Gen Z in 2025: Are These Young Adults the Predecessors to the Divisive, Controversial Generation of Labubus?
In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, understanding the unique preferences and behaviours of the new generation is crucial. The Gen Z Brand World Summit 2025, hosted by GenZour website, aimed to shed light on this very subject, offering valuable insights for brands seeking to connect with Gen Z consumers.
The panel, comprising industry experts, emphasised the importance of authenticity and transparency, stating that Gen Z "will see through lies completely"[1]. Authenticity was indeed a "buzzword" of the summit, with marketing that reflects genuine human truths and avoids "bull#%&*" resonating strongly with this generation[2].
To earn Gen Z’s loyal following, brands must engage in storytelling that connects on a human level and stays topical by addressing issues and themes relevant to their current lives[2]. This means brands must be ready to navigate the splintered social media landscape, customising digital experiences that feel raw, emotional, and real, rather than polished and traditional[1].
Gen Z prefers offerings they can tailor to their own tastes and identity, valuing raw, unfiltered personalization that questions traditional norms—like uniquely customized products or experiences[2]. Moreover, the generation places importance on creator influence over brand worship, with a preference for buying from creators and influencers rather than just established brands[1].
Brands must keep an energetic, authentic presence to avoid being easily replaced by indie or smaller challenger brands. Constantly adapting to Gen Z’s evolving content styles (from memes to social causes) is essential[2]. Mainstream brands that have succeeded with Gen Z in 2025 combine familiarity, consistency, distinctiveness, and emotional connection—Coca-Cola’s personalized "Share A Coke" campaign is a prime example, increasing purchase consideration significantly among Gen Z in the US[3].
The summit also recognised Gen Z as a chaotic generation with Canva skills, stressing the importance of staying relevant to the current lives of Gen Z[4]. To do this, brands must embrace digital agility, personalization, authenticity, and creator collaboration, deeply embedding cultural shifts and raw storytelling into their marketing strategies[1][2][3][4].
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In conclusion, the Gen Z Brand World Summit 2025 underscores that marketers must abandon old playbooks, embracing digital agility, personalization, authenticity, and creator collaboration, deeply embedding cultural shifts and raw storytelling into their marketing strategies to stay relevant and grow with Gen Z consumers.
- In the realm of marketing, brands seeking to connect with Gen Z consumers need to prioritize authenticity and transparency, as Gen Z is known for seeing through inauthentic practices completely.
- To build a loyal following among Gen Z, brands should engage in human-centered storytelling that stays current by addressing issues and themes relevant to their lives, while navigating the diverse landscape of social media.
- Gen Z values personalized offerings that allow them to express their individuality and regards creator influence highly, often preferring to purchase from creators and influencers rather than traditional brands.
- To remain relevant and competitive, brands must adapt to Gen Z's evolving content preferences (ranging from memes to social causes), maintain an energetic and authentic presence, and collaborate with creators to ensure their marketing strategies reflect current cultural shifts and raw storytelling.
