Marketing is a vibe: The Gen Z effect on marketing
The more I learn about marketing, the more I notice how some brands still think people move through life like a tidy little roadmap: think, see, do. All the campaigns, funnels, touchpoints and metrics assume that behavior is predictable and controllable. Cute... but no.
Enter Gen Z, that’s me. We’re not “hard-to-reach,” but we refuse to bend our reality to your carefully crafted marketing plan. We're more like a flashing neon sign reminding all of us that marketing has been running on autopilot for a while, and maybe it’s time for a reset.
Because culture doesn’t move on a schedule, and neither do people. We jump apps, trends, and conversations at the speed of a group chat full of girls deciding what to wear. Our world isn’t linear, tidy, or predictable, and honestly? That’s the fun part.
Culture doesn’t wait for your marketing plan
Look at the speed of trends today: a meme I spot while scrolling on TikTok during breakfast can be all over Instagram by the time I leave the office, and completely irrelevant again before I’ve picked a Netflix show to fall asleep to. We don’t hang around, we’re constantly switching platforms, communities, and ways of connecting. And yet, corporate marketing calendars still think in months, not minutes. The brands that win now are present in the spaces where culture is happening. They’re quick, flexible, reactive and most importantly human.
And honestly, some industries aren’t even in the chat yet. I’m moving into my first real place, and I couldn’t name a single cookware brand if my life depended on it. If you’re not showing up now, by the time I do discover you, I’m already loyal to someone else. Sorry not sorry.
Advertising has become a battleground for belief.
Because it’s not just about speed, it’s also about what you stand for. Products have always carried meaning. But today, a hoodie isn’t just a hoodie, it’s a statement about who you are and what you stand for.
Advertising has become a battleground for belief. Drop a campaign and if you’re lucky it’s getting dissected on LinkedIn, memed on Instagram, and debated in all the comment sections. Take the Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle jeans drama: a cheeky wordplay turned into a full-blown culture war. Your audience, especially Gen Z, will zoom in, overanalyze, and call you out, even if you “didn’t mean it like that.”
Just like my generation is stealing 90s fashion, brands can learn from the ’90s too. Think United Colors of Benetton: campaigns that didn’t just sell clothes but stood for something. They had personality, took a stand, and didn’t shy away from belief or authenticity.
So the brands that get it don’t just sell, they stand for something. They create culture and values people can connect with. Brands that try to please everyone end up pleasing no one. The brands that thrive pick a lane, own it, and let every touchpoint scream exactly who they are.
Marketing can just be marketing again
What if marketing didn’t have to live inside a funnel or be trapped in a colour-coded spreadsheet? What if it could just be itself? Fast, human, and actually meaningful. My generation is proof that marketing works best when it tells a story worth repeating, lives inside culture instead of chasing it, and aligns with beliefs people already care about. Not when it’s optimized for an algorithm or forced into a quarterly report. Gen Z is the reality check marketers needed. We make u see marketing as how it was always meant to be: creative, bold, and alive. So pay attention and take a stand. That’s where marketing stops being a plan and starts being a vibe.