Discord, the free instant messaging service that Jason Citron launched in 2015 for the gamer community, is a great opportunity to connect with Generation Z. This is the result of the study ‘Spoilers to understand Generation Z in 2022’, promoted by Mazinn and Darwin & Verne, in which they are betting on this platform as the new channel to interact with young consumers.
“Discord, with more than 100 million monthly active users worldwide, has become the perfect space for young people to interact with people who share their interests in an easy way and in all kinds of formats: audio, text and image,” says Álvaro Justribó, co-founder of Mazinn.
According to ‘Spoilers for Understanding Generation Z in 2022’, it is a chat application, similar to programs such as Skype, TeamSpeak or professional communication platforms such as Slack. “Initially, it was aimed specifically at gamers, providing them with ways to meet, coordinate gameplay and talk while playing. Today, however, it is home to all kinds of communities and locations active on the internet. You could say that it is the modern evolution of the traditional forums“, adds Justribó.
The “Spoilers 2022” study points out that Generation Z sees this platform as the most accurate representation of the way they think about social media. “We want to converse, contribute, participate and receive useful content, not just passively consume it. With no barriers between formats and channels, we want to be able to navigate seamlessly from a chat conversation to a stream, a tweet or a group video call,” say Generation Z participants in the study.
Close by and in real time
The report concludes that Discord is positioned as the perfect channel where brands can interact with communities close to their territories of interest, in close proximity and in real time. The platform’s functionalities allow the experience to be “more than just uploading a post and waiting for comments”, the study notes.
“It is vital to understand that Discord forces the brand to be an active, ongoing player in the conversation and not just an observer. Agility and real-time interaction are key requirements for the communities that exist on the platform and is undoubtedly a great challenge for brands that want to enter it, as well as a huge opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competitors“, says Álvaro Justribó.
Currently, in Spain, few brands have taken the plunge and introduced themselves on Discord. However, there are great examples in the US market that demonstrate the importance of this platform: The fast food chain Chipotle, the international artist Kayne West and the NBA, with up to 46,880 members, are proof of the variety of members (and therefore territories) present on Discord.
“Joining Discord will not be easy, as it requires a great deal of knowledge of the platform’s dynamics. Therefore, we recommend understanding it, consuming it and then identifying communities related to the brand’s territories of interest where you can start contributing value and content as a member. Without trying to be the protagonist of the conversation“, says Justribó.
The report ‘Spoilers for Understanding Generation Z in 2022’ has been co-created with more than 200 young people from the Z community based on their testimonials and requests to brands. The working group is a selection from the Crew, the community of “Zs” that Mazinn has created for research and co-creation projects. The study brings together the conclusions drawn from interviews with opinion leaders and individual conversations with diverse profiles following a social listening process about the most important cultural milestones and evidence in 2021.
If you want to read the full report, you can download it here: https://darwinverne.com/landing/spoilers-generacion-z/
