Today’s episode of the Punk CX podcast is with Matt Powell, Creative Director at Great State, a digital product and service design agency. Matt joins me today to talk about some research that they recently released called Shifting States, which examines Gen Z behaviours and digital expectations. We explore the implications of this research, what it means for brands, and how they should adjust their thinking and marketing. Additionally, Matt outlines five principles that will help brands build reciprocal loyalty, particularly with their Gen Z customers.

This interview follows on from my recent interview – Why most brands build chatbots backwards – Interview with Sophie Cheng of Sinch – and is number 554 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

Here are the highlights of my chat with Matt:

• Gen Z (born roughly late 90s to 2010) has experienced constant uncertainty throughout their formative years, leading to a unique mindset.
• Gen Z doesn’t follow traditional linear paths (like the marketing funnel); their journey is often messy and fluid.
• Gen Z are highly adaptable, constantly processing information and reforming their views, meaning brands need to be equally fluid in their approach.
• Traditional tools like fixed personas and reach/frequency models are no longer effective with Gen Z.
• Relentless optimisation can lead to a lack of authenticity, which Gen Z values highly.
• Quality design and craft are becoming more important.
• Gen Z sees through reactive marketing and influencer trends. Focus should be on building genuine connections.
• Old-school branding that emphasises uniqueness and aesthetics is making a comeback and is crucial for connecting with Gen Z.
• Marketers need to “clean off their windows” and rethink old assumptions about how Gen Z thinks and behaves.
• While Gen Z values social responsibility and sustainability, they often don’t actively research these practices. Brands should make these values front and centre and easy to discover.
• Gen Z expects personalised content, but has strong concerns about data privacy. Personalisation must be done responsibly and transparently.
• Brands should be upfront and clear about what data they collect, why, and how it’s used, avoiding legal jargon and adopting a human tone.
• Agencies and brands must constantly listen, adapt, and question assumptions about Gen Z’s needs, using agile tools for quick user research and prototyping.
• Ease and speed are paramount. Frictionless experiences are crucial, particularly in the later stages of a customer journey, as Gen Z will walk away from inconvenience.
• Leverage user-generated content, reviews, and community signals (like Reddit) to help Gen Z make informed decisions, as they seek information from multiple sources.
• Shift focus from cheap conversion tactics to building genuine relationships with customers.
• Matt’s best advice: Be more fluid. We’re in an era of moving quickly and not being stuck in your ways. Understand that your audiences are continuously moving, evolving, reforming, forming and reforming views on the world. So you have to be too.
• Matt’s Punk CX brand (well, actually it’s a recommendation from one of Matt’s Gen Z colleagues, Eve 🙌): The Light Phone

About Matt

As Creative Director at Great State, Matt has delivered Bristol Airport’s Sustainability strategy, the rebrand of the Royal Navy, and many other digital-first content and interface projects. Matt has over 23 years’ experience in digital creativity for brands such as Mini, Pepsi, Apple, Marks & Spencer, and ground-breaking public-health initiatives including Change4Life and Child Protection on the Internet. He pioneers new approaches to creative innovation in digital customer experience design and drives the agency forward in the next wave of technology and design; furthering integration between the UX, brand essence and technology innovation.

You can find out more about Great State and its work here and explore the Shifting States research here.

Feel free to say Hi to them on X (Twitter) @WeAreGreatState and feel free to connect with Matt on LinkedIn here.

Credit: Photo by Dongsh on Unsplash