Your Brand Innovation Is GenZ’s Bare Minimum
At the peak in the age of technology, we are constantly striving to go above and beyond our horizons. Just when you think there’s no longer room for improvement, major advances are made!
There are many corporations however, that are cutting corners and dimming the light shed on innovation. We’re at the pinnacle of the unknown and Gen Z is providing crucial input to how we can push humanity towards the impossible. That’s also why we are a great group to pool answers from because we are so creatively inclined to problem solve. We are essentially the new leaders of innovation!
“We are a great group to pool answers from because we are so creatively inclined to problem solve.”
“I posed the question on my Instagram story, “What does innovation mean to you?”
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines innovation as “the introduction of something new” but this explanation was first used in the 15th century. The implications in the present day have shifted and expanded. There are a variety of ways to express innovation, such as technologically and socially. Before immersing myself in research I was unaware that there were ways to innovate socially. Through a Gen Z lens, I want to focus on comparing technological and social innovation styles, what their outcomes look like, and how beneficial these upgrades are to society as a whole.
I posed the question on my Instagram story, “What does innovation mean to you?” I received a large number of DM’s from people saying that this question was difficult to express and explain. I find it interesting that we had a difficult time describing what is the end result of our creative endeavors! This told me two things about Gen Z: we [as a whole] haven’t been properly educated on terms that frequent business settings, and we are capable of understanding concepts that we cannot verbally express. The responses I received ranged from topics of problem solving to creating physical forms of abstract concepts.
“Creating something new and purposeful using abstract thought in the face of adversity.”
Two responses particularly intrigued me and encouraged me to think deeper on this topic. One reads “creating something new and purposeful using abstract thought in the face of adversity” – I like this because it’s easy to comprehend and easily applicable to any sector that requires innovation. Adversity is a topic that can be frequently overlooked, yet adversity is vital to being able to innovate. Without adversity there’d be no reasons to improve upon great ideas!
“It leads me to question if innovation today is working in reverse– creating new problems in order to profit off of their solutions.”
“Creating something new and purposeful using abstract thought in the face of adversity.”
The second answer being, “solving a problem people didn’t know they had”— this to me screams technological innovation BUT I can see this being applied to social innovation as well. While I completely agree with how accurate this statement is, it leads me to question if innovation today is working in reverse– creating new problems in order to profit off of their solutions. I recently jumped on a call with one of my favorite Gen Z creative directors right now, @themyiah_lee on Instagram, to talk more about our perspectives of innovation in businesses we frequent. These are some of the highlights of our conversation:
Q: “How would you define innovation?” Ar’myiah: “Innovation to me is taking the initiative of your own mind. To be spontaneous and surprise yourself even.”
“It leads me to question if innovation today is working in reverse– creating new problems in order to profit off of their solutions.”
Soraya: “ ...kinda like daring yourself to create that shift! That desire of wanting to stun your audience fuels me when I’m trying to do something that’s never been done. Would you say there’s a relationship between creativity and innovation? Or better yet, could you say that creatives are also leaders of innovation?”
Ar’myiah: “I could definitely agree to that last statement. The majority of people I look up to in our generation are highly creative people, whether they lean into the title of creative or not. We have a lot of out of the box thinkers in Gen Z, I’ve witnessed it myself in so many of my classes. The same astonished look on teacher’s faces when we come up with better ways to conduct field research or easier methods to finish a garment properly. Gen Z creatives are all innovators.”
Soraya: “I didn’t even look at it that way, that's a great outlook! From my perspective I saw that as us improving on old school methods–and that’s exactly what innovation is! Why hadn’t I made that connection before this I’m not sure *laughter* but thank you for helping me realize that. At the same time, it’s the fact that a lot of us don’t realize the point you made and that’s how Gen Z creatives get exploited without credit and payment for our ideas.
Q: In your opinion, what is the next marketing angle businesses will take to keep the innovation lights burning?”
Ar’myiah: “Other than social, I don’t see how any other form of angle would be considered. The next step is to advance social media technology.”
Q: “From your perspective, does Gen Z prefer technological innovation or social/environmental innovation? And why is this the case?” Ar’myiah: “Gen Z tends to lean more towards social innovation. It’s what keeps this generation connecting the way they do and sharing. It’s what makes things like Facetime and Instagram, even Twitter fun! It's what’s building trust and collaboration with our communities on a global scale.”
Soraya: “I wholeheartedly agree with that! Social media to Gen Z is what gatherings and “balls” were to older generations. It’s all the same really, it just takes place in the virtual world. But that leading to the creation of the Metaverse is a bit odd to me. Like it was bound to happen especially after how Sims popped off but damn, to live in two worlds at once sounds disastrous...”
Not only did this conversation enlighten me on how holistic Gen Z’s way of thinking is, but it also helped me gain insight on ways to push innovation back into the right direction. If we are to give our input to help businesses cater to their audience, it’s not always about the next cutting edge model of Jordans. Innovation is constantly improving upon what will bring us closer. And if that’s in material form, so be it! But there are plenty of nuances that mean a lot more to Gen Z, such as transparency, collaborative effort, and candor.
The Takeaway
At the peak in the age of technology, we are constantly striving to go above and beyond our horizons. There are many corporations however, that are cutting corners and dimming the light shed on innovation. There are a variety of ways to express innovation, such as technologically and socially, however innovation today is working in reverse– creating new problems in order to profit off of their solutions. A bad move when Gen Z really just wants transparency, collaborative effort, and candor.
