Mia Fileman 0:05
Are you tired of marketing jargon and empty promises? Me too. I'm Mia Fileman and this is Got Marketing. On the show I deep dive with marketing insiders to unpack successful campaigns. I didn't earn the nickname The Campaign Lady for nothing. Get actionable tips, learn from winning strategies and avoid falling victim to marketing fads and fakery.
Hello Friend and welcome to Got Marketing. Gen Zed is known for rejecting the status quo from wellness culture to luxury brands, and their marketing tolerance is practically non existent. How do you even market to a generation who tunes out most advertising? As a result Gen Zed are putting marketers through our paces. They are immune to most advertising and traditional marketing efforts. And as a result, marketers must write a whole new playbook if they hope to connect with Gen Zed. Gen Zed are socially conscious, demanding, and discerning and their values of rubbing off on other generations. So whether you actively target Gen Zed or not, you should listen up Gen Zed are also driving campaign strategies and social media content across platform.
Lauren Meisner 1:25
There are some big brands that are starting to dip their toes into that risk on almost every viral like video. Now you'll see all the big tech companies there'll be like Microsoft and they'll be commenting and Gen Z slang and they'll be like yes, slay bestie whatever. And sometimes it works but I would say 90% of the time those comments look cringy as fuck it just looks exactly like that meme that's like "Hey fellow kids"
Mia Fileman 1:54
That was Lauren Meisner. She is the founder and director of the award winning digital youth publication Centennial World reaching two plus million Gen Zeds per month prior to launching Centennial world in 2019. She was a beauty and entertainment writer for Beauty Heaven, Elle Australia and Harper's Bazaar Australia. Lauren also writes the Gen Zed Viral News substack Infinite Scroll and hosts and producers Centennial World's weekly internet culture podcast. Welcome to the show, Lauren.
Lauren Meisner 2:28
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Mia Fileman 2:31
I had such a pleasure to talk to you and I have been following you on Tik Tok for a while now. And I love how you've taken your audience. Behind the Scenes of you building your publication. I was I felt like I rode and died with you, as you were setting everything up rebranding, building a podcast studio in your home, it was awesome to see how the sausage is made at Centennial world.
Lauren Meisner 2:56
Oh my god, thank you so much. It's part of my goal this year to like, show more of that and build my own kind of presence around the brand. Because obviously, as founders, that's always the number one piece of advice that you get from any type of PR perspective is like you have to be the brand and I very much am the brand. But I need to show more of that. So taking people behind the scenes, I love hearing that you are appreciating that. My videos get like 200 views, but I love to know that you are one of them.
Mia Fileman 3:27
Yes, but it doesn't it doesn't matter. Like those are vanity metrics. Like if you're connecting with people and they're subscribing and you know, you're selling advertising space, then that those are the real metrics to focus on. Right?
Lauren Meisner 3:41
Totally, 100%. And it's just one section or like kind of one off shoot of the greater brands that I'm building. Yeah.
Mia Fileman 3:49
So that's interesting. Maybe we should start there about founder led content. I you know, have shouted this from the rooftops, but there are still some people that don't want to make themselves the brand, particularly if they sell products. And then they often point to examples like, well, you know, Revolve doesn't have founder led content and Dissh, the fashion brand, doesn't have found a lead content. Like why should I if I'm building an e-commerce brand, so What say you?
Lauren Meisner 4:19
I understand the aversion to it, like, when you're a founder, I mean, you would know this to Mia. But like, you're so exhausted. And you're pulled in 100 million different directions. And you're like, really like all of my energy is in the business. Like how is it even possible that I am now expected to also build my own social media following and presence off the back of this? Like how would I have the time so I actually really avoided that for a long time. Like when I launched Centennial, I had a YouTube channel that I was posting on for my, just like lifestyle content, multiple times a week and I actually wiped that YouTube channel clean because I was like, I just don't have time for this. My career's in a different direction, now. I haven't deleted the channel. So I could definitely come back to it. But I do regret a little bit that decision. Because now as I'm kind of four years in, I'm realizing the value in that founder led content. And like you said, showing people the behind the scenes, how the sausage is made, it helps people really connect with you. I think what's been a benefit to myself Centennial world is that because I have the podcast, I can, you know, talk to my listeners who are are my biggest audience, like my primary audience, and, you know, share how things are going with the business and take them on that journey a little bit with the podcast, but definitely, like, kind of reaching, I guess, trying to reach new audiences, and help other people understand what the brand is about, like that has to be on Tik Tok, especially for a Gen Z brands like myself. And so I'm trying I agree with it. Like, I know that that is like the number one piece of advice that people give.
