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Forbes
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How Gen A To Z Are Empowering A Comeback Of The Digital Camera
Casper Ravn-Sørensen, Chief Growth Officer of GoWish. Sometimes, the clearest signal of change comes not from what's new, but from what's old. At GoWish, we noticed something unusual in our user data from young teenagers: A surge in demand for digital cameras, which prompted a lot of attention from major news outlets like the Danish national broadcaster DR (BBC/NPR equivalent) and a variety of other popular mainstream and social media accounts. The reason we found out is that every spring in Denmark marks the start of confirmation season, a Christian tradition and coming-of-age milestone for many young teenagers, celebrated with big parties and lots of gifts for the young adults. This makes it one of the most interesting times of year to observe shifting trends in youth culture, which is what our "Crystal Ball" survey set out to uncover based on data from thousands of wishlists. The thousands of young teenagers adding digital cameras to their wishlists weren't looking for smartphone accessories or fancy DSLR-style cameras, either. These were digital point-and-shoots, like the ones many thought had vanished alongside MP3 players and flip phones. And we're not the only ones noticing this comeback. We thought that this was a fun trend, and it brought up some nostalgic feelings and conversations in the office. What really piqued our interest was when we realized that this wasn't a one-off blip. Across categories, there is a growing appetite for products that seem to be pulled straight from the late '90s or early 2000s. Polo shirts like Ralph Lauren and other trends are making a strong comeback. Retro, it turns out, is very much in style. If in doubt, notice how the mullet suddenly has reappeared on street level. What was once considered outdated is now being embraced with fresh energy. A Return To Retro I've written before about how younger generations (especially Gen-Z and the emerging Gen-A) don't engage with brands or technology the way previous generations did. This latest shift is yet another sign of just that. While previous digital trends have been about more connectivity, more sharing and more immediacy, what we're seeing now is a partial reversal: a desire for less noise, more focus and a different kind of authenticity. Take the digital camera as a prime example. For a generation raised on smartphones, it offers something surprising: boundaries. You can still document the moment and have fun doing mini photoshoots with your friends, but you're not being bombarded with notifications or pulled into a dozen apps the second you pull out the device. It creates room for presence. And while the photos might still end up on social media, the experience of capturing them becomes more intentional. This return to analog isn't about rejecting technology—it's about reshaping the experience of it. This is something brands should pay close attention to. The new generation of consumers isn't simply looking for the latest gadget or trend. They're looking for tools that support how they want to live, not just what they can do. And sometimes, the most powerful tools are the ones with fewer features. In Denmark, this same trend is apparent. The number one gift couples getting married wish for is fancy old-school classic wedding china from Royal Copenhagen. This traditional wedding gift never seems to go out of style—or if it did, it's now back at the top of the charts. If anything, the retro resurgence is a reminder that progress isn't always linear: Sometimes, moving forward means borrowing from the past. For those of us trying to understand what the next wave of consumers truly values, it pays to pay attention to what they're rediscovering, not just what they're discarding. Three Lessons For Those Building The Future So what can we as tech leaders, marketers and product builders take from this? First, trends don't always emerge from innovation alone. Sometimes, they surface from emotion, nostalgia, curiosity or even fatigue. The young teenagers asking for digital cameras aren't reacting to a new feature—they're responding to a feeling, which is something I believe organizations must learn to work with in the way customers are approached in social media advertising. Second, simplicity can be a feature. In an age of hyper-functionality, products that do less but do it well can stand out. The renewed popularity of digital cameras isn't about specs or megapixels—it's about boundaries. It offers a single-purpose experience in a multitasking world, which is exactly what many young users crave today. Third, these are generations that curate their identity more fluidly than any before it. Retro aesthetics, analog formats and slower digital experiences are part of how Gen-Z and Gen-A express themselves. If we want to design for them, market to them or simply understand them, we need to recognize that cultural context matters as much as technological context. Keep that in mind next time you call something outdated! Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Forbes
