- UTA has acquired Gen Z-focused consultancy JUV Consulting to form Next Gen, a practice under its UTA Entertainment Marketing division, in keeping with a press release. Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
- Founded in 2016 by Gen Zers, JUV has worked with lots of of brands on research and outreach to young consumers, including Google, Unilever and E.l.f. Beauty. JUV also established the ZCON conference, which is anticipated to proceed operating under the Next Gen banner.
- Traditionally a talent agency, UTA continues to construct out services geared toward corporate partners through its UTA Advisory umbrella that also includes offerings like MediaLink. The move also speaks to marketers’ ongoing demands for solutions tailored to Gen Z, a demographic that has resisted traditional promoting.
UTA further expands into the marketing services arena with the acquisition of JUV and subsequent formation of Next Gen. In snapping up JUV, UTA gains potentially richer insights into an increasingly necessary consumer cohort, together with access to a lengthy roster of brand name clients and a conference brand.
The recent division intends to strengthen the talent giant’s burgeoning entertainment marketing arm that has attracted blue-chip corporations akin to General Motors, Delta Air Lines and The Coca-Cola Company. UTA in 2021 also purchased MediaLink, an influential strategic advisory firm within the media sphere, for $125 million.
Gen Z stays a tricky nut for marketers to crack, which poses an issue because the demographic matures into greater financial independence. UTA within the announcement cited studies that forecast Gen Zers, defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, are approaching $150 billion in purchasing power.
Digitally native, Gen Z has also grown accustomed to spending their time on ad-free or ad-light channels, akin to streaming and gaming. Members of the group are perceived as each choosier and fewer loyal than older consumers while putting a much bigger premium on brand values tied to social causes. Helmed by Gen Zers, JUV attempts to deal with those complexities head-on through a combination of market research, crash courses, strategy and marketing and inventive services.
“We are a purpose-driven Gen Z community that works with clients to assist them higher connect with young people,” the corporate’s website reads. “We consider that to ensure that brands to grasp Gen Z, they should confer with us, not about us.”
JUV was co-founded in 2016 by CEO Ziad Ahmed and CMO Shaina Zafar, while Maia Ervin serves as chief impact officer.
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