The 8-Second Attention Span: Techniques for Better Gen Z Insights

The Gen Z Challenge

Every generation faces stereotypes, and Gen Z is no exception. Often labeled as digital natives with short attention spans, these traits barely scratch the surface. Despite their multi-screen skills, Gen Z is highly selective about the information they retain, favoring personalized ads and brands that align with their values. However, a 2023 poll showed their trust in brands is significantly lower than older groups, emphasizing the need for authenticity and transparency.

Gen Z is a challenging audience for marketers and strategists. Growing up amid information overload, their attention span is brief—8 to 12 seconds. AMC Global research highlights their preference for mobile-friendly survey interfaces and customization, with 61% having a positive attitude towards AI-generated content. In the workplace, 30% use AI tools, suggesting AI-enhanced research could be effective.

Traditional methods sometimes fall short with this generation if not well adapted. Picture a Gen Zer, used to texting in short bursts and watching 10-second reels, being asked to complete a repetitive 25-minute survey or sit through a one-hour linear interview. These approaches are sometimes less effective for a generation that thinks and engages differently. Formal interviews can feel unnatural, and unengaging surveys risk "straight lining," where respondents provide uniform answers without engaging. Additionally, Gen Z’s comfort with AI tools for various tasks means they might use AI to "cheat" on long qualitative research tasks.

Next Gen Practices for Engaging Gen Z

To truly grasp their deeper truths at an individual level and engage Gen Z, companies must move beyond outdated research methods. Below are some best practices, followed by some of Upland's hand-picked techniques to cater to this generation:

1.???? Utilize Their Platforms: Interact with Gen Z how they typically interact in the world, on their mobile devices, and through their preferred social media channels to capture authentic responses.

2.???? Use Homework: Have them complete tasks prior to or after a session, such as taking pictures or creating a series of short videos interacting with the research topic. This lets them design a response on their terms, and the quality is usually fantastic.

3.???? Build Interactive-ness into Surveys: When designing surveys, make them concise, visual-heavy, and rich with interesting activities (e.g., you have $100 to spend on the following ten features…). Utilize engaging materials such as recordings of concept pitches or product sketches and allow for the option to elaborate via video feedback. Gen Z values efficiency and clarity.

4.???? Use Co-creation: Allow respondents to build their own concepts rather than presenting fixed ideas. User-generated or modified ideas caters to their desire for personalization.

5.???? AI as moderator: Embrace AI tools to enable a more conversational approach to research, even allowing it to take the wheel as an infinitely scalable moderator. Gen Z is used to texting with AI, and some have reported feeling “less rushed” during interviews.

6.???? Combine Quantitative and Qualitative Methods: Fast follow your quant with qual to not only corroborate your findings but keep surveys shorter and more focused on finding hunting grounds for opportunity. Then use qual for a more comprehensive understanding of said hunting ground.

7.???? Deprioritize Demographics: While they value having their opinions heard, Gen Z is cautious when asked to provide their personal information online. Placing traditional demographic questions at the end of research engagements allows time to build trust while also uplifting Gen Z’s voice over their demographic data.

By adopting these strategies, companies can connect with Gen Z on a deeper level and create the ultra-curated content and experiences they demand.

We are not advocating abandoning traditional methods. In fact, we still use them daily, especially with more traditional audiences. However, for Gen Z, innovative approaches can unlock fantastic new insights.

Upland’s Hand Picked Techniques

The team at Upland has developed a toolkit of dynamic research methodologies (sometimes used in parallel with classic techniques) that match how respondents interact in the real world. We have been applying these techniques to develop groundbreaking product ideas, new brands soup-to-nuts, and to inform go/no-go decisioning. A taste of our recent tactics includes:

• AI Conversational Qual: Gen Z is comfortable interacting with AI if it is not trying to trick them into believing it’s a human. Together with our tech partnerships, we have found a great ability to have hundreds of quality, quick-hit IDIs with respondents via text-based or audio conversational AI, trained in advance with a moderator’s guide and priority probes. It truly is qual at quant scale, and the AI can even summarize key findings and pull quotes.
• Build-a-Concept: Understanding Gen Z's preference for customization and flexibility, we involve them as co-creators in product development. This approach allows us to design research solutions that accommodate their desire for personalized options, ensuring the end products resonate with their expectations and needs. We love using this technique over the course of multiple days, so the respondent group can kaizen (continuously improve) their product several times.
• Influencer vs. Layman: Pit an industry expert against a casual user in a dual interview designed to tease apart differences between what an insider and an outsider know about a category. This uncovers where the misunderstandings, frustrations, or lack of believability truly lie.
• Hot Spot Diary: For a baby device company, we asked new parents to physically walk each room of their house and rate their anxiety 1-10 on the prospect of babyproofing the room or area. Then we drilled into independent corners of the room. This led us to a mapping of anxiety “hot spots” for new parents from which to design new baby-proofing solutions.
• Unboxing Simulations: Send the respondents a box of products from the category of study and have them record an unboxing and review of each product. Encourage long-form content and to suspend a natural feeling of awkwardness/camera-shyness. Gen Z especially loves playing influencer, and you would be surprised how much more insightful and deeply inquisitive one gets when creating discovery-based content.
• Simulated Shelves: Using Miro or a similar digital whiteboard, design a simulated shelf for a respondent to peruse, talking through what they see, feel, and notice along the way. Going virtual vs in-store allows for the rapid swapping of shelves, a more controlled testing environment, and time/cost savings.
• Influencer-Led Discussions: Host discussions or live streams led by popular influencers where they discuss new products or concepts and gather live feedback from their followers
• Idea Submission Contests: Create platforms where Gen Z can submit their ideas for new products, features, or marketing campaigns. Offer rewards for the best ideas to encourage participation.
• On-the-Go Ethnography: Equip participants with mobile ethnography apps to capture their experiences and interactions in real-time through photos, videos, and notes.

Understanding and engaging Generation Z effectively requires innovative, responsive, and dynamic approaches that resonate with their unique preferences and behaviors. At Upland, we've honed our expertise and developed cutting-edge methodologies tailored specifically for Gen Z, in addition to advancing our traditional techniques used with other generations.

Partner with us to capture authentic insights and drive meaningful engagement with this influential generation. Drop a line at [email protected] to discuss how to rethink your approach to Gen Z insights.

Sources:

·??????? Why now is the time to reimagine research and 5 ways to get started. (rivaltech.com)

·??????? 4 ways AI will change the insights industry and improve the lives of researchers (rivaltech.com)

·??????? How to Personalize for Gen Z: The Basics Don’t Work? | Monetate

·??????? https://www.quirks.com/articles/qualitatively-speaking-decoding-gen-z-bridging-the-generation-gap-in-qualitative-research

Special thank you to Anna W. , one of our resident Gen Zers and insights experts.

Tagging some friends and recent connections who might find this interesting...

Matt Cahill Meg Marchese Casey Greulich Steve Kleinbaum Taylor Spaeth Sian D. Allie Rescsanski Mary Beth Shriver Trish Heusel Tanvi Kulkarni Phil Roos Kathy Gaynor Jennifer Sagawa Phyllis Rothschild Michael Francis Joshua Miles Katy Radtke Alex Prosperi Maria Chapellin Jeffrey Greene Scott, Ph.D. Ashley Cooper Brandon Vetsch