with. If these cars are connected to a Blockchain,
such tampering will become impossible. Just imagine: you could actually
start to trust the stories of a used car salesman!
Generation Z buys more things online, and more often, than ever. Here
too, Blockchain technology might be a decisive factor. When you buy some-
thing from a local store, you can look the salesman in the eye, and check the
product. You can rely on your own judgment. This is much more difficult
when you buy online. That is why we love reviews so much. If the site has
plenty of stars, we think everything will be okay. At the same time, we all know
how faulty this system is. Blockchain overrules everything. You make a
purchase, and your money is only transfered if everything checks out, because
the agreements are all stored in the Blockchain. Suppose that in the future,
consumers can choose between an online retailer with little ‘thumbs’ icons,
and Blockchain technology, what would they choose?
Currently, the development of the Blockchain technology is still at an early
stage. We are aware that all the financial corporations are heavily investing in
this technology, although we do not know what exactly they are developing.
But it is clear that they are hounded by this new technology. What will the
credit card companies, the ultimate intermediaries, do in the future? For
example, Western Union, a company whose primary activity is receiving
money in one place, and distributing it somewhere else. What will they do,
once the Blockchain solutions are available? Probably the same thing, but
with their own Blockchain technology. They have already started experimenting.
Suppose you are studying to become a notary, a banker, an accountant, or
a lawyer? Will your services be needed in the future? Chances are that these
professions will become obsolete, and it doesn’t seem wise to pursue a career
as an intermediary. The intermediary might become a dying breed in the near
future. Same as the coal man, the tanner, and the knocker-up (look these up
in Google and you’ll be surprised).
The impact of Blockchain technology will be enormous, that much is clear.
From now on, we can expect all kinds of revolutionary applications that will
influence all our actions. Although this will not be the sole influence of Blockchain.
Due to the availability of Blockchain technology, ‘trust’ and ‘trustworthiness’ | 69
 will be at the top of the agenda. Especially with Generation Z. Companies and
institutions that don’t use Blockchain technology, will be held to the same
high standards of transparency and reliability. Those who don’t deliver exactly
as promised, will go down. ‘Reliability’, ‘credibility’ and ‘openness’ will
become preconditions for survival. Ask yourself: can my company survive the
Blockchain? We don’t think so, unless…

70 |
 “MILLENNIALS DROVE BRANDS
TO BE PURPOSEFUL, BUT GEN Z ARE
DEMANDING PROOF. THIS GENERATION
WAS RAISED TO QUESTION FAKE NEWS,
BE SUSPICIOUS OF SECRECY AND
HOLD SINCERITY SACRED. THEY ARE THE
HONEST GENERATION AND
THEY DON’T EXPECT BRANDS TO BE
PERFECT, BUT THEY DO EXPECT THEM
TO BE TRUTHFUL.”
 “EVERYBODY HAS A PLAN,
‘TILL YOU GET PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH.”

Zs say: just get everything

out in the open

T he world in which Generation Z and Generation Alpha grew up, didn’t

believe in the privacy myth anymore. No youngster believes that personal
data are actually private. Legislators may try to control things by issuing all
kinds of regulations, but Big Tech (as all these big tech companies together,
such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Uber are called) will always be three
steps ahead, and they are so ‘untransparent’ that nobody can really check
what is happening behind the scenes. Data are worth billions of dollars, and
can be sent to the other side of the world with just a mouseclick. Those who
own the most data, are the most powerful.
Gen Z and Alpha are aware that there is an ongoing hunt for their data. Not
just private information, but any information on daily behavior is monitored,
72 | and relevant to companies.
 This is an interesting experiment for iPhone users: go to ‘Settings’ and
click ‘Privacy’. Select ‘Location services’, scroll all the way downward, and
click ‘System’. Scroll further downward and click ‘Significant Locations’. If this
option is enabled, you will find a nice overview of all the places you frequently
visit. Why does your phone know this? And why do most people not know this
is recorded? What is done with this information? Apple tells us that they don’t
read these data, but only use it to make the apps more effiicient. Do we believe
this? You can be the judge of this.
Given the speed with which facial recognition software is being developed,
they won’t need your cell phone much longer; soon they will know where you
are, right away, always and everywhere.
Anyone who is born into this digitized world, knows it’s virtually impossible
to escape the data hunger of companies, institutions, and governments.
Where older generations still shed some fake tears when they watch our
privacy dwindle, younger generations have already accepted it.
Keeping up the faith in data security is a hard job, when you look at the
endless series of data breach incidents, where private data are thrown out in
the open. In the United States alone, there are approximately a thousand data
breaches per year, where around half a billion of digital data have become
accessible to third parties. This ranges from credit card information to
medical data. Nothing seems to be safe anymore.
The website informationisbeautiful.net keeps a detailed record of where
and when things have gone wrong. Let’s look at some examples out of this
extensive collection. Recently, all the passport and credit card data of 383
million customers of the Starwood Hotels (among which were the Marriott,
Regis, Sheraton, and W hotels) were for sale on the dark web. In China, something
went wrong and the CVs of 202 million Chinese became public, including
personal data such as phone numbers, driver’s licence numbers, email addresses,
and even political preference. And what about the 117 million LinkedIn passwords
that were stolen in 2012? These are just a few examples out of an inconceivably
long list, but they are quite frightening.
If privacy cannot be guaranteed anymore, we will need to find other
solutions. Laws will always be broken, and ever smarter security protocols
will always be hacked by ever smarter hackers. It is an arms race that will only
lead to a false sense of secutiry. | 73
 We have already discussed a possible solution in the chapter about the
Blockchain. The unreliability of the current systems can be partly solved by
this new technology. If financial transactions use Blockchain technology,
credit card data and sensitive bank information can never be leaked again.
You could say that the technology eliminates the most unreliable links from
the process.
Some companies react in a different way to the growing sense of failure to
keep things secret and private: they embark on a course of radical transparency.
Since secrecy has become useless, it is better to bring everything out in the
open, is their philosophy. These brands respond to the increasing mistrust
among consumers. They believe full disclosure is the only way to win back the
trust of cynical consumers.
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates investment company, is
acknowledged as the inventor of ‘radical honesty’ and ‘radical transparency’
as core values for his company. Bridgewater Associates have taken these
principles extremely far. Almost all the business operations have become
public knowledge (including all the salaries and bonuses), but furthermore,
employees are practically forced to be completely honest with each other. Do
you think your manager behaves like a jerk? Tell him. And please do so during
a meeting where all the colleagues are present. On top of this, almost all the
meetings are recorded on video, and saved. The idea is that anyone can check
whatever is discussed and decided at such a meeting, even if they were not
present.
Radical honesty and radical transparency has brought Bridgewater
Associates great fortune. According to their own information, the company
manages 150 billion dollars by now, and this makes it one of the biggest
hedge funds in the world.
Of course, this type of strategy also creates some problems. Some former
employees said that the radical honesty and transparency that is almost
imposed on people, creates an atmosphere that is also found in cults. These
values do not result in a sense of freedom, so the critics say, but on the
contrary, they lead to a constant sense of oppression. When you are being
assessed by your colleagues all the time, you can become very insecure.
And what if a colleague has exhibited improper sexual conduct? To whom
74 | can you tell this in confidence? After all, Bridgewater does not believe in
confidentiality among employees; everything is out in
the open and open to discussion. An article in the
New York Times disclosed that Bridgewater had to
deal with such a problem, quite recently, and
they didn’t come out looking good. The
victim’s story spread throughout the
company, and now he is at home, with
maintenance of salary but loss of
career opportunities.
In spite of the complicated
situations Bridgewater Associates
find themselves in as a result of
their belief in the radical
honesty and transparency
policy, several other brands
have also adopted this strategy.
Patagonia, an outdoor clothing brand, have decided to be completely
transparent with regard to their production process. Where does the cotton
come from, and how is it grown? Where does the wool come from, and how
are the sheep treated? Where does the down come from, and how is it
harvested? They are also quite open about the earnings of employees and
suppliers.
Sometimes, this openness forces Patagonia to act. Twice, they have
terminated the contract with their wool supplier, because animal rights
organizations alerted them about the way the sheep were treated. This is, of
course, the downside of full transparency: everyone watches you and has an
opinion. Most companies would perceive this as a threat, but Patagonia
embraces this as an opportunity.
Patagonia is a worldwide success. Consumers are prepared to pay a little
bit more, because they identify with the efforts of the company. And the
relatively high wages paid by Patagonia, ensure that the workforce remains
stable, since people don’t quit easily.
Another example of this policy is Fitbit. Fitbit is a so-called fitness tracker.
It looks like a watch, but it tells you much more than just the time of day. Your
Fitbit counts your steps, your degree of activity, how many hours you sleep, | 75
 your heartrate, your blood pressure, etc. The idea is that you can monitor your
health 24 hours a day, and not just during those few hours a week you are
actively engaged in sports.
Fitbit collects all kinds of personal data, 24 hours a day, and has 28 million
users, all over the world. And that is the catch; these data are worth a lot of
money, and they also lead to misgivings. That is why Fitbit has chosen a
strategy of radical transparency concerning the way they process the data.
Users know exactly which data are collected, and Fitbit gives full disclosure as
to what they know about you. They also explain in detail how the data are
protected, and in their general terms and conditions they explicitly state that
these data will never be marketed.
In a world where privacy is under threat and people don’t trust anything
anymore, companies and institutions can elect to build ever higher walls, or,
on the other hand, to open the door. Transparency and honesty are attractive
qualities that appeal to everyone, but especially to generations Z and Alpha.
They no longer believe all the stories about the protection of privacy. Radical
openness may be the way forward, in order to gain the trust of Zs and Alphas.
Radical transparency and honesty are surely not intended as a marketing
trick, and that is why companies must make sure they really mean it. In these
times of professional and amateur hackers, claiming to be open and not
living up to it, has become impossible. There are too many activist consumers
that won’t hesitate to name and shame hypocritical brands. And once you
have embarked upon this course, there is no turning back. Nobody will ever
trust you again. On the other hand: if you don’t go along with this global
transparency trend, your business will dry up in the long term, sure thing. The
reason: the number of Gen Zs and Alphas is increasing.

76 |
 “OUR LIVES ARE NOT OUR OWN.
WE ARE BOUND TO OTHERS, PAST AND
PRESENT, AND BY EACH CRIME AND EVERY
KINDNESS, WE BIRTH OUR FUTURE.”

The sharing economy is on the way

back: from laundrette to scatterbike

T his is typically a word that you encounter everywhere, these days: the
sharing economy. From ownership to usage! Didn’t we used to have that
in the old days? Yes and no. That is why we ask ourselves what it means right
now, and why it fits the ideas and desires of Generation Z so well. And, what
are the dangers?
Let us discuss the original definition: in the sharing economy, individuals
make their possessions available to others, when they themselves don’t need
or want to use them. Often at a fee, sometimes even for free. By now, we see
that the ‘sharing economy’ includes all sorts of services that enable the user
to determine when and how often he or she wants to use a product, without
owning it. AirBNB, for instance, is a form of classic sharing economy (you
have a spare room or apartment and rent it out), and it has evolved into other | 77
 forms, such as the scatterbikes that are scattered all over some cities. Here,
companies have invested in goods that they rent out for short periods of
time. Actually, it is about all types of commerce where making use of a product
does not coincide with ownership of that product, and where the user is at
liberty to determine when and how long he or she wishes to use the product.
And where the interaction almost always takes place through an online
platform.
You will also hear the expression ‘product as a service’ every now and then,
because it is not always about sharing, but also about availability. That is why
the term ‘on demand economy’ is often used.
Currently, China has become the champion of the sharing economy. The
Chinese government is heavily invested in developing solutions for this
sharing economy. ‘The principles of the sharing economy can be compared to
the principles of a communist society, because both are geared toward
distributing things on the basis of need’, says Robin Li. Li is the CEO of Baidu,
a Chinese Internet giant that is now worth more than 90 billion dollars. This
statement makes it clear why China has embraced the sharing economy so
wholeheartedly. From a historical perspective, this step makes perfect sense
to China.
Why is the sharing economy so well suited to Generation Z as well? Probably
not because Zs have an intrinsic communist outlook. No, it’s because Zs are
networkers who love to find solutions within their networks. Almost all the
exponents of the sharing economy respond to this by offering more than just
an economic transaction. There is more to it than just using a nice app and
getting your hands on all kinds of goods or services at low cost. It is also
always about sharing the experience with your own followers and friends.
Couchsurfing.com doesn’t just get you a place to sleep, it also aims at creating
bonds of friendship between people from different countries. The couch you
sleep on is also the means to create a connection. Every overnight stay makes
the world a bit more loveable and a bit more understanding. Spotify is not
only useful for listening to a multitude of songs at a low monthly fee; you can
also share your playlists with friends. And the public playlists let you find
others who may share your, perhaps somewhat exotic, taste. Time and time
again, we see that Zs make maxium use of the networks that keep expanding.
78 | After all, networks are communities, and in communities, it is all about sharing
and cooperating.
One of our core perceptions (extensively described in our previous books)
is that Generation Z enters the Maslow pyramid at a relatively high level. In
our society, the first three levels of the Maslow pyramid, the basic needs
(physiological needs, safety, connectedness) have almost always been fulfilled.
You could say that Generation Z was born with these levels; they got them
free of charge, thanks to the achievements of our welfare society. They are
more concerned with the higher levels of Maslow, and especially the fourth
level: the need for esteem. Respect, status, success, and self-confidence are of
above-average importance to this generation, compared to previous generations.
It is all about these psychological needs, since the basic needs have already
been fulfilled. The status you yourself perceive has become less dependent
on what you own (material goods), and more dependent on who you know,
who you are, or what you experience (immaterial issues). ‘Having access to’
becomes more important than ‘owning it’. It is entirely possible to fulfill material
needs with goods you loan or rent, but this is not possible for immaterial
needs. So you need to focus on those and put
your energy toward immaterial needs.
That is exactly where the sharing economy
plays a crucial part: it facilitates and
drives this need.
Thanks to all the suppliers in the
sharing economy, you no longer need
to buy all kinds of things, in order
to experience some-