Yeah, and I don't think you have to be an influencer and talk about every single facet of your life and show what you had for breakfast, and then take them to the gym with you. But you definitely need to humanize and personify a brand because really, a brand has no value until the customer decides that it does, you know? So like, even if you go and get this beautiful brand identity built from the beginning, it still doesn't mean anything until the customer decides it does and the customer will decide that it has value once it's built some affinity with that brand, right?
Yep, absolutely. And I think founder led content is a great way for brands to connect with Gen Zed in a way that's like really authentic. I think there's a misconception because a lot of people, advertisers, marketers lump Gen Zed and millennials together. And that's a huge mistake. Millennials are so different from Gen Zed. Millennials, We loved when brands were like personified, because I think it was we were kind of the first generation to experience that if you think about some of the early like Instagram brands that really did it well, in the 2010s. They really personified their brand, they'd be like, Hey, babe, and whatever they would make their brand's personality. And that just doesn't connect with Gen Zed. In the same way, there are some good examples I can talk about in a minute. But it has to be a very specific like it has to be a unique strategy now to really personify your brand, in a way to reach Gen Zed. So I think founder led content, if you aren't kind of chronically online, and you are struggling to reach Gen Zed, that's a great way to build that authenticity and personify your brand in a way that doesn't feel cheugy.
Mia Fileman 7:40
Got it. So why did you choose to build an entire brand around Gen Zed, especially since you're a millennial? Why story there?
Lauren Meisner 7:50
Honestly, Gen Zed was not necessarily our original target audience. When I was working at bigger publishers, I was writing beauty and entertainment content, as you mentioned in the intro, and I would pitch stories about like, I don't know Jeffree Star's new palette, Jaclyn hill's lipstick launch, like things that were happening in the beauty space. But online because I've always been obsessed with online culture. I've been obsessed with YouTube, it's like, was like my number one love at that time. It was before Tik Tok really blew up. So I would follow commentary channels, and YouTube news channels. And I would see how many views they were getting. They're getting millions of views on a video about Jeffree Star's new makeup palette, for example, right? And I'm like, alright, well as beauty writers, if we're trying to reach younger people, we should write about this too, because these videos get millions of views. That's where that these are the people that you know, Gen Z or young people care about, I guess at the time. So it was just a little too early, I think for some of the big publishers to be covering these personalities. And I just saw a huge gap there. And I knew I always wanted to do something for myself. Like I said, I was doing YouTube and things at the time. So I'd always had these kind of like, quote unquote, like, side hustles. And I was like, You know what, there's actually like a publication that is missing in the landscape in general, but like definitely in Australia. So that was the ethos behind Centennial World was to report on like the Creator economy and what was happening in the online space. Like we were reporting on traditional celebrities, like it was, you know, mainstream media essentially. So that just in turn, turned into a big Gen Z audience because that's who they care about. Those are like creators and influencers. They are celebrities to Gen Z, like, they don't care about traditional celebrities in the same way like, you know, it depends. It depends on the celebrity, like Selena Gomez. Wow, her fan base is wild. But you know, she uses social media quite well as well, to connect with her audience. So that's kind of how we turned into like a Gen Z focused publication.
Mia Fileman 9:53
I think it's insanely clever because so many millennial marketers are scratching their heads going: What do we do now? What do we do? How do we skin this cat? Like, this isn't working, This isn't working. So I think it's it's really, really clever of you Lauren, honestly. So Gen Zed has a different rulebook, and they value value-led brands committed to global issues, they're really socially conscious. And this takes precedence over these brands striving to be their friends. So I'd love to like, unpack this a little bit with you and maybe look at some examples of some brands who do this really well.
Lauren Meisner 10:38
Yeah for sure. I think Gen Z at the end of the day, what makes them different than previous generations is they want to be heard and they expect to be heard. So yes, they value brands that are committed to bigger causes. But that's because they want to be heard millennials and previous generations. Like if you think about it, we grew up with magazine culture, we grew up with media telling us who we were, and what was cool, and you know, how to dress and how to act and social media flipped that on its head completely. So Gen Z doesn't want that from their brands, they don't want a brand to tell you, this is how to be cool. They're looking to influencers that they admire for that. So it's just a completely different experience for them a different landscape.
