Sustainability

Firstly, Gen-Z and Gen Alpha are increasingly concerned about environmental sustainability and are driving demand for eco-friendly products and services. This trend is driven by a growing awareness of the environmental impact of human activity and a desire to protect the planet for future generations. Companies that prioritize sustainability in their operations and marketing are likely to resonate with this audience.

Digital Natives

Next, Gen-Z and Gen Alpha are digital natives, having grown up in a world where technology is omnipresent. They are comfortable with technology and expect companies to provide seamless digital experiences across all channels. This trend has led to an increased focus on digital marketing, e-commerce, and mobile optimization.

Personalization

Third, Gen-Z and Gen Alpha expect personalized experiences that cater to their individual needs and preferences. This trend is driven by the rise of big data and artificial intelligence. This can enable companies to create tailored experiences based on individual customer data. Companies that prioritize personalization are likely to see increased engagement and loyalty from young customers.

Mental Health

Additionally, mental health is a growing concern among Gen-Z and Gen Alpha, who are facing increased stress and pressure in their daily lives. This trend has led to a focus on mental health awareness, self-care, and mindfulness. Companies that prioritize mental health in their marketing and operations are likely to resonate with Gen-Z and Gen Alpha and build stronger relationships with this demographic.

Social Responsibility

Lastly, Gen-Z and Gen Alpha today are socially conscious and expect companies to act responsibly and make a positive impact on society. A desire to create a better world drives this trend. They distrust companies that prioritize profits over social responsibility. Companies that prioritize social responsibility in their operations and marketing are likely to resonate with this audience and build long-term loyalty.

Therefore, staying informed about the latest trends among Gen-Z and Gen Alpha is essential for businesses that want to engage with this demographic. By embracing these trends and staying on top of emerging trends, businesses can position themselves for success in the years to come. Ready to develop your company’s youth marketing strategy? Visit youthmarketing.com to get started.

The post Understanding Gen-Z & Gen Alpha appeared first on YMC.

Choose your niche

To become a successful nano-influencer or micro-influencer, it’s important to choose a niche that you’re passionate about and knowledgeable in. This can be anything from beauty and fashion to travel and food. Choose an area that aligns with your personal brand and interests, and that you can create content around consistently.

Create high-quality content

Creating high-quality content is key to building your personal brand and attracting an engaged and relevant following. Invest in good equipment including a smartphone with a high-quality camera, and practice taking photos and videos that are visually appealing and engaging. Use editing apps or software to enhance your content and make it stand out.

Build your following

Building your following is essential to becoming a nano-influencer or micro-influencer. Start by promoting your social media channels on other platforms, such as your blog or website. Engage with your followers by responding to comments and direct messages, and by creating content that resonates with them. Collaborate with other influencers or brands in your niche to reach a wider audience.

Collaborate with brands

Once you’ve built a following and established yourself as a nano-influencer or micro-influencer, you can start collaborating with marketing agencies and brands. Research and reach out to agencies representing brands that align with your interests, and that have products and/or services you would genuinely use or recommend. You can also sign up for influencer marketing platforms, such as YMC’s The Hub, to connect with brands and access sponsored content opportunities.

Disclose sponsored content

It’s important to disclose any sponsored content you post to maintain transparency with your audience. Use hashtags such as #sponsored, #ad, or #partner to indicate that the content is sponsored. This can also help you build trust with your audience and avoid any legal issues.

Becoming a nano-influencer or micro-influencer and working with brands takes time and effort, but it can be a rewarding way to monetize your social media presence and build your personal brand. Choose a niche that you’re passionate about, create high-quality content, and build your following. Collaborate with brands that align with your interests, and remember to disclose any sponsored content you post. With persistence and dedication, you can become a successful influencer working with top industry brands.

Are you a brand looking to connect with Gen-Z micro-influencers? Check out YMC’s work!

The post Five Steps to Becoming a Nano-Influencer or Micro-Influencer appeared first on YMC.