| 79
 thing special. If you want to immerse yourself in a foreign culture, AirBNB or
Couchsurfing.com are better options than staying at an expensive hotel, or
buying a second home. If you want to experience your own city, or an unknown
city, you grab a scatterbike and leave it behind when you don’t want to use it
anymore. Very handy, cheap, and no purchase required.
The sharing economy seamlessly fits the immaterial needs of Generation
Z, but it also suits the pragmatic outlook of many Zs. Rentals and loans are
simply much easier, more pragmatic and flexible, more independent and less
risky than buying and selling. An additional advantage is that expensive
products and services that you don’t need on a daily basis, are now within
reach. Such as cabs, overnight stays, lawnmowers, boats, and even private
planes. Furthermore, choosing to use ‘products as a service’ is very
pragmatical and suitable to the lifestyle of city dwellers. Everything you need
is at your fingertips, and you don’t need to worry how to get it, or where to
leave it when you don’t need it anymore. You can zap along
goods and services, as it were. When you have small
living spaces with high costs, this is a considerable
advantage. You have everything, without owning
anything.
Finally: ‘products as a service’ is a sustainable
concept that is less burdensome for the
environment, since re-using things is embedded
in this concept. More precisely: the business
model is predominantly based on the frequent
re-use (or renting out) of the product on
offer. And Z understands very well that future
welfare is based on more efficient pro-
duction, but especially on more efficient
usage.
Now, to what extent is this
different from the laundrette,
where you can do your washing
without buying a washing machine, or a timeshare
appartement on one of the Canary Islands? Or even from a library where you
80 | can read books without buying them? When it’s about the transation (‘I use
something I don’t own’), there is hardly any difference. But there is more to it
than that. Until now, it was mainly about using things you actually couldn’t
afford, but wanted to buy. If you couldn’t afford a washing machine, the laundrette
was ‘second best’. If you couldn’t afford your own vacation home, timesharing
was second best. However, in the sharing economy it is never about ‘second
best’; here, it is about a richer and better experience, because the level of
service not only focuses on the product itself, but also on experiencing the
product or the service. On top of this, there is often a social element as well:
the community.
At Couchsurfing.com you can easily arrange a cheap sleeping place, but it
is also a unique cultural experience. You meet local people who can show you
the really interesting places. You make friends for life, and Couchsurfing.com
also facilitates all kinds of meetings and parties where you can meet other
travelers.
Actually, every producer should reason from a point of view that regards
his or her ‘product as a service’, even if the sharing economy is less suited to
this product. The manufacturers of durables (cars, white goods, electronic
appliances, etc.) have often already taken this step. The car industry uses the
‘Private Lease’ model, for example. You don’t buy a car, you use it. Although
the industry has missed some opportunities here, regarding the use of social
media and creating a community.
Fast movers are not yet ready for ‘products as a service’, or so it seems.
The meal box delivery services (such as Marley Spoon, Hello Fresh, and the
Dutch Allerhande box) are the first step, but there are many more options. In
particular for Generation Z, a generation that we expect to spend very little
time in the kitchen. They will do anything to save time, which will give the
foodservice counters in supermarkets a big boost. The Dutch department
store Hema does it with Lekker Hema, and supermarket chain Jumbo does
the same with the La Place food courts. Smart, fresh, and tasty, at an honest
price.
Of course, there is a darker side to the sharing economy. There is a reason
that ‘products as a service’ is so popular in China. It seems to be perfectly
suited to their communist roots, but there is another reason why the Chinese
government is so focused on sharing: in a sharing economy, you don’t only
share products, but information as well. And the Chinese state loves to gather | 81
 information on its citizens. Knowledge is power, and power keeps the
totalitarian regime in the saddle.
Although it is not just the Chinese government that loves to snoop around
in the lives of unsuspecting citizens. Thanks to the digital applications, the
apps that facilitate the sharing economy, the supplier knows everything about
his users. If you often use a scatterbike, the owner of these bikes will soon
know which routes you take, when you do this, and how long you stay some-
where. By combining info from Google Maps, Facebook, and Instagram with
these data, they can easily create a detailed profile of almost every user. The
algorithms they use are so powerful that they can draw an almost perfect
picture of anyone who regularly uses a scatterbike. Or anyone who uses
another ‘product as a service’, of course. Because, your choice of films and
music also reveals a lot about who you are.
In the end, these carefully created profiles are worth a fortune. Everyone
who cheerfully takes part in the sharing economy and enjoys the advantages,
such as ease of use, low pricing, and great experiences, is actually also
regarded as merchandise. Apparently, this is a price we are prepared to pay.
This doesn’t seem to be a problem for a generation that doesn’t believe in the
privacy myth anymore. ‘The only thing that is really private, is in my head, and
I haven’t shared this with anyone!’ That is the way Gen Z thinks.

84 |
 “IF MORE OF US VALUED FOOD AND
CHEER AND SONG ABOVE HOARDED GOLD,
IT WOULD BE A MERRIER WORLD.”

Future Food tastes good…

W hy does a DIY store sell cushions, vases, and other accessories?

Because younger consumers have stopped doing things themselves.
Not because they don’t want to, but because there are not able to do this
work, simply because they are not taught DIY skills anymore.
Flat tyre? Bring your bike to the repair shop. There are hardly any youngsters
left who know what to do with a bucket of water, some sanding paper, a tube
of glue and a piece of rubber.
Only true hippies still make their own clothes. In the old days, everyone
used to knit or sow their own clothes sometimes. The (Dutch) magazines
that catered to this target group, were called Burda, Marion, or Knip, and
almost every household had a subscription.
We see the same thing happening in the kitchen. Cooking your own meals,
always a sign of maturity, is not fashionable anymore, and something you | 85
 watch on tv, Youtube, Instagram, or Pinterest.
True cooking has become the domain of profes-
sional cooks, who have reached star-status by
now. For the last couple of years, the trend in
cooking has been to look for ever more efficiency.
You don’t cook a fast, nutritious, healthy, and
(especially in the Netherlands) affordable
meal, no: you assemble it.
And even this is too much work for
many Generation Z members. We expect
this generation to cook even less than
previous generations, which is quite
strange for a generation that is famous
for its need for autonomy and ‘doing things
themselves’. More and more, it
has become a matter of take away
food, or having food delivered.
Cooking is a thing that happens out of the house. How do you solve this, if
you keep in mind that there are fewer employees available, particularly in the
catering business? Robots.
That is why four MIT students in Boston have invented the Robochef. A robot
that has its own restaurant (called Spyce), and prepares simultaneous meals
out of fresh ingredients, fully automated. In a few minutes, a delicious dish is
ready to be served, chosen from one of the world’s cuisines. The human
touch is added when the garnish is laid on the plate or bowl.
The Robochef may well be the lifesaver for all the restaurants that
desperately need a good cook, of which there is a shortage; it also guarantees
a consistently high quality. Robots do not get sick, and they aren’t poached by
competitors. The longer you use a robot, the cheaper it gets, where employees
tend to become more expensive over time. In short: robots are the ideal catering
employees.
The Robochef is not the only functioning catering robot. The cruise ship
Harmony of the Seas uses a robotic bartender that mixes perfect martinis. He
never tires and you don’t need to tip him.
86 | Those who still eat meals at home will also be looking for the balance
between tasty, healthy, and efficient. Gen Z will do anything do save time and
make life easier. Indeed: why should you go to the supermarket to buy ingredients,
go home, and prepare your meal (following the instruction video on YouTube)?
Only to conclude that it isn’t as tasty as you thought it would be, much less
Instagrammable.
This is not an option, so the Zs prefer fresh take away meals. Although they
also prefer to buy them at the supermarkrt, since they always have fresh
ingredients. Amazon has been very smart by setting up their Wholefoods
service, which is a big success. Likewise, the Dutch HEMA cuisine and Lekker
HEMA (tasty HEMA) believe that eating is the new shopping. Jumbo was
ahead of this trend and cooperates with the La Place foodcourts, in the belief
that fresh always wins! The Albert Heijn supermarket chain is starting to
realize this too, and has started a delivery service of freshly cooked dinners,
by the name ‘Allerhande Kookt’. According to Albert Heijn, this is the next
step in foodservice. They argue that they see an increasing desire for good
meals that resemble home cooking, without their customers needing to enter
the kitchen themselves. The same point Generation Z would undoubtedly
make.
Current predictions are that from 2025 on, no less than 43.5% of all meals
will originate from the supermarket business. You have them delivered, or
pick them up, and this is good news for the supermarkets, because Gen Zs
are not frequent customers. Unless there is a ‘To Go’ sign, of course.
Going to the supermarket to buy staple foods is a waste of time, since you
can have them delivered to your doorstep. On the other hand, picking fresh
meals is fun, especially if the Robo chef spices things up.
Another prediction is for the amount of online orders to rise. Meals can be
cheaply ordered from so-called ‘dark kitchens’; these are catering kichens
that have no connection with a restaurant or supermarket and do nothing
else but prepare meals for delivery services.
In line with these predictions, kitchens are expected to become much
smaller and simpler in the future. By now, most homes have an open kitchen,
as part of the living room. Around 2030, many apartments will probably have
no kitchen at all, just a simple galley.
But where do we leave this 3D foodprinter everyone is talking about? Well,
we won’t have one... It is predicted that these devices will mainly be used in | 87
 hospitals and larger institutions, particularly for people with special dietary
needs. Before, ‘special foods’ were terrible to look at and they tasted even
worse. Now, they can be printed and made to look attractive, with nice shapes
and colors. Combined with a robotized environment, these insitutions will be
able to prepare quick, healthy and cheap meals as well.
An interesting social side-effect of these developments is that men and
women will become ever more detached from their traditional roles and
housekeeping chores. The Dutch Emancipation Monitor for the year 2018 of
the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau and the statistical office (CBS)
indicates that shopping for groceries and cooking are still often tasks carried
out by women. When the traditional cooking behavior will disappear, this
traditional female role will probably be a thing of the past as well. We don’t
need to liberate women from the kitchen, the kitchen will be liberated from
the women.

88 |
 “SOMETIMES THE HARDEST THING AND
THE RIGHT THING ARE THE SAME.”

Shopping with Z

I n the United States, they have invented a great name for it: ‘Retail Apocalypse’.
A number of iconic chain stores and shopping malls have collapsed. Such
as Sears and Toys‘R’Us; these are just some of the dozens of giant stores that
imploded and have disappeared in the last few years. They sometimes manage
to rise (temporarily?) from ‘Chapter 11 death’ (i.e. bankrupcy), for example,
Toys’R’Us. The American shopping landscape is riddled with empty and slowly
decaying malls. The shop surface in the US decreased by about 34.750 square
miles. That is almost a third of the total shop surface in the Netherlands. Indeed,
the word ‘apocalypse’ seems to be the right word.
In the Netherlands, we have our own ‘Retail Apocalypse’ of sorts. The V&D
department store, Kijkshop, Men at Work, Miss Etam, Halfords, Bart Smit
and the Free Record Shop (to name a few): all gone. Entire shopping areas
seem to have gone up in smoke. This was not a slow, insidious process, but | 89
 a fast, fierce adaptation to reality. Now you see them, now you don’t.
Have people stopped shopping? On the contrary, we still shop our little
hearts out. The turnover in the retail business keeps growing at a rate of a few
percent a year. We go on buying things, just not enough from the chain stores
that have gone under. That is why the term ‘Old Retail Apocalypse’ is more
suitable.
Because that is what’s going on: the big chain stores that hung on to their
old routines, have taken a beating. Most bankrupcies can be explained on the
basis of five factors.
The first and most obvious factor, is the attack by e-commerce businesses.
Online shopping keeps growing at a rapid pace, and many of the traditional
retail businesses have missed out. Although it is a misconception that shops
go bust because we only do our shopping at Bol.com, Zalando, and Amazon.
Around 90% of all purchases is still done in physical stores, built with bricks.
But it is a factor that about 80% of the consumers engages in ROPO. ROPO
stands for ‘research online, purchase offline’. You search for things and com-
pare them online, and then you go to the store to check them out, to feel and
taste them, and, eventually, to buy them. Without a solid online presence,
consumers will not notice your products, and not come to your physical store
to buy them. This is the true risk of a poor online presence.
The second factor is the dependency on location. For many years, the three
main ingredients of succes in retail country were ‘location, location, location’.
But if the number of shoppers diminishes every year, renting an expensive
storefront become a risk, all of a sudden. If this is made even worse by the
vacancy rate all around you, your top location has become a liability.
The third reason for the ‘Old Retail Apocalypse’, is the ongoing switch from
needing things to needing experiences. American research shows that con-
sumers prefer to spend money on food and drink in coffeeshops, bars and
restaurants, and on travels, and this is an ongoing trend. They want to
experience things, not own them. Some shops try to cater to these needs, by
turning their shop into an experience, including a barista and a DJ on Saturdays,
but they often get it wrong. If a customer chooses to be entertained, he or she
doesn’t choose to go shopping. Mixing these things up will only confuse and
annoy people.
90 | The fourth reason has already been discussed at length in one of the other
chapters in this book: the rise of the sharing economy. If people can easily
loan or rent the things they need, at an affordable price, they will not buy
them. Although the sharing economy is still relatively small, compared to the
total retail business, the mentality that underlies the sharing economy is
embraced by many. This is not a great comfort to a shopkeeper.
As fifth and last reason for the collapse of the old retail businesses, we
name ‘bad management’. Many managers in traditional retail lived in the
past for too long, and mainly spent time managing their real estate and
inventory. Improving logistics and cutting costs took precedence over listening
to the desires and needs of the customers. Spreadsheets don’t sell things.
On top of this, they didn’t invest enough in their staff. The customers that still
visited them, were ever less impressed by the shopping experience and
stopped coming. Managers that did want to go forward, were often held back
by new ownership: international investment consortiums, obsessed by
short-term profits.
In the end, most chain stores collapsed under a mountain of debts. When
people do not want to spend their money at your place anymore, making the
interest on all the loans becomes impossible. And if the property has been
put up for sale too, it’s the end of the story.
This is the retail landscape Generation Z knows. The traditional names
have gone, and are replaced by new ones. But what does Gen Z want in terms
of shopping and shopping experience?
The IBM Institute for Business Value has researched this and demonstrates
that Zs are not looking for experiences, in the first place. Or for surprises
when they are doing their shopping. Concept Stores that offer all kinds of
things, with a nice coffee bar in the back and a sandwich bar up front, are not
what Generation Z wants. Generation Z is pragmatic, and so are its retail
needs.
They are not looking for silly fun and games, but for efficient solutions.
Their priorities are ‘having a choice’, ‘accessibility’, ‘availability’, and ‘offers’.
The IBM study also mentions that a wide and deep range of products is the
main thing. Gen Z wants to have options, and doesn’t like others making a
preselection for them; they want to see everything and make their own
decisions and choices, that’s what this generation is about.
The distance to the shops comes second. | 91
 It may come as a surprise, but Gen Zs prefer to shop in a physical store.
The answer to the question ‘do you usually shop in a physical store?’ was ‘yes’
in 67% of the cases. The question ‘do you usually shop online, using a brows-
er?’ was answered with ‘yes’ by only 22% of the respondents. And only 13%
say they usually shop online, using an app. This means that Zs shop in physical
stores over three times more often than through a website. A mere 2% say
they never buy at physical stores. As compared to 25% that never buy through
a fixed Internet connection (the ‘classic’ webstores), and more than half never
use an app to purchase things. Most Zs shop both online and offline, but the
‘bricks’ still easily beat the ‘clicks’. Provided these ‘bricks’ are not too far away,
since distance is always a factor.
Once Generation Z have made their choice and found their way to the
store, Zs do want the product of their choice to be available right away.
Out-of-stock is unacceptable to them. Old retail often had problems with
products that were not readily available, and that was one of the reasons for
their downfall. If you don’t manage to find a solution for this, you can forget
about having Generation Z as your customers.
The fourth place in the priotities list is occupied by ‘offers’. Gen Z are the
ultimate ROPO generation. Before heading out to the shops, they do some
quick online research and compare prices. Where can I get what I want for the
lowest price? Who has the best offers?
While viewing the priorities of Z, we can conclude that they mostly expect
the essential elements of the shopping experience to be perfectly organized.
It is all about the products, and the most efficient way of purchasing them.
No smoke and mirrors, but clarity, speed, and affordability. They are not looking
for features, but for empowerment.
In line with this, we also see a need for individualization. Gen Zs want to
be the master of their shopping experience. They don’t want the store to
gauge their needs as a target group, and build a concept around this, but they
want to make their own decisions regarding time and place, and where to
shop. As soon as retailers try to do their thinking for Gen Z, things go wrong.
Z sees through it and doesn’t accept it; they can decide for themselves how
they want things to be.
Another interesting development, and a thorough disruption within the
92 | retail world is the fast rise of subscriptions. Beer and wine, contact lenses,
underwear, razor blades, meal boxes, games, cosmetics, and of course, enter-
tainment can all be purchased through a subscription. Research by McKinsey
& Company demonstrates that 15% of the consumers in the US has one or
more subscriptions to products or services. If we add the consumers that
only subscribe to media services (such as Spotify, HBO, Netflix), we see that
almost 50% of the consumers buy something via subscriptions.
The same study also demonstrates that the annual growth figures for this
kind of retail are most impressive: they expect them to be double as high in
five years’ time.
Subscriptions are booming when they meet one of three core needs:
‘substitution’, ‘surprise’ or ‘privilege’. ‘Subsitution’ is easy: your subscription
ensures that your product is supplemented when you need it, it’s all about
ease of use and advantage. For example, the Boldking razor blades. With
‘surprise’, it’s about variety and the
unexpected. Such as the meal boxes
delivered by Marley Spoon and
Hello Fresh. With ‘privilege’, it’s
about exclusiveness. Here, you
have a subscription to some-
thing that is not available anywhere
else. This could be Netflix, but also
services such as Beer in Box, who
offer exclusive craft beers.
The subscription model enables
retailers to operate without an
online or offline shop. Buying and
selling can be very finely tuned,
and there is not much need for real
estate. Hanging on to existing cus-
tomers becomes just as important
as attracting new customers. As long
as you keep meeting your customers’
expectations, you are in business.
This way, retail is a whole new
game. | 93
 It is still too early on to determine whether Gen Z, in particluar, is extra
sensitive to this kind of retail, but it surely suits the need for pragmatism
these young consumers always demonstrate. We think that retail through
subscription has a golden future, and the impressive growth figures will
persist for some time.
All in all, the ‘Old Retail Apocalypse’ might even be a blessing to retail
business. A lot of deadwood has been cut, and now the big cleanup is over.
There is room for new retail, for a new future. Just like a forest becomes invigorated
after a forest fire, this apocalypse may well be the salvation of the retail business.
Generation Z is happy to comply, and now it’s up to the retailers. When
Gen Z takes over this line of business, shopping will become fun again.

