by Joshua Cagan, Yichu Chen, Minwhan Chao, Connor Desmond, Devyn Hinkle, and Jessica Paek
(This article is Part 1 of a 2-part series.) You can read part two here.
The 18-35 viewership landscape
Since the introduction of YouTube in 2005, there has been a steady increase of user-generated and social media content, magnified by TikTok’s own meteoric rise over the past three years. The influx of content and accessibility from these platforms make it challenging to attract the attention and engagement of Gen Z and Millennials towards studio-produced, high-quality content.
To evaluate Gen Z viewership, a quantitative survey addressed the target audiences’ viewing habits, industry interviews regarding content and generational psychology, and recent viewership data. To engage these generations, content producers must authentically reconnect with Gen Z and Millennials by leveraging their platform with social features, engaging on social media, and creating targeted content.
Millennial and Gen Z consumers have forever altered the entertainment landscape. Shifts in their viewing habits are being motivated by a sense of community, increasingly short attention spans, and pragmatic decision-making spurred by coming of age in a digital and internet-driven environment. They have increasingly turned their attention to short-form content to fulfill these motivations. This demographic’s long-form viewing habits have shifted, favoring high-quality content with relatable storylines and characters likely to generate social media conversation. This intersection of social media and over-the-top platforms has made young consumers highly analytical in their approach to content selection.
Based on the findings, this article offers insights into how and why Gen Z and Millennial consumers watch content. Specifically, the provided recommendations leverage data to better engage individuals aged 18-35, through social media, used psychology to improve UX design and integrate community features, and applied observations from the survey to implement a content strategy geared towards these young consumers.
Gen Z and Millennials account for the largest cohort of consumers and are likely to take the behaviors and preferences they developed into adulthood (Meola, 2022). Compared to older generations, Gen Z and Millennials are more enthusiastic about short-form, user-generated content (UGC),
Methodology
A descriptive research approach was utilized to identify what content IND18-35 are consuming and how they are consuming it. Data was collected from primary sources, such as the survey and interviews with experts, as well as secondary sources, including industry articles. The survey questions included preferences in short-form content, and long-form content, and comparisons between the two. In addition, qualitative insights emerge through both interviews and other credible sources, including Deloitte, eMarketer, and McKinsey.
The survey, which received over 500 responses, studied viewing habits, platforms of choice interactions, and social media influences, among other factors, for IND18-35 consumers. Interviewees included experts from diverse yet relevant fields ranging from social media insights to psychotherapy.
Limitations of the Study
Sample Size: The sample size of the survey comprised around 500 people. While this amount is large enough to make preliminary recommendations, it is still not ideal for any concrete conclusions. Considering that the goal is to draw conclusions about the habits of Americans 18-35, a population in the millions, a sample size of around 1,000 would have been ideal.
Selection Bias: Selection bias occurs when respondents are chosen without proper randomization. Because a third-party vendor was not being used for the survey, respondents were drawn from researcher networks, making this bias challenging to avoid.
Location Bias: Along with the selection bias, location bias occurs without proper randomization. There was likely a coastal bias given the Northeastern and Western skews of researcher networks.
Effects of Covid-19 on Data: Viewing habits have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the data may not properly convey viewing trends beyond the pandemic.
Lack of Access: Confidentiality may force us to make educated assumptions as to the reasoning behind current media strategies, financial investments, upcoming projects, or motivations.
“Gen Z: Generation Z is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha born between the years 1997-2012. For the purposes of the study, those aged 18-25 will be studied.
Millennial: Millennial is the demographic cohort succeeding Generation X and preceding Generation Z, born between 1981 and 1996. For the purposes of this study, Millennials that fall within the age range of 26-35 will be surveyed.
IND18-35: This denotes Millennials and Gen Z consumers ages 18-35—the age parameters for survey respondents and the focus of the study.
Short-form: Although it is often used to refer to video content with a duration of under five minutes, this study uses short-form to denote all video content not professionally produced by a television or film studio
Long-Form: For this study, long-form denotes all video content professionally produced by a television or film studio for streaming, watching via cable, and theatrical distribution.
