Discord, the free instant messaging service that Jason Citron launched in 2015 to the gamer community, is presented as a great opportunity to connect with Generation Z. This is what emerges from the study 'Spoilers to understand Generation Z in 2022', driven by Mazinn and Darwin & Verne, in which they bet on this platform as the new channel to interact with young consumers.

"Discord, with more than 100 million monthly active users worldwide, has become for young people the perfect space to interact with people who share their same 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 like Skype, TeamSpeak or professional communication platforms like Slack. "Initially, it was aimed specifically at gamers, providing them with ways to meet, coordinate gameplay and talk while playing. Today, however, it welcomes all kinds of communities and active territories on the internet. You could say it's the modern evolution of traditional forums", Justribó adds.

The "Spoilers 2022" study highlights that Generation Z sees this platform as the most accurate representation of their way of conceiving social networks. "We want to converse, contribute, participate and receive useful content, not just passively consume it. Without 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", Generation Z participants say in the study.

Nearby and in real time

The report concludes that Discord is positioned as the perfect channel where brands can interact with the 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 agent, on a constant basis, in conversation and not a mere observer. Agility and real-time interaction is a requirement for the communities that exist on the platform and is undoubtedly a requirement, a major challenge for brands that are to be introduced into it, while at the same time a huge opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors", says Álvaro Justribó.

Currently, in Spain, few brands have taken the step and have been introduced in Discord. However, there are great examples in the U.S. market that demonstrate the relevance of this platform: Fast food chain Chipotle, international artist Kayne West or the NBA, with up to 46,880 members, are proof of the plurality of members (and therefore territories) that are present on Discord.

“Entering Discord will not be easy, since requires a great knowledge of the dynamics of the platform. For this reason, we recommend understanding it, consuming it and then identifying communities related to the territories of interest of the brand where you can start contributing value and content as a member. Without trying to be the protagonist of the conversation", comments Justribó.

The report 'Spoilers to understand Generation Z in 2022' has been co-created with more than 200 young people belonging to the Z community taking into account their testimonials and requests to brands. The working group is a sample of the Crew, the community of "zetas" created by Mazinn for research and co-creation projects. The study gathers the conclusions drawn from interviews with opinion leaders and individual conversations with diverse profiles after a social listening process about the most important cultural milestones and evidence in 2021.

If you want to know the full report you can download it here: http://darwinverne.com/landing/spoilers-generacion-z/