94 |
 “DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TV AND
THE INTERNET WAS HOW FAR YOU SAT
FROM THE SCREEN. TV WAS AN 8 FOOT
ACTIVITY, AND YOU WERE A CONSUMER.
THE INTERNET WAS A 16 INCH ACTIVITY,
AND YOU PARTICIPATED.”
 “THE INTERNET HAS BEEN A
BOON AND A CURSE FOR TEENAGERS.”

Gen Z: the unreachable generation?

I f we are to believe the media and the average marketing consultant, the
best characterization of Generation Z is that of an adblocking target group
that avoids media such as television, radio, and newspapers. In short: slowly
but surely, Generation Z becomes unreachable when it comes to (marketing)
communication.
Of course, and unfortunately for all the back-seat drivers, reality is much
more ocmplicated. Which surely is good news to all those who have a message
for Generation Z.
Let’s run through the list first, and start with the adblockers. An adblocker
is a small, relatively simple computer program that ensures that you won’t
see any unwanted ads on your computer, tablet, or cell phone. These ads are
blocked, hence the name.
98 | Statista and PageFair have researched this phenomenon and found that
approximately 20% of the 18-24 year olds has installed an adblocker. This
number is steadily increasing, but doesn’t deviate from other age groups. In other
words: Zs don’t block more ads than other generations do. The annual growth
of adblockers is about 30%. Here too, we don’t perceive a faster increase with
Zs. Expectations are that within a few years, more than 25% of the Internet
users (i.e. human beings) will be hiding behind such an adblocker. The vast
majority does not block anything, and can be still reached online without too
much trouble.
This explains why the expenses for online advertising in the US have
surpassed the costs of traditional tv commercials. Online advertising is now
the biggest expenditure item, multiple communication agencies tell us.
In January 1999, Jim Barton and Mike Ramsay introduced the TiVo. This
digital video recorder enabled you to skip all the commercials, once you had
recorded your favorite tv shows. The TiVo filtered the commercials, as it were.
This was the beginning of watching advert-free tv, and very few people were
aware of the far-reaching consequences. The traditional tv networks, in particular,
thought they were indispensable. Which proved to be a huge mistake.
By now, large groups of predominantly young viewers have learned that
you can decidede for yourself when and what to watch. Thanks to Netflix,
Amazon, and in the Netherlands, Videoland. All this without commercial
breaks, and the quality of the programs is even better than that of traditional
tv channels.
As a result, Generation Z watches a lot less traditional tv than the average
50-plus person, to put it boldly. In the Netherlands, youngsters watch tv for
73 minutes a day, on average, as opposed to 250 minutes for the 50+ group.
In the United States, the respective figures are 109 and 313 minutes. They
watch more often in the US, but the ratio is the same: compared to older
people, youngsters spend a third of the time watching traditional tv. In the
US, one third of the new households has not even applied for a cable or satellite
connection to watch tv.
The television crowd has given up hope, and describes this young
generation as the ‘unreachables’. Although this is a bit panicky, because they
still watch tv for about one and a half hour a day, on average. If everybody
sticks to the (Dutch) legal regulations for commercials on tv, this comes
down to 15 minutes of commercials a day, or an average of 30 commercials of | 99
 about 30 seconds. Not as impressive as the group of 50+ citizens that are
blasted by around 110 commercials per day.
In view of these quantities, it will not surprise anyone that people are
prepared to pay money to get rid of the commercials.
We can safely say that traditional television is not the first medium you
would choose, to get in touch with Generation Z, although it is by no means
completely written off yet. The big live sports events, such as soccer finals,
American football, NBA, Formula 1, are still watched by many, as are the
endless series of talent contests (for all sorts of things, from cooking and
baking to dancing and singing).
The main conclusion with regard to the viewing habits of Gen Z is: they
don’t let other people tell them what and when to watch, they want to control
their viewing experience. Traditional television is quite the opposite, because
you are at the mercy of the tv programmers. At least in the Netherlands, they
decide when to broadcast certain programmes, and which channel gets the
programme. With series, you need to wait a whole week before you get to see
the next episode, and this certainly feels like a trap to Generation Z.
The tv programmers still behave like pied pipers, but the younger rats have
stopped following them. These coordinators are mostly playing tunes for old-
er rats, although even the older generations don’t watch as much television
as they used to; this percentage diminishes a little by the year.
Traditional radio stations have the same problems. Generation Z listens to
music through Spotify, Youtube, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Tidal, or Pandora
(in the US). Listening to music on the radio is much less obvious to Gen Z
than to older generations.
The Dutch statistics regarding radio ratings (compiled by the Nationaal
Luisteronderzoek and the STER) show an exodus among the younger target
group. The pop radio station NPO 3FM is a good example: in just a few years,
their market share has dwindled to 25% of the amount they had at their peak.
Poor management and the loss of a number of popular DJs is one of the
causes, but the listening habits of Generation Z have contributed to this
decline as well. We see a similar pattern of behavior in the United Kingdom
and in the United States.
For the most part, this happens because youngsters are no longer prepared
100 | to wait until their favorite song is played by one of the radio stations; they
want to listen to the songs they like, anytime they please.
What to think about the newspapers? Especially the printed papers have
completely lost the younger readers, although this won’t come as a surprise.
Perhaps the free, Dutch Metro paper is an exception, but the number of
copies is also starting to sag for this paper. Why would you read an old-fash-
ioned paper in the train, when you can also watch your favorite Netflix series?
Or news videos at one of the American networks, or Dutch nu.nl? Even the
magic word ‘free’ doesn’t seem to do the trick anymore.
The digital editions of the traditional newspapers don’t paint a positive
picture either, and the same goes for magazines. Reading and subscribing to
magazines is a thing of the past, at least, for the younger generation. There
are only a few Dutch youth magazines left that still can boast a serious
turnover. It’s a sad story, all around.
The explanation could be that Gen Z doesn’t like the lack of control
regarding the user experience with printed media, as is the case with radio
and tv. Enormous amounts of news, of which the majority does not interest
you, printed on ‘dead trees’. What is it to you? And why do the editors decide
what you should read?
The digital newspaper stand Blendle thought the answer was to let people
choose the articles they wanted to read, and pay per view. This Dutch initiative
seemed to be very well suited to the current mentality of deciding for yourself
and only paying for what you use, but in spite of a boisterous introduction,
Blendle will probably not become a success. People are simply not interested.
Currently, Blendle also offers a kind of ‘spotify’ subscription, but traditional
newspapers and printed media are not overly fond of this kind of thing, and
don’t want to cooperate. As a result, the choices on Blendle are limited, which
actually feels like you don’t have any choice at all. Radio stations exhibit
similar tendencies, and printed media are going further downhill. So, where
do we find Gen Z, and how do we become part of the collective ideology of
the youngsters?
Well, to state the obvious: you do it online, and especially through their
smartphones.
Mobile online presence sounds like a great solution, but actually, it’s not
very clear, because it could be anything: Snapchat, TikTok, Nu.nl, Instagram,
Facebook, Spotify, you name it. A successful communication with Generation | 101
 Z (and with their successors, Generation Alpha), requires a perfect, tailor-made
strategy. A few adequate Facebook and Google commercials, combined with
some useful search engine optimisation and a YouTube video won’t suffice;
you will need to do more.
In the next chapters, we will elaborate on ways to contact Generation Z
(and Alpha), so we will just discuss a few basic insights in this chapter;
insights that should always be taken into account.
Compared to the offline world in which most of us grew up, the current
options for communication are unlimited. There is an infinite number of
ways for people to acquire knowledge. The reaction of older generations to
this, is indeed to limit their options. They are often more than happy with
Facebook, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, and Nu.nl, and they often use their laptop or
tablet to visit these sites. Limiting yourself to a
trustworthy, small selection amidst all these options,
is a natural way of handling this abundance.
Generation Z has a very different take on things.
They embrace the multitude of options, since they
are media gluttons, grazing the online world in
search of entertainment, adventures, news,
knowledge, and connection. As a result,
they are here, there, and everywhere.
They swarm all over the digital universe,
and if you want to communicate with
them, you need to meet two criteria:
you must be here, there, and everywhere
as well, and you must be easy to find. If
you want to connect to Generation
Z, you must always operate on multi-
ple platforms. Don’t bet on one or
two channels (‘They all use Instagram,
so let’s go for that!’), but cast your net as wide as you can. This is an unnatural
thought to many communication experts, because it appears you lose focus
and scatter your budget, but if you want to reach Z or Alpha, there is no other
way. This is an era of multifaceted campaigns.
102 | An important requirement is that the core message is crystal clear, and can
be translated to all the media and means, and still be recognizable.
Now is the time to cite our 3”12”E (3-12-eternity) rule once again. According
to this rule, the sender of a commercial message should cause a primary
affective reaction (PAR) with its target group, within no more than three
seconds. In other words: you have a scant three seconds to break down the
first barrier: lack of interest. If you don’t get their attention within three
seconds, you will be dismissed as irrelevant, and ignored. This ruins your
chances of setting up successful communication. The first, primary reaction
of the recipient is emotional and intuitive. It is the EQ check, the emotional
intelligence check. If you succeed in triggering a positive PAR, you have about
twelve seconds to trigger a secondary affective reaction (SAR). During these
twelve seconds, the recipient checks very quickly whether the PAR was
justified or not. This is the IQ check. Within twelve seconds, the decision is
made to either close the door (and brick it up), or invite you in and tell the
whole story. Afterwards, you can stay in touch until eternity, basically. And if
you invest a lot of energy in this, chances are they will keep coming, keep
asking for you, and keep visiting you!
So, initially, communication messages must meet the following requirements:
short, meaningful, and driven by emotion. They must also be translatable to
all sorts of mobile online media.
A great way of creating brief, meaningful and emotional messages, is to
invest heavily in moving images, combined with short texts. Generation Z is
the utter wholesale buyer of online videos. They let fate decide if these videos
are squared (Instagram, Facebook), in portrait mode (Snapchat), or in landscape
mode (YouTube). It is probably wise to bet on all the platforms at once. To
them, it has to move and also contain a message.
Of course, this is a fundamental problem for many brands: they simply
don’t have a lot to say. Especially if it’s about conveying meaningful messages
that stem from authentic emotion, which is not the strength of most brands.
USP communication, where we explain in an entertaining way why a certain
product or service should be bought, does not stand a chance with Generation Z.
The assumption that ‘we just need to explain it one more time, in a funny way,
and then they will be hooked’, can be scrapped. As can all efforts to
communicate on the basis of standard, stock emotions; this is wasted energy.
Nowadays it’s about ESP: the energy selling point! Are you looking forward | 103
 to it…
In summary, we can establish that it is still possible to reach Generation Z
(and probably Generation Alpha too), surely. Only, the preconditions have
changed dramatically.
Let the youngsters be in control of their own media consumption, go for a
multidisciplinary approach, from traditional television to Instagram, and
everything in between, and create short, animated, meaningful messages
driven by emotion.
That will give you a chance of succeeding, especially if you decide to use
influencers…

104 |
 “THERE ARE NO REGRETS IN LIFE,
ONLY LESSONS.”

How do you influence a network?

