Spotify Offers Gen Z and Millennial Insights to Help Marketers Connect Better

Streaming giant Spotify is trying to make it easier for marketers of all ages to grasp what Gen Z and millennials want, Lee Brown, vice president and global head of advertising, told Cheddar.

"So, this hard to reach, highly-coveted demographic is showing up on Spotify everyday to listen, and we are encouraging marketers: this is the place for them to be heard by providing them these insights and these tips from this generation," Brown said.

So what do young people want?

According to its recent "Culture Next" survey of Gen Z and Millennials, more than 60 percent are "ready to rebuild society from the ground up." The survey found that societal norms don't apply to this generation, particularly when it comes to education and career path.

"One thing that was interesting was that 1 in 3 don't plan to go to college and plan to start their own business, while 65 percent of the respondents are already, or plan to be, their own boss," Brown said.

To help empower its Gen Z listeners, Spotify has crafted some suggestions for marketers to focus on: provide relatable content from community leaders and activists, highlight movements throughout the year instead of capitalizing on snapshot moments like Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Black History Month, and use audio as a time machine to "transport them back to another point in time that they can recall."

The survey also found parents and children are forming stronger bonds through streaming.

"That was something that we saw with the shifts in listening behavior during COVID, that more people were listening together and in groups at home and that was what was bringing them together," he said.

For Spotify, according to Brown, the end goal is to help Gen Z users come into their own while providing a profitable path for marketers to aid users in their journey.