You talking to me? Personalisation in practice

If there’s one thing Amy, our Senior Copywriter, knows, it’s how to hit the sweet spot between insight driven copywriting and entertainment. She serves up engaging (and witty) content on the daily for our clients. And today, she’s tackling a topic that’s going to feel as relevant as your Spotify Wrapped: personalisation.

Armed with the latest findings from our Shifting States research, Amy’s here to break down why it’s no longer enough to pop someone’s name at the top of an email and call it a day. Spoiler: Gen Z really cares about personalisation.

From building trust to dodging the dreaded ‘creepy over-reach’, she’s got the intel on how brands can stay relevant, relatable, and most importantly, trusted.

Ready to dive in? Let’s get personal.

You know what I love? Recommendations. When it comes to games, I’m a casual-cosy-button-smashing-platform-adventurer. Once I’ve defeated a game that hits all the right notes, my next mission is to find another that delivers the same sweet spot. Easier said than done.

The search for what's next

The hunt always starts with a deep Reddit dive - niche gaming subs run by folks who spend significantly more time gaming than you (see r/metroidvania, r/indiegames, r/onebros). I scour threads, spot the usual “what should I play next?” questions for the 100th time, laugh at the memes, then check to see if these gems work on my console. Then it’s time to add them to the ever-growing wishlist.

That’s some expensive blind faith. I have no idea if any of the recs are relevant to my tastes, my abilities, or my habits as a gamer. But I trust the process - it’s the closest thing to personalised recommendations out there. And it’s this makeshift personalisation that makes me want to take the risk. But imagine if those recommendations actually matched my habits and tastes. How many more games would I end up buying?

What Gen Z really wants

That feeling of taking a risky bet on a purchase isn’t just for gamers. It’s a feeling marketers can solve with our theme for today: personalisation.

The latest phase of our Shifting States research revealed that Gen Z expects personalised content, so long as their data and privacy is protected. In fact, 85% of respondents said they willingly engage with personalised content, while a whole 0% (read: zero, zilch, nada) said that personalisation didn’t matter at all. Translation: personalisation matters a whole lot to Gen Z.

But let's think way beyond adding someone’s name to the top of an email. It’s cute, I've done it a bunch of times, but we can do better than that, right? Content personalisation is all about relevance and understanding; understanding what makes your audience jump for joy, breathe a sigh of relief, or throw their phone across the room in frustration.

Simply put, it’s about crafting content that genuinely is going to resonate with your audience. Rooted not in a gut feeling, but audience insight. Not only does content personalisation increase engagement by getting people to take action when they’re most likely to do so, content personalisation helps brands avoid the painful misstep of alienating their audience. Keeping content relevant, responsive, and adaptable to audience needs builds greater trust with the very folks you want to reach.

And since Gen Z have no issue with walking away from brands that fail to meet their expectations, we might want to consider how content personalisation can work to foster more meaningful engagement and increase reciprocal loyalty (hello, Spotify Wrapped). 88% of Gen Z would “probably switch to a different brand if it offered better value for money,” while 50% “regularly unsubscribe from brand newsletters and unfollow [brands] on social media,” [Shifting States, 2024]. It seems bleak, but these stats are ripe for opportunity when it comes to serving up fresh, relevant, and conscientious content.

Building trust through relevance

Take the Royal Navy, a client of ours for over 10 years. Keeping candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process is crucial – retention depends on it. But what a potential recruit wanted to read and understand 10 years ago is different to today, their priorities have changed. The messages they want to hear are different, and the way they want those messages delivered has also moved on.

Recently, I was tasked with revamping their careers email marketing, and like any good renovation, we started from the ground up. Our strategy team surveyed subscribers and recent applicants to learn what content they wanted from the Royal Navy and how personalisation influenced engagement. Their feedback helped shape our approach to content hierarchy, tone of voice, and editorial style.

Picture three candidates. The first, a hesitant candidate. They've just completed the first step in the application. What do they need? It'll be worlds apart from a deeply committed candidate, already weeks into the process, right? How does Candidate A feel days after hitting submit? Compare that to Candidate B, the lifelong Navy fan - already committed, looking for affirmation. Then there's Candidate C. They applied but then disappeared.

Understanding these distinct journeys is key to effective content personalisation. It shows your audience you get them – what they need, and when they need it. But tread lightly with audience segmentation; start dicing too much and you’re personalising content for no one in particular.

Personal, not pushy

Now, personalisation is great. Just, don't make it weird. Creepy over-reach has been a talking point for some time and digital audiences have grown weary. Why is the air fryer that I mentioned in a message popping up in my shopping recommendations? Remember, Gen Z value their data privacy and they’re aware of how vulnerable that data can be. It’s one thing to empathise with what they need and match that to something you can offer; it’s another thing to cross-pollinate that with needs that they didn’t directly share with you. Personalise for your audience based on where they’re at and what they’ve shared with you – no more, no less.

Evolving with your audience

By personalising content, you create genuine connections and let your audience steer the experience. And you shouldn’t feel scared to get them involved in the decision making. Encourage continue participation in what they want to see. It is, after all, all about them. Let them take the wheel for two minutes with a quick survey, and you might be surprised by what they say. Don’t resist what’s there, evolve with them, serve up the right content at the right time, and you may just get some of that sweet, sweet reciprocal loyalty. 

Want to really get under your audience’s skin - in a good way? Let’s talk. We’ll help you hit the perfect balance of insight and personalisation to keep them coming back for more.