F elix Kjellberg isprobably not a well-known name. Nevertheless, this twenty-

something young man has made a fortune of approximately forty million
dollars in a relatively short period, with his YouTube videos. His videos go by
the name of PewDiePie and are watched by 66 million fans, who love his
stories about gaming, but about other topics as well. These videos have been
viewed a stunning eighteen billion times, in total. When PewDiePie posts a
positive review of a new game, it has the same effect as Oprah promoting a
book: they fly over the digital – counter.
Another example is Jenna Mourey, who has attracted around 18 million
followers, going by the name Jenna Marbels. Her videos have been viewed
almost three billion times. In these videos, she tells us about her life, she
doles out useful, practical wisdoms (‘How To Trick People Into Thinking
You’re Good Looking’, and ‘How To Avoid Talking To People You Don’t Want | 105
 To Talk To’), and she dispenses tips about cosmetics.
Germán Garmendia is a Hispanic YouTuber from Chili, who can boast no
less than 60 million followers over three channels, and he almost caved in
under the pressure, literally. In 2013, he was suposed to appear at a ‘meet &
greet’ event with his fans in Mexico-City. Due to the extreme commotion,
Garmendia was seized by heat stroke, and had to be taken to a hospital.
Upon which the disappointed fans, who flocked to see him, started to riot.
The festival tent was smashed up, and in the next couple of years, his fans
made life impossible for him. He was stalked, and fanatical vlog followers
broke into his house. In the end, Garmendia stopped producing videos. His
channels still get many views, but he does not post anything anymore. He has
taken digital flight.
These are three examples of great YouTubers, but other social media
channels have their heroes too. Especially Instagram, where there are many
fanatic followers. Huda Kattan is the most influential woman in the field of
beauty and make-up, with more than 20 million followers on Instagram. This
daughter of Iraqi immigrants earns about 18.000 dollars per post. Which is
peanuts, compared to the million dollars that Kylie Jenner rakes in for each
post, allegedly.
We call these social media heroes ‘influencers’. Influencers share their
ideas, opinions, and tips with their followers. Most influencers are driven by
a personal passion: fashion, make-up, cooking, gaming, travels, and so on.
An influencer’s post is immediately picked up by thousands, hundreds of
thousands, or even millions of followers with the same hobby or interest.
That is why influencers are very interesting to companies; they are a direct
channel to consumers’ hearts, and in particular, Generation Z. When an
influencer posts a few photos and a positive comment on a travel destination,
it is worth far more than any tv commercial or holiday fair.
In order to understand the importance of influencers, you should compare
the generations. Babyboomers know and understand the world mainly
through radio, television, and newspapers; Generation X are ardent tv
watchers, and still listen to the radio, although not very much; Generation Y
(the Millennials) still watch quite a lot of tv, but love to read online reviews,
comments, and ‘recommendations’. But Generation Z prefers to be informed
106 | by influencers, although they also check online reviews and comparisons.
 The trend seems to move on, from a single objective truth that is pushed
to everyone, to a subjective truth that is picked up by individuals.
Then it won’t come as a surprise that the influencer industry has exploded.
All over the world, influencer marketing agencies have sprung up. These
agencies link brands and products to the appropriate influencers, measure
the effects (if possible), and charge large fees for their services. Within a few
years, this type of marketing has been completely professionalized; nothing
is left to chance.
The reason for this success is an economic one, as it usually is. The figures
published by several media agencies show that for each dollar that is spent
on influencer marketing, the return on investment is seven dollars. A tv campaign,
for example, yields a return of two dollars for each invested dollar. Influencer
marketing seems to be three times as effective as tv commercials. Nevertheless,
we still see a lot of commercials on tv, but this is due to the coverage. Tv still
has a wider coverage (especially among the older target groups) than other
media, and that is why it is still effective, even if it is less efficient.
It remains to be seen if this will still persist with the rise of Generation Z.
By now, we know that Gen Zs are autonomous mobile natives that do indeed
watch tv, but rarely use a television set. And their preferences are guided by
influencers.
Why are influencers so successful? The answer lies in (social) psychologic
motives.
People are social beings. Human beings can only function properly when
they understand what their place is within their social environment. One of
the ways in which we lend meaning to ourselves and our environment, is by
dividing the world into ingroups and outgroups. Ingroups are all the social
groups we feel connected to, to which we belong. Therefore, logically, outgroups
are all the social groups we don’t feel part of. The contrast between ingroups
and outgroups provides a structure for our social environment. Ingroups provide
self-confidence, safety, and understanding, of ourselves and our surroundings.
We look for connections and equality within our ingroups. People can be a
member of an unlimited number of ingroups, no problem. The specific situation
determines which ingroup-outgroup constellation becomes prominent, and
thus leading.
Sometimes I am a soccer fan (when talking to a hockey lover), at other | 107
 times I am an Ajax supporter (when talking to an other supporter), and I am
also an Apple disciple (when I talk to an Android fan), or a Dutchman (when
I talk to an American). Or, when it comes to vloggers, I regard myself as a
member of the Dylan Haegens ingroup (and not of the Enzo Knol ingroup).
Depending on the situation, I identify with the best fitting ingroup, and I reject
the best fitting outgroup just a bit. This process of being a member of something
influences people, bit by bit. It even influences people’s opinions and desires.
This is exactly what a good influencer manages to evoke in his or her
followers: ‘we are all members of this specific ingroup’. It is a club of like-
minded individuals. And within this ingroup, the influencer is first among his
or her equals. The influencer is the focal point in the network; as a spider in
its web, the influencer controls the opinion of the group, to a large extent.
It is important to realize that the influencer never gives the impression of
being above his or her followers. If that happens, the magic is gone; after all,
a network does not have any form of authority.
The whole process is even enhanced because followers often attribute a
certain amount of expertise to the influencer. An influencer who produces a
cookery-vlog with thousands of folowers, is bound to have some cooking
expertise, is the idea. The same goes for every other area, of course, such as
gaming, movies, make-up, fashion, lifestyle, etc. The successvol influencer is
always split between being the leader and the expert, but is never allowed to
come across as patronising or lofty. The influencer must always emanate
equality toward his or her followers. Having success is fine, but arrogance
and paternalism are lethal. Apart from this, it is also crucial that followers
believe the influencer to give his or her honest opinion. Some criticism, here
and there, only lends more credibility to the influencer’s story, and makes it
even more convincing.
All this leads to the followers believing they have some sort of friendship
bond with the influencer. They often follow the influencer every single day.
They see the houses and friends of the influencers. They feel like they take
part in the lives of the influencers.
And now we encounter the second, powerful social-psychological
phenomenon: the principle of reciprocity. People have a strong tendency to
mirror the behavior of the people with whom they think they have a relationship.
108 | If someone who you believe you know, says or does something positive, you,
as a recipient, tend to give back the same feeling. If someone shares a secret,
this leads to an immediate response, and you will want to share a secret as
well. If you get a compliment, you tend to give one too. In other words: we
automatically and unconsciously aim for reciprocity. An important require-
ment in this is that we perceive our relationship with the other person to be
somewhat equal. When a teacher compliments a pupil, the pupil will not tend
to compliment the teacher right away. But when a teacher compliments another
teacher, he will probably receive a compliment in return.
If an influencer shares his or her life, the follower will also tend to share his
or her life. If an influenceer exhibits certain behavior, the follower will also
tend to exhibit this behavior, automatically and unconsciously. The follower
will aim for reciprocity; this is a powerful means to
use in marketing.
Yet again, we see that the influencer may never
be perceived to rise above his followers. This would
disturb the balance of power (comparable to the
example of the teacher and pupil), and the principle
of reciprocity will not or hardly work.
The power of the ingroup-feeling, together
with the principle of reciprocity, is so
great and so unwitting that it even
works when influencers clearly state
that their blog or vlog is sponsored
by companies that want to sell
something. However, when the
Zs find out that the products
are only endorsed because the
influencer has sold his or her soul to a commercial enterprise, they will quickly
bail out. Generation Z demands authenticity and honesty. They have a very
sensitive ‘bullshit detector’, and the alarm sounds at the first sign of duplicity.
In that sense, the honest revelation that a post is sponsored, will lend
more credibility to the influencer, and the followers will appreciate his or her
honesty. This way, the influencer is one step ahead of the bullshit alarm.
Contrary to Generation Y (the Millennials) who effortlessly follow the
Kardashians or one of the other overpaid celebrities, members of Generation | 109
 Z don’t get carried away so quickly. Kim Kardashian will never become a part
of your ingroup, and reciprocity is a hard thing to achieve with a lady who isn’t
ashamed to display her extremely famous husband, her wealth, and the
enormous amounts she earns. She places herself above her followers. Millennials
don’t have a problem with this, but Zs do.
Borrowing authority from celebrities as a means of marketing communication,
has since long been effective for the well-known brands. George Clooney has
given the Nespresso brand an enormous boost. Mark Wahlberg and Justin
Bieber made the white Calvin Klein underwear look sexy. Michael Jackson,
Madonna, Britney Spears and One Direction attributed ‘street credibility’ to
Pepsi. Nike has depended on celebrity-marketing for many decades. Actually,
Kim Kardashian does the same, through her social media channels. The
medium has evolved, but the marketing trick is still the same.
Generation Z seems to breach this strategy. They look straight through the
fat contracts. Let’s face it; nobody believes that George Clooney drinks his
daily shot of Nespresso on the terrace of his mansion by the banks of Lake
Como, or that the guys from One Direction are avid Pepsi drinkers, but it
does influence us. Anyway, this old-fashioned method of influencer-marketing
seems to have lost its effect on Generation Z. What’s more: they seem to be
repulsed by it, rather than attracted. In their opinion, brands such as Nespresso,
Calvin Klein and Pepsi become less attractive.
Again, here too, we see that the ingroup feeling and the principle of reciprocity
is absent, and that Generation Z drops out as a result.
This is what Therese Caruso calls Generation Z: ‘Generation We, not like the
Millennials who were Generation Me. Millennials were the tribe of individuals:
with this generation they see it as a team effort where everybody has to play
their part.’
Generation Z acts like a network: strong mutual connections, no formal
hierarchy, no seniority, and constant communication among themselves.
Marketeers who want to forge successful relationships with this generatin,
must take this into account all the time.
The old rules still apply to the older generations. The youngest generation
requires a different approach. Which one? You will read all about it in the
story about the Sephora Squad.
110 |
 “THE INTERNET HAS BEEN A BOON
AND A CURSE FOR TEENAGERS.”

Gen Z in search of authentic influencers

S omething is real if it is perceived as genuine. Whitney Madueke, Alexis

Martinez, Tiff Benson, Erick Glam and Ohemaa Bonsu are five of the
twenty-four members of the Sephora Squad. They are real!
The Sephora Squad is a motley crew of beauty influencers, who were
recruited to create content around the products of the make-up giant. It is a
special approach, since they don’t use well-known names, but have carefully
selected the best suited influencers. In this, Sephora didn’t consider the
number of followers, but rather the content of the stories told by these influencers.
The keywords were: unique, unfiltered, and inspiring.
How did this Sephora Squad come into being? After an appeal by Sephora,
they received 15.000 applications of potential members. These ambitious
vloggers were asked to collect testimonials from their followers. Eventually,
240.000 testimonials were collected. Based on these testimonials, and a jury | 111
 verdict, the final Sephora Squad was put together. The idea is to replace
members and introduce new members to the Squad every year.
Members of the Sephora Squad have access to the newest products, and
are supported in making their content, but are completely free as to what they
post. It is crucial to Sephora that followers never feel that the company
influences the uniqueness and honesty of their influencers. That would be the
end of the programme.
This way of deploying micro-influencers is a seamless fit with the wishes of
Generation Z. The influencing process is much more horizontal than when a
celebrity were to promote the products of Sephora.
In the previous chapter (about the psychology underlying the existence of
influencers) we noted two important characteristics that influencers should
have, in order to be successful with Generation Z.
The first was the interest that Generation Z takes in stories of like-minded
spirits. The difference in status between an
influencer and his or her followers should
be extremely small. The Sephora Squad are
an excellent example, because the members
of this squad have come directly out of
their own community. Their own followers
have used testimonials to elect one of
their own micro-influencers to become
a member of the squad.
The second important char-
aceristic was ‘reciprocity’.
The follower must experience
recognition when he or she
looks at the influencer. Very
few Zs recognize themselves
in Beyonce, but many Zs do see
themselves reflected in Kali, the
girl who has a positive take on liv-
ing with acne. Since there are twenty-four
totally different micro-influencers, with
112 | twenty-four totally different stories, every Z
will find someone to identify with.
Research by the Deep Focus agency indicates that 63% of the young
interviewees preferred to be approached by a ‘real’ person with a marketing
message, rather than by a celebrity.
The trendsetting entertainment magazine Variety found out that when you
ask youngsters (13-17 years old) to rank celebrities according to their
approachability, eight out of ten top ranks are awarded to YouTubers. Only
Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift managed to stay in the Top Ten, but no higher
than places seven and eight.
The Sephora Squad offers a nice insight into the future of influencer marketing.
If your target groups are Generation Z and Alpha, betting on a few famous
influencers who have millions of followers is not the right strategy.
The future lies with the micro-influencers. Not just a few big names, but a
lot of them, and all less famous. Not unambiguous and controlled, but
multi-faceted and with lots of self-confidence. No silver bullet, but buckshot.

| 113
“CHINESE PEOPLE, YOUNG PEOPLE,
THEY DON’T GO SHOPPING A LOT
IN DEPARTMENT STORES.
ALL DEPARTMENT STORE GUYS
HATE ME. THEY SAY BUSINESS IS
BAD BECAUSE OF JACK.”
When Greta, Jack and Steve speak,
Gen Z listens