With the holidays quickly approaching, you may be scratching your head and wondering what to buy the young people in your life. Just like in years’ past, YMC has your back. We’re here to help you determine what to buy for the Gen-Zers and Millennials in your life.

About Our Gen-Z and Millennial Community

The YMC community, including our @youthmarketing followers, comprises more than two hundred thousand highly-engaged students and young adults across North America and the U.K. Over 90% of our network is between the ages of 18-34. In other words, our community represents Gen-Z and Millennials. 

What We Learned

We reached out to our community via Instagram Stories and a Google Survey to find out what gifts they plan on giving and would like to receive this year. Here’s what we learned:

We’re Back! (in the office)

44.2% of respondents are back in the office full-time, and 21.2% are working hybrid schedules and spending some time in their offices. While they’ve decked out home offices for the past few years, 2023 is shaping to be the year many will ditch the comfy sweatpants and style some more professional clothes. Knowing that the young person in your life might need to refresh their wardrobe, consider giving them a subscription to a fashion box, like Stichfix or Nuuly, so they can try out new clothes and pick their favorites.

UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, oh my!

Holiday (and all) shopping largely took place online over the past two years, and this trend is here to stay. All of our respondents said their holiday shopping would largely take place online, either exclusively or with a little in-store shopping. None of our respondents indicated they would do most or all of their shopping in person.

Let’s Get Practical

An overwhelming majority of respondents prefer to both give and receive practical gifts. This includes both items and services that they need and will use frequently. This is a shift from the past two years, where respondents wanted fun gifts that they may not have needed but definitely wanted. This shift can be attributed to the return to more in-person activities in the past year, Gen-Z and Millennials getting more established in the workplace, and inflation pressures.

Is Cash Still King?

2021 marked a year where respondents wanted to be showered in cash and gift cards. This year, items are the preferred gift. Inflation might be the reason behind this, as people understand that budgets are being stretched and shifted. Our respondents also indicated that the thought behind a chosen gift makes an impact more so than cash or gift cards.

Seal it with a Monogram

A recurring theme we saw in our survey responses was personalization. Many of our respondents indicated getting gifts like leather passport covers or stationery with their loved one’s initials or names embossed. Even when discussing gifts that did not lend themselves to personalization, our respondents indicated that they wanted to purchase gifts that show that they’ve been paying attention to what their friends and family like.

Looking for More Than Shopping Tips?

If you’re a brand manager interested in reaching more Gen-Z and Millennial consumers, we can help! We’ve built a strong community of young people to tap for unique custom research and insights. At YMC, we’ve been connecting brands with 15- to 34-year-old consumers for two decades—and we’d be happy to share our wealth of knowledge with you. Contact us today!

The post The 2022 YMC Gift Guide for Gen-Z and Millennials appeared first on YMC.

Introduce yourself! Who are you, and what do you do at YMC?

Hi guys, my name is Naeilah. I am a Program Strategist here at YMC!

How long have you been at YMC?

I have been at YMC for two months! I started my journey with the team in March 2022.

What programs have you worked on during your time at YMC?

I am currently on the Samsung College Program for the Fall 2022 Semester!

What school did you attend?

I attended San Diego State University and enjoyed every minute with palm trees in my sight. 

How do you like spending your free time?

I love spending my free time relaxing or being creative in any way. I enjoy exploring new restaurants, activities, or anything that expands beyond what I have done in the past.

What experience have you had that set you up for success in your career?

My experience as a cheerleader has allowed me to gain social skills in interacting and communicating with others. My past professional experience in Public Relations has enabled me to understand the true meaning and importance of brand presence which transfers into my current role!

Any tips for aspiring #YMCrew members?

My tip for aspiring #YMCrew members would be to always think outside the box.

What about you might surprise people?

One thing that might surprise people is that I have a lot of introverted tendencies, although I can appear very extroverted at first glance. 

The post Meet the #YMCrew: Naeilah Odom appeared first on YMC.

