An Update: The Launch of Up and Up Strategies

Gen Z is rewriting the rules. The shifting youth electorate underscores a clear need for a deeper understanding of young voters, consumers, and audiences.

Today marks an exciting addition to my work here with The Up and Up as I launch Up and Up Strategies, a qualitative research and consulting firm.

The results of the 2024 election underscored the shifting youth electorate and how important it is to resonate with young voters. Those looking to reach Gen Z need to understand how they engage with politics and consume news and information.

As a member of Gen Z myself, I first started The Up and Up just before the 2022 midterms to cover the new ways young people were getting involved in civic life and politics, to provide older generations and those in seats of power with a window into the political psyche of this voting bloc, and to shed light on how the political system sometimes fails the youngest members of the electorate.

Since then, this generation’s political prowess has certainly been reflected more by mainstream media, independent journalists, creators, and news influencers. Those stories — about how Gen Z is participating in civic life and politics (or how and why they aren’t) — are more important than ever before, and I will continue to write both here and for national publications about the changing dynamics of this generation as they transform the American landscape. (So please keep sending ideas and pitches my way!)

This launch is an evolution of my work, not a pivot. In addition to writing about youth political culture and trends, I’m eager to help turn understanding of this generation into action.

Over the past two years, I’ve held listening sessions with hundreds of young people across the country and have generated a wide-ranging network that spans party lines and political involvement. Beyond strengthening my own comprehension of what drives this generation — not just as voters, but as citizens and consumers — these conversations have given young people a space to make sense of the world around them and their own perspectives. Amid deep distrust in and skepticism about traditional institutions, systems of power, and the prospect of the American Dream, I’m aiming to do a lot more of that moving forward.

The goal of Up and Up Strategies is to provide those trying to reach Gen Z with the knowledge and tools to do so. Via focus groups and listening sessions, Up and Up Strategies will generate sharp insights and actionable tactics to resonate with Gen Z voters, consumers, and audiences: how to connect with them and speak their language. You can read more about Up and Up Strategies here.

I hope you will be in touch if any of this sounds interesting or helpful to you and your initiatives, and I look forward to sharing what I learn from my continued research with you all.

As always, I’m grateful for your support and for the young people who’ve shared their voices and perspectives with me. There is so much more to learn and work to be done to make sure today’s youngest citizens feel included and valued in our democracy, and I look forward to working together as we ensure that reality.

Let’s keep going.