Livestream: media simultaneously recorded and broadcast on the internet in real-time for viewing and interacting; it is considered short-form for the purposes of this study.”
Background: 18-35 consumption patterns
Image via Unsplash
The core consumption pattern of the younger generation, especially Gen Z, is aligning with brands as “a means of self-expression” (Francis & Hoefel, 2018, para. 19). Gen Z and Millennials are often considered the “Me” and “True” generations because of the way they logically consider how their consumption decisions can reflect their personal identity. Millennials focus their consumption patterns on themselves and therefore are seen as the “Me” generation. While Gen Z focuses on being authentic to themselves as the “True” generation. In particular, growing up with the internet has allowed Gen Z to direct their individuality through their habits, and their consumption has become self-expression. Hence, these consumers are keener on personalized products and inclined to pay extra for products that mirror their individuality (Francis & Hoefel). However, the focus on freedom and shaping individual identity is not their only driver of consumption choices. Over half of both Gen Z (60%) and Millennials (52%) still rely on their family and friends’ recommendations to decide on what to buy, watch, or consume (Kantar Media, 2020, para. 7).
Furthermore, Gen Z and Millennials have intrinsic empathy. Much of their content choices stem from an ethical motivation, as has been clear with their active support for the Black Lives Matter movement or in the way they have vocally admonished brands or celebrities for not conforming to ethical standards. (YPulse, 2020). Moreover, these demographics value brands that have a clear voice in championing meaningful causes such as promoting environmental sustainability in a company’s supply chains and adopting thoughtful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures. Younger consumers do not draw a line between a brand's ethics, the company that owns the brand, and the company's partners and suppliers (Petro, 2021).
Both Gen Z and Millennial consumers make decisions in “highly analytical and pragmatic way[s]” (Francis & Hoefel, 2018, para. 3). Growing up with a recent wave of technology, both generations have been cited as having shorter attention spans, with Millennials averaging 12-second attention span and Gen Z at 8 seconds (Stears, 2019, para. 3). These statistics show an uphill battle for organizations as they attempt to engage these generations’ attention with high-quality, long-form content. The disadvantage in their attention spans affects the overall approach to “consumption”. They are more attracted to having immediate, convenient access to products and services rather than owning them. Therefore, unlimited access to goods and services creates new opportunities for companies to interact more effectively with their consumers (Francis & Hoefel).
the current context of streaming
Image Via Unsplash
Television content has never been more plentiful with over 33,000 channels available across the globe, more content produced year over year than ever before, and an ever-escalating arms race of streaming networks. Beginning in 2018, an ongoing “streaming war'' has existed among the top companies competing for audiences’ attention, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and AppleTV+. More recently, linear television behemoths have joined the race through services like Paramount+ and NBCUniversal’s Peacock. From 2011 to 2021, SVOD revenue in the U.S. grew exponentially from $1.6 billion to $25.27 billion, while linear television has steadily declined (Statista 2, 2022). Globally, SVOD revenue increased from $17 billion to $67 billion between 2016 and 2020 and is projected to reach $126 billion by 2026 (Statista 3, 2021). Consumers have reoriented their spending to readily accessible content and have understood the fundamental differences between streaming and linear content. However, while streaming has safely triumphed over linear platforms, there has been a major disrupter in the content wars: short-form UGC.
Although the time the average American spends watching television has increased in recent years, the same cannot be said for younger generations. Since the rise of content creators and influencers flourishing on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, the attention of IND18-35 has shifted towards short-form UGC while moving incrementally away from studio-produced, long-form content. Of users between ages 16-64, nearly 90% use social media apps while entertainment/video apps are only reaching 70% of the same audience (Statista 4, 2021). Gen Z and Millennials’ attention shift towards short-form UGC can be inferred through the number of users active on short-form UGC platforms. For example, 62% of IND18-35 were Instagram and TikTok users in 2021, which accounted for the largest demographic on both platforms (Statista 5 & 6, 2021). As these habits continue, the industry will find itself in decline as the competition for their attention increases and studios are struggling to reach the same audiences.