The other piece of this is that Gen Z are really critical of corporations, but they also recognize that they have to interact with them. So if they have to interact with corporations or brands, they want to do it on their own terms. So you know, I think when it comes to I guess brands trying to be quote unquote, friends with their younger audience that works really well for millennials because it almost mimics magazine culture, right? Like you would read a magazine or even a digital publication. And it would be like a big sister, giving you advice. And that was fun to experience from a brand perspective, like these cool youth brands talking to us like we were their friends, like that felt really revolutionary at the time. But Gen Zed is under no impression that capitalism is friendly. They know they have to engage in it, they know that they you know have to shop from brands and they still want to you know, wear cool things and be in style. And I think we see that with when you think about like Shein hauls and all that fast fashion stuff that goes on on Tik Tok, they will buy into that, even if it does kind of counter or I guess contradicts their values. Because they still, of course, everybody wants to fit in everybody wants to be cool. Everyone wants to feel like their peers. So it's not that they care more about value led brands or brands being you know, taking a stance on global issues or things like that, it's more that they want, they don't want to feel kind of belittled, they don't want to feel like their voice isn't heard. And kind of going back to what we were saying about personifying your brand. That's not to say that you shouldn't personify your brand. You know, we have seen that work with some really popular accounts like Duolingo, for example, on Tik Tok and RyanAir on tick tock. But the difference is that accounts like that, that do personification really well for youth audiences. I don't know how to explain it except to say like, they're unhinged, like, they're taking risks. And they're leaning into this like obscure internet humor. And that to achieve that takes a very chronically online, typically a young person to be spearheading that strategy, somebody who is like, chronically online, and I think, where brands often struggle is they don't even know how to hire for that person. If you have no one on your team who is chronically online and understands the landscape. How do you hire for a social media manager who is also chronically online, right? Like what do you even ask for?
So those are obviously two great examples of brands that are doing it really well. I think Marc Jacobs is a recent example that we've seen doing really well on TikTk as well reaching that youth audience. And something that they're doing that's a little bit different is they're not personifying their brand at all. What they're doing is they're taking user generated content, like they're sending, you know, product like clothing or brag bags to different creators, they're picking really niche creators that have very culty audiences. Some of them have smaller audiences. Some of them have larger audiences, but they are not the typical TikTok creators that are constantly in the news cycle, or that you would think of at the top of your head, right? They're very niche, and they make very specific, unique content. And they have obviously found someone who is very online to source these people. And they're sending them Their clothes. They're obviously paying them for their content. But instead of asking the Creator, to post that content on their page and bringing Marc Jacobs to their audience, they're bringing that creators audience to Marc Jacobs because Marc Jacobs whole TikTok account for the most part is just user generated content, like paid ads that they have tapped different creators to make. And when that comes up on someone's free page. And they recognize that really nice creator that they love so much that has a really culty following that doesn't typically get a lot of brand deals because they're kind of like random people who are like, Oh my God. And if you look at their comment section, it's filled with people who are fans of these creators who are like, the Marc Jacobs Tiktok manager needs a raise, like how did you like no to work with this person? This is so onpoint. So they're a great example of a brand that's doing it really well with user generated content. So they don't need to have a social media manager who is happy to make all the content, you know, who's like acting as like a videographer or a storyteller, A strategist. They are, I presume, have one you know, maybe a small team of people who are sourcing really creative, interesting creators and building this strategy out like that. And then yeah, like I said, with Ryanair and Duolingo. Like, I think those accounts, if you don't really know how to reach Gen Zed, they might seem like they are trying to be Gen Zed's friend, but I think the difference is that they are using cues from TikTok culture to make it very obvious that this is meant for a younger audience. Like the filter. I don't know if you've seen the Ryanair, TikTok account Mia but it's so unhinged, like they use that filter where they make themselves the plane, like whoever runs the account, I don't even think we know. And you just see their eyes on their mouth talking as the plane. That's just first of all, so crazy to see an international brand with a blue tick use that filter as like their main strategy. It's so funny. And then I think what they do really well and Duolingo does this too is like they are really self aware. So they're really they're not trying to like be funny for funny sake. They're not trying to lean into like Gen Z humor in a way that feels really obvious. They're, they're being funny by being self aware about their brands like Ryan airs whole thing is like, we know that we're like this shit budget airline and we're gonna lean into this on Tik Tok. And we're gonna just, like, accept that and make you guys realize that, like, we know that and that's really funny. I think sometimes when brands come off, or I think sometimes brands can come off as disingenuous to youth audiences when it feels like they're trying way too hard to use, like Gen Z slang and like, relate to the kids and it kind of comes off as that meme that's like, Hey, fellow kids, and too many brands fall into that on Tik Tok.
