Despite efforts by the Biden administration to get as many Americans as possible vaccinated against Covid-19, one group in particular is standing in the way: young adults, the members of Gen Z.
While more than half the country has had at least one dose of a vaccine and nearly half are fully vaccinated, only a third of adults ages 18 to 39 have received a vaccine. Those 18 to 24 are least likely to be vaccinated, and most likely to say they’re unsure about getting one, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. This reluctance has prevented the White House from achieving its most recent vaccination goals.
To some, this may seem perplexing. After all, on the environment,young adults are the strongest supporters of doing what scientists say. Pew Research found that Gen Z (which it defines as those born since 1997) are the most likely to consider climate change their top concern and to be taking action about it.
Influencers can help if they do it right
What’s holding them back from getting vaccines? Concerns about safety and effectiveness are the biggest impediments,according to the CDC. “Vaccination intent and acceptance among adults aged 18–39 years might be increased by improving confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy while emphasizing that vaccines are critical to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to friends and family and for resuming social activities.”
The spread of the delta variant, which has affected young people worldwide, makes it “more important than ever that they get vaccinated,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients has said.Yet the problem has remained.
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So what can be done? The key is to use a completely different strategy. What it takes to reach Gen Z is unlike what it has taken to reach older generations.
My company focuses on marketing campaigns to reach Gen Z, and helped mobilize turnout among young voters for the Biden presidential campaign in 2020. (We are a nonpartisan company, and were hired by Joe Biden’s team.)
Through this work, our team – which includes many members of Gen Z – has come to see what does inspire action and what does not. We’ve now begun working with the Ad Council on a vaccine campaign aimed at this demographic.
To reach members of older generations, celebrities such as Dolly Parton can openly state that they’ve been vaccinated, and encourage their fans to do the same. These celebrities have a kind of clout with people who have spent years watching them on TV and movies or listening to their music, and often see them as larger than life. (Dolly even called herself “smart enough” to get the vaccine and called those refusing to do so “cowards,” and has remained as beloved as ever.)
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Gen Z has a totally different relationship to celebrities. They’ve grown up engaging directly with their favorite content creators. On social platforms, they message with these people – who are, quite often, close to their own age. Nowhere is this more clear than in the world of gaming. Gen Z watches more eSports than traditional sports, a study by Bank of America found. They see their favorite celebrities more as peers. They don’t want these influencers telling them what to do.
Market information, not advice
So how exactly can these influencers help? The key is for them to encourage fans to get informed about the vaccines, without prescribing a specific action. In fact, popular gamers we work with, who have millions of followers, have told us that they would refuse to tell their followers to get vaccinated even if health officials asked them to.
Following this principle helped us during the presidential campaign. The gamers we work with did not tell followers that they should vote for Biden. Instead, during live streams, they naturally brought up issues that they care about (such as the environment and diversity) and encouraged fans to learn about where the candidates stood on these issues. The Biden team has called this influencer streaming one of the “digital experiments” that helped them win.
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In the coming weeks, young adults will see more and more popular gamers talk up the importance of learning about vaccines, including information on their safety despite rare side effects. Members of Gen Z are independent thinkers, and often feel that older generations didn’t do enough about the issues they care about the most.
The same skepticism that fueled “OK Boomer” can make young adults skeptical about doing what older generations tell them to do, including getting vaccinated. But there’s good reason to hope that the more they learn about the vaccines, the more they’ll opt in.
Adrian Montgomery is CEO of Enthusiast Gaming. Follow Enthusiast Gaming on Twitter: @WeAreEnthusiast