G en Z is also inspired by a third party, besides famous, commercial

YouTubers and the hyper-authentic micro-influencers: we call them the
pragmatic inspirators. Generation Z loves to be inspired by people who have
an authentic, positive story to tell. A story without hidden agendas, a story
they can apply to their own lives.
And there are many of these inspirators around, from the Parkland students
that organized the March for our Lives (against the lenient firearm legislation
in the US) to Michele Obama, who, as a former first lady, exposes many
wrongdoings. Furthermore, you have Greta Thunberg, Jack Ma, and, yes
indeed, Steve Jobs.
Greta Thunberg, who is a Z herself, started a worldwide protest movement
all by herself, on the steps of the Swedish parliament. Her ‘climate truancy’
sparked the frustration of countless youngsters regarding the lack of real
action to combat climate change. Greta Thunberg is a member of the ingroup,
has no commercial interest, and millions of young people identify with her.
Thanks to the loudly expressed social message, her message is conveyed to
the whole world. She even got as far as the United Nations’ meeting, where
she lectured the assembled world leaders in an unmistakeable way.
At this very moment, we see dozens of climate strikes all over the world, all
conducted by school kids and students. Millions of youngsters have hit the
streets. This movement is not associated with a political orientation, it
supersedes every ideology and connects young people. Once again, it
demonstrates that young people are very much involved in society, but have
very little faith in traditional politics.
Jack Ma is absolutely no Z-member, although in his heart, he feels like a
Gen Z. Jack Ma was born in 1954, under the name of Ma Yun. His cradle stood
in Hangzhou, China. His name was changed to ‘Jack’ by English tourists for
whom he worked in the eighties. He was trained as an English teacher, and
founded an interpreting agency. During a study trip to the United Stated, he
was infected with the Internet fever of the nineties. After a number of failed
attempts, he founded the Alibaba platform in 1999, aided by minimal investments | 117
 from friends and family members. When Alibaba went to the stock market in
2014, Jack Ma became one of the wealthiest people in China. Now, why do
Zs (especially the Chinese) listen when Jack Ma speaks?
In the first place, because there are few people more authentic than Jack
Ma. Secondly, because he behaves in almost the same way as in the old,
poorer days, in spite of his enormous wealth. Thirdly, because his life story
is so recognizable to many Chinese youths: born into a poor family, excluded
from opportunities by the Chinese elite, and finally, successful on his own
terms, after having been turned down time after time.
Jack Ma has achieved rockstar status in Asia, maybe also because he
performs as a rockstar for his employees. His story resonates with the lives
of Gen Z. Before your 20th birthday, you should live as a student. Learn,
learn, and learn again. Until you reach the age of 25, you are allowed to make
mistakes; so please do! Dare to fail and start all over again. Start working for
a big company (preferably), and learn all about the processes. Look for a
‘boss’ who knows the drill and follow him or her. Keep learning. Between
your 30th and 40th year, you can start your own business, if you want. Should
this fail, there is always enough time to embark on something else; you can
still fall and get to your feet again. Even a couple of times, if necessary. Between
the ages of 40 and 50, you choose the things you are really good at. Don’t be
tempted by all kinds of exciting new challenges, don’t hop from one adventure
to another. The chance you won’t succeed is far too big, and the chance you
can fix things is far too small. Between your 50th and 60th birthdays, you
turn your life around. Start working for young people who still dare to make
mistakes. Let their energy inspire you and enjoy it. They are better than you
in this instant; they have a fresh take on technology, and are living in the
present. Invest in the younger generation, and help them progress. After
your 60th birthday, your primary task it to enjoy life. Lie in the sun, walk
along the beach, enjoy your children and grandchildren. Now it is too late to
change.
Steve Jobs’ last words are still shared, more often than not. Why? Because
Gen Z embraces them.
Steve Jobs: “I hope you realise that when you chat, talk, laugh, and sing songs
with your buddies, friends and old acquaintances, discuss north-south-east-west,
118 | or heaven and earth … that that is true happiness!”
 Just as popular are the five undeniable facts of life, according to Jobs:
1. Don’t educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be Happy.
So when they grow up they will know the value of things not the price.
2. Best awarded words in London... “Eat your food as your medicines.
Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food.”
3. The One who loves you will never leave you for another because even if
there are 100 reasons to give up he or she will find one reason to hold on.
4. There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a
few really understand it.
5. You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between,
You have to manage!
And finally, this pearl of wisdom: If you just want to Walk Fast, Walk Alone!
But if you want to Walk Far, Walk Together!
The Parkland students, Michele Obama, Greta Thunberg, Jack Ma and
Steve Jobs are, all in their own way, examples that appeal to Generation Z,
because they all tell inspiring stories from personal experience,
and offer pragmatic solutions for the problems Gen Z faces at
this moment: increasing violence, social inequality, climate
change, and their place in the world. They don’t speak
from traditional, hierarchic points of view, dictated by
religion or politics. Theye are never patronising, but al-
ways address their audience as equals.
Anyone who wants to communicate with Generation
Z (and probably also Generation Alpha), can learn
something from this.

| 119
 “I CAN ACCEPT FAILURE. EVERYONE
FAILS AT SOMETHING. BUT I CAN’T
ACCEPT NOT TRYING.”

Sports can make the world

a happier place!

I n the broadest sense of the word, sports are gaining ground as the ultimate
healer of the world. This applies to gaming, of course, but also to the biggest
sports event in the whole world: the Olympic Games.
Sport is consumed all the time, and everywhere. They say that soccer is the
‘most important side issue in the world’. Actually, this can be said of any other
sporting event as well. Online, on tv, offline in stadiums: sport is booming.
Gen Z gets a lot of relaxation, know how and inspiration out of sporting
events and from coaches. They really listen and are open to the opinions of
others. Gen Z knows better than anyone that you can’t always win. But they
also know that winners always have a plan, and take the initiative!
Losers only have excuses. Or, as the top coaches always say: winners make
120 | things happen, where losers wait until something happens.
 The controversial Nike campaign with the fired NFL quarterback Colin
Kaepernick, in which they stated: ‘Believe in something. Even if it means
sacrificing everything’, initially resulted in waves of criticism. This first wave
of outrage was mainly fueled by white, older, conservatives. A young, diverse,
progressive generation started to react and respond to this, which resulted in
Nike making big profits; the company has never been better. In the weeks
after the campaign was launched, the Nike shares went up with more than
9%. Nike’s CEO directly linked this success to their campaign.
The old and wise Nelson Mandela – we wish we still had such a charisma-
tic world leader today – spoke the following words in 2000, during the Lau-
reus World Sports Award ceremony: “Sport has the power to change the wor-
ld. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite in a way that little else
does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope
where once there was only despair”.
You might conclude that it is better to invest in sports than … fill in the
blanks. Sports make people happier. So let’s make sure Generation Alpha
discovers at an early age that you feel more at ease, are happier, and even
more compasionate to others when you engage in sports!

| 121
 “A GOAL WITHOUT A PLAN
IS JUST A WISH.”

Podcast Revolution

L ots of people still quarrel about it, but in all probability, we can state that
Dave Winer is the only true inventor of the Podcast. In 2001, he proposed
to use the RSS computer protocol (let’s call it this) he developed for audio
blogging, as it was called at that time. All kinds of content can be distributed
through RSS, to large user groups that subscribe to the service. These are
often news bulletins, but just as often, these are audio files that can be played
whenever you feel like it.
Approximately two years later, radio presenter Adam Curry introduced soft-
ware that could transfer audio blogs directly from an RSS feed to an Apple
iPod (still remember this?). This way, audio blogs became portable, and could
be played anywhere. This software was called iPodder. Soon, many other
companies developed the same type of software, with more or less successful
122 | results. Most of them were not.
 Since these audio blogs were mostly played on iPods, the name quickly
changed to podcasts, a name we still use. The podcasts became popular so
fast that The Oxford Dictionary chose the word ‘podcast’ as word of the year
2005.
The availability of podcasts has become ever greater since then. Currently,
there are almost five million podcasts, all over the world, in more than
hundred languages and more than hundred and fifty countries. According to
Apple, by now more than fifty billion podcasts have been listened to.
According to podcastinsights.com, South Korea is the world champion of
podcast listening. In that country, about 58% of the adult population listens
to a podcast at least once a month. This percentage lies between twenty and
forty in the rest of the industrialized world.
The popularity of podcasts seems to have accelerated in the past couple of
years. Podcasts seem to be in their second childhood. Suddenly, podcasts are
everywhere again. Of course they are offered by iTunes for more than fifteen
years, but recently, Spotify has also started to actively promote podcasts. And
it has an immediate effect. The wide availability and easy accessibility of the
medium greatly enhances its popularity. As a paraphrase on Coca Cola’s
marketing strategy, you could say: ‘there is always a podcast within arm’s
reach’.
We notice that more than half of the podcast listeners is younger than 35,
and around two thirds of the regular listeners is relatively new. We also see
that men listen just a little bit more often than women, and that the average
listener has a higher education and is wealthier than the national average.
This means podcast listeners constitute a valuable target group with much
potential.
These are American statistics, by the way, but we have no reason to assume
that other countries present a different picture.
Where does this declaration of love by Generation Z to this almost old-
fashioned medium come from? After all, a podcast is more closely related to
the pre-war radio plays than to hyper modern digital media innovations.
Didn’t we write that Generation Z is the generation that mainly chooses
visual media? Videos, memes, emojis, infographics, as long as it’s about
pictures, animated or not? Why do they also embrace a medium that is
exclusively auditive? | 123
 We think this increasing popularity of podcasts is due to some characteristics
that appeal to Generation Z, and suit their needs.
In the first place, yet again, it’s about control. Podcasts always offer a
choice, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Listeners can choose
what they want to hear, anytime, anywhere, and the range is enormous. In
other words: the long tail is enormous. There is always something for
everyone. This perception of being in control is a strong motivator for
Generation Z. Podcasts give listeners control over their listening experience.
A second characteristic of podcasts that is extremely attractive to Gen Z, is
the storytelling aspect. They tell stories, literally. We know that Generation Z
wants to be inspired, and one of the most effective ways of doing this is ‘story-
telling’. Podcasts are a source of stories, and stories are a source of inspiration
to Generation Z.
Thirdly: sharing. Podcasts offer Zs the possibility of sharing interesting
content (just like music and Netflix series). This can be done by word of
mouth, in the physical world, but also through social media, of course.
Finally: multitasking. You can listen to podcasts
anywhere. On the bus, while cycling or driving a car,
when you work out, at work, or while working for
your school assignment. Generation Z likes to
divide its attention over multiple tasks, and
podcasts make this easy.
At first glance, podcasts may not be the
most obvious way of reaching Generation Z,
but the opposite seems to be true. Provided
the content is right, podcasts may prove to
be a valuable (and very affordable)
means of ending up between the ears
of Gen Z. And of staying there. Tell
an inspiring story and Generation
Z will embrace you. This is the way
to create a fan base …

124 |
 “THE ENERGY OF THE MIND IS
THE ESSENCE OF LIFE.”

The outside world is where

it all happens

W hen the Roman city of Pompeï was excavated, centuries after the city
had been buried under a thick layer of ashes after the vulcanic eruption
of the Vesuvius in 79 A.D., we discovered that the ancient Romans were
already fond of outdoor advertising in their time. On the walls of the rediscovered
city, enticing messages were painted, clearly intended as a sort of advertisement.
Especially the prostitutes and politicians used this medium to offer their
services. Some people think that not much has changed over the centuries.
After the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg, in 1450, ‘out of
home’ advertising (as they call it) took flight. From then on, it became possible
to print posters and flyers in large numbers of copies. Of course, ‘poster’ and
‘flyer’ are modern words, but this was actually what was happening at that
time too. | 125
 Several hundreds of years later (around 1870), smart business men in
America started to rent out space where their customers could put their,
usually gigantic, posters for a while: the birth of the billboard. When the
dimensions of bilboards were standardized around 1900, this was the beginning
of a booming industry. Brands such as Palmolive, Kellogg and Coca-Cola
loved to use this new way of advertising.
In 1931, Coca Cola even launched their modern version of Santa Claus
through a billboard campaign. It is this version of Santa, invented by Coca
Cola, that still visits us every year. At the Coca Cola website you can read how
designer Haddon Sundblom based this Santa Claus on examples from his
own neighborhood. Now you will also understand why his clothes are red and
white, just like the famous Coke colors. The well-known home of Santa on the
North Pole is also the perfect place to cool your bottles of Coca Cola.
In 1962, JCDecaux started to build bus shelters and newsstands. They did
not charge the local authorities and airports for this, but they built them
under the condition that they could attach posters to these buildings. By now,
they can be found all over the world, and the company has become one of the
biggest providers of out-of-home advertising. Like anything else, this kind of
advertising could not escape the digital revolution, and since 2005, the first
digital billboards appeared. No printed posters, but digital screens instead.
Thanks to their Internet connection, these screens become ever more
interactive. Right now, it is already possible to display personalized messages,
based on facial recognition. The oldest of the advertising mediums (apart
from advertising by word of mouth, probably), seems to be starting a new life.
Indeed, everything starts with being noticed. Then you can create a first
‘primary affective reaction’.
Netflix, for example, bought a company that exploits billboards in and
around Los Angeles, for approximately 300 million dollars. They did this in
order to save money in the long run (if you own things, there is no need to
rent them), and to cut off the competition (the struggle between the streaming
services is a vicious one), but also because billboards are particularly suited
to announce their new shows.
If your target group reads fewer and fewer newspapers, doesn’t listen to
the radio or watches tv as much, how do you lure them to Netflix? Not just
126 | with Facebook and Instagram campaigns. You need to use a large, visible
medium, and out-of-home seems to be cut out for this.
In fact, out-of-home is one of the last ways in which companies and institutions
still have full control over the visibility of their message. You can get away
from almost every other type of commercial, but out-of-home is always in
your face. In the language of advertising geeks, we talk about ‘forced exposure’.
And let’s be honest: no other medium pulls this off without greatly annoying
the recipient of the message, right away.
Although these campaigns are relatively expensive, this is maybe the only
way for a commercial business to contact Generation Z. Within the utterly
fragmented collection of media options, out-of-home enables you to send a
clear, simple message. Moreover, you can do this in places where Gen Z can
often be found: in the streets, in public transport, bars and cafés, at festivals.
Being prominently visible without being a nuisance. Who would want to miss
such an opportunity? It may not surprise you that the Statista research bureau
predicts that the expenses for out-of-door advertising will keep rising, year
after year.
We also see this reflected in the position of out-of-home. ‘In the old days’,
posters and billboards were mainly used to help build brand awareness.
Nowadays, and in the future, out-of-home will be deployed more often to
activate Gen Z: buy this offer, visit our shop, visit our site.
Because of the digital options, out-of-home can become more dynamic,
more exciting, and, above all, more fun. This enhances the emotional impact,
and also the interest of the Zs. With out-of-home you can still force people to
pay attention, which is a very valuable asset in times where attention has
become a rare commodity.
We seem to have come full circle: one of the olderst types of advertising
has now become one of the forerunners. You see, everything changes, and
nothing changes.

| 127
 “YOU REALIZE THAT OUR MISTRUST
OF THE FUTURE MAKES IT HARD
TO GIVE UP THE PAST.”