Mia Fileman 17:22
Yeah, there's so much to unpack there. And I completely agree that Duolingo is so unhinged. And it does require probably more than just one person to be across all of these trends. Because, you know, nothing says laggard more than using a trend that was on Tiktok, four weeks ago, and you're still singing the I want a man in finance, six-five, blue eyes, like I just went, that's, that's done. It's had its moment. And we need to move past that. And now you just look really sad if you're doing that. But like, I love what you said about how corporations like Duolingo could even hire for that person. But also having the you know, the blank check to just take that risk with the brand, you know, because you would presume that a CEO and a board of directors are just not going to think kindly to someone coming along, going. Okay, so the owl is going to be like borderline nasty. We're going to like, take Narus Smith's audio and we're going to like overlay it with whatever, hang on, hang on, hang on who's now Smith, what, what, what, and we are at no stage ever, in any of our videos going to tell you to download the app, like ever. So it's all top of funnel. It's all just about engagement and connection. And no call to action.
Lauren Meisner 18:50
Yeah, absolutely. And I think there are some big brands that are starting to dip their toes into that, that like risk factor. I don't know if you've seen like on almost every viral like video now you'll see all the big tech companies, it'll be like Microsoft and whoever, like Windows and they'll be literally like commenting and there'll be commenting in Gen Z slang and they'll be like, yes, slay bestie whatever. And sometimes it works but I would say 90% of the time those comments look cringy as fuck like I think it just looks exactly like I said that mean that's like Hey, fellow kids, and I think that's what makes Ryanair Duolingo and some of these accounts that are doing it really well feel like they just feel authentic you can tell that this content and this strategy was created with young people and people who are like truly online. It doesn't need to be exclusively created by a Gen Z like you said there's probably teams behind it I don't know how exactly how you get it past a board of directors or you know an executive team where you're like we're just gonna make fun of our brand on TikTok and it's gonna like absolutely slay and but it does you now and I think we have some good examples of that now to show that that's really what people want. Like, they, like I said before Gen Z are very critical of corporations, they're very aware that they're constantly being sold to. So if they can engage with your brand in a way that doesn't feel like they're be engaging with the brand, that's exactly what they want.
Mia Fileman 20:19
I think that that is the future of all marketing, not just for Gen Zed, we can see that playing out with other brands that are not specifically targeting Gen Zed, but who take this very anti marketing approach, which is marketing that doesn't feel like marketing. You know, throwing away the traditional advertising rulebook. Oatly is a awesome example of a brand who just breaks every single rule, ZeroCo, you know, it's kind of it's really leaning into reverse psychology, but also humor. So that when you look at what is actually advertising, it doesn't feel like advertising. I think that that is a trick that a lot of these big corporations are still failing to miss.
Lauren Meisner 21:02
Absolutely. Like, you have to lean into the cringe, you know, because if you're trying too hard, then you'll be cringe. But on ironically, like you have to just be like in it.
Mia Fileman 21:12
Yeah, I just think that like, we have to trust that Gen Zed understand Gen Zed, and that you we if we want to truly relate with Gen Zed, we need to incorporate those people in our team. Like I can see that with Emily in my team. She's 24 She's chronically online, she's definitely Gen Zed. And there are times where she's just like, No Mia. No, that's not it does not pass the vibe check. And just like they're trying too hard, like you could tell when a post looks like it's been through several rounds of internal approvals, approvals before making it to the feed. And that just doesn't. Like that's the opposite of authenticity. I hate that word. But like, that's what we mean. Like, if it looks like you, you had six people review this, then that is the opposite of what we're going for here.
Lauren Meisner 22:11
Absolutely. Yeah.
