How Gen Z Advertising Professionals Are Rewriting Brand Storytelling

"The marketing industry is entering a new phase of creative expectations, shaped by young consumers' platform behavior and cultural context. What I'm seeing in real time is that the strongest work today isn't necessarily the most polished. Instead, it's the most culturally aware. At our agency, members of Generation Z are a significant part of the workforce, and while they are not the majority, their platform-native fluency leads to unparalleled storytelling that is primed to win the next generation of consumers."

"A generation raised on remix culture and rapid content cycles is challenging long-held assumptions about what counts as credible storytelling. Gen Z advertising professionals aren't simply adding fresh tactics-they're helping redefine the creative standards brands are judged against. While scale once equaled authority and polish suggested trustworthiness, younger talent is increasingly prioritizing credibility and relatability. For instance, young creatives at our agency increasingly advocate for real people, real moments and conversation-driven storytelling."

Marketing now demands culturally aware, platform-native creative work rather than solely polished productions. Generation Z talent brings fluency in platform norms and remix culture, shifting credibility from scale and polish to relatability and authenticity. Young creatives emphasize real people, real moments and conversation-driven storytelling that mirrors peer interactions. Research in the Journal of Brand Strategy finds Gen Z responds more strongly to micro-influencers than traditional marketing, supporting peer-to-peer approaches. Talent strategies are shifting away from celebrity-led campaigns toward smaller, highly trusted voices and micro- and nano-influencer partnerships to engage the next generation of consumers.

Read at Forbes