Escape from reality! What games

teach us

E very once in a while, you just don’t want to do anything at all. Hang out in
your own bubble, without stress or a clock ticking away. For Generation Z,
the solution lies in gaming. According to a study conducted by the Dutch
Trimbos institute in 2015, together with the Health Insitute RIVM, as much as
87% of Dutch elementary school pupils play games. No less than 33% of
them do this every day. The percentage of gamers among secondary school
students is 68%. Of this group, 27% play games every day. This study also
demonstrates that youngsters play less often when they grow older, but tend
to spend more time when playing. This is probably due to a shift from the
simple, ‘casual’ games to more complicated games, such as Fortnite, World
of Warcraft, and Fifa.
128 | Incidentally, this study also indicates that around 3% of the youngsters
between twelve and sixteen years old display game behavior that can be described
as risky. Being at risk due to too much gaming, means that the youngster, or his/
her environment, is disturbed by it. This can express itself in bad performance
at school, but also in psycho-social problems, such as feelings of depression,
loneliness, or a negative self image. To complicate (or distinguish) things, we must
say that it is sometimes not clear if these youths have a bad time because
they are gaming too much, or, if they play games because they feel bad.
Anyhow, many Zs like spend much time on playing games. It’s remarkable
that this is the first generation that has parents that like to play games as well.
Research and analysis by Newzoo indicates that currently, about 2.2 billion
people, all over the world, can be identified as ‘gamers’. These are not just
younger people; their parents started out with Pacman and Donkey Kong,
and have moved on to more contemporary games. A company like Nintendo
has even adopted this as a strategy: games for the whole family. ‘Our goal
was to come up with a machine that moms would want’, says Shigeru
Miyamoto of Nintendo. Generation Z game with each other, and Generation
Z game with their parents. In short: Generation Z is a generation of gamers.
We marketeers can learn from gaming, in two ways. We can learn what the
psychological hooks are that games use, and we can find out how we can use
various elements of the learning curve, which is part of every game, and
translate them into a marketing strategy. Let’s start with the first issue: what
is it that makes popular games so successful, and what does this mean to us?
Besides a number of obvious characteristics, such as fantastic visuals,
briljant sound effects, user-friendliness, interesting characters, and surprising
storylines, we can recognize some other psychological factors in popular
games.
The first factor is already well-known to us: control. While gaming, you, as
a player, have full control. You operate the keyboard or game console. But you
also decide how, where, when, and how long you play. The player is boss.
As we have remarked in our chapter on reaching out to Generation Z: most
marketing campaigns still do exactly the opposite. The advertiser (or
company) does his utmost best to gain control and remain in control. How,
where, when, and for how long people are exposed to carefully designed
commercial messages, is completely up to the advertiser. Not surprising that
many consumers, especially the autonomous generations Z and Alpha, are | 129
 constantly trying to regain this control. Maybe we
could even call it a ‘war for control’. As consumers
get younger, they try to gain control over their
own commercial environment, and become
more and more fanatical about it. Our view:
people don’t mind to be exposed to commer-
cial messages; what’s more, they even find
them entertaining, but it must be on their
terms.
Successful games create their own
universe, in which players love to
spend lots of time. Good games offer
escapist amusement. Being able to
use a game to escape from reality for
a minute, a few hours, or even a few
days, is a compelling reason to
start up a game. The world with-
in the game should be tempt-
ing, adventurous, exciting,
immoral, or all those things combined. The possibility to choose your own
appearance (avatar) in this world, enhances this feeling of escaping, and of
being in control, even further. You can leave your daily existence behind you
for a while. Everyone, pimply-faced teenagers as well as overworked business
people, can pretend to be a Deathknight-Bloodelf in World of Warcraft for a
couple of hours.
When we translate this into marketing communication, we could say that
the campaign builders should try to create an intriguing world, where
consumers get the feeling they can rise above themselves. Examples of this
are the bizarre world of Tele2, the happy world of Coca Cola, and the hard-hitting
world of Under Armour. They seduce people to enter and then give them the
chance to become a better version of themselves.
As we have described above, gaming is something you don’t often do on
your own. Almost all successful games have a social, online layer. Gamers
often play with or against players from the whole world. Multiplayer online
130 | games are some of the most popular games, and studies (the National
Gaming Study) demonstrate that people spend relatively much time playing
these kind of games. This means that gaming is often also social gaming.
Especially the network generation Z refuses to play games that don’t have
multiplayer options. In addition, in some games (particularly the multiplayer
games) you don’t get very far on your own. You need to cooperate in order to
achieve higher levels. It is this togetherness, learning things together, sharing
successes and failures, that empowers the game.
The team spirit that is so lacking in social media, is indeed present in the
world of online games.
Generation Z wants to have options for sharing everything. In games, but
in daily life as well. And that is where the mission for the marketeers lies.
Campaigns that solely rely on sending messages, are outdated. At the least,
campaigns should be shareable. In fact, campaigns should encourage people
to engage in dialogue. Dialogue between the brand and the consumer, for
sure, but mainly among consumers themselves. And the campaigns that
allow the consumers to take over the campaign are the superlative.
The gaming industry has boomed (sometimes you read that games are
even bigger than films, but this is difficult to prove), for the most part due to
the fourth characteristic (besides control, escapism and togetherness), that
all games possess, from Angry Birds to Call of Duty: the learning curve.
Let’s take a closer look at the characteristics of this learning curve.
Game builders are the kings of the learning curve. After all, there is no
point in playing a game if you don’t think that you can get better and better,
and reach ever higher levels, is there? And once you have reached a certain
level (a platform), you must be stimulated to try to reach an even higher level.
This means the players must be sucked into the learning curve from the very
first level on, and remain there until the game ends (if it ever ends).
Successful marketing should also aspire to pull consumers into a learning
curve. Here, the question is: what can we marketeers learn from games? We
will try to use the insights of the gamebuilders to create tempting learning
curves, and translate them into valuable lessons for marketeers.

Know and understand your target groups

While developing games, it is essential for various target groups to work
through the learning curve at their own pace, without quitting. Both beginners | 131
 and advanced players must be challenged all the time, and stay motivated.
You can only anticipate on this if you know exactly what the various target
groups are made of.
Translated into marketing terms: it is okay to think in terms of target group
sections, but don’t forget that your market consists of all these sections put
together. If you focus too much on specific target groups, you will alienate a
large part of your potential customers. Games are inclusive: everyone is welcome
to join in, and anyone can participate at their own level. The only thing that
differs, is the speed with which people work through the learning curve.

Integrated learning
Modern games hardly ever come with manuals, or even tutorials. Each
level must be designed in such a way that the teaching moments are built in.
And you must try to keep this up throughout the entire learning curve.
Translated into marketing terms: messages and campaigns should have
multiple levels; a superficial level that anyone can understand, but also deeper
layers that emerge at a later stage of the campaign, or are introduced a while
later. There must always be something new to discover.

The balance between teaching and challenging

A game is only real fun if you keep learning new skills while you play. Games
that require you to endlessly repeat tasks soon become very boring and are
set aside. The trick is to tempt players to appropriate something new, every
time. Although this shouldn’t be too easy; players must put some effort into
it; otherwise, it is no fun at all.
Once players have reached a certain level, you should give them some time
to demonstrate their new skills. It is natural for players to want to enjoy their
newfound abilities, and not want to be chased through the learning curve. If
everything goes well, the next challenge presents itself just before it starts to
get boring.
Translated into marketing terms: think less in terms of creating a campaign,
but rather think about conducting a campaign. Many things have already
been written about story telling, and there is a reason for this. Successful
marketeers have a story to tell. And when a chapter gets a bit boring, a new
132 | chapter is written. But this new chapter is indeed part of the whole story. It is
all about the balance between being consistent and coming up with surprises.
Too much consistency is boring, but too much surprise is confusing.

Don’t forget the rewards

Improving their score is a strong motivator to players to keep playing. That
is why it is important that players know exactly how they can win, and what
they can win. Many games offer prizes in the shape of virtual trophies. To the
players, these trophies are often more important than their scores. Especially
when these trophies can be swapped or traded.
Translated into marketing terms: reward your customers, but keep in mind
not to give presents to customers who would buy your stuff anyway, no matter
what. Research by Byron Sharpe, among others, tells us that the classic (coupon)
saving systems are a dead end. You reward people for something they would
have done anyway. The traditional saving plans (Airmiles, DE loyalty points
with coffee and tea, ING bank saving points) give away unnecessary margins,
while hardly increasing volume and loyalty. Look for ways to make customers
feel special. Make them a member of your inner circle, for instance. Call them
VIPs. Share innovations or product enhancements with this group first. Ask
them to think about the development of new products. Create reciprocity in
the relationship.

Make sure that players feel ‘smart’

Successful gamebuilders don’t design the game for themselves. If a game
designer mainly tries to position himself as smart, cool, and superior, nobody
will want to play. On the contrary, it is the player who should be made to feel
smart, cool, and superior. The whole game should be geared toward achieving
this. The inventor/creator should be invisible, and the player should be on the
stage and shine.
This insight is probably the easiest one for marketeers to use. What’s more:
good marketeers already apply this. Strong campaigns and strong brands
demonstrate time after time how they improve consumers’ lives. The focus is
always on the user, on the ‘what’s in it for them’ issue. This is also called
‘outside-in’ thinking. The emotional and functional advantages of the brand
should always be at the center of the story. Brands that are their own biggest
fan, don’t come across as sympathetic. The (potential) customer should be | 133
 put on the pedestal, not the brand. Always.
The 2.2 billion gamers in the world (by the way, the fastest-growing group
are the over-fifties), are prepared to invest a great deal of money, time, and
emotion in their favorite games. They deliberately look for the games, while
actively trying to avoid commercials and other types of advertising. Until now,
the easy solution was often to start advertising in games. This left us with
billboarding and product placement, but that is not where the real opportunities
lie. The challenge is to figure out what makes games so irresistible, since we
marketeers want to do the same thing: create irresistible campaigns and
brands.

134 |
 “LIVE IN THE PRESENT,
REMEMBER THE PAST, AND FEAR
NOT THE FUTURE, FOR IT DOESN’T EXIST
AND NEVER SHALL. THERE IS ONLY NOW.”

Games without frontiers

L earn from the many case studies available! How did McDonalds manage
to reinvent itself? Or what do you do with an old-fashioned crisp that was
launched in 1964 and aspires to be the favorite salty snack of Generation Z?
That was the question that Doritos (the snack in question) wanted an answer
to. The solution was found in a domain that allowed them to become an
indispensable part of the lives of Zs.
The domain chosen by Doritos was: ‘gaming’.
Gaming is at the core of Gen Z’s world and environment. Almost every
member of this generation plays games, and games also are a big part of the
(online) conversations of this group. Games and gaming seemed to be the
perfect means for Doritos to become relevant to Generation Z.
The concept that Doritos introduced, was ‘Gamificate Everything’; turn
everything into a game. | 135
 The great thing about this approach was that Doritos didn’t choose to
simply turn this concept into standard games that featured their crisps, as a
kind of Candy Crush with saltines, but that they chose a totally different tactic.
A radical change, always a good idea.
All sorts of games and challenges were introduced at a rapid pace, where
influencers called on their followers to think and compete along. For example:
does flavor A or flavor B get to win? And can you come up with the most
spectacular way of destroying the defeated flavor? Or, what would the
followers of two popular influencers want to expose to extreme heat, in order
to celebrate the introduction of a new, spicy flavor? The videos that were
created in response to this challenge, of melting cheeseburgers and melting
plastic flamingos, were shared en masse.
It became even more interesting when the concept of gamification was
also applied to the product itself. This was the case with Doritos Roulette.
Every bag of Doritos Roulette contained a couple of extremely hot chips. You
couldn’t tell which crisp tasted ‘normal’ and which crisp was covered with
extremely spicy peppers. All of a sudden, eating a bag of crisps turned into a game,
and a challenge you could share with your friends. In one blow, a relatively
low interest product was turned into a high interest product.
The most recent version of Doritos Roulette will not only burn your tongue,
but also make it blue. By raising the stakes, the game of eating Doritos
becomes even more fun. And more successful.
Doritos demonstrates that adopting Generation Z’s point of view can also
lead to spectacular results in the world of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer
Goods). Doritos’ turnover is increasing, in spite of growing competition, and
according to market analysts, this growth will continue for some time.
Catch up with the world of Gen Z, and you can achieve success. Even in the
supermarket. There are many more examples of ways to reach this vast
generation of influencers. Don’t keep being amazed, but try to figure it out.
Why does this work? That will give you energy to do what is necessary: catch up!

136 |
 “SUCCESS IN CREATING A.I.
WOULD BE THE BIGGEST EVENT
IN HUMAN HISTORY. UNFORTUNATELY,
IT MIGHT ALSO BE THE LAST, UNLESS WE
LEARN HOW TO AVOID THE RISKS.”
 “START WITH WHAT IS RIGHT RATHER
THAN WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE.”

Will Alexa kill the brand?

