This Wednesday afternoon session, part of dentsu X’s presence at Cannes Lions 2025, focused on the unique behaviors of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, aka Gen ZAlpha, that are shaping the new norms around media.
Panel moderator Val Vacante, SVP, Solutions Innovation, dentsu, teed off the discussion asking how brands and platforms and media are collaborating to create cross-platform, creator-connected experiences targeting Gen ZAlphas.
Lexie Riegelhaupt, Head of Culture & Entertainment Marketing, Adobe: “This is a generation that has had a phone in their hand since they could start, so they are mobile first. They are creating everything for their phones. They are watching everything on their phones. They expect you to be on their phones. … It is the most media aware, creative-first, opinion-first generation we’ve seen. They’re not following, they are definitely leading. They are able to be influenced but they want to be influenced by their community. They don’t want you to come in over the top and tell them what to do.”
Tara Loftis, Global President, Skincare, Galderma: “We’re seeing Gen Z, and Gen Alpha, in particular, be the most confident generations in terms of the information they are able to gather. They are seeking less from their elders. … Because they’re so empowered with information at their fingertips, they’re on Chat GPT. They’re on TikTok. They’re on YouTube. They’re doing all the research on [products] and corporate values behind the brands that they’re wanting to purchase, and then they’re educating their parents and they’re influencing household purchases.
“While Gen Z and Gen Alpha trust AI for recommendations, the democratization of information on the internet has made them the most relentless truth seekers that we’ve ever seen.”
Val: How are you seeing brands adapting to the video-first world?
Moe Chughtai, Global Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, MIQ: “The definition of TV has evolved and, depending on who you ask, it massively varies. … When we’re talking to brands, we’re talking a lot about a total video strategy for younger audiences. We’re talking about leading with vertical video to begin with, the importance of creative as part of that, … and then build[ing] on from that into streaming environments.”
Aurelia Noel, Global Head of Transformation and Innovation, dentsu X: “For us it gives brands the opportunity to be emotionally intelligent. … [Gen ZAlphas are] savvier. They [do] a lot of research. They won’t take what you say as gospel, and they expect the brands to be emotionally intelligent and to really deep dive into micro moments.
“Even the way we define culture is changing because culture is not those big moments that used to happen on TV; culture lives in the micro moments, and brands can own a lot more micro moments than there ever was before.”
Tara: “We can’t sit in a silo and come up with campaigns and think that we’re going to keep buying media accordingly.
“We have to start building relationships and partnerships with creators and the influencers of tomorrow, those who are doing new things, pushing the tech. Every meeting we have now is like, ‘What do you want to do with this that’s different?’”
The session closed with a discussion on ways their brands are building relationships and partnerships with creators and the influencers of tomorrow. To hear more of their thoughts on what lies ahead in a future where everybody is a creator, watch the video replay here.
