Our CEO shared his expert opinion with Inc. Magazine on how brands are still marketing to Gen-Z like they’re idiots. He breaks down how to treat them as the sophisticated consumers they are.
Ask any marketer and they’ll tell you that no generation is more coveted than Gen-Z—a group that’s become actual cultural architects. What they say, wear, and create on the internet shapes how everyone else behaves. They’re driving trends faster than anyone can track. And they’ve got real purchasing power.
Not that you would know by the way brands tend to characterize them. To them, Gen-Z are just a bunch of flippant kids with no attention spans who only care about memes and short videos. That’s why social media is filled with so many brand fails. Like when a company launches a painful “Gen-Z-friendly” campaign with actors dancing awkwardly to a trending song from the previous summer. Or virtue-signaling misfires like a brand celebrating Pride Month with rainbow packaging while also donating to anti-LGBTQ politicians. Or a brand faking virality by paying creators to “organically” talk about them.
The truth is Gen-Zers have incredible bullshit detectors. They’ve spent their entire lives scrolling through content, which means they can tell when something’s fake faster than any focus group. They’re not “too sensitive.” They just want accountability. They’re not anti-humor. It’s more like they’re anti-hypocrisy.
They’ve learned how to research, compare, and form opinions on their own. They don’t wait for brands or media to tell them what to think. Good luck if you believe they’ll take anything at face value. Look at how they’ve built side hustles, edited Wikipedia, exposed corporate scandals, and driven movements before they could legally drink. They understand brand voice, algorithms, and authenticity on an instinctive level because they’ve grown up creating content. Instead of being culture consumers, they’re building it in real time from the ground up. So, the brands hoping to connect to this savvy generation need to push beyond their tired perceptions if they want to build lasting loyalty. Here’s how:
Treat Gen-Z like collaborators
The brands that get it right treat Gen-Z like collaborators instead of just customers. They don’t try to talk like them. They actually hire them. They bring young creators into the process and give them real creative control, like Coach did with the campaign for its Coachtopia line of bags—tapping students at New York City’s Parsons School of Design to create new bags with circularity in mind.
Try radical honesty
If your brand messes up, own up to it. And when it’s tasteful, lean into it with humor. Coors Light understood the allure of honesty and found success with a campaign that was either a genuine mistake or a sly wink at Gen-Z’s love of authenticity. When their “Mountain Cold Refreshment” ads “accidentally” went live with a typo (“Refershment”), Coors did not even try to shy away from it. They acknowledged the mistake, poked fun at themselves, and rebranded temporarily to “Mondays Light.” It was the type of knowingly clumsy moment of self-awareness that shows an understanding of Gen-Z.
But it also pays to be honest with your intentions. If you’re selling something, be clear about what it is and why it matters. Brands like Liquid Death, Dunkin’, and even Netflix’s social accounts succeed because they let personality, humor, and transparency drive the conversation.
Think micro-moments, not big splashes
It’s not always prioritizing chasing the next viral stunt, but building content or experiences that align with everyday Gen-Z habits. For example, the refresh of Coca‑Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign in 2025 let Gen-Z personalize cans via QR code/app, turning a simple moment in the day into a digital-real micro-moment of connection. This was a quick tool with low lift, and small win with greater impact—transforming a simple can into a moment of sharing that felt more genuine than another flashy, hype drop.
Choose community-building over celebs
Brands should build peer-to-peer advocacy networks instead of relying solely on celebrity blasts. Take Nike, which evolved its influencer strategy to focus less on marquee names and more on authentic community creators. With campaigns typically centered on household athletes, Nike built a tiered creator ecosystem to partner with micro-influencers, local trainers, and Gen-Z athletes who already live the brand’s ethos every day. The result is a brand presence that feels participatory instead of performative—where Gen-Zers see themselves represented through real peers, not just another aspirational figure.
Get your niche on
Lastly, there needs to be a bigger focus to start cultivating niche community ecosystems within brands’ own audiences. A standout example is Asos, whose long-running Insiders program expanded into a network of micro and nano creators representing distinct fashion subcultures like streetwear curators, thrift enthusiasts, body-positive stylists, and modest fashion advocates. It moved from perfecting one giant campaign shouting at Gen-Z, to hundreds of small conversations happening inside the communities Gen-Z already trusts. This makes fans into cultural collaborators and reflects a modern connection of one that is decentralized, conversational, and rooted in real identity.
Most important, brands should focus less on talking at Gen-Z and more on speaking with them.
After all, between entering the workforce and influencing older generations’ spending, they’re the ones setting the tone for what’s relevant. It’s time to give them the respect they deserve.
Featured Image: Getty Images