O nce upon a time, you could choose from a range of numbers between 0
and 9, and between sixteen specific words. If you spoke these numbers
and words into a microphone, in a logical sequence, the IBM Shoebox could
execute simple calculations. A bit like: ‘nine minus six totals’. Upon which the
IBM Shoebox displayed the result: ‘three’. This breakthrough dates from
1962, and was the beginning of speech recognition by computers. The start
of another revolution.
About ten years later, another computer program (Harpy Program) was
able to recognize a stunning thousand words. The technology slowly evolved,
and in 1990, the first voice recorder became available that could convert your
spoken messages to typed text: Dragon Dictate.
Afterwards, things moved with the speed of lightning. Big tech giants, such
138 | as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google became aware of unparallelled
opportunities, and started to link speech recognition, big data and artificial
intelligence. Meanwhile, they each have developed their own Smart Virtual
Assistent, sometimes also called ‘AI Assistent’. We use both names.
Apple won the race with Siri, introduced in 2011. In the following years,
Microsoft (Cortana), Amazon (Alexa) and Google (Google Assistent) all
introduced their own Smart Virtual Assistant. Since 2017, the Chinese tech
giant Tencent (owner of WeChat) has developed its own AI Assistant too, by the
name of Xiaowei.
When Amazon introduced Alexa in 2014, they did this together with the
Echo, a so-called ‘Smart Speaker’. A Smart Speaker can both record and play
sounds. Simply put: you can issue commands and the speaker will even
answer you. Apple and Google were quick to follow with their own Smart
Speakers. At the moment there are many more similar systems.
The Smart Speaker and the matching Smart Virtual Assistant spread out
over the world at great speed. In the US, China, Germany, UK, France, and
Canada together there are already about 200 million Smart Speakers installed.
And the end seems nowhere in sight.
Much the same as Tony Stark in Iron Man relies on his Jarvis, we will soon
rely on Siri, Alexa, Google, or Xiaowei. It is no longer a question of ‘if ’, but
rather of ‘when’, and ‘how fast’.
Studies show that most Smart Speakers are initially bought to play music,
but many users soon start to use the device for a multitude of other tasks,
such as using apps, listening to podcasts, asking questions to a search
engine, listening to the weather forecast, and controlling the lights in the
home, or the television. Nowadays, we say things such as: ‘Hey BMW, take
me to… ‘ in our cars. Really, we will start talking to anything, not just to
flowers.
Generation Z will grow up in homes where (in a short while) a Smart
Speaker will be part of the decor (maybe in the shape of a flower, plant, or
floor lamp, or integrated in the wall). Generation Alpha will be born into these
types of homes. Households where, if you want to do something, you just
need to raise your voice a bit. The music you want to hear, the Netflix series
you want to watch, the temperature of the central heating, and the grocery
list; all these things will be taken care of by Alexa, Siri, Xiaowei, or Google.
What does this mean to brands and their owners? | 139
 Just imagine the following scene: a fourteen year-old girl opens a kitchen
cupboard, and notices that the apple sauce has run out. She turns toward the
Smart Speaker and says: ‘Alexa, add apple sauce to the shopping list’. Alexa
answers: ‘Apple sauce has been added to the shopping list’. A few hours later,
her father says: ‘Alexa, send the shopping list to Picnic’. Alexa answers in the
usual style: ‘shopping list is sent to Picnic’. Now, which brand of apple sauce
will Picnic deliver? Or rather, how do I get Alexa/Picnic to pick my brand of
apple sauce, as a CEO of an apple sauce plant?
When we still bought everything at the supermarket, most marketeers
knew the rules of the game, and how to play it. They had to take care of brand
recognition, brand image, distinctiveness, perceived advantages, and the
‘why’ of the brand. And turn this into entertaining commercials. They had to
develop a well-balanced price strategy, and of course, the position on the
shelf and the ‘point-of-sale’ had to be just fine, in the
(online and offline) supermarket. Offering the
product at reduced prices a few times a
year would also help realize greater
market volume and market penetra-
tion. If you were the proud owner
of an apple sauce brand, you knew
exactly what to do. As we said:
there were rules. There was a clear,
crystallized process that you could
learn about at school.
How will this go in this day and
age? As a CEO of an apple sauce
plant, how do you prevent Alexa or
Google from deciding which
brand will be put into the
shopping cart, possibly in
close cooperation with the
grocery delivery service?
What will it be like in the
near future? Alexa, or any
other AI Assistant used in the
household, has learned that this family prefers organic products. Besides,
Alexa knows all the reliable product reviews of available organic apple sauce
brands. So Alexa knows which organic apple sauce has received the highest
rating.
Furthermore, Alexa also knows what this family is prepared to pay (more or
less) for apple sauce. These data are simply stored in her system. In other
words: Alexa has memorized the price elasticity within this specific family.
A few months ago, Alexa suggested an organic apple sauce that has been
rejected by the fourteen year-old teenager. This brand has been recorded on
the black list; this brand is already discarded before the choice is made.
Alexa knows that the boy in the family has his birthday in a few days. The
past two years, the family has celebrated his birthday with a meal of chicken
and fries, with apple sauce (a traditional Dutch treat for children). That is why
Alexa adds a couple of extra jars of apple sauce to the shopping list. This is
possible, because Alexa knows that you can preserve an unopened jar of
apple sauce for quite a long time. And she knows that this family often stocks
up on large quantities of the same product.
Finally, Alexa runs through the shopping lists of the past few months. She
notices that this family has recently bought organic red cabbage with apples
of a certain brand, quite often. These repeated purchases lead Alexa to the
conclusion that vegetables in glass jars are highly appreciated by this family.
All this information is evaluated in a flash, and compared to the offer made
by Picnic. Or the Jumbo supermarket? Maybe Amazon has a better offer? Or
does AH have the best apple sauce? Just this month, Picnic has concluded a
deal with an apple sauce producer. The producer pays Picnic to award his
brand a preferential position, but alas, this brand is precisely the brand that
is on the family’s black list. This is a no go area. Apart from this, Picnic has
other organic apple sauce on offer, but the product reviews of this brand are
much worse than its competitors’. In the end, Alexa decides to choose the
organic apple sauce of the same brand as the red cabbage and apple jars.
This brand’s price is well within the price range of this family. And by now,
Alexa has learned that this family is rather driven by taste and quality than by
price and perks.
Within a few hours, three large jars of this organic apple sauce are delivered
in the family’s doorstep, alnog with the other groceries. Afterwards, Alexa also | 141
 takes care of the payment, since she manages the family’s credit card as well.
Science fiction? Absolutely not. All the technology required for the above
scenario already exists. We’re just waiting for a broader acceptance of this
service.
This acceptance will primarily be driven by trust. Consumers need to have
blind faith in their Smart Virtual Assistant, literally. Professor Niraj Dawar
demonstrates that this trust is based on three factors, in his wonderful
analysis in the unsurpassed Harvard Business Review.
Firstly: if we, buyers of apple sauce in jars, somehow get the idea that
Alexa, Siri, or any other AI Assistent, sells all our shared personal information
to the highest bidder, we immediately stop using the service, naturally. We
need to have an explicit agreement about our data only being used to provide
a better service. We cannot prevent the AI Assistents from earning inordinate
amounts of money by selling aggregated data (for example: these are the
properties of the bestselling brands of apple sauce), but individual, personal
information has to remain private. The carelessness exhibited by Facebook
every now and then, will prove to be unacceptable, and in the end, lethal.
The second factor is the quality of the service. The Smart Virtual Assistant
must prove over and over again that anything she does, is exactly what we
want or need. When the wrong brand of apple sauce is ordered for the third
time, or when an Uber has been called in vain for the second time, we will
lose faith in our AI Assistent, and start searching for an alternative. Quality of
service and trust will be inextricably linked to each other, in a one-on-one
relationship. As the saying goes: ‘trust arrives on foot but leaves on horseback’.
Bad service by the AI Assistent will become a risk of failure not to be ignored.
Finally, which recommendations have been bought, and which arise naturally?
This is about transparency, maybe even about honesty. It is difficult to distinguish
these in Google, Instagram, and Facebook. Even online influencers clearly
state which stories are paid for, and which are all their own. The AI Assistents
will also need to come up with solutions for this problem. If I think Alexa is
trying to get me to buy a certain brand of apple sauce every time, because
Amazon gets paid for this, it will irreparably damage my faith in them.
The acceptation of Smart Virtual Assistants will be assisted by the generations
that will fully embrace these AI platforms: Gen Z and Generation Alpha. Both
142 | generations are born with great faith in technology. Technology and technlogical
accomplishments are the most natural thing in the world to them. It will not
be a giant step for these generations to delegate a large number of uninteresting,
routine, or even difficult decisions to technology, in the form of artificial intelligence.
We can probably even surmise that generation Alpha will partly be raised by
Smart Virtual Assistants.
Back to the CEO of the apple sauce plant. What must he do to make sure
his brand ends up in the shopping cart? Here too, professor Dawar offers
some insights in his Harvard Business Review article, and fortunately, he has
summarized everything in three points again.
Firstly: if you want to sell apple sauce through a Smart Virtual Assistant,
you need to understand very well how the algorithms of the various AI Assistents
operate. How do they compile their recommendations? When do you get
bumped up the list? Of course we know about ‘search engine optimalisation’
for a while now, but this is a few steps further along the line. With SEO, it’s
about relatively simple mathematic rules and preconditions for a favorable
ranking. Now, we need to know, measure, and manage a much larger number
of variables. If it’s about a commodity, for example, price is more important
than the brand, but if it’s about ‘high interest’, a combination of product
properties, brand and price is important. If it is an impulsive purchase, the
price may be almost irrelevant. Also, what appears to be a commodity to one
consumer, might be a high interest purchase for another. The process of
acquiring preferential positions will also become more complex, because the
AI Assistents themselves ‘think’ about what they need to suggest as well.
In the second place: keep investing in the relationship with your customers.
Don’t just rely on the Smart Virtual Assistant to sell your product, by
completely committing to the processes described above. Make sure your
brand stays unique and relevant, and try to communicate with consumers on
your own, away from the AI platforms. Keep looking for unique and relevant
ways of getting stuck in the collective memory of the market.
Continuous innovation may also play an important part in this. What if we
decide not to sell apple sauce anymore, but ‘apple smoothie’? With a simple
innovation, we suddenly are the sole supplier, and Alexa will not be able to
ignore us. When the fourteen year-old daughter will say: ‘Alexa, add apple
smoothie to the shopping list’, we have made it.
In the third place: don’t forget that the major part of all purchases is still | 143
 done in ‘traditional’ shops. People love to go shopping, and they are expected
to keep doing this. In our chapter concerning shopping, we talked about
ROPO: ‘research online, purchase offline’. Because of this, you should invest
in ‘Smart Virtual Assistant optimalisation’, in order to secure a high ranking
in the list of recommended products. And then you commit to the offline part
of the purchasing process. Do things offline that are impossible (or very
difficult) to do online. Let consumers taste your apple sauce (or, as we now
call it, ‘apple smoothie’) in the shops, surprise them with added value, such
as recipes and tips, let them save up for tableware, or for a trip to the orchards
where the apples are grown.
The answer to the question in this chapter’s title, Will Alexa kill the brand?,
is ‘no’, unless you let her. Expectations are that consumers will trust their
Smart Virtual Assistant ever more. In ten year’s time, we won’t be able to
imagine our life without them. The same way we currently think about our
smartphones and tablets. This enormous trust in the Alexas of this world will
be at the expense of our trust in brands. Brands are no longer required to
guarantee we get the product thas perfectly suits our needs, because we have
our Smart Virtual Assistant to do this.
At the same time, with AI Assistents we can anticipate much better on the
desires and needs of people. The ease with which we can fulfill these desires
and needs will also greatly increase. If your brand moves along in this
intensification and enrichment of the marketing game, there is no need to
panic.
Thank god, people will always keep eating apple sauce, and there are still
enough other ways to get people to eat our brand of apple sauce. We just
need to learn some new rules of the game, and experience which brands may
already have dealt with these rules.
Never forget: your image is your best amigo. Always remember that,
anywhere …

144 |
 “TODAY I ASKED MY DAUGHTER OF
12 YEARS OLD WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR
HER IF SHE CHOOSES A CERTAIN BRAND.
THE ANSWER WAS: A BRAND SHOULD
TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT’S REALLY
INSIDE AND WHAT THEY DO FOR SOCIETY
OR ON SUSTAINABILITY. SHE WANTS TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE BUYS. BRANDS
SHOULD TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE
REAL ORIGIN AND THE REAL QUALITY OR
HEALTHINESS OF INGREDIENTS. I THINK
THAT THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR FAMILY
OWNED COMPANIES THAT ALWAYS HAVE
BELIEVED IN TRUSTWORTHINESS AND
QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS WITH
A REAL STORY AND A REAL ORIGIN,
CLOSE TO SOCIETY. MY CONCLUSION:
HONEST BRANDS ARE THE FUTURE.”
 “HOOK ME WITH A VISUAL
IN 3 SECONDS, CLOSE THE DEAL
WITH REAL CONTENT.”

A new world requires a new

take on brands

M ost of the brands we currently know and use, have been around for
decades. Brands such as Coca-Cola, Douwe Egberts, Heineken, Ford,
and Philips were all established during the second Industrial Revolution,
when the assembly line was introduced, and continuous top-quality could be
guaranteed. This functional head start was then translated into an emotional
bond with consumers. Even though nowadays, it is very hard to find a product
of inferior quality, many of these brands remain the favorites, due to the
loyalty they have built up, and the skill and knowledge of their marketeers.
Apart from that, there are some big brands, such as Ikea, Apple, and Nike,
who have their origins in the sixties and seventies of the previous century.
They rigorously applied the laws that were developed by their predecessors,
148 | with great success.
 Around the turn of the century, we witnessed the rise of the big digital
brands, such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Instagram. Brands that
were able to surf on the waves of the upcoming Internet. These were the first
brands that didn’t follow the beaten path of their predecessors, but used viral
processes to conquer a place in our lives, and they are here to stay. By the way,
these online brands seem to be considerably less established than the traditional
offline brands. Superstars such as MySpace, Lycos, Netscape, and Dutch
Hyves, to name a few, disappeared amost as fast as they had risen. They went
viral when they arose, but also disappeared as fast as a touch of the flu virus.
Sometimes you may even assume that the times of the big brands are over,
when you witness the pressure that is on them, and see how volatile the new
digital brands are. Are these brands the dinosaurs, and is the Internet the
asteroid that causes them to become extinct?
We don’t believe this. People need to make choices, and will always be on
the lookout for rules of thumb that make the selection process more efficient.
That is the way we are programmed. Consumers need brands in order to
function.
This raises the question of how to build a brand in these modern times.
How do I do it? How do I create an emotional bond with consumers that
seem to be soaked in traditional brands?
Some kind of answer may be found in the analysis of the brand new beauty
brand Glossier.
In all honesty: Glossier did start her life in the online domain. The brand
was designed and developed by vlogger Emily Weiss. Emily ran an online
channel called ‘Into The Gloss’. While she was writing and filming material for
this channel, she developed a valuable insight about the basic premise of, in
fact, all marketing efforts for beauty products: at first, beauty products actually
always try to put ideas of inferiority into the heads of women, and afterwards
they come up with the solution, which is their superior product, of course.
Even a brand such as Dove starts from a negative perspective: don’t let them
get to you, any woman can be attractive.
Triggered by this insight, Weiss decided to start developing and marketing
beauty products herself. Her products would not solve problems, but just
make women happy. The emphasis was not on all kinds of quasi-revolutionary
inventions, based on unfathomable pseudo-science, but on a limited number | 149
 of affordable basics, that do what they are supposed to do, and are sold in
atractive, instagrammable, packaging. Weiss had set herself the task of creating
products that would never end up in some bathroom closet, forgotten and
hardly used.
Weiss was right. In just a few years, Glossier has developed into a sizeable
beauty brand. Their turnover figures are unknown, but the investors greedily
stand in line.
Pamela Danziger has written a fine analysis of the success of Glossier in
the online version of Forbes Magazine. She explains that it is down to the 5 Cs:
consumers, content, co-creation, conversations, community.
Glossier invests heavily in getting to know her customers. Everything in the
company is designed to make consumers (the first ‘c’) happy, and keep them
happy. To make this possible, everyone in the company must be permeated
with the desires, needs, insecurities, fears, and secrets of their customers.
With Glossier, the consumer is clearly in charge. Her word is law, you might say.
We can tell that Glossier stems from a successful online channel, by the ‘c’
in content. Glossier offers a continuous stream of relevant content through
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Ranging from instruction
videos to content produced by enthusiastic users.
This content leads to conversations (the third ‘c’) between consumers,
and between Glossier and her customers. These conversations are very much
appreciated and taken seriously, which becomes clear when new products are
developed.
These new products have been developed during a process of co-creation
(the fourth ‘c’). Customers notice that their conversations are picked up, and
translated into products that meet all their wishes. Glossier relies almost
completely on co-creation. As a result, customers identify with the products,
and with the brand as well.
By turning customers into ‘stakeholders’ in this way, a fanatic community
arose around the brand, almost on its own (the fifth ‘c’). Consumers don’t
feel they are clients of Glossier’s, but they are members of Glossier. Customers
spontaneously post pictures of themselves on Instagram, with the Glossier
products they bought, to emphasize their commitment to the brand. These
communities now have a physical location as well, with the establishment of
150 | offline stores.
 Glossier demonstrates how you can build a
successful brand in a very short time, even in the
ultra-competitive world of beauty brands,
where big multinational companies with
enormous budgets seem to be in charge. By
not thinking in terms of problems, products,
and product development, but strictly
operating from the point of view of the con-
sumers, Glossier evolved into a force to be
reckoned with, in just a couple of years.
Although there are even more lessons
to be learned from the Glossier case.
If we consider the 5 Cs (consumers,
content, co-creation, conversations,
community), we could assume to have
a blueprint for a marketing strategy
that targets Generation Z. Every ‘c’ in
this list fits seamlessly with the
needs of this generation.
Generation Z wants people to
listen to them and expects custom work (consumers), Generation Z wants to
be inspired (content), Generation Z wants to think along and be involved in
development (co-creation), Generation Z expects two-way interaction and is
allergic to brands that only ‘send’ (conversations), and, finally, Generation Z
is always on the lookout for networks in which they feel at ease, and where
they can manifest themselves (community).
Every marketeer, indeed, anyone who wants to reach out to Generation Z
and maintain contact, should take the 5 Cs to heart.
A.T. Kearney, the international management consultancy agency, even
reduces the number of conditions for success to three: confidence, influence,
and personalization. On the basis of these three conditions, they predict a
shift in fundamental consumer behavior, and with this, in fundamental mar-
keting strategies.
In the old strategy, they always look for a potential product-market combination
first: a profitable target group is seduced into buying a product (often through | 151
 advertising). Then, they tap into new market segments, in order to create
sales volume. More volume leads to lower average costs, and thus to higher
profits. A beautiful model that has worked fine for more than a century.
But this model hardly works in a world that is all about trust, influence, and
personalization. It is time to change tack.
As we like to describe it: we will perceive a shift from wealth to worth.
This fundamental change in outlook will look like this:

‘I am what I own’ The ‘worth’ model

Consumers Price/value ‘I am what I do’
Consumption driven by Transaction-based Values
Relationship with the brand Static Based on trust
Revenue models Segmented Dynamic
Marketing ‘The big trends’ Personalized
Driving principle ‘The big trends’ ‘The signals’
Source: A. T. Kearney, The Consumers of the Future: Influence vs. Affluence

What can you do, as a brand?

