The Identity Movement: From Guarded to Real With 30 Under 30 Grand Prix Winner Danielle Galipienzo

Millennials and Gen Zs today feel a personal responsibility to make the world a better place, and are putting their values into action.

In our Connect With the Snapchat Generation series, we’re looking into how these values play out within society to evolve many aspects of how we live. 

And because we’re no strangers to bright young people who are leading the charge, we’ve enlisted a few of our 2022 B&T 30 Under 30 winners to help us break down Snapchat’s latest report.

Today we’re with Danielle Galipienzo, the youngest client leader in one of the most rapidly growing media agencies in the world, Initiative. She… 

*inhales*

… is the proud founder of Initiative’s care committee, a member of the IPG women’s leadership network, mentor to twelve (and counting) rising stars, was named Initiative’s employee of the year (joining Sydney’s senior leadership team), and won the ‘Ignite Change’ award.

Oh. And she’s the Grand Prix winner of this year’s B&T 30 Under 30 Awards. 

To her, being a millennial means: “Having had the best of both worlds. I humbly experienced dial-up internet, floppy disks and walkmans, but then got to witness how the world has transformed through the rise of smartphones, social media, music streaming and the benefits that come with all of this access at my fingertips.”

When it comes to identity, Snapchat found that Gen Zs and Millennials in Australia and around the globe are driving the shift from “guarded” to “real”.

Why? How?

Let’s find out…

B&T: For Connect With the Snapchat Generation you mentioned “kindness and self-growth are two things that I always strive to live by, whether it be on a small or large scale”. How do you identify with these values?

DG: The first is all about acting with empathy to make others feel more accepted and understood, and the second to accept yourself as always being a work in progress – there’s always the potential to learn and grow so as to be and do better.

B&T: You also mentioned that the pandemic allowed you to “become a happier and healthier version of myself”. How did those lessons transition with you post lockdown?

It really gave me the strength and clarity to come back into the ‘real world’ post lockdowns, and welcome the things that I’ve been missing, but also keep boundaries that I’d gained in protecting my own personal time and what space I regularly need to be relaxed and content.

Spending quality time with family and close friends is [also] a huge priority for me, as the last couple of years have made me even more grateful for the meaningful relationships in my life.

B&T: Is that why social media is “all about connecting with people” for you?

I have a lot of close friends overseas that I don’t get to talk to super often due to time differences, so I use social media as the main way to stay connected and up to date with each other’s lives.

B&T: You and the other 30 Under 30 winners kindly supplied your personal Bitmojis for the piece – love them, by the way! Do you see your digital avatar self as an extension of your identity?

I was definitely an early Bitmoji adopter and I was hooked on having a familiar representation of me that could perhaps be a bit braver and try out new things that weren’t a permanent change! My close girl friends and I practically ONLY spoke in Bitmojis for months on end.

My friend and I even put forward a Bitmoji-centred idea as our Young Lions entry one year #robbed

B&T: Snapchat’s latest annual report focuses on the trends of Gen Zs and Millennials. It suggests that “values that were important yesterday have become even more important today”. What changes have you noticed in your professional values, if any?

A lot of my work the last few years has been even more unequivocally centred around helping others around me in the mental health and well-being space. 

For example, Initiative empowered me to be trained as a Mental Health First Aid instructor earlier this year, so now I can improve awareness and facilitate how to recognise and respond to a mental health problem or crisis.

B&T: What about the way you perceive and work with brands?

I have huge respect for brands that are purpose-driven and walk the walk when it comes to what they are choosing to voice their support on.

At Initiative we do a lot of great work in taking on CSR accounts, and advising all clients on the right approach to impactful advertising. It needs to be genuine, the right brand fit and actually affect meaningful change in the community, but when it’s done right I will be a true loyalist as both a consumer and advertising professional. 

Our most recent campaign for mental health foundation Gotcha4Life, Boys Do Cry, which is all about changing the tides on the connection between how masculinity is viewed in society and suicide rates, will always be a career highlight of mine.

You can hear more from Galipienzo and the other 30 Under 30s in our Connect With The Snapchat Generation Series. 

Be sure to keep an eye on it over the coming weeks as we continue to uncover the trends that Gen Zs and Millennial are leading, and the powerful impact they’re having on the way we live.