Having noticed the trending popularity of UGC, Netflix forged a first-time partnership with Twitch, an interactive live stream service, to co-stream a series, Arcane, in order to attract content creators to react in real-time to the show’s premiere (Riot Games, 2021). Similarly, Netflix has been quietly churning out interactive shows and films on its native platform where viewers can shape the story, navigating Netflix’s “choose your own adventure” type content such as the special episode, “Bandersnatch,” from Black Mirror and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend (Netflix, 2022). In 2020, the short-lived Quibi attempted to respond by monetizing short-form content as television. Their attempts to produce studio-quality, unscripted and scripted long-form (studio-produced) episodics under 10 minutes ultimately failed with the service shutting down less than eight months after its debut. While many factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, faulty management, and the “smart-phone only approach” were involved in Quibi’s downfall, a major cause of Quibi’s demise was the lack of interest in subscribing to studio-created, short-form content (Mangalindan, 2020, para 6). Quibi was still relying on Hollywood’s old guard model of leaning into star power and large production budgets while merely cutting up long-form content into smaller segments. Quibi executives failed to acknowledge the nuanced strengths of short-form content (Mangalindan). In order to successfully compete against short-form content, studios cannot simply co-opt this medium.
Short-form UGC will only seep deeper into the television landscape; based on Insider Intelligence’s report in 2021, UGC is predicted to “spread outside social media” (Williamson et al., 2021, p. 6). For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, brands have enlisted the help of fans and influencers to develop marketing initiatives. In 2021, UGC grew in other areas of entertainment, from TV commercials to digital video (Insider Intelligence, 2021). Between 2017 and 2018, SVOD subscriber share increased by 15%. In contrast, the growth is plateauing, and the share is expected to increase by only 5% in the next five years (Statista 3, 2021).
Today, merely having access to favorite shows is not enough for Gen Z and Millennials.The content consumption habits of IND18-35 suggest younger generations increasingly embrace interactive content that allows them to make their own choices, be actively involved in storytelling, and maintain their individual identity. There is an untapped opportunity for studios to win the attention of Gen Z and Millennials by first having a more nuanced, deeper understanding of how IND18-35 consume short-form UGC and subsequently use the appealing characteristics of short-form content to funnel this demographic into long-form content.
Stay tuned for Part Two of this Article, where researchers will dive into their survey findings that illuminate patterns of behavior amongst Gen Z and Millennial consumers. Findings will reveal what they watch, why, and how organizations can gear their content to suit the specific habits, needs, and desires of this age group.
Resources
Francis, T., & Hoefel, F. (2018, November 12). ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications
for companies. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-
generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies
Insider Intelligence Analysts. (2021, November 22). Top 10 trends in 2022. Insider Intelligence.
Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.emarketer.com/content/top-10-trends-2022
Kantar Media. (2020). Gen Z is better at recalling ad content than older consumers: WARC.
WARC An Ascential Company. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from
https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/gen-z-is-better-at-recalling-ad-content-than-
older-consumers/44086
Mangalindan, J. (2020, November 11). Quibi leaders’ $1.7 billion failure is a story of self-
sabotage. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved May 9, 2022, from
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-11-11/what-went-wrong-at-quibi-jeffrey-
katzenberg-meg-whitman-and-self-sabotage?sref=T1S3vg3f
Meola, A. (2022, January 5). Generation Z news: Latest characteristics, research, and facts.
Insider Intelligence. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from
https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/generation-z-facts/
Petro, Greg. (2021, April 30). Gen Z is emerging as the sustainability generation. Forbes.
Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2021/04/30/gen-z-is-
emerging-as-the-sustainability-generation/?sh=5474e9ba8699
Statista. (2021). TikTok. Statista. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www-statista-
com.cmu.idm.oclc.org/study/70013/tiktok/
Stears, A. (2019, October 2). Why short form content resonates with younger generations.
MIDiA Research. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from
https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/why-short-form-content-resonates-with-younger-
generations
YPulse. (2020, June 1). Most young consumers want brands to support #BlackLivesMatter:
Here’s how. Retrieved May 9, 2022, from
https://www.ypulse.com/article/2020/06/01/most-young-consumers-want-brands-to-
support-blacklivesmatter-heres-how/