Trust is created by honesty, proximity, and emotional involvement. Not by
‘explaining it properly, one more time’. Brands should literally become a part
of consumers’ daily lives. This means forging a direct relationship that doesn’t
involve retailers or any other distribution partners. Of course, social media
are cut out for such a thing, but here, there is a danger of becoming compla-
cent and blindly relying on technology. The relationship has to be genuine.
When consumers feel they are part of a meaningful community, confidence in
the brand is the logical next step.
Such a community also gives consumers influence. They are allowed to
discuss the development of the brand, and think about ways to fit the brand
into their lives.
Another way of making the consumers feel more influential, is by not
segmenting them anymore on the basis of socio-economic variables (age, gender,
education, postal code), but letting them segment themselves. Consumers,
and particularly Gen Z and Generation Alpha, are very well aware of the
groups they want to belong to. They don’t require a market segmentation
152 | expert to tell them that. You should work from the bottom up, by starting with
individual behavior and then searching for meaningful aggregations.
Actually, what we perceive here, is once again: use the E-3-12-rule. Always
work on the basis of genuine emotional involvement and inspiration. If a
brand doesn’t achieve this, everything else is academic. And this doesn’t just
apply to communication, but to the overall marketing mix as well. And in fact,
it applies to everything. Since everyone is a marketeer nowadays.

| 153
 “DEAR FUTURE GENERATIONS:
PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES. WE WERE
ROLLING DRUNK ON PETROLEUM.”

From CSR to CMR

Y es indeed, and the S will turn into an M: the M for moral!

‘We don’t hire people to bake brownies, we bake brownies to hire
people’, states Mike Brady, CEO of Greyston Bakery, a cookie factory from
Yonkers, New York, who is also about to open a branch in the Netherlands.
At Greyston Bakery, they use a so-called ‘Open Hiring Model’. If you want
to work for Greyston, you walk into the factory, write down your name and
contact information on a list, and just wait. When there is a vacancy and it is
your turn, you get a call and you can start the next day. At Greyston’s, they
don’t do background checks, drugs tests, or job interviews. Neither are they
interested in a Good Conduct Certificate. What’s more: in New York, many of
their employees have a rap sheet. ‘Willing to work’ is the only criterion, and
anyone who meets this is welcome.
154 | The reason for not using job interviews is simple: Greyston’s think it a
waste of time and money to research the past; they prefer to invest this money
in their employees’ future. The coaching of employees takes center stage, and
everyone in the plant is responsible for this.
Greyston Bakery is not just a cool, new idea, because they are already in
business for thirty-five years, and make a steady profit, although this is not
their primary goal. They produce three million kilos of brownies per year, and
supply them to Ben&Jerry’s, Delta Airlines, and Whole Foods, among others.
They are not afraid of radical transparency either. On their website, you can
even view the scans of their tax returns. And of course, they work in a fully
ecologically responsible way.
Greyston Bakery takes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a step further,
and turns it into Corporate Moral Responsibility. It is one of the examples of
different views on entrepreneurship. By now, this different, more decent way
of operating can be called a worldwide trend. The realization that things must
and can be done differently, starts to gain ground on a large scale.
The number of publications regarding the limited shelf life of our economic
model, based on continuous growth, is overwhelming. Books like ‘Doughnut
Economics’ by Kate Raworth, or ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’ by
Thomas Piketty, are a great success.
The cry for change is currently so loud that even the big multinational
companies feel obliged to comply. It remains to be seen if they will succeed
in time.
This move toward morally responsible entrepreneurship seamlessly fits
the way in which Generation Z perceives the world. The blind faith that
previous generations exhibited in traditional economic, social, and political
systems, led to an increase of violent conflicts, disastrous climate changes,
and massive, worldwide migration. Education, pensions and social security
have become unaffordable, and only the rich can still afford to buy a house.
Many Zs think the current ways of doing business are morally bankrupt.
Expectations are that Generation Alpha, who will grow up in a world where
the negative effects of the old policies will be felt even stronger, will dislike
them even more and turn away from them.
Future generations will hold companies responsible for various issues.
Taking ecologic responsibility, means that companies try to minimize their
environmental footprint, or even try to improve the environment. Besides, | 155
 people expect companies and institutions to conduct their business in an
ethical manner. Suppliers and distribution partners should be treated in a
decent, transparent way; employees should be paid generously. The terms of
employment should enable each employee to develop himself or herself,
professionally and personally. A company or institution that behaves in an
economically responsible way, prefers sustainable growth over short-term
success. Ecologic and strategic aspects play a part in every strategic decision.
Finally, we see that many companies that act in a socially responsible manner,
often give something back to society, literally, through their own charity, or
through an existing charity. Employees are often given the
chance to do charity work during business hours.
At the moment, Corporate Moral Responsibility
is still perceived as special, but very soon it will
be a precondition to survival. From now on CSR
(or CMR) 2.0 will become the standard. Don’t
make excuses anymore and really go for it!

156 |
 “GEN Z WANTS TO WORK, HAVE FUN,
BUT THEY LEAVE AND HATE
TOXIC WORK CULTURES.”

A few additional meditations

that require action…

T he fourth industrial revolution begins to pick up speed by now, and is

driven by an unstoppable stream of technological innovations. Genetics,
Robotization, Internet of Things, Nanotechnology and Artificial Intelligence,
are important areas in which breakthroughs are realized almost daily. In the
upcoming decade, we will experience the consequences of this enormous
technological acceleration in our everyday life. It is hard to predict what the
exact changes will be, but there are bound to be lots of them, that much is
sure. Generation Z and later Generation Alpha will not only live in such a
world, they will increasingly start to shape this world as well.
If you don’t follow Generation Z and Generation Alpha, you are doomed.
Resistance to new developments is an understandable reaction, but if you
give in to this, the future is lost to you. As we stated in our previous book: “If | 157
 you drop out now, you’ll never catch up again”. This statement has only
become even more valid.
The fourth industrial revolution will also be a revolution of youngsters.
Due to the aging population in Europe, we may not be aware of it, but the
figures of the World Economic Forum show that currently, 42% of the world
population is younger than the age of 25. This demographic development will
turn Generation Z and Generatie Alpha into extremely influential generations.
These youngsters don’t believe in national boundaries anymore, but mainly
welcome opprtunities. We can expect radical changes, on a worldwide scale.
We cannot stress it enough (and that’s why we repeat it once again), but
the ‘networkization’ of the world is a development that has started a few years
ago and will becone even more prominent in the future. We are connecting
everything and everyone to each other, at a rapid pace. In the chapter ‘The
secret attraction of socials’, we demonstrated that currently, around 50% of
the younger generations all over the world, are connected to the Internet,
according to the stats published by Statista and Internet World Stats.
This percentage varies from almost 100% in the industrialized
world, to 35% in South-East Asia and large parts of Africa. The
message is clear: we have just started. The other half of the
younger population will soon enter the networks as well.
The world will become an all-embracing network of
people, systems, and objects. We are developing in the direction
of organic, self-controlling networks in which intelligent systems
will drive our daily lives, on the basis of self-learning algorithms.
But of course, Generation Z is much more than just a
‘network generation’; this generation also stands for
autonomy and an enormous need for control
over their own experiences. It is a generation
that wants to be in the drivers’ seat, and wants
to be inspired. Since they are true children of
the financial and economic crises of the first
decade of this century, they have learned not
to rely on institutions anymore. They realize
it’s all up to them. That is why many Zs
158 | develop a preference for self-employment
at an early age. Hard work is always a part of this kind of choice. Optimism too.
Climbing the (vertical) corporate ladders of existing companies and
institutions appears to have become much less of a motivation nowadays.
Vertical thinking is ever more traded in for horizontal thinking. The definition
of wealth will become social, rather than monetary. Who you are and who you
know will become more important than how much you have in your bank
account.
Furthermore, we perceive that the members of Generation Z are generally
very involved in society. And they are also often consciously looking for
meaningful work.
Brands that want to connect to these young generations, will not be able
to blindly follow the old patterns, laws, rules, tips and tricks. New times
require new ways of thinking.
As mentioned before, we, being Gen Z fans, received terabytes of knowledge
and information that proved to be very worthwhile for including in this book,
in our “longing for change”.
Knowledge and information that led to meaningful insights that make life
a bit more fun.
Gen Z will further develop and is never finished, just like we are never finished
writing. Although now is the time to stop. In spite of the notion that, due to
the socials, everything is about ‘attention’ value nowadays, and we live in an
‘attention’ economy, there is some good news. Not everything is about the
issues of the day, although a single tweet can change the world, and a single
post can turn things upside down.
Nevertheless, we perceive a very clear turning point: now it’s about inten-
tion, not attention! Especially Gen Z is prepared to dig deeper. These
young ones wait a while before they react.
Many Millennials and populists should take a leaf from the same book.
Will everything be different tomorrow? Of course not. But Gen Z
does long for it … And will actually start to change things! The chang-
es that we face are unstoppable, and will arrive sooner than many
among us expect. It is necessary to prepare for these changes. Best
to start today. Tomorrow, it will surely be too late. And that is why
we conclude with our habitual battle cry: if you drop out now, you’ll
never catch up again! | 159
 “IMAGINE IF SCHOOLS ACTUALLY
HELPED KIDS IDENTIFY THEIR
STRENGTHS BY EXPLORING THEIR
TALENTS FROM A YOUNG AGE AND
GROWING THEIR SKILLS OVER
THE TWELVE YEARS INSTEAD
OF LETTING THEM ALL FOLLOW
THE SAME ROUTING AND LEAVING
THEM CONFUSED IN LIFE
AFTER GRADUATION.”
Thanks to Gen Z and our friends
around the world

W here would we be without the Internet!

We would never have been able to write this book without all the
help we got from Gen Zs in the past decade. Some of them already have great
jobs with the Amazons, Apples, and Googles of this world. And they are still
connected to us.
Furthermore, this book would not have been written without the input of
dozens of writers and speakers, both at home and abroad. From Sydney to
Cape Town, from Buenos Aires to Washington DC, from Amsterdam to Tokyo.
We received terabytes of information out of more than 50 countries. Without
these quantum analyses, we could never have formulated the ideas we
presented in this book.
The support and help of Michael van Kerkwijk, Joëlle Coeling, and Thomas
Mak was essential to us. We might not even have started writing this book
without them. They made an important contribution to the extensive desk
research! Their critical eye and sharp observations were extremely useful (and
sometimes painful), and always resulted in improvement.
We also owe many thanks to Hendrik de Leeuw, of our faithful publishing
company Bertram + De Leeuw, and our editor and translator, Irene Venditti.
The layout and design of this book was carried out by The Story of Brent.
We salute you!
Finally, we must thank our 100.000 (until now) keynote visitors once again,
for keeping us on our toes with their questions and opinions. Particularly the
Zs we met (again) in the past year, showed us the way to new insights. Without
the contribution of this generation, we, who represent the past, would never
have become so inspired by the future.

| 161
 “THE POWER OF ‘RE’; RE CONNECT
AND RE EARN!
JUST ‘RE’SET YOUR BRAIN.”

Sources

W e are and will always be spunges.

This means we gather our information from all sorts of places. A lot
of what you have just read is based on personal observation, and on
interactions with members of Generation Z; information we have actually
been gathering since 2009, in the form of one-on-one conversations,
chat-sessions and focus group discussions.
Besides, we have also conducted extensive literature and Internet research.
Below you will find a list of the sources we used. We have tried to be as
exhaustive as possible, but when we were writing the book, a wealth of new
knowhow has become available. This will never change; on the contrary, it will
only increase! The net is inexhaustible. Just as inexhaustible as Generation Z
and their opinions were to us. Inexhaustible and inspiring!
164 |
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180 |
 “GOOD, BETTER, BEST. NEVER LET IT REST.
‘TIL YOUR GOOD IS BETTER AND
YOUR BETTER IS BEST.”

Websites

adage.com savills.co.uk
cbs.nl scp.nl
ec.europa.eu/eurostat census.gov
forbes.com newzoo.com
fortune.com tns-nipo.com
frankwatching.com trendwatching.com
informationisbeautiful.net wired.com
medium.com weforum.org

| 181
182 |
Previous publications by René C.W. Boender:

Great to Cool, Cool is Hot & Generation Z

Cool is Hot iis more than just a book. After each brain candy,
you start to bubble a bit. Just as in the bestseller Great to Cool,
you embark on a journey, and make countless decisions as you
go along. Page after page, you will get the adrenaline to do what
is necessary in times like these. Changing with a mission.
Effortlessly and easily, but with depth as well, René Boender
blasts insights, tips, and, especially, opportunities into the air.
Every brain candy makes you want more, and they are easy
to digest. You can start using them right away; what’s more
you will want to start at once.

If you apply Cool is Hot, you will also be on your way to

Business Happiness. That is the goal, so have fun!

René Boender wrote Generation Z and the Fourth Industrial

Revolution, the precursor to this book, with co-author Jos Ahlers.
Generation Z is a fascinating exploration of this digitized
generation. If you want to gain insight into the world of the
future, you would be wise to regard the children that were
already born into this new world. Generation Z opens your
eyes and your heart to this up-and-coming generation. They
are about to change the world, and invite you to join them.

| 183
 “DON’T CRY BECAUSE IT’S OVER,
SMILE BECAUSE YOU NOW KNOW WHAT
TO DO: THINK BIG, START SMART,
ACT FAST AND
SEE THE OPPORTUNITY...”