The Impact of Digital Marketing on Generation Z’s Decision to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Generation Z is the first generation that grew up exclusively with the use of the internet and digital media in their daily life, at a time when information sharing and reproduction happens at an unimaginable speed, from any- one to anyone. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of digital marketing in informing Generation Z about COVID-19 vaccination and how this information affects their decision to be vaccinated. A quantitative cross-sectional study with a structured questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was distributed to 18-25 years old people. The sample consisted of 103 individuals belonging to Generation Z. The Cronbach’s alpha was found 0.85. Chi- square test of Independence and Cross-tabulation analysis were performed for the examination of statistical hypotheses. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to examine the effect of demographics and the use of digital media on the vaccination decision. Statistical significance was set at 0.05. 69 women (67%), 33 men (32%), and 1 per- son (1%) who had not identified the sex participated in the study. The internet and social media were the most widespread sources of information for Generation Z regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination. The level of edu- cation (p=0.001) and professional activity (p=0.011) were statistically significant to Generation Z’s vaccination against COVID-19. Information from medical staff (p=0.002) and not from other sources, such as family/friends or the internet, was found statistically sig- nificant to vaccination. Regarding social media, Twitter was positively statistically significant (p=0.010) to the vaccination decision, as well as the presence of competent health Authorities on social media (p=0.044), which had a statistically significant positive effect on Generation Z vac- cination. The findings clearly indicate that the advantages of digital marketing, such as immediacy and low cost com- bined with the extensive use of the internet and social media by individuals belonging to Generation Z, can con- tribute to increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage.