CMOs share what brands get wrong when marketing to Gen Z

"NEW YORK - An obsession with winning over Gen Z consumers has resulted in marketers believing several absolutes about the cohort. Of chief concern: Gen Zers are not brand loyal and they hate advertising. CMOs at Advertising Week New York pushed back against these narratives, arguing that they flatten out the nuances of a generation that just as often expresses near-feverish devotion to certain brands."

"Panelists argued that Gen Z's presumed distaste for advertising is a myth while acknowledging that paid media plays a different strategic role than it used to. Developing entertaining or emotionally resonant content is a bigger focus, with ads then used as a supportive tool rather than the main driver of campaigns. 'There's a layer of advertising that you use at moments for this, but really, I'd say 90% of our budget and effort is spent on actual content,' said Jim Mollica, president of luxury consumer audio and CMO at Bose."

Marketers often assume Gen Z lacks brand loyalty and dislikes advertising. That generalization overlooks Gen Z's strong devotion to certain brands and its pickiness about content. Gen Z inhabits tribalized, insular online communities with no mass media, requiring different strategies to break in. Paid advertising now plays a supportive role while most budget and effort focus on creating entertaining, emotionally resonant, social-first and culturally led content. Sharper execution of content and community-driven activations is increasingly important as Gen Z matures and influences household purchasing decisions.

Read at Marketing Dive