As society shifts towards more accepting attitudes, those who identify as LGBTQ+ are empowered to come out and live authentically. Gen-Z youth in the United States have grown up surrounded by an increasingly accepting culture, and their widespread access to the internet has allowed information about LGBTQ+ identities to be more readily accessible and relatable. 

A recent Gallup poll (pulling data from Bedbible.com research) has shown that Gen-Z is increasingly identifying as LGBTQ+. Overall identification of LGBTQ+ individuals among all ages grows, sitting at 7.1% compared to 3.5% in 2012. 20.8% of Gen-Z identifies as LGBTQ+, a truly remarkable figure compared to previous generations. Much of this explosion in Gen-Z’s identification can be attributed to Gen-Z entering adulthood and becoming increasingly more comfortable with openly identifying their sexuality and gender.

Is This a Trend?

Some have deemed past societal shifts as passing trends and fads. There are individuals today who are attributing the rise in queer identities as such. Bill Maher, the bombastic political satirist, has recently landed himself in hot water by claiming that gay and trans youth are trying to be trendy, sparking criticism from many, including LGBTQ+ advocacy groups like GLAAD.

So what’s the cause of this significant increase? If we look back at the history of LGBTQ+ people, many were unable to be open and public with their identities due to societal norms, discrimination, lack of accessible knowledge, and fears of violence. The 1969 Stonewall Riots sparked the modern LGBTQ+ movement, and while there have been enormous strides in LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance, these newly gained grounds are shaky and uncertain. That being said, society as a whole is more accepting of LGBTQ+ identities now than ever before, leading to many becoming more comfortable with being out and proud. 

The internet has given rise to safe spaces for marginalized communities and provided people with the ability to share previously suppressed information. Many older LGBTQ+ individuals have talked about the lack of knowledge and language to express themselves in the past and how drastically different that is for young people today.

Becoming Mainstream

With the passage of marriage equality and strengthened rights for LGBTQ+ Americans, many more have been empowered to come out and publicly identify as LGBTQ+. With conversations about sexual orientation becoming increasingly mainstream, increased and explicit representation in media, and acceptance from some political and religious institutions and society, LGBTQ+ individuals are more easily able to live their lives without fear of discrimination. Gen-Z has benefited from the struggles of their queer predecessors and faces fewer challenges in identifying as LGBTQ+.

While pollsters like Gallup have conducted similar surveys about the sexual orientations of Americans in the past, there were issues with inaccurate counts of marginalized communities. Due to the fear of violence and non-acceptance, many self-censored their answers, resulting in undercounting queer populations.

Let’s be clear: there have always been LGBTQ+ individuals, many more than we could ever possibly know. But it was not safe for these people to come out, and thus their stories and identities were erased. 

Rainbow Capitalism

As LGBTQ+ identities have become more widely accepted, corporate America has increasingly started to market and message around these groups. Pride month inevitably is accompanied by brands changing their social media profile images to some rainbow iteration. Companies like Target, Walmart, and Amazon have released Pride-themed collections with mixed results. While some items from these collections have resonated with queer communities, others have read as tone-deaf and borderline offensive. 

Suppose your company is planning on releasing a pride-themed collection. It’s imperative to have LGBTQ+ decision-makers at the table and in all steps of the process to ensure that the message and products you are delivering are authentic and meaningful. It’s also essential to step back and figure out why your brand is messaging around Pride and LGBTQ+ identities. Is this an issue that your brand is passionate about beyond Pride month? Is there a benefit to the queer community to releasing these collections? Is your brand doing more than trying to get the queer dollar? Your company should be using this as an opportunity to empower the LGBTQ+ community, whether it is through giving queer creators a platform, donations to LGBTQ+-related causes, or taking stances on issues that impact queer people.

Celebrating Pride is vital for LGBTQ+ acceptance. Despite the many strides in LGBTQ+ rights and equality, there continue to be many threats, such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Texas’ litany of anti-trans legislation, and many more across the country. While queer acceptance is at an all-time high, it’s essential to still take a stance on these issues and realize that the fight for equality and protection is far from over. Gen-Z is entering adulthood amidst many changes, challenges, wins, and losses. 