12-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Understanding Gen A To Z: Why You Shouldn't Take A One-Size-Fits-All Approach When Advertising On Social Media
Casper Ravn-Sørensen, CEO of GoWish. getty 'So, I heard Evan Spiegel just name-dropped your company in Snapchat's Q4 earnings call?' This was one of several similar texts I received just the other day. Further below, we'll get back to why this happened, but let's just set the scene for what led to this event for me and my company. Since the early 2000s, businesses have followed the same digital advertising playbook: Placing their products in digital 'storefronts' and 'windows' toward consumers, capturing attention with striking visuals, and driving conversions through compelling yet monologues offers. Then came Facebook and social media had its breakthrough in the late 2000s, introducing a new era of digital dialogue: Brands no longer just talked at consumers—they had to engage with them. But the way people interact with brands has continued to evolve at an increasing pace, and in the company I've been running for the past five years, we've learned firsthand how younger generations, especially Gen Z and Gen A, respond differently to advertising on social media. They don't want to be 'sold' something; they prefer to 'buy into' matters on their own. This is a shift I explored deeper in my previous article about Gen A. The essence is that the commercial approach to social media and the consumer groups that use it should be treated and used very differently. What we found out—and what this article is ultimately about—is how approaching each social media as its own separate channel, instead of seeing them all only as different sides to the same coin, should make you reevaluate your marketing mix and strategy. This changed for us when we adjusted our approach, taking a leap of faith and embracing the unique nature of Snapchat. Snapchat had always been part of our marketing mix, but we had never prioritized it. Once we refined our approach though, and tailored our format and messaging to 'fit the bracket' of one of Gen A-Z's favorite social media sites, we saw a dramatic shift by focusing our ads on three key elements: By leveraging trending products that resonated with our audience, crafting compelling hooks to capture attention and emphasizing a strong value proposition, we finally got it right and Snapchat became a key part of our growth strategy. And as for the Evan Spiegel mention? The success was big enough that Snapchat's founder and CEO highlighted it during their recent Q4 earnings call, confirming a 70% decrease in cost-per-install and a 3,000% increase in app installs over 12 weeks, which ultimately ended up at 4.7 million downloads through Snapchat alone in 2024. But the point I'm trying to make is that our success on Snapchat wasn't just about fine-tuning a campaign. It revealed something bigger: The future of digital advertising is shifting. Consumers today don't want ads that disrupt their experience; rather, they respond to brands that feel like a natural part of the conversation. Social media isn't one monolithic space but a collection of distinct ecosystems, each with its own behaviors, norms and expectations. What works seamlessly on Instagram may feel out of place on Snapchat, and what captures attention on TikTok might not translate to Facebook. This is a key challenge where brands, still applying traditional media logic, stand to gain the most: Treating all social media the same is like trying to publish the same article in five completely different newspapers and expecting equal results—and I see so many companies make this mistake. Rather than repurposing the same content across channels, it's about studying how people behave on each platform and meeting them in that context. We learned that relevance often matters more than explanation. Especially when your product doesn't fit neatly into a category, it helps to start with a familiar emotion or scenario—something the audience already understands—before introducing the details. We also found that while high-production, polished content works well on some platforms (on Snapchat, it's straightforward, personal content), something that feels like a friend sharing a story performed far better. That doesn't mean abandoning quality, but it does mean matching the tone and tempo of the platform you're on. And perhaps most importantly, it means being agile. What works today may not work tomorrow. Brands that succeed are those that test early, iterate often, and treat their strategy as something adaptive, not fixed. Success won't come from the biggest budgets but from the ability to adapt, observe and act accordingly. Our journey on Snapchat wasn't just a lesson in platform-specific advertising—it was a lesson on how to engage with audiences on their own turf and terms, wherever they are. In a digital world where consumers hold the power to scroll away in an instant, the brands that succeed will be those that truly understand not just where their audience is but how they want to be spoken to. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