Mia Fileman 22:14
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So in preparation for this episode, I did some research and one of the things that kept coming up is that Gen Zed, and not loyal to brands, like brand loyalty is potentially now no longer a thing and loyalty programs. So yeah, what are your What are your views on this?
Lauren Meisner 23:19
That's interesting. I mean, I think it probably goes back to what we were saying about them, like they like to be heard, right? That's probably why they're not quote unquote loyal to brands anymore is that they are not following a brand. Because the brand is cool. They're following it because of what they get out of a brand. Right? Whether that's like when I say following whether that's on social media or like buying their things, buying their products or services. So I would say that's probably the biggest part or like the biggest element of that is that they are they are shopping around they have so much option think about like that social media has opened up that entire it's opened up the world to Gen Z in a way that like you know, even as a millennial like a young millennial, I just I had got Instagram and like university, you know, like, it's just a different world now, so they have too much option and so much option. I think that trying to get Gen Zed to be loyal to your brand should probably not really be not the number one priority. I think I agree that loyalty programs and things like that don't really work on them. There's a misconception that Gen Zed are I guess, not interested in luxury brands? And I mean, part of that is probably just there. A lot of them are like still teenagers. So they don't really have the money to buy luxury brands at the moment but I disagree. I think they are absolutely still interested in luxury brands but they have to feel like the item is right. They're really interested in making more conscious investments than Millennials were. We just wanted you know to look like the Instagram models that we were admiring on social media with all their bags and their clothes and their cars and all that kind of stuff. We really, we really cared about that like aspirational side of looking good and looking wealthy and things like that. And Gen Z just doesn't subscribe to that. So I would say that's probably where the biggest differences.
Mia Fileman 25:17
Yeah, I think millennials were were quite loyal to brands who give good customer service or, you know, you walk into a supermarket and you're like, oh, yeah, I've always bought morning fresh, or I've always bought Colgate toothpaste. So, you know, it's always available, you know, it's regularly on special. They advertise. So they're top of mind. And so we have that sort of loyalty to it. And Gen Zed, just, as you said that it subscribe to that methodology for for loyalty, it seems to be much more about social engagement, which brands showing up on my TikTok or Instagram accounts in ways that connects with me and I feel heard, and not just in the posts, but also in the comments.
Lauren Meisner 26:05
Yeah. And I think a lot of it does come down to age like, there's still so young, and I'm sure in 10 years, if we looked at Gen Zed spending habits, they would have more brand loyalty than they do now. It's just they have so much options. So they're just trying things out.
Mia Fileman 26:19
Hmm, yeah, definitely. Okay, so looking at the current marketing landscape, what do you think marketers are doing right and wrong? Like? Do you think that as ways that we can improve? Yeah,
Lauren Meisner 26:34
I mean, I guess looking at it from have we talked a lot, obviously, about social. So I think we've kind of covered where that's going right and wrong. I think when it comes from, like an a media perspective, like, especially in indie media perspective, for me, obviously, I think it's easier for advertisers to give budgets to a big publisher, because they can distribute that, you know, amongst several titles. There's a lot of focus on efficiency, obviously, in the industry in general. And I get it like it is a lot more work to work with individual titles, or even if you're thinking about influencer marketing, like to find those niche creators, like I was saying, with Marc Jacobs, like that takes more work that takes possibly a totally different person, you know, to be hired for that role. So it takes more work, it's, it feels like a bigger task. It's more confusing, I think, to older generations, or more traditional marketers. And I think sometimes the belief is, let's just spend, like, let's just keep it the status quo, because the assumption is that the ROI will be the same or lower than traditional media. But I think where advertisers are getting it wrong, is when you're thinking about spending with niche creators or independent media, especially independent media, like our audiences are more so I would say they're more akin to influencer audiences than they would be a traditional media audience. So the ROI might look lower, because our reach is smaller than some of the big guys. But our audiences are so much more engaged, because they're choosing to get their news from a small indie as opposed to from some of the big guys, right. So that's a conscious decision that they've made for a reason because they like what we put out, they value us, as you know, founders as journalists, they align with the values of our publication. So I think that is probably from my own perspective, where people are going wrong is devaluing the Indies, and also those, like, really niche creators. And obviously, like I said, Marc Jacobs is a great example of a brand that has decided to kind of like, I guess, break the status quo a little bit and work with people that are like so niche and out there. In some ways. Some of the people they're working with are pretty, you know, mainstream, but a lot of them are not, and it's working out so well, for them. It's like a great study on that, you know, and I think a lot of indie media is, like we were saying before founder led, so they know who's behind the brand, they connect with us as people. So I think that's probably the biggest mistake that I see from my perspective.