How You Can Support Queer Communities

• Champion queer creators and include them in your marketing campaigns throughout the year
• Recruit and retain LGBTQ+ staff by creating an inclusive workplace
• Donate to LGBTQ+ organizations or volunteer with a local LGBTQ+ youth center
• Incorporate LGBTQ+ inclusivity trainings into your onboarding processes
• Listen and learn. It’s important to take the time to listen to queer people and learn from them. Give LGBTQ+ people the space and platform to educate others on how to strengthen their allyship.

The post Out and Proud: Gen-Z and LGBTQ+ Identities appeared first on YMC.

Introduce yourself! Who are you, and what do you do at YMC?

Hi, I’m Delaney. I’m a Program Strategist at YMC.

How long have you been at YMC?

I have been at YMC for almost two months now. I started in March 2022.

What programs have you worked on during your time at YMC?

I’m currently working on the Samsung College Program for the Fall semester.

What school did you attend?

I graduated from Temple University in May 2021. I loved it so much and hope to move back to Philadelphia one day!

How do you like spending your free time?

I love spending my free time just unwinding from the week. Usually, on the weekends, I’m just driving around, listening to Taylor Swift, going shopping, and eating good food!

What experiences in your life have set you up for success in your career?

The experience that I will always be the most appreciative of is my time as President at Her Campus at Temple. Through that experience, I learned how to build genuine connections with my peers, which has helped a lot in recruiting at YMC!

Any tips for aspiring #YMCrew members?

The best advice I would give to anyone is to be a good person and love what you do. If you go into experiences with a good attitude, good things will come back to you!

What about you might surprise people?

I’m pretty introverted. You might not get that just from speaking to me because I’m outgoing when I’m around people, but I love my alone time!

The post Meet the #YMCrew: Delaney Mills appeared first on YMC.

April Fools!

Today’s the day: April 1st, where everyone from our coworkers to major corporations attempts to have a sense of humor and play pranks on unsuspecting peers and consumers. What was once the best holiday for elementary schoolers has turned into a corporate opportunity to generate some headlines and, occasionally, controversy.

April Fools’ is an easy holiday to be a part of, and companies have participated for decades. Brands love capitalizing on trends, whether it’s dance challenges, the meme of the moment, popular hashtags, or celebrating holidays(real and fake). However, more than a few brand attempts at humor or trickery have recently fallen flat or caused outright issues for consumers.

Brands from Google to Lego have used April Fools’ Day to generate buzz—from product announcements to major brand shifts. While some have found success with their pranks, others have found themselves in hot water. 

When It’s Bad, It’s Bad

Brands from Google to Lego have used April Fools day to generate a lot of buzz, from product announcements to brand shifts. While some brands have found success with their pranks, others have found themselves in hot water. 

Google – Mic Drop

On April 1st, 2016, Google debuted its newest feature in Gmail, the “mic drop.” The feature allowed users to send a “mic drop” to their emails, accompanied by a gif of a Minion tossing a microphone. While intended to be humorous, the “mic drop” button replaced Gmail’s “Send and Archive” button, leading to misclicks and inappropriately placed Minions. Some users claimed that they lost their job due to the prank, while others faced awkward conversations after sending serious emails accompanied by the gif. Google pulled the feature soon after launch, apologizing for the stunt.

Volkswagen – Voltswagen

Volkswagen hoped to bring some levity to 2021 after a rough previous year. For its April Fools’ prank, Volkswagen announced that they’d be rebranding as “Voltswagen of America” to put a spotlight on their electric and eco-conscious lineup.

There were a few issues with their prank: they announced it before April Fools Day, leading to many thinking that this was a serious move by the brand. They went as far as changing social media handles, leading to major news outlets reporting the prank as a legitimate rebrand.

Volkswagen was still recovering from a mid-2010s emissions scandal when it was discovered that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed its engines to activate their emissions control only when testing, not when in use. This led to their vehicles emitting up to 40 times more air pollution than allowed by US standards.

