Is Social Media Changing the Way We Eat? | Gen Z Marketing Insights - 21st February

Welcome to Gen Z Marketing Insights, where we showcase the latest news, trends, and insights into student and Gen Z marketing. Be sure to subscribe to stay up to date with everything that's happening in the youth marketing space!

Today we bring you the latest news and trends from the sports marketing world, insights into the Threads algorithm, and all things viral food trends - Are Gen Z eating differently?

📱 Marketing News - The Taylor Swift Effect?

Is the "Taylor Swift Effect" a genuine phenomenon? For those unaware, Taylor Swift, one of the world's most renowned singers, is presently in a relationship with a player from the NFL Chiefs. Before the Super Bowl, there was much anticipation regarding whether Taylor would attend the game in Vegas to support her boyfriend, despite being on tour in Japan. This year, Super Bowl ratings saw a 7% increase compared to last year, making it the second-most watched US broadcast event ever. While it's uncertain if Taylor alone contributed to this surge, the Chiefs report a threefold increase in home game sales since the couple's relationship began. Additionally, sales of Taylor's boyfriend, Kelce's jersey, have skyrocketed by 400%, propelling his jersey into the top 5 best-selling jerseys in the NFL. Is Taylor getting a new generation into NFL?

Carrying on the sports trend, Tiger Woods recently announced the end of his partnership with Nike after 28 years of working together. Woods wore Nike shirts in all his games, and he was in a number of their adverts, but that has come to an end as Nike made cuts throughout the company. Nike haven’t made any golf-equipment since 2016, so this seems to be a natural end to the partnership. However Tiger has now created a new apparel line with TaylorMade, ahead of the Genesis Invitational, which took place last week, called Sun Day Red. Do people still care about celebrity sports partnerships?

Threads remains a platform that many brands may approach with caution. Several brands and creators have voiced concerns about the unpredictable nature of the algorithm on Threads, leading to uncertainty about how to succeed on the platform. To shed light on this issue, Meta recently shared insights into the algorithm, which include:

• Factors such as likes, replies, and the number of followers.
• Your level of activity on Threads.
• The frequency with which your profile is clicked on.

While some of these insights, such as the importance of follower count, may not be ground breaking, it is intriguing to note that increased activity on the platform could potentially improve the performance of your posts. It sounds like, if you really want to succeed on the platform, you need to get active on it.

🎓 Student News - The Student Genius

We thought 3 or 4 A Levels was tough enough, but there is a student in Slough who is currently undertaking 28. We didn't even know there were 28 A Levels! Among the list are 3 languages, 3 versions of History, and even Film Studies. She made the news in an interview with the BBC this week, and called for more support for gifted pupils, as she wasn't allowed to move up a year when she joined her school. Should academic years be strictly based on age, or should exceptional circumstances play a role?

In other news, private jets were under scrutiny this week, with Taylor Swift's rapid flight from Japan to Las Vegas going viral on social media, as she tried to make it back from her concert to watch her boyfriend in the Super Bowl a day later. A Florida university student, Jack Sweeney, has created a website which tracks a number of celebrity jets, including their exact movements. However some celebs aren't happy, and he's said to be facing legal action as a result...

📈 Trend of the Week - Viral Food Trends

Is social media changing the way we eat? There have been a lot of viral food trends going around on TikTok recently, from the 'Bruce Cake' from Matilda to the Jacket potato ‘Spud Man'. It seems even big brands are trying to get in on the action, with companies seemingly making product decisions based on how 'viral' it could go on socials, such as the new Domino's Creme Egg Cookies. We asked our audience to find out more.

Normally, if a fast food company releases a new food item, it can take a while for brand awareness to kick in. But social media is now supercharging this process. Despite only being released a week or 2 ago, almost 2/3 of our audience have seen the new Domino's Creme Egg cookie on social media. That's an insane number, and 27% say they want to try it as a result. Created with a whole Creme Egg in the middle to give the perfect 'pull apart' video, it seems the product was almost 'ready-made' for viral content, and it's certainly making a splash amongst Gen Z.

However it's not just big companies getting involved, local sellers have also seen huge success. Over a third of our audience have seen both the 'Bruce' Matilda cake, and the 'Spud Man potatoes', that have received millions of impressions on TikTok & Instagram across recent weeks. These are simply local sellers, small family-run companies, or market traders, so it's seriously impressive to see their high brand awareness amongst Gen Z.

Almost 40% of our audience have purchased a 'viral' food after seeeing it on social media. Evidently, the market is there for food sellers to make an impression, whether they are a small business or a huge multi-national. The key is to find a trend that is working, produce regular, engaging content, and you could well be on to the next big food trend!

That's all for this week, see you next time!

Freshers Festival Group