From Trends to Tribes

This past weekend, New York Times Magazine published a piece on how subcultures, especially for Gen Z, and subsequently Gen Alpha, have collapsed. In today’s Tiktok era of myriad and fast-fading aesthetic trends, communities of like-minded people who used to form a sense of identity and purpose around shared beliefs or interests are giving way to internet status signifiers (see the most recent Stanley Cup craze) that come and go as quickly as our For You pages update. More and more, Chronically Online young consumers, especially feminine ones, are pin-balling their way through Y2K, Mob Wife-core, cottage-core, indie-sleaze-core, grungecore, Vanilla girls, Girls Dinner, Hot Girl Walks, and all of the other style fads dominating pop culture for mere days or weeks at a time.?

We’ve been telling brands for years that social media has made subcultures permeable and the barriers to entry virtually non-existent (pun-intended). Our ability to subscribe to scenes and subcultures via internet platforms, rather than possessing exclusionary or intimidating knowledge about, say, a music genre or sports team, means that anyone with any interest can tap in or out any type of community anywhere in the world. On the one hand, this is very positive, and we’re seeing an intersectional, multidimensional and dynamic young generation emerging out of it. On the other, it’s causing brands to chase their tails to keep up with fast-moving, often nebulous, and frequently substanceless trends in order to stay relevant.?

We often get asked questions like “What are the key touch points (ie. trends) to engage with Gen Z right now? Is it gaming, beauty, Amapiano, NBA, thrifting, etc?” The territories are endless. But what I think is a better question is, how can we foster communities of like-minded people to create more long-lasting and meaningful relationships with the people that buy our products? If subcultures are dead, how do we stay relevant in the sand dunes of a constantly shifting marketplace? And, most importantly, how do we avoid over-commercialising - thereby inadvertently ruining - youth culture??

Here’s a few ideas about Communities we’re working on…

1. First, brands need to know who they are and what they stand for before anything else. Whether you’re a bank or a retailer or a streaming service, we have to know what our human purpose is.?
2. The age of influencer marketing is also dead, and people see straight through sponsored posts. Rather, let’s identify and engage with real voices of people who genuinely care about our products. What stories would they naturally share that have made a difference to them? What are some of the issues or types of content that stick to their purpose as a person and your purpose as a brand? Communities of like-minded people can create opportunities for authentic sharing on these topics and organic interactions that go viral.
3. And finally, we know that these days everyone craves new and enriching experiences. It bonds us and enlivens us. Brands that inspire talk-worthy experiences can go the distance in authentic, long-lasting ways, by creating tribes that people relate to rather than trends they forget about.

Who’s your tribe? What do they care about? Let’s chat more if you’re trying to find out.