The ill-thought-through Voltswagen prank hit Volkswagen’s reputation, led to widespread confusion, and rehashed a significant scandal that the public was just beginning to forget about.

The Franklin Institute – Apocalypse

The Franklin Institute, a Philadelphia-based science museum, used April Fools’ to promote their newest planetarium show on cosmic apocalypses with a press release that declared the world was ending, closing out the statement with the sentence, “This is no April Fools’ joke.” This took place in 1940 when the general public didn’t have access to the internet, where this prank could have been quickly debunked.

As expected, this led to widespread hysteria, with emergency lines overwhelmed by calls from panicked readers of the press release. Given the Franklin Institute’s trusted reputation and the explicit statement that it wasn’t a prank, the public took it seriously. The spokesperson behind the press release was fired as a result.

And Sometimes, It Works

While there have been countless failures by corporate America’s April Fools’ jokes, some have been successes. ThinkGeek, a popular website that caters to geek culture, has ended up creating and selling some of the prank products from its April Fools’ promotions, such as a wearable tentacle blanket and a Tauntaun sleeping bag. The once wildly popular mobile game, Pokemon Go, was inspired by an April Fools’ prank from Google, where they allowed users to find Pokemon on Google Maps. The developers behind Pokemon Go, Niantic, were inspired by the stunt and began development on Pokemon Go.

Is it Worth it?

Most of the time, these types of April Fools’ pranks tend to exhaust consumers and spark ire. There are exceptions where brands get it right and create a fun experience that’s remembered for years. But odds are, April Fools’ pranks from brands aren’t going to get the laughs they did in the brainstorming session and can lead to issues with credibility and public opinion. It can also come off as disingenuous advertising for some companies, which can annoy consumers rather than delight them.

With many brands continuously failing to meet expectations or even elicit a chuckle, take some time to consider whether it’s worth it to join in on the so-called fun. CollegeHumor perhaps said it best when they parodied the recent sentiment behind corporate April Fools’ pranks:

The post Don’t End Up Being the April Fool appeared first on YMC.

Going through a rebrand is by no means a new concept. Brands are constantly evolving and changing, from production processes, marketing and communications, and how they appear to the public. However, over the past few years, we’ve noticed widespread reimagining of brands and product packaging that feels stark compared to the minor tweaks and changes we’ve become accustomed to seeing in the past. 

Welcome to the new world of blanding: where new and legacy companies converge towards the same aesthetic trends. Often, blanding involves a generic color palette, abstract lines, edgeless shapes, and sans serif fonts. While the goal is undoubtedly to make the brand and products more appealing, they tend to have the effect of being hard to distinguish. 

Who is Changing?

As new brands try to find their footing in the world and a place in our homes, they turn to branding that tests well and is aesthetically low-friction. That’s not a bad thing. However, it appears as if many of these burgeoning brands are looking at the same datasets, with many companies adopting similar styles, logos, colors, and fonts.  

Large legacy brands are not exempt from blanding, as many recent redesigns have turned to a toned-down, simplistic version of their former identity. Google’s newest brand identity has slimmed down from full graphics to lines with a basic color palette:

While this new update is visually pleasing and demonstrates a clear brand identity, many users have complained that the icons are too similar and lead to issues finding the right websites and applications. This also follows a long series of branding revamps and tweaks over the years, leaving users struggling to find their everyday apps and websites. These bland rebrands are also problematic for those with impaired vision, with a lack of contrasting colors and decreased differentiation between each icon and brand. Reducing accessibility creates further barriers for those with visual impairments and alienates these individuals from the brand as a whole.

Blanding has even reached some of the world’s most iconic and high-end fashion houses. Several of these brands have updated their logos over the recent years, shunning their unique and askew fonts and replacing them with generic and aligned sans serif fonts.

Why Is This Happening?

