Despite being separated in age by more than 30 years, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Mark Beal and a Harvard University student discovered they had much in common when they collaborated and co-authored a new book, "Engaging Gen Z: Lessons To Effectively Engage Generation Z Via Marketing, Social Media, Retail, Work & School."

Beal and Michael Pankowski of Rockville, Maryland, a Generation Z (Gen Z) Harvard University student and president of Crimson Connection, a Gen Z consulting firm, share a common interest in researching and understanding Gen Z, the largest consumer segment in the world.  

“In 2019, Generation Z surpassed Millennials as the world’s largest consumer segment,” said Beal. “Despite the majority of this generation being students ranging from elementary school to college, Gen Z is inspiring and influencing significant trends and transformation in media, content, communication and more. 'Engaging Gen Z' is intended to inform employers, marketers, corporations and brands how to effectively engage this transformative generation.”  

Gen Z comprises approximately 65 million people in the United States alone. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z includes recent college graduates who just joined the workforce and current college, high school, middle and elementary school students. They are digital natives, tech-smart, entrepreneurial spirited, community-minded and purpose driven.

“Engaging Gen Z” features recently fielded national Gen Z survey results and interviews with Gen Zers ages 13 to 23 and offers Gen Z’s insights on future employers, education, media, content, social media and how brand marketers can most effectively engage them. Among the insights the book features include:

• The #1 quality of a future employer that Gen Z is seeking is a workplace culture of diversity and inclusion (36%), more than competitive salary (31%) and benefits (29%)
• YouTube is Gen Z’s #1 source for news and information at 55% followed by Instagram (53%) and Snapchat (40%)
• Music isn’t the only content that Gen Z listens to as 48% also enjoy podcasts because they can listen to a wide variety of content anyplace at anytime
• 62% of Gen Zers agree that the most effective way for a brand marketer to engage them is through unique experiences and events that they can participate in and share on social media   
• Gen Z’s greatest online influence are their Gen Z friends (41%) far ahead of celebrities from stage, screen and sports (16%) and online celebrities (13%)

"Engaging Gen Z" is a guide for any employer, educator, marketer or media company preparing themselves for the influence, innovation and transformation that Gen Z will bring to work, school, marketing, culture and society over the next two decades.

More information about the Communication Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information is available on the website.