Mia Fileman 29:10
Yeah, and like, as I said, in the intro of this episode, like, with Gen Z, we have to do things differently. So going back to the playbook of, you know, just calling up Mamma Mia and being like, here's $50,000 Go and distributed across your different affiliates. Job done. Mamma Mia is a millennial publication, like that's for millennials and they that I'm sure they do extremely well for millennials. But we need a different playbook for Gen Zed, and it is more fragmented. And yeah, the Marc Jacobs example is brilliant, because that's actually not really the Social Media Manager. That's the partnerships manager that really like gets to wear the crown. Yeah, because it's like this is your job now to unearth these creators who are very views aligned or aesthetic aligned or not with Marc Jacobs, but they have some sort of little spark that makes them a Marc Jacobs creator. Yeah. And it is your job to find them. And that's the marketing strategy. I don't know the rest just sounds like lazy marketing to me.
Lauren Meisner 30:18
I mean, it's hard like I'm obviously from Canada, but I haven't worked in Canada since I was like 24. So I don't really have any other perspective aside from the Australian market but the budgets here are small right? So I understand that it's it's small it's but it's still high demand like marketers advertisers like they're exhausted it's the same thing I totally get it. But exactly to your point if you want to reach Gen Z, you have to take a more fragmented approach because they are following when it comes to media at least these indies like Z-feed, Missing Perspective, Centennial like they're following us for a reason. And they really value like anytime I have a sponsorship on my podcast, people are commenting or like messaging me like yes, go girl, like get that dollar like people are our audiences are excited for sponsorships and partnerships and things like that, because they know how hard it can be.
Mia Fileman 31:05
Yeah absolutely. Yeah. 100% Do you know what's interesting about Gen Zed is that they're a little bit of a contradiction, I find because they value influencer marketing more than any other generation you know, hashtag Tik Tok made me buy it. But there's also this really strong push towards D influencing, because of like more conscious consumerism, and as opposed to like, overconsumption.
So I don't know they can be they can be hard to crack.
What does this mean for brands? Are influencers in or are they out? Just tell us.
Lauren Meisner 31:40
no, they're they're in! They're in for sure. I mean, I'm sure like, you have all of the stats and stuff too. Like influencer, marketing is bigger than ever, like young people are disillusioned by influencer marketing. But that's why brands can have a lot of cut through if they can figure out how to be online. Like I can't stress enough. That's like the one piece that everyone is missing, you have to be chronically online and you or you have to have someone who's chronically online, in your team. That's like the one big thing I think a good example actually of a brand taking a more traditional approach or like strategy and then making it new is Poppy. So they did a Coachella like influencer brand trip. And you know, obviously, young people, especially on tick tock have a lot to say about brand trips, like it's been a very contentious topic. Since the pandemic, people do not like to see influencers, like flaunting these luxurious trips, these like first class flights, you know, to Dubai, and these, basically million dollar trips, like, they don't like to see that. There's a lot of criticism constantly about it. And so what Poppy did is they obviously wanted to still do some type of activation, some type of influencer brand trip for Coachella, tons of brands, you know, get the houses and they do all of that. But what I believe they did really, right, is they understood the temperature online right now,
Mia Fileman 33:04
They read the room.
Lauren Meisner 33:05
Yes, which is the piece that I think brands are missing, like you have to be online to understand the temperature. So in doing so, they still wanted to keep that strategy. But what they decided to do instead was they invited Alex Earle one single influencer. And they said, This will be your brand trip, invite your friends and family. And that for her audience absolutely blew up people were so excited to watch this brand trip, because it felt like we were watching quote unquote regular people live this influencer experience and a brand affinity towards Poppy was like sky high. Like people were like, that is so sweet that you would spend your money on letting Alex invite all of these quote unquote, regular people in her lives. I mean, some of her friends are like influencers and stuff. But you know what I mean? Like, in theory, she could have invited anyone letting that her it choose who she invites, whether they have followers or not, and giving them this experience. And that just went off, like crazy. It was so successful. And they did that. And then about a month or two later, they announced that Alex is now an investor in Poppy so now we already have this like really strong brand affinity towards Poppy. We're like, oh my god, they did this great activation with Alex and we loved seeing her friends and family experience what she gets to experience as a huge influencer. And then a couple months later, she's like, guess what I've invested and I'm sure that was already planned. You know, all of that was planned in advance. But then now that lets us as her audience know, okay, so now when I'm buying Poppy, I'm actually like, directly supporting Alex Earle and that is just that strategy is just, I don't know I think it's it's it's both revolutionary and also kind of traditional and they've married the two really well.
