Diary of a Future CEO #3: GenWTF?
In his column at Werbewoche.ch, Sven Würgler records his experiences as "Future CEO" at Jung von Matt. This time: The generation clash - and the pigeonholing effect of the generation concept.
Wow, time is racing. We're already in the home stretch of my traineeship as Future CEO at Jung von Matt.
Yes, I have definitely learned a lot. But before I look back in the last column, here are my two cents on the overarching theme: "The clash of the generations.
One of the goals of the Future CEO Traineeship was to bring the perspective of a younger generation live and directly into the "executive suite". That's why I've spent the last few weeks talking about the topic not only with Roman Hirsbrunner, but also with many other people in the JvM universe.
And even without a Future CEO traineeship, it's hard to avoid the Gen Z discussion these days. And not just on LinkedIn. But it actually makes sense, since Gen Z people now make up a larger share of the labor market than the baby boomers.
The world is turning and we all need to keep up.
But back to the topic: I find the term GenZ really bad. Less because of the basic concept than because of its inflationary use. No matter what happens, everything is pigeonholed with the generation concept. It's just damn convenient - especially in the advertising industry. You want to reach a young demographic? Just advertise on TikTok!
Of course, TikTok can work extremely well - but only if you do it right. And the target group is viewed in a more differentiated way than via a simple generation concept.
And yes, certain trends and influences vary across age groups. GenZs grow up in an environment that is characterized by life-threatening crises. The hope for a better "tomorrow" - if one then only makes enough effort - is therefore no longer sufficient for motivation. That's why "today" is given much more weight. And that has consequences.
My unpopular opinion: The differences are significantly smaller than LinkedIn would have us believe. And if we talk to instead of about the generations, it will all work out - I'm sure of that. And now I have to go, there are TikTok ads to make.
* Sven Würgler reports on the trials and tribulations of the agency world at Jung von Matt as Trainee Future CEO for two months. In his normal life, he studies business administration at the University of Bern and works for his video production company Lymbus AG.
