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30Oct 7, 2025 · 36 minInsights

Reaching Gen Z Through Experiential

What Gen Z actually wants from brand experiences and how to design activations that resonate.

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Episode Summary

Zoe Williams, Youth Culture Strategist at Vice Media, brings deep insight into what Gen Z actually wants from brand experiences. She challenges common misconceptions about Gen Z marketing and shares research-backed strategies for creating activations that genuinely resonate with younger audiences. Zoe discusses the importance of authenticity, social impact, co-creation, and digital integration in Gen Z experiential. She also explores how Gen Z's relationship with technology differs from millennials and what that means for experience design. The episode features case studies of brands that have earned genuine Gen Z loyalty through experiential and those that have failed spectacularly.

Key Takeaways

  • Gen Z values co-creation over consumption - let them shape the experience, not just attend it
  • Social impact integration is non-negotiable for Gen Z brand experiences
  • Gen Z is 'digital native' but craves genuine human connection in brand experiences
  • Authenticity detectors: Gen Z can spot performative marketing from a mile away

Timestamps

0:00Busting myths about Gen Z marketing
4:30What Gen Z actually wants from experiences
10:00Authenticity and co-creation
15:30Social impact integration
21:00Digital integration for digital natives
26:00Case studies: wins and failures
31:00Building long-term Gen Z brand loyalty
34:00The Gen Z experience design checklist

Featured Guest

ZW

Zoe Williams

Youth Culture Strategist

Vice Media