Blanding is becoming the norm as companies seek to secure a place in the minds of consumers with what they hope is an easy-to-remember identity. With the emergence of DTC brands that compete aggressively with legacy mainstays, some of our favorite brands from the last couple of decades are becoming replaced or ignored. The rise of social media and digital mood boards, like Pinterest, has led many people to curate perfectly coordinated homes. Fearing that their products will be deemed not aesthetically pleasing enough to make the cut, many brands, new and old, are trying to secure or maintain a place by fitting into popular aesthetics and trends. 

While it’s nice to have a range of aesthetically pleasing items to choose from, some of our favorite brands have chosen to kill their personality in exchange for a new, more generic look. While modernizing isn’t necessarily bad, and there are plenty of examples of successful rebrands, sadly, many of our favorite companies have replaced modernizing with genericizing. Just take a look at the following logos:

These logos represent very different brands with very different purposes and missions. A glance at this graphic could easily lead consumers to believe that these are all the same logo or related to one another. Granted, there are only so many colors and fonts and designs in the world, and there will always be accidental coincidences. However, this graphic shows the stark lack of differentiation between brand design and identity.

When a Modern Rebranding Goes Bad

While there are certainly many examples of successful rebrands, and some blanding is defined in the eye of the individual, some companies have faced losses as a result. Tropicana rebranded in 2009, choosing a sans-serif typeface on a white background and replacing the recognizable orange with a straw with a glass of orange juice, split between the front and side of their packaging.

While the new packaging and branding were visually clean and straightforward, the rebrand was quickly deemed a failure, and Tropicana promptly reverted to its former branding within months. Why did it fail? People didn’t recognize Tropicana’s new packaging and skipped it for other, more familiar brands. As a result of this rebrand, Tropicana lost over $30 million in sales in just a few short months. This rebrand is widely cited as the definitive case study of what not to do when updating your brand.

What Now?

This isn’t to say that all brands should keep the same identity for decades and never modernize. It’s also difficult to quantify whether a rebrand is a success or failure, with a good amount of aesthetic critique being very subjective. But there is something sad about the rampant blanding we’ve seen over the past decade, and we hope that companies can take cues from some brands that have methodically evolved their image over the years.

Take Starbucks:

The starkest rebrand occurred in 1987, where the brand shed the brown color, adopted a circle logo, and simplified the logo’s text. Starbucks has updated its logo several times over the past few decades, modernizing aspects of its graphic design and brand identity. However, they’ve maintained the primary images and colors, ensuring that Starbucks remains identifiable from a distance. Starbucks embraced the modern popularity of circular logos and minimalist design without abandoning its essential brand identity.

Brands also need to recognize the power of nostalgia and that newer doesn’t necessarily mean better. Nostalgia is a major driving force for modern trends, such as the resurgence of Y2K fashion among Gen-Z. Many of today’s consumers seek to return to simpler times and relive fond memories from their youth. Pizza Hut has capitalized on this with their latest branding:

While Pizza Hut has evolved its look over the years, the iconic red roof and two-line logo have remained the same since 1974. Their most recent rebrand in 2019 harkened back to the first iteration of this logo direction. This retro look has reminded people of all ages of nights spent at the pizzeria chain, children redeeming a free personal pan pizza from the Book-It program, and fond memories from days past. This rebrand, or rather, brand reversion, has been very successful and maintained the brand’s iconic identity.

A company’s brand has a massive impact on its success. While some rebrands have been very successful and reinvigorated consumer interest, others have led to confusion and boredom. When updating your branding, be sure to prioritize maintaining your brand’s core identity. Trends come and go at a breakneck pace, and brands that attempt to keep up will risk losing their customer base’s interest.

How Can YMC Help?

Does your brand need a new look? Need to stand out from the crowd? A new marketing approach? At YMC, we specialize in building and connecting brands with Gen-Z and Millennial consumers, and we’d be happy to share our wealth of knowledge and skills with you. Contact us today!

The post Blanding/Branding: Is Anyone Else Bored? appeared first on YMC.

