The Underground Arts Scene Meets Branded Content When Gen Z Audiences are Concerned
The summer of 2022 has created a renaissance-like atmosphere amongst Chicago music video creatives and Chicago branded content creators. The two worlds are beginning to collide.
The underground arts scene is starting to meet brands focused on youth engagement. The demand for Gen Z marketing strategies and Gen Z creatives to make content for Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube Ads is at an all-time high. People in this next generation of capitalism are more drawn to authenticity and influencer marketing than they are to standard commercial advertisements.
Gen Z Branded Content Coming from Gen Z Creatives is the Future of Social Media Advertising
Gen Z outreach is only as good as the authenticity behind the messages. We are way too savvy. It has to be true. Otherwise, we can feel marketers trying to sell us and we’re not buying.
A lot of higher-ups at companies don’t understand the importance of peer-to-peer marketing regarding Gen Z audiences and Gen Z content. This is how we communicate with one another. Social media has allowed us to see into other people’s lives in a more authentic way. It really raises the stakes for branded content to be entertaining, and for social media influencers on Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube to be real with how they interact with it.
The Influencer Marketing Trend is Evolving to a Hybrid Model
For a while, we were seeing a rise in influencer marketing. Brands were engaging influencers to promote their products on their Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube channels to try to influence what people buy. That strategy is less about cinematography, videography, or video production values, but more about the influencer’s face. However, that trend seems to be evolving. In a way, it played itself out. The influencers often seem less than authentic when promoting a sponsored product, and it turns off their followers.
Influencer Marketing works better when the influencer collaborates with a director who can help them find a balance that works best for them, their channel, and the brand. Too many influencers have had the unfortunate experience of degrading their channel by making tacky ad content. When that happens, everyone loses.
Ads for Gen Z by Gen Z Creatives
For brands and agencies trying to reach Gen Z audiences, it is important to find Gen Z creatives that make videos that youth audiences f**** with. That’s why Intertwine makes music videos AND branded content. We are Gen Z and we love the music. The artists that we collaborate with, such as Coi Laray, K.B. Mike, Flo Milli, Nick Cannon, and influencers like songwriter Murf Dilly — are tastemakers and trendsetters. We work with artists as we do with any other brand. We help them express their authentic style, explore new dimensions of their brand, and deliver their message to their fans.
We bring those artist relationships, the aesthetics, and the styles that we create when we collaborate with these top artists to our commercial work, like this video introducing young people to careers in AV Tech for AVIXA.
A Mix of Branded Entertainment with Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube Influencers Leads to Retention and Engagement
Influencers are still a key element too. They can amplify the branded content and create more of it themselves to promote the brand with their own image on their Tik Tok, Instagram, or Youtube channels, but sometimes it works even better when we work with celebrities and more micro-targeted influencers to fulfill a brand’s goals. We had a lot of fun with NBA and WNBA stars on when working this Mountain Dew NBA All-Star recap video. You can see the player’s personalities shine through, which makes it feel authentic and on point with the Mountian Dew brand.
Social media has created a bedrock for fragmented viewership and complicated audience retention. A smart brand strategy brings people in for cornerstone content and engages them in the disparate corners of social media sites where they discuss with influencers and amongst themselves. It’s all about retention and engagement.
