Yes, we're obsessed with international travel. But not Cannes Lions, I think.
You know those friends who are extremely frugal but can still cash out for international trips? Meet us, Gen Z.
To my fellow consumers, so excited you’re here! Just got back from an amazing week in Iceland (check out my destination guide!), so, for that reason, I had to make this piece a little more abroad. It’s so funny that I’m always drawn to talk about travel, but I’m not mad about it. A few exciting updates from me: I’m volunteering with Forge North to better understand how to support founder communities (think female founder meet-ups or BIPOC founder events) in the long term. I will also attend the TechChicago Capital Summit later in July, so it’ll be a great way to meet people and spot trends at the intersection of consumer and technology.
Check out Chicago Tech Week events if you’ll be in town!!
Startup Events & News
A list of startup events happening in July — let’s get you plugged into the Minnesota startup ecosystem♥️
7/17 - Founder Curious 2024
7/18 - BIPOC Entrepreneur Day 2024
7/23 - Diversity in Entrepreneurship: Black Founders Panel + Happy Hour
What’s Happening in Consumer:
Macro: Gen Z’s latest addiction: international travel
Micro: Recap of Cannes Lions 2024
From a Macro View
macroeconomic consumer trends, shifts in consumer behavior, industry deep dives
As a Gen Zer, I can attest to the familiar quote, “money comes back”, a guiding force to my impulsive financial decisions. From concerts to fancy dinners to weekend trips, I shove it all under this invisible cover that protects me from feeling the “broke” mentality.
This year in particular, international travel has become a money pit for Gen Z. Travel apps and products have an incredible opportunity to amp up their marketing to cater to this demographic. The post-covid effect of seeking social, exploratory experiences is pervasive, with 42% of Gen Z and 47% of Millennials willing to go into debt to fund their summer trips.
And that’s why I’m still going on trips with my parents (ty mom and dad😉).
In general, we’re also more independent. So many of my friends have started solo traveling and absolutely love it. Our heightened independence fuels our ability to create personalized travel itineraries or boldly sign up for a group tour. Pinterest’s Predict 2024 Report found that the keyword “solo traveling” grew 145% in the past two years. And if Pinterest says it’s trending, it’s definitely trending.
Travel apps and products have an incredible opportunity to capitalize on this “solo traveling” lifestyle. Enter MindTrip, an AI-powered platform designed to create your perfect trip itinerary.
I played around with this platform, using the prompt “Give me a 3-day itinerary for Amsterdam in September”. In short, the UX design was incredible.
The half-screen offered a convenient lens to look into the details of the itinerary and the relative location of other restaurants/activities. The top right banner automatically adds each restaurant or activity in your Trips tab to reference later. Additionally, when I click on an activity, I can look through the activity in further detail and explore priced offerings, such as day tours or hotel bookings. This is an incredibly convenient way to make travel planning so much easier.
In the future, I’ll expect to see more travel platforms like this, making it easier to consolidate travel plans in a way that’s easy to reference and send out to others. Frienzy offers a similar platform specifically for group travel. Touring is another app that provides audio guiding experiences in various cities. One feature (or company idea) that would be helpful is tracking trip expenses. My dad does this manually after every trip, and it would be nice if an organized sheet was made with all the purchases, broken down by day, restaurant, and activity.
I could also see luggage or travel brands building ad campaigns for solo travelers to sell product bundles for this demographic (think if Beis did an “Just for Italy” bag to create easily-portable bags for countries that are difficult to haul luggage around).
Bullish’s latest Cultural Tension report stated that 60% of Gen Z travelers aren’t part of any travel loyalty program, lowering the barrier to entry for airlines and hotels to capture this demographic using the best deals and promos. This anti-loyalty, paired with Gen Z’s spontaneity, leaves room for brands to drop last-minute price drops or rewards for consumers to take advantage of.
From a Micro View
micro-trends, with a glimpse into the Gen Z world
Other than,
Sabrina Carpenter launching an “Espresso” flavor with ice cream giant Van Leeuwen
Caribou Coffee releasing a TikTok Dating Show, hosted by Hannah Berner
Poppi getting cancelled for not living up to its “gut healthy” benefits
Let’s talk about Cannes Lions this year.
Honestly, this is the first year I paid attention to the Cannes Lions festivals - partially for this blog. JK 100% for this blog. I did some digging to understand what this event is and why it’s so famous. Allow me to explain -
This almost 70-year-old festival started in 1954, inspired by the Cannes Film Festival. The purpose of Cannes Lions was to create a festival dedicated to advertising and communications. The event distributes awards in seven categories: craft, health, entertainment, experience & engagement, classic advertising, impact, and specialized areas. Over the years, the awards festival incorporated seminars and workshops to build conversations on the direction of this sector.
Some previous Cannes Lions winners include Dove’s Real Beauty, Proctor & Gamble’s “Like a Girl”, and Fearless Girl Statue on New York Wall Street. Today, this week-long event brings together independent creators, industry leaders, and celebrities to forge connections and discuss trends in how brands communicate to consumers.
It is impressive to see executive industry leaders sitting down with TikTokers to talk about the breakthrough of AI or the concept of virality. It’s one of the few occasions where hierarchy is deconstructed to make room for thoughtful conversations. There’s no seniority, no judgment, just a pure exchange of insights from each other’s professional experience.
Ok now for the recap - a lot happened during that week, but here’s what caught my eye:
DoorDash winning the Grand Prix award for its “DoorDash-All-The-Ads” Superbowl campaign
Alex Earle speaks about she doesn’t make brand deals if they have to sacrifice their creative freedom. This is what has helped her stay relevant and grounded as she experiences rapid growth across all social media platforms
CMOs are becoming an increasingly important role across industries. They will serve as leaders in AI and face critical pressures to deliver strategic business growth. Joanna Stringer, Managing Director at BCG, states that the number of CMO candidates for CEO is likely to increase in the near future because of this shift.
Pepsi launched a “smart can” to share creator content uniquely. Definitely a marketing gimmick - you can’t tell me that creators will hold digital cans to either create or watch content.
Broader themes in generative AI were discussed to understand how AI’s penetration will affect marketers and creatives. Another key theme is creator partnerships — the dual relationship of how brands will leverage creators and how creators leverage brands is an evolving conversation to maximize business value for both parties.
Cannes Lions keeps its topics and content pretty gated — it makes sense, I didn’t pay to go to the event (manifesting this though). I can’t say this event will be a large event for Gen-Zers to pay attention to in the future because most of the events are structured in panel and discussion styles.
And last time I checked, our attention spans suck…
What I’m Working On:
Crafting a unique voice is incredibly difficult. I still think I’m muddling between sharing my personality and disseminating consumer information. You know that rule of thumb where if you hide the author and the logo, would you be able to tell it’s my writing? Hard to tell when I’m the one writing it. All that said, I’m still finding my voice, especially as someone who has always loved writing but has never done it publically.
I also attended a newsletter webinar last week - I KNOW I’M GEEKY - but the one thing that stuck with me is having a market of one. So, if I were to write this for one specific person, who would that be? Right now, I can think of 3-4 personalities this would work for. Curious about who you think this newsletter is directed for - I invite you all to respond to this email with your thoughts!!
Thanks for reading,
Sanjana