As always, our starting point is the context of the year for our target audience – Gen Zers.

The rapid rise in the cost of living, propelled by the aftermath of COVID-19 and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has placed a significant financial burden on many young individuals. War, climate change, pushy parents – it’s not the world they deserve, but sadly, for a lot of Gen Z, it’s the one they got. We could say that the main problem facing young people in 2023 was a world which doesn’t allow them to be young any more.

Having come of age during a period of this unprecedented global turmoil, Gen Zers are pragmatic, digitally savvy, and crave authenticity. Saturated by a constant stream of online content, they are discerning consumers who value genuine connection, authenticity and experiences over fleeting trends. According to the ”Audience Origin Teenagers 2023” Gen Z prioritizes genuine brand messaging and influencer endorsements that resonate with their values. Additionally, this generation seeks memorable experiences that align with their desire for self-expression and connection. While digitally fluent, Gen Z craves real-life interaction and community building.

What we wanted to achieve: Stand up for young people’s
right to be young, break through the content deluge through unique experiences, seamlessly blending online engagement with Gen Z’s growing desire for meaningful, real-life interactions. Through adressing their needs we wanted to fortify Telekom’s market position among Gen Z and cultivate enduring connections, build trust and loyalty, and as final result drive brand awareness.

How do we achieve this: By bridging the gap between Gen Z’s digital lives and their desire for authentic, real-life shared experiences offering them ”Summer of Joy, Youth and Freedom” – the chance for young people to have what they really need in these challenging times – a break!

Believing that experiencing the joy of youth is a universal right and music being an essential element of youth culture, in the year 2023 Telekom gave young people what they needed the most, a break from all the pressures in their lives – a whole Summer of Joy, Youth and Freedom offering them an oppotunity to engage in various memorable music experiences across Europe.

Drawing inspiration from the quote ”I am youth, I am joy, I am freedom” from James M Barrie’s Peter Pan novels the campaign reimagined the classic story of youth for a new generation.

Creative approach and connections to strategy points:

Music, a key element of youth culture, served as the foundation for the campaign. It provided a platform for authentic engagement, allowing Gen Z to express themselves and connect with others who share their passions.

The campaign moved beyond traditional advertising by offering unique experiences such as pop-up events and tickets to music festivals across Europe. This experiential approach resonated with Gen Z’s preference for memorable experiences over products.

Summer of Joy, Youth and Freedom aimed to foster a sense of community among Gen Z, both online and offline. By hosting summer parties and activations, it facilitated real-life interactions and shared experiences, satisfying Gen Z’s yearning for a break from constant worry and cravings for IRL connections.

To create a cohesive brand experience, the campaign seamlessly integrated online and offline elements. Digital channels were used to promote and amplify the real-world experiences, ensuring that the campaign resonated with Gen Z’s digital lives.

The campaign’s focus on authenticity through genuine influencer collaborations – aimed to build trust and loyalty among Gen Z.

In a bid to authentically connect with Gen Z and bridge the gap between Gen Z’s digital lives and their desire for real-life shared experiences, this year Deutsche Telekom developed a media approach that was both digitally savvy and grounded in real-life experiences.

By acknowledging their digital fluency while also addressing their yearning for real-life experiences, for primary communication channel we placed emphasis on digital environment but directing Gen Zers to go out and take part of real life experiences we offered them.

Launching the campaign in two phases (Awarenes and Traffic) we leveraged Gen Z’s media habits by focusing on digital platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, Spotify, Twitch, Vice, and LinkedIn. As we all know Gen Z is on social media, but why LinkedIn? As Gen-Z is entering the work environment, we seized this opportunity to approach them via LinkedIn Ads as well.

As Gen Z’s showecased their preference for visual storytelling and their habit of consuming content across multiple platforms, short video formats were used to capture Gen Z’s attention and provide engaging content that resonated their values and interests.

Knowing that authenticity is at the core of winning the trust of Gen Zers, the campaign was created by Gen Z creators for Gen Z consumers – We partnered with local artists and influencers to create a personal connection with Gen Z. These collaborations invited followers to join the experience, participate in raffles, and celebrate youth through personalized content showcasing what they love about their cities.