Authentically communicating brand faults ranks high among magnetic engagement strategies for Gen Z

07 Nov 2023 --- Rejecting the world of “fake news” and highly-filtered social media feeds, Gen Z’s adoption of TikTok has amplified their preference for authentic beauty product communications versus highly stylized ones, according to new research by Provenance.

In its latest report, the brand communications solutions provider emphasizes that an open, candid and honest approach — sometimes evidenced through a brand admitting mistakes publicly — is critical for both customer conversion and retention in today’s shopping era.

“Born into a society where scandal, social injustice and inequities have become commonplace, Gen Z is largely untrusting of people, institutions and the world around them,” stresses Provenance.

“When it comes to winning the hearts and minds of Gen Z, honest marketing can offer a powerful competitive advantage in markets where authenticity is scarce.”

Fragrance and supplements brand The Nue Co has published clickable sustainability badges on its own website, which are backed up by easy-to-access third-party verification or evidence (Image credit: Provenance).Set to have a spending power of US$33 trillion by 2030, Gen Z presents a significant commercial potential.

Power of honest branding
An Earnst & Young study identified authenticity as Gen Z’s most important value in life, with 92% saying “being true to oneself” was very or extremely important.

Honest marketing can vary between publishing gender or diversity pay gap reports, admitting that your 2025 carbon targets were too ambitious or activating a user-generated content (UGC) campaign.

“By embracing transparency, acknowledging mistakes, backing up your sustainability marketing claims and genuinely connecting with this discerning generation, brands can tap into Gen Z’s immense spending power and build long-lasting relationships based on authenticity,” states Provenance.

Exactly what honest marketing looks for a specific customer base, varies case by case. Each brand and audience is unique, and what resonates with one group may not work for another. 

Lean into UGC
UGC is a powerful tool for building trust with Gen Z, outlines Provenance.

UGC generally consists of images, videos, text, testimonials or audio created by individuals who have a genuine affinity for your brand — from product testimonials to contributions to creative brand campaigns. 

In contrast to paid influencer content, UGC is viewed as more authentic and honest marketing, and is therefore a key way to establish brand trust with Gen Z audiences.

“To generate UGC, encourage your customers to share their experiences and thoughts about your products or experience,” states Provenance. “Offer reminders and rewards to incentivize them.”

“To maximize the potential of UGC, you can implement UGC content across multiple channels in your marketing campaigns, to showcase authentic, unfiltered and honest opinions — just make sure to always credit the original creator.”

Among key UGC examples, Hyram, a skin care enthusiast influencer, built his following of six million TikTok and six million YouTube followers by providing honest reviews of products. His genuine endorsement of skin care brand CeraVe in early 2020 led to huge popularity among the Gen Z audience and many of its products selling out.

Byoma is making transparent product sustainability claims via the online retailer Cult Beauty, which embeds evidence of vegan, cruelty-free and clinically tested claims on its product pages (Image credit: Byoma).In another listed example, beauty brand Glossier regularly posts UGC images of people using its products. “When the brand launched its Mega Greens Galaxy masks, thousands of its customers shared photos of wearing them using the #MaskForce hashtag, which Glossier reposted to boost engagement,” highlights Provenance.

Prove your sustainability
Gen Z expects brands to stand for something beyond profit, and are more likely to support brands with a clear mission and values. One particular area on which Gen Z expects brands to take a stand is their environmental impact — due to growing up against the backdrop of the looming climate crisis.

But Gen Z is not interested in brands sharing vague green platitudes on social media feeds, notes Provenance. “They want to see proof that a brand is taking action.”

In a study cited in the report, Gen Z was found not only to care more about the planet than their predecessors, but also more skeptical of corporate claims. Notably, 88% of US-based Gen Zers distrust brands’ sustainability marketing claims. 

Specific desirable brand traits include disclosing information about ethical sourcing, eco-friendly manufacturing and the company’s overall environmental impact.

Among listed examples of environmental reporting done well, “Gen Z-friendly” skin care brand Byoma is making transparent product sustainability claims via the online retailer Cult Beauty. The platform enables the brand to embed vegan, cruelty-free and clinically tested claims on its product pages, which customers can click into to see the evidence.

In another example, fragrance and supplements brand The Nue Co is also practicing honest marketing by publishing clickable sustainability badges on its own website, which are backed up by easy-to-access third-party verification or evidence.

Practice organizational transparency
Gen Z’s digitally-native upbringing makes them accustomed to having a wealth of information at their fingertips. By extension, Provenance stresses they expect honest marketing from the organizations they engage with, and that they will “vote with their feet” when a business fails to be open and transparent enough with the public.

Transparency not only covers sourcing and manufacturing, but also extends toward a business’ organization and overall management. Provenance cited one one study that found 45% of Gen Zers reported having boycotted a business that lacked transparency.

Glossier regularly posts UGC images of people using its products to boost engagement (Image credit: Glossier).The benefits of being a transparent business also extends to hiring efforts. “As well as attracting Gen Z consumers, honest marketing appeals to future employees, who are increasingly on the hunt for open and honest employers,” notes Provenance.

“Being transparent about salaries in job adverts is a good place to start — an Indeed survey found that more than half of Gen Z consider it ‘very important’ to include starting compensation in a job listing.”

Admit your business mistakes
The report underscores that demonstrating vulnerability is a surefire way to build trusting relationships, whether interpersonal or between a brand and its audience.

“Nowadays, we are broadly conditioned to filter and airbrush our output to cultivate an image of perfection, but in reality, consumers are more interested in honest marketing than faultlessness,” it stresses.

“Confessing to missteps demonstrates authenticity and humanity. It also implies a genuine confidence in your product or service and can significantly benefit your brand perception.”

Uncomfortable though it might feel, businesses that are able to swallow their pride and publicly admit missteps — and promptly rectify them — are even more likely to establish trust when it comes to the Gen Z cohort, advises Provenance.

Research in the report evidences that Gen Z is “especially tolerant” of brands that take responsibility for their errors and actively work to correct them.

By Benjamin Ferrer