Escape The Algorithm – Why Gen Z Loves Discord and What it Means for Marketers

Young consumers are tired of being tracked, targeted and re-targeted. They want a private place where they can be themselves, hang out with their friends and go deep on the things they love. This trend away from the public feeds and towards dark social is something Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in 2019. Its appeal accelerated through the pandemic, fueling the rise of Discord from an off-the-grid chatting app for gamers to a mainstream community platform valued at $7 billion.

Discord has doubled their usage within the past year, now hosting 19 million groups (what they call servers) for 150 million monthly active users. Close to 80% use it for non-gaming or a combination of gaming and non-gaming content supporting the platform’s new tagline, “Your place to talk.”

With no paid advertising, Discord generates revenue from it’s premium “Nitro” services that offer additional functionality and customization options. This enables its young users (mostly 18-24) to personalize the experience around their interests and passions, creating a private, digital “third place” for the fastest-growing generation on earth. Sneakerheads and Hypebeasts are among Discord’s early adopters, providing a framework for consumers across adjacent, community-driven categories like fashion and beauty.

Sneaker resale site StockX recently broke the record for single-day signups for a brand server, with over 20,000 users registering for StockX Day, their annual event featuring talks from industry leaders and exclusive give-aways. When asked by Business of Fashion, why they held the event on Discord this year, chief marketing officer Deena Bahri responded, “We know Discord is the new platform of choice for Gen-Z and young Millenials.”

Future-focused brands have a two-fold opportunity on the platform. One option is to team up with relevant creators and influencers to engage with their communities. Giveaways, collaborations or contests can work well here. Alternatively, brands can grow their own community as an always-on connection to Gen Z superfans and ambassadors. Unlike organic posts on social platforms that are only seen by a paltry 1-6% of followers, all members of a Discord group see the posts made. Through text chat, video and live audio rooms, consumers can have meaningful conversations with the brands they love and the creators they admire, away from ads and tracking pixels.

Brands can easily create their own group and include a range of public or private channels. These can be used for everything from hyping new releases, to crowdsourcing UGC, to always-on focus groups that users can drop into at their leisure. Low latency video and audio create intimate, real-time connections and deeper dialogs. Discord’s new “stage channels” allow up to 1000 users to participate in group audio conversations, similar to Clubhouse but more customizable and baked into the brand community.

As digital continues to evolve and consumers find new ways to engage, Discord has the potential to become the missing link that connects community to commerce and content. In these early days, innovative brands should take the opportunity to get to know their young fans better and see what they're really like, outside the algorithm.

MI&C Helps Google Launch Their First Retail Store

MI&C helped New Yorkers find their way to the grand opening of Google’s first store by bringing Google Maps to life in the physical world. Located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, the store is a part of the brand's urban campus, home to many of the 11,000+ Google NYC employees. To break through on the busy streets of the city. oversized blue balloons dotted a path to the Google Store at 15th Street and 9th Avenue, emulating the familiar blue dots on Google Maps. Google has been in New York for the last 20 years, and views the store as a natural extension of their longtime commitment to the city.

EPISODE 3

Reverse Mentoring With Gen Z: Featuring Delaney Tarr

In Episode 3 of Kids in Control, March for Our Lives co-founder and member of the American Eagle team counsel Delaney Tarr, tells us how brands can proactively partner with young consumers to build communities, co-create products, and amplify their values.

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In collaboration with Advertising Week, we invite you to listen to Kids In Control where we explore the world of Gen-Z culture through the lens of its most prolific thought leaders.

Created for future-forward marketing professionals, this series taps into the Gen Z mindset that is changing how we work, play, shop and socialize. From brand loyalty and influencer marketing to social media and social justice, Kids In Control offers insights into the changemakers themselves through candid conversations.

This article originally appeared in the July 8th, 2021 issue of Moving Image & Content’s agency newsletter. Subscribe here.