THE PROBLEM
How do you build brands and products for a new generation?
Client
DIAGEO
Project Type
YOUTH RESEARCH, GEN. Z
Location
North America
THE BRIEF
To continue to drive growth across their brands and business, Diageo needed to understand how to effectively engage and win Gen-Z consumers (21 to 29 years old) across the US.
It was the first time Diageo were able to research this group. They needed a robust, foundational study that would give them deep insight into the macro cultural trends, brands, socialising behaviours, and relationships with alcohol within this cohort.
The goal was to help forge authentic connections with this audience, avoiding the pitfalls of generalisation often seen in 'Gen Z Trend reports'. So, it was crucial for us to design research that not only engaged the audience, but also stakeholders.
CREATING A PLATFORM
Create excitement within the organization
As such a foundational piece of research, we needed to ensure that it would create excitement within the organization. We created a bespoke branded identify for the workstream that would allow stakeholders to instantly recognize the project.
FutureProof was born.
KNOWLEDGE REVIEW
Knowledge gaps and myth busting
One of the first priorities was to understand what the business already knew on this audience. We conducted an in-depth knowledge review of the data and insight that already existing on this audience to help us identify knowledge gaps and generate hypotheses.
It was also important to talk to key stakeholders to understand the myths we needed to bust for this audience but also how we could make the end deliverables as useful to them as possible.
OUR SOLUTION
Gen. Z's broader attitudes, behaviors, values, and their relationships with brands.
Expert interviews played a crucial role in contextualising what we learned directly from our Gen-Z audience, whilst also providing a more macro lens on cultural, societal, and category trends. We consulted founders of Gen Z research agencies, consultancies, and professors specialising in this generation across various contexts.
Longitudinal digital ethnography with Gen Z consumers across 8 states, explored this generations’ broader audience attitudes, behaviors, values, and their relationships with brands. This comprehensive investigation also delved into how this audience socialises and uncovered the categories, subcategories, and brands in their drink repertoires.
A robust quantitative study, guided by insights from previous phases, delivered robust data capable of breaking down nuances across sub-cohorts and allowed us to benchmark against previous generations. This approach gave us a thorough examination of the diverse facets within the 21-29 age group.
Our City Meet-Up methodology allowed stakeholders to get closer to this audience. City Meet-Ups are our proprietary immersive research events. We hire an exciting, dynamic spaces, invite lots of consumers and stakeholders and spend 2 hours gaining a deeper understanding of this audience and what brands like Smirnoff and Captain Morgan can be doing to innovate for them.
THE RESULTS
A nuanced and comprehensive understanding of 21-29 year-olds
Our multifaceted approach has provided Diageo with a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of 21-29 year-olds. The results are not only data-driven but also infused with the authentic voices and experiences of the target audience. Armed with these insights, Diageo is well-equipped to tailor its strategies and offerings to connect with and appeal to this dynamic demographic, ensuring a future-proof approach in the evolving landscape.
The work has had massive impact within Diageo and we have now been commissioned for a second phase where we look at turning insight into innovation across their categories and portfolio.
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