LSN : News : Gen Z’s job security anxiety highlights economic pressures on young workers

Rare Beauty’s first global campaign celebrates individuality and self-acceptance

Love Your Rare by Rare Beauty, US

Global – Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez’s cosmetics brand, has launched Every Side of You, its first worldwide initiative celebrating individuality and self-acceptance. Part of the Love Your Rare platform, this campaign emphasises the brand’s dedication to authenticity, a core value that resonates strongly with its Gen Z audience.

At the heart of the initiative is a 60-second video narrated by Gomez, featuring a diverse cast as they experience moments of vulnerability and confidence while using Rare Beauty products. This ad highlights the spectrum of identities that make each person unique, ending with the resonant message ‘To be Rare is to love every you’.

Developed in collaboration with Fred & Farid Los Angeles and Rare Beauty’s in-house team, the campaign spans social media, Sephora locations and connected tv. ‘We were able to capture four-plus years of brand-building and our love of community in a single moment,’ said Josh Gurrie, Rare Beauty’s executive vice-president and creative director.

Beyond make-up, Rare Beauty donates 1% of annual sales to its Rare Impact initiative, which supports mental health resources for underserved communities, enhancing its appeal to purpose-driven consumers.

For additional insights on how brands are evolving as educators, activists and forces for good, see our Civic Brands macrotrend.

Strategic opportunity

Modern consumers crave authenticity. Create campaigns that celebrate individuality and resonate emotionally by showcasing real stories and a vibrant diversity of identities

KFC and Hatch promote sleep wellness with fried chicken ASMR

US – Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has teamed up with sleep wellness company Hatch to introduce an innovative audio experience entitled KFC Fried Chicken Rain designed to help users relax. Mimicking the sound of chicken frying to evoke the soothing ambience of falling rain, this audio is available exclusively for Hatch+ subscribers on Restore 2 smart sleep devices, as well as on KFC’s and Hatch’s YouTube channels and Hatch’s Spotify account.

Inspiration for the collaboration came from Hatch’s visit to KFC’s headquarters, where the teams recorded the sounds of KFC’s Original Recipe Tenders frying. ‘When we kept seeing social media posts about the similarity between frying chicken and rain, we decided to make the absolute best version of that audio,’ said Eric Pallota, Hatch’s CMO. ‘We’re so excited to see our customers’ reactions to this fun, quirky content and can help them fall asleep to fried chicken right before bed without ever taking a bite.’

For more insights on what’s new and next in sleep wellness, head to our Sleep Enhancement Market report.

KFC and Hatch, US

Strategic opportunity

Consider crafting calming, ASMR-inspired content that uses sounds, scents or visuals to immerse consumers in distinctive brand experiences. This approach aligns with the growing trend in relaxation and sleep wellness

Gen Z drive hype for Daze’s AI-powered messaging app

Photography by Shingi Rice, UK

US – Daze, an AI-powered messaging app targeted at Gen Z, is attracting significant pre-launch attention.

Founded by entrepreneur Willem Simons, Daze invites users to personalise chats beyond traditional messaging formats with floating, multi-coloured texts, photos, graphics, stickers, GIFs, drawings and decorated backgrounds. The app also uses AI to enhance its creative tools and plans to deepen its AI capabilities in the future.

Set to rival WhatsApp and iMessage, the app is building anticipation among 13–22-year-olds by posting demo videos across social media. Launching on 4 November 2024, almost 156,000 consumers are now on the waiting list.

Daze’s pre-launch popularity demonstrates the potential for consumer-facing generative AI platforms, especially among tech-curious Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences. Our Generative AI Creativity Market unpacks the opportunities and ethical considerations in the sector.

Strategic opportunity

Consider how you can use generative AI to make your digital tools more creative, collaborative and customisable, attracting Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences and establishing your brand as a tech innovator

Gen Z’s job security anxiety highlights economic pressures on young workers

Toi Toi Toi Creative Studio for Contentful. Photography by Koy+Winkel, Germany

US – Generation Z is emerging as the demographic most anxious about job stability in today’s unpredictable labour market, a recent report from the American Staffing Association reveals. The survey, which included responses from some 2,000 US workers, found that 37% of Gen Z respondents (aged 18–27) fear losing their jobs by the end of the year. This level of concern is greater than in other generations, with the figure for Millennials and Gen X at 35%, and only 11% of Baby Boomers sharing similar fears.

Financial pressures are compounding this anxiety. The report highlights that 40% of US workers say personal debt influences their career choices. Richard Wahlquist, CEO of the American Staffing Association, explains the ripple effects: ‘Debt is shaping lives and career paths. It results in unhealthy stress, limited job mobility, and reduced prospects for a growing number of individuals and their families.’

Gen Z’s heightened anxiety is also linked to their recent entry into the workforce amid a slowing economy, unstable labour market and a cost of living crisis. We explore how such conditions are having an adverse impact on Gen Z’s mental and emotional wellbeing in Gen Z Now and Next: From Vision to Contradiction and Work States Futures.

Strategic opportunity

Businesses must address young workers’ financial insecurities and support their career development by offering financial advisory and upskilling opportunities