Health & Wellness + Financial Decisions Gen Zers are Making to Overcome Today's Life Challenges

Brought up in a digital era, Gen Zs have always connected, communicated and consumed content anywhere at any time. However, this generation is straightforward when it comes to making decisions about finances and health and wellness. 

At Least 49% of Gen Z go for tools that will enable them to customize their budgets, experience, and products. Like millennials, Gen Z prioritizes financial and emotional well-being over wealth to reduce their financial stress.  

Gen Z is investing more in physical wellness, with 68% choosing a balanced diet to maintain health and wellness. About 38% of global gym sign-ups accounted for Gen-Z, with 49% of them working out two to three times a week.

A better understanding of Gen Z will influence proper preparation for future health issues. Click here to learn more about what we have uncovered.

5 Common Challenges Facing the Gen Zers

Social Media Lifestyle

Despite knowing healthy and unhealthy lifestyles, looking good and sounding good on social media is more persuasive and weighty for Gen Zers. About 34% of Gen Z account for a simultaneous online and offline life, while 25% see no difference between online and offline community connectivity.

Stress and Mental Health

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), high profile issues significantly dominate stress and mental health for Gen Z. Most teens and young adults are becoming vocal about gun violence, breakups and sexual harassment.

Financial Crisis

Gen Z occupies the front seat with the accumulated student debt crisis. In addition, the covid-19 pandemic triggered uncertainty, heightening financial worries among Gen Zers. That has led to the majority of them reassessing their financial positions and goals.

Racial Discrimination

Every six out of ten Gen Zers believe discrimination led by systemic racism is widespread across society. A study shows that in every five respondents, one of them felt personally discriminated against due to their background factors. 

Illicit Drug Use

Brought up at a time when the legalization of marijuana is gaining ground, it is not a surprise that Gen Z is two times more likely to use marijuana than other generations. The use of cannabis has reached an all-time high, with 25% of 8th to 12th graders said to have abused a substance. 

That being said, brands within Health & Wellness and Finance need to be adapting and developing new products and services to address the need of this generation. The window is open. The time is now. The wait is over.

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Born from 1997 to 2012, Gen Z contributes up to 23% of the United States population, making over 68 million Americans. In addition, Pew Research Center refers to Gen Zers as the most diverse, with about 46% being racial/ ethnic minorities. Read on, and let's explore the various challenges the Gen Zers are facing, their health and wellness decisions to overcome them.

THE CULTURE RESET: Unsettled Times. Unsettled Culture. Unsettled Brands.

It's time to address the challenges your business is adapting to today, and capitalize on it for years to come. How? Through proprietary insights that determine how generations will make their purchasing decisions.

These unsettled times we're living in have shattered the fundamental meaning of brands. Importantly, this is a "cultural brand leveling" moment for consumers and marketers. A moment in time to smartly re-examine, reposition, reinforce, even reformulate your brand to achieve new revenue goals.

Enter THE CULTURE RESET PLATFORM -- designed to create and maintain brand saliency in these changing times. The platform provides proprietary thinking and key consumer connection points. 

We unlock Generational Consumer Resonance, Cultureography, Narratives and Visualization for defining and optimizing your brands ultimate 'Culture Truth'. They are guaranteed outcomes.

What are the key steps you ask?

1. Virtual Briefing -- A complimentary 30 minute briefing session to take you deeper into the entire platform solutions package and guaranteed outcomes on how people decide what they decide and why they value what they value.

2. Fast Track Thinking Session -- We conduct two 90 minute sessions where we arrive at a group consensus, common vision and action points. It’s our highly collaborative approach to arriving at an initial culture truth platform statements.

3. Synthesize & Shape -- We agree, focus, and shape what we’ve uncovered into final culture platform statements.

4. Generational Resonance -- Recognizing that all truths are generationally shaped, we will provide a structure insuring the message is universally powerful, as well as applicable to that consumer's journey.

5. Visualization -- We create visual design cues to bring these truth statements to life for consumers.

6. Testing (optional) -- Available if you so choose using our video research network.

7. Final Culture Reset Recommendation -- The final strategic roadmap that defines your brands ultimate culture truth along with key narratives for generational resonance going forward.

BRAIN POWER VS DELIVERABLES: Should the “now” take precedence over the “why”?

Deliverables aren’t everything when it comes to getting your project completed. While deliverables will give you a tangible item to consider within the broader context of your project, the deliverable is only the result. For a successful outcome, time and brainpower have gone into designing and creating the deliverable. Clients should make an effort to recognize the brainpower and creativity that has gone into the project as a whole, instead of getting bogged down in just deliverables.

What is a deliverable?

A deliverable could be defined in several ways. It is an element that fits within the broader scope of a project. Deliverables are both tangible and something provided by an agency. A website, article, PDF, or graphic are all examples of deliverables. While deliverables are essential to project completion, they aren’t the only thing that has gone into ensuring the project is a success.

Deliverables don’t manifest out of thin air. Someone had to use their time and brainpower to create and design the deliverable before giving it to the client. When it comes to a project’s ultimate success, it is the outcome of the deliverable that is key.

What are outcomes?

Outcomes in project management are the ultimate consequences of time investment, brainpower, and the project deliverable’s impact on the job. In essence, outcomes - the end-result of the brainpower that has gone into the project - are business benefits.

Why do clients often fail to recognize brain power over deliverables?

With brainpower and outcomes vs. deliverables, it’s easy to see in theory how these two things are different and why it’s essential to focus on one over the other. But it’s human nature to want to see immediate returns on investment, i.e., in the form of a tangible item. Unfortunately, the “now” can take precedence over the “why,” or big picture with a project. Also, it’s easier for clients to show their superiors that they’ve gotten something for the project with a tangible item to show them.

For clients, it’s so easy to lose sight of the big picture with a project due to a range of different factors, some of which may be high-pressure and stressful. Companies often lose sight of their “why,” let alone the purpose of a big project. Agencies often hear things from their prospective clients like, “We needed a company brochure yesterday,” or “last week was when I needed that eBook.” When agencies hear this, they often react in a knee-jerk fashion, cramming a bunch of design and development deliverables into a short period. But this comes with many risks:

• The deliverables will not align with the brand’s core values

• The brand will not be well-positioned with deliverables that aren’t well-thought-out

• Target personas will not be adequately defined

• Deliverables may not be functional or offer emotional benefits 

When clients get bogged down in deliverables, they risk losing the main objective of the project. Time and brainpower must take precedence. For projects of small and broad scope, the process must be valued over tangible items.

The end.