The Impact of Tech-Savvy Gen Z on Marketing Strategies

Not Buying It: Gen Z’s Bullshit Filter

They’ve seen ads their whole life—on YouTube before school, on Instagram before dinner. They scroll past them like static. Gen Z doesn’t trust a clean-cut brand saying “Buy Now.” They trust each other. And they trust weird, specific, oddly personal storytelling.

A polished ad for a perfume? Skipped. But a 19-year-old on TikTok saying “this smells like your childhood best friend who disappeared and then came back with secrets”? Watched. Shared. Maybe even bought.

Marketing used to be about messaging. Now it’s about tone.

Raw Wins. Glossy Dies.

Don’t show them the studio shot. Show them the messy desk, the blurry mirror selfie, the outtake. They want to feel like they’re inside something, not watching from the outside.

This isn’t about looking unprofessional. It’s about feeling unfiltered. Gen Z values brands that look like people, not corporations. The moment it feels over-edited, they’re gone.

Platforms Aren’t Just Channels—They’re Cultures

TikTok has its own language. So does Reddit. So does Instagram. The mistake most brands make? Treating each one the same. Copy-paste content across all? Rookie move.

One platform is humor. One is mood. One is deep dive. One is speed. Gen Z reads the room. Brands have to, too. Every campaign needs a cultural translator—someone who lives there, not just posts there.

Trends Don’t Wait for Your Approval Chain

A trend drops at 8 a.m. You have until noon to ride it. If you need five approvals, forget it.

Gen Z moves fast. Memes shift. Sounds go viral, then vanish. A moment hits hard—and then it’s gone. Brands with agility win. Brands with “Monday meetings” lose.

Speed matters more than polish. A shaky iPhone video that hits the right joke or mood? That’s reach. That’s relevance.

Creators Are the New Creative Directors

Influencers used to be the face. Now they’re the engine.

They know what hits, how to edit, when to post, and what not to say. They know what the comment section wants. They’re not just making noise—they’re shaping brand voice.

Smart brands give them the wheel. Not just a script.

One creator talking about how a perfume feels “like skipping school and riding a train with no plan” has more impact than a full product launch.

Personal, Not Personalized

Gen Z likes when content feels made for them. But not when it’s obviously algorithmic. They know when AI is picking products. They can smell fake personalization a mile away.

Real connection happens in the small stuff—DMs replied to, product names that reflect slang, packaging that references TikTok jokes. These details matter. They notice.

Values Are Table Stakes

If you don’t stand for something, you don’t stand out. Gen Z buys based on what a brand believes, not just what it sells.

They’ll look up your founder, your factory, your politics. And if something doesn’t sit right, they’ll screenshot it. They’ll stitch it. They’ll cancel it.

No script saves you. No campaign fixes it. Either you live your values or they’ll find someone who does.

Feelings Over Features

Forget specs. Forget benefits. Gen Z buys based on vibes.

They don’t want the breakdown. They want the feeling. What does it remind them of? What mood does it hit? How does it fit the version of themselves they’re building online?

Marketing is emotion now. Even a simple thing—a scent, a snack, a shoe—has to match an identity. If it doesn’t? Scroll.

Data Helps. Gut Instinct Closes.

Yes, track clicks. Yes, analyze scrolls. But don’t ignore the human sense of what’s working.

Some trends can’t be graphed. Some tone shifts aren’t measurable. This generation runs on nuance—inside jokes, near-contradictions, blink-and-you-miss-it references.

To reach them, you need people who live it. Not just analyze it.