Generation Z is hardly achievable target audience with big potential value for the market.

In the world of generation Z desirable thing is something that is not available. When something is temporary, user experience of it is unique. That is what makes stories on social media and live-streams so popular. If you didn’t take part, it’s gone forever. Lack of access triggers FOMO (fear of missing out) and makes things more valuable. This is the way Gen Z lives now, while brands must play smart to catch them.

Objective - To increase MTS`s brand perception among target audience of 14-24 years old – Generation Z.

How do you win the loyalty of the group who flouts convention, ignores traditional advertising methods and craves experience and novelty? MTS decided to create something valuable and limited access to it. As in the world of generation Z valuable thing is something that is not available to anyone.

The most effective way to communicate with Gen-Z is to reach them in the Internet but Internet is the most blocked channel. 57% of target audience block ad on computers, 31% - on smartphones. The main reason why young people use adblockers is that advertising interrupts the most valuable content.

Generation Z watched gigabytes of content daily. What kind of content a telecom brand should create to make it noticeable and valuable by target audience?

Living in the world of unlimited content, Generation Z truly values only what is unavailable or limited (limited collections of clothes, collaborations, disappearing Instagram stories)– everything they won’t be able to get easily.

Our strategy in youth segment is to create a content specifically for Generation Z – exclusive and desirable. AR technology matches this strategy perfectly because it helps to create unique forms of content.

Campaign «Access» started in October 2018 and finished in December 2018. MTS defined the nation’s top artists, designers, and musicians, who run the game on the modern Russian scene, all very popular among Generation Z. Art content was turned into brand advertising through outdoor commercials. There was an additional layer discoverable only by using AR application – Access.

«Access» application unlocked the full version for a work of art - animation, video, or audio. Over 1800 commercial posters were placed in the most popular places among target audience: bus stops, schools, universities, cinemas, fast food restaurants. Geography of a campaign was not just Moscow and Saint-Petersburg but also all other Russian cities with over a million people.

Moreover, we created website with secret version which was accessible only through a special targeted banner. A personal link from every banner was generated for a user so target audience could not share the link with each other

During the campaign, «ACCESS» was the only youth-targeted MTS project. It helped MTS to increase brand perception among targeted audience aged between 14 – 24 measured by brand health tracking and became the leading mobile operator for the Generation Z. MTS offered target audience something they wanted, instead of selling them something they didn’t need. In this campaign telecom operator proved that it can create valuable content that speaks directly to the Generation Z. Our goal was by using Gen Z language and relevant tools to inspire target audience with something meaningful, artistic, inspirational and to give them experience that they won’t forget.

13000 app installations were recorded in 3 months of the campaign even though «Access» AR application could only be used on smartphones released after 2017 due to technology. The site was visited by over 800,000 unique visitors and campaign reach was around 4 million in media.