Mia Fileman 34:43
I think that is so clever, just like a little creative spin on something that has already been done yet. So like you said, reading the room and, and also like it's so much more relatable to see real people as opposed to just 20 stunning white influencers. That could be a Victoria's Secret model. So I think tip of hat to that strategy for sure. Yeah. Let's talk about your podcast because I can tell it is a labor of love, but it is also going, going places. So talk to me about what do you talk about? What's the what's the framework? What's the format?
Lauren Meisner 35:23
yeah. So I have, well currently three podcasts going on, but they're all on the same feed. So our typical infinite scroll episodes are like deep dives into bigger topics online. So an example would be I did a deep dive a couple weeks ago into if TikTok is putting us into spiritual psychosis. So looking at like manifestation TikTok, astrology TikTok. Those sides of the internet, and what that's actually doing to young people's mental health and mentality. So topics like that around like, internet culture, and what's happening online, I'll do creator deep dives, like I'm doing a bit of an internet history series on some of the like, original influencers or creators, I do deep dives into the different platforms like the rise and fall of Tumblr, things like that. And then I launched mini scroll, which is a daily podcast Monday to Thursday. So infinite scroll goes out on Fridays, Monday to Thursday, I do mini scroll, which is the biggest stories on the Internet that day. And that can include, you know, some creator drama or whatever, like that fun kind of gossipy stuff, but it also includes TikTok trends that are popping off like in this exact moment, or different, like rebrands that we're seeing of different niches like sides of the internet, like the Trad wife side of Tik Tok, for example, was really popular. And I just talked about, on yesterday's episode, how we're starting to see that corner of the internet, listen to user feedback, and adapt their content in that way. So it's a little bit of a mix, I would say most of my audience are either like Gen Zed, who love the tea, you know, and they just want to be like up to date, or these marketers who are trying to figure out how the fuck to talk to Gen Zed. Yeah, so that's kind of my two podcasts on that. And then right now, we have a five week podcast mini series, which is nested within our RSS feed about women in gaming. And that's sponsored by Let's sing. So that was really exciting, because it's our first kind of branded podcast series that we've ever done. And we're talking each episode we talked to different like journalists, or gamers or scholars about women in gaming, and their experiences and the history of how video games became gendered and things like that. So it's a labor of love. It's just myself and my one deputy editor Annabelle, she helps me prep the podcast. And then I have an editor as well, who like edits, the bigger deep dives. But it's a lot.
Mia Fileman 37:49
Amazing, though, like, it was so interesting seeing after that whole ballerina farms saga, about how their content strategy changed at Ballerina Farm. And it's like, it's good that they did that, because now they're being so responsive to their tech to our audience. And I think that bigger corporations should take a leaf out of that book and seeing how quickly these accounts are mobilizing and changing to make sure that they retain relevancy. But it also from a marketing perspective, it also tells me well, so she wasn't being they weren't before and now. And so now they're just like, dancing monkeys, depending on so like their content changes based on our feedback. So they are really just performing for attention, because otherwise they would stick to their Yeah, you know, whatever they were doing before.
Lauren Meisner 38:41
No, totally. And I mean, that's one of the things I did a deep dive into TikTok Trad wives. And I actually titled it tiktoks Like brackets fake Trad wives, this was a few months ago, because they are fake Trad wives, you know, like they're not in the same position that an actual traditional wife and stay at home mother would be and they have some of the multimillion dollar careers to fall back on. If anything goes wrong in their marriage. They I'm assuming have tons of help because they make so much money and have such a big presence. So I think that's another example of if you are very online or you have someone on your team who's very online, like it's easy to identify when things are fake or not. And that's kind of what my podcast does is like break down truly what like, what's happening online for young people and like lift that veil.