Black Teens as Trendsetters Through the Ages

Black teenagers have been the trendsetters driving pop culture for many decades. The Roaring 20’s were defined by music genres like jazz, blues, swing, dance band, and ragtime. These music genres all originated from Black communities. At first, society openly vilified the Black community for creating this new music. Once it was accepted into the mainstream, the Black community’s contributions were minimized. 

When you think of the 1950s, Elvis Presley, dubbed the “King of Rock and Roll,” dominates the conversation. However, it was Black teens that popularized and revolutionized the genre. Additionally, many of the most popular and edgy fashion styles of the day originated from young people of color, especially men. Swing dance filled the dance halls, an echo from 1920’s Harlem dance halls.

The 70s and 80s were marked by disco and experimental fashion. Acrylic nails became statements, lettuce hems graced t-shirts, and sneakers became status symbols. Many of the trends that marked this era originated in Black culture. Acrylic nails have maintained their popularity, though many of those who love the long and decorated nails fail to remember Flo-Jo, the world-record-setting Black runner who was noted for her extremely long and painted nails. Lettuce hems were invented by African-American designer Stephen Burrows and took root in the fashion world across previous decades. And sneaker culture has sparked a booming market, often championed by Black athletes like Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

This is by no means exhaustive of the massive contributions that the young Black community has made to pop culture. However, these examples show that creators and originators of the trends that have defined eras are often forgotten and suppressed—with society ignoring their labor and hard work.

Today’s Trends

In today’s social media era, trends are quick-moving, explosive, and frequently jump from our TikTok feeds to mainstream media. Dance challenges have popped up all over social media, and often, these dances are created by Black teens. 14-year-old Jalaiah Harmon initially created the Renegade Dance. As the dance gained popularity, Jalaiah’s name was forgotten while other white creators were credited with popularizing the dance. 

Much of today’s most popular music is created by young Black people or mainstreamed through its popularity with Black teens. Lil Nas X, Kodak Black, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion have topped the charts over the past several years, demonstrating the power and influence of young Black people in the music space. These artists have taken center stage in pop culture, with invites to the Met Gala, bringing AAVE slang and phrases to the mainstream lexicon, and serving as role models to young Black children across the country.

Today’s fashion trends have originated mainly with Black teenagers. Bucket hats, hoop earrings, and Y2K fashion have re-entered teens’ closets, thanks to the Black teens that started these trends in decades past and the black teens today reviving these styles. The beauty space and modern beauty standards have taken notes from the Black community, emulating their looks by utilizing coconut oil and glitter and taking even more extreme measures like fillers to get fuller lips.

Language is constantly evolving and changing, with words entering and leaving the lexicon with regularity. More often than not, these words and phrases originate from teenage girls, who have been the primary drivers of pop-culture language for centuries. Much of the slang and expressions we use today have originated from young Black people, especially LGBTQ+ Black youth.

Doing Better

Black teenagers face hardships that white teenagers often don’t—with their younger years marked by inequity, unfair scrutiny, ignorance, and even vilification. It’s important to take the time to recognize those who make the most significant contributions to pop culture and trends and create a system where they can reap the benefits. It allows the Black contributors to receive their due, and it’s the least we can do. 

As an industry, it’s imperative that we make a point to name and credit young creators of color and avoid appropriation. Instead of knowingly or incidentally erasing the contributions of young Black teens, let’s uplift them and recognize their creations, hard work, and impact. 

Take some time to research the origins of your favorite phrases, the styles of clothes hanging in your closet, the makeup on your vanity, the types of jewelry on your body, and the words you speak. More often than not, you’ll find the influence of Black teens. Also, let your money talk and donate to Black-led charities that uplift young people of color:

• Black Girls Do Ballet
• My Brother’s Keeper Alliance
• Black Lunch Table
• Black Girls Code
• 100 Black Men of America

The post Black History Month: Black Teens are Leading the Way appeared first on YMC.

With the rise of the legal cannabis industry, companies are dipping their toes in bringing the plant to the general public. Despite the growing acceptance of cannabis and the increasing number of states where the plant is legal recreationally and medically, it remains illegal on a federal level. This means that advertising and marketing marijuana products is complicated and impossible in some cases. However, brands are finding creative and effective ways to get around these restrictions and get the word out about their products.

Letter of the Law

Cannabis remains illegal on the federal level. Even in states with legal medical or recreational marijuana, federal law supersedes state and local laws, meaning that the government has the final say. Even as the federal government has largely shifted its focus away from cannabis, the laws are still in place, and defying them can come with dire consequences—ranging from fines to criminal penalties.

Google and Facebook ban the advertisement of cannabis and related paraphernalia on the platform, which takes over half of the digital advertising market off the table for cannabis businesses.

Getting Creative

This doesn’t mean that cannabis can’t find a place on these platforms in the form of organic content. However, organic content can get flagged by the platform, resulting in removal or a ban altogether. Organic content cannot be geo-targeted to only legal states, meaning that marketers need to get creative with their language and shy away from direct promotion. Additionally, SEO has enabled cannabis brands to market themselves via search results without putting money behind promotion.

Programmatic advertising is an increasingly appealing option, with the ability to geofence advertising promotions to legal states and those over 21. These ads appear as banners on websites, on television services like Roku, and in mobile games. While it is platform-dependent on allowing these advertisements, many marijuana brands are finding success with this approach.

Guerilla advertising has been wildly successful in both legal and illegal states. Some well-placed stickers have led to brands achieving viral success. Recently, Bubby’s Baked made the world’s largest edible, an 850-pound brownie with over 20,000 milligrams of THC, leading to substantial earned media in major publications worldwide.

Foxy and Eaze broke into Tribeca X, the branded content showcase of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, with The Pope of Dope. The Pope of Dope, a cannabis activist biopic, premiered at the Tribeca X Film Festival. Backed by Foxy and Eaze, this is the first marijuana brand-backed project ever to make it into the Tribeca Film Festival, leading to a big surge of popularity in the brand without explicit advertising.

Success from Brands

Houseplant, Seth Rogen’s cannabis brand, has had wild success, with product launches including cannabis, lighters, and ashtrays. Houseplant is one of the first cannabis brands to get national mainstream attention. Seth Rogen’s celebrity status and weed-loving persona do a lot of the heavy lifting of their promotions, but another part of the success around Houseplant is that the brand is divided into House (which sells home goods and cannabis paraphernalia) and Plant (which sells marijuana). Advertising lighters and vases are far from illegal, meaning that the brand benefits from paid advertising from the legal aspects of the business and can avoid ever mentioning the plant aspect, as it is implied.

Often, celebrity-backed cannabis brands succeed due to their existing audience and their association with marijuana in general. Some famous stoners, like Snoop Dogg and Tommy Chong, have created and promoted successful weed businesses through their existing network and innate associations with the plant. Even celebrities that have not typically been associated with marijuana have been able to launch successful weed brands, like Jaleel White (“Did I do that?”) and Melissa Etheridge.

In recent years, influencers have also significantly impacted cannabis brand popularity— from paraphernalia to the actual strains. Formal influencer programs tend to get shut down in these spaces. However, influencers who promote these products and brands based on their personal connections are legally clear, leading to some brands exploding and achieving cult status. Blazy Susan has become a status symbol for marijuana users, with their signature pink rolling papers and rolling trays. The brand’s popularity has been attributed to super fans with big audiences on social media, like comedian Ashley Ray and other verified Twitter and Instagram profiles.

What’s Next?

The changing legal landscape around marijuana will have massive impacts on the industry beyond advertising. As more states legalize recreational marijuana, it is expected that the advertising restrictions will be loosened, and it is likely that we will start seeing paid advertising for weed. However, the industry has had success in marketing without ad spends and will likely continue to expand on these tactics—utilizing celebrities, influencers, and guerilla promotion.

How Can YMC help?

If your brand is interested in engaging with some non-traditional marketing, we’re here to help.

At YMC, we specialize in connecting brands with Gen-Z and Millennial consumers, and we’d be happy to share our wealth of knowledge with you. Contact us today!

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