Mia Fileman 39:29
Yeah. And so what are you looking for in terms of brand partners with your podcast? What would be a really good fit for you?
Lauren Meisner 39:38
I mean, anyone that's just has a Gen Z campaign or is looking to reach Gen Z, we work we work with a lot of tech, which is great. And we've just started obviously working with gaming. So that's always a push for us because I think Gen Z is one of the first generations I would say to really break down those barriers of like, video games are for boys. versus, you know there for everyone. In my episode last week, the first episode of our girls like gaming series, we talked about how video games for girls literally only started getting developed in the 90s, which is wild because video games have been around since the 70s. So you know, it's it's starting to come around. So I think anything in that tech video game space is always really relevant. But anyone that is looking to reach Gen Z to have a Gen Z campaign, that's typically who we partner with, it's, it's like, if they're like, this is a specific use campaign. That's who we're looking for.
Mia Fileman 40:35
I think it's great for brands because there's just no wastage, it's like going directly to that audience and potentially, not to many people beyond that was what whereas when we're talking about big media platforms, and big media publications, that it's so big that you don't actually get to the core, and you end up wasting half your budget on people who aren't going to buy from you. And
Lauren Meisner 40:59
I think that's part of it, too, is we hear a lot that especially with podcast that brands don't want to just be another add on another podcast, right. So I think that's where working with independence, whether it's an independent influencer podcast, or an independent media podcasts, like ours, whatever, that's where you're getting that ROI. Because we can be creative like doing kind of the girls, Vanessa podcast series, the left the girls game series, that was because the brand was like, we really want to get into podcasting, but we want to do something really different. So we're like, Alright, cool. Like, if you have that budget, let's do it, let's make a whole series brought to you or, you know, brought to our audience by you. So I think that is where I see the industry going a little bit is instead of just buying bulk ads with the big networks, and being another add on another podcast is like working with these podcasts in more unique ways. And a way that a lot of brands work with us as well at our podcast is driving to consumer events. So they'll do a campaign with us. And then they'll have you know, whether it's like a consumer, like we just did one with fresh beauty and they got consumers to go to this like pamper day, for example, or earlier this year, we did a coach love for Valentine's Day campaign, and we got our listeners to go to a dinner by coach. So it's like getting that consumer interaction and driving our listeners to your event is another way that brands are working with us in a really kind of unique way.
Mia Fileman 42:21
We have to because like we said, Gen Zed are immune to the traditional advertising. So just sticking a 30 second ad in your pre roll or in your mid roll is not going to get the job done. So totally. Yeah, I think that that's the takeaway from this episode is that forget what you thought you knew about how to reach your generation. And just go and spend time with that audience where they hang out, which is online and see them in their natural habitat and see what works for them and what doesn't. But it's, it's it's not the traditional strategy by any stretch of the imagination.
Lauren Meisner 42:58
Absolutely, and Gen Z don't want to leave the platform that they're on to get the information that they want. They don't want to go to a Link in bio. So I think that's another reason why a lot of publishers indies are you know, social first. Now, whether that's Instagram or Tiktok, we actually don't publish on Instagram at all, because that's just not where Gen Zed wants to get the type of news that we create, or at least the type of content we are covering. It's just all on TikTok, but they don't want to leave, they're not going to click your link. So just know that you have to bring them. You have to go to them. You know, you have to meet them where they are.
Mia Fileman 43:30
Yeah, absolutely. Well, it was an absolute pleasure talking with you, Lauren, and I learned so much. And I really think that you are doing some really, really exciting and big things. And for a young person. You're just killing it. So it's very, very inspiring to watch.
Lauren Meisner 43:47
Thank you so much for having me, Mia. This was like such a great chat. I feel like we covered a lot.
Mia Fileman 43:51
We did. We did. Great. I'll put all of the links for Centennial World in the show notes. But thank you again for being so generous with your time and your ideas.
Lauren Meisner 44:00
Thank you.
Mia Fileman 44:03
Thank you, you listened right up until the end. So why not hit that subscribe button and keep the good marketing rolling. Podcast reviews. I'll have warm hugs, and they're also the best way to support a small business. You can connect with me, Mia Fileman on Instagram or LinkedIn and feel free to send me a message. I'm super friendly.
