Hands-On Happiness: Digital Fatigue & The IRL Revival
Tactile Media + Influencing Beyond Social
Nurturing Nostalgia
Humour Now: #Dreamcore, Daily Deadpan & Unhinged TikTok
Moment Marketing
The Resistance Factor: Opting Out, Turning Up
Fintech Frontiers
The renaissance of physical brand spaces and activations in the service of Gen Z’s craving for belonging – a desire driven by a re-evaluation of their relationship with social media (particularly being chronically online) was a hot topic. The joys of “dumb tech”, “retail tourism” and hands-on happiness, including influencer-brand festival spin-offs, led discussion.
The renaissance of physical brand spaces and activations in the service of Gen Z’s craving for belonging – a desire driven by a re-evaluation of their relationship with social media (particularly being chronically online) was a hot topic. The joys of “dumb tech”, “retail tourism” and hands-on happiness, including influencer-brand festival spin-offs, led discussion.
Summary
Hands-On Happiness: Digital Fatigue & The IRL Revival | The renaissance of physical brand spaces and activations in the service of Gen Z’s craving for belonging – a desire driven by a re-evaluation of their relationship with social media (particularly being chronically online) was a hot topic. The joys of “dumb tech”, “retail tourism” and hands-on happiness, including influencer-brand festival spin-offs, led discussion. |
Tactile Media + Influencing Beyond Social | Dovetailing with Hands-On Happiness: Digital Fatigue & The IRL Revival, other speakers spoke to how an always-on digital culture is sparking Gen Z’s hunger for analogue, tactile media and influencer content in non-social media formats. Limited edition zines, catalogues, direct mail and email newsletters were discussed as value-adds. |
Nurturing Nostalgia | Representatives of two American legacy brands, convenience giant 7-Eleven (founded 1927) and backpack and collegiate apparel label JanSport (launched 1967), discussed nostalgia as a salve for unsettled times and the high subsequent value of reviving heritage components in marketing and merchandise – when deployed with distinctly contemporary flavours. |
Humour Now: #Dreamcore, Daily Deadpan & Unhinged TikTok | Off-kilter and absurdist humour capable of sating the appetite for mindless escapism and/or signalling an understanding of the Gen Z experience (including its banalities) was another hot topic at AdAge 2025. Food brands have been the biggest beneficiaries/catalysers to date, but fashion brands are going rogue, too. |
Moment Marketing | Several speakers discussed how the breakneck speed of social media discourse is upending traditional marketing calendars – and reverence to annual retail moments (Holiday/Christmas etc) – to spur ‘moment marketing’. Here, social-first/social-savvy brands are reflexively leaping onto song lyrics, “energy drops” that coincide with life moments, and “fan truths” (other social media posts). |
The Resistance Factor: Opting Out, Turning Up | What does consumer, and brand, activism look like in unsettling, politically divided times when trust of corporations is low and diversity (Gen Z is the most diverse in America’s history) is under threat? From beauty to the ‘bronaissance’, several speakers referenced an impending reckoning, as well as discussing how brands can show up. |
Fintech Frontiers | According to a 2024 Dentsu report exploring how financial brands can drive trust among Gen Z, a huge 70% of Gen Z actively seek out brands that demonstrate emotional intelligence. Three key fintech players discussed ways to redefine banking to make it fit for Gen Z purpose – including personalisation, recalibrating language and ‘money matters’ storytelling mainlining the pop-cultural zeitgeist. |
Next-Gen(-Z) Marketing Summit: AdAge 2025


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Want to see the full report?
Offering access to over 350 consumer and cross-industry reports annually, Stylus Membership is your window to tomorrow’s most exciting opportunities.
We already arm more than 500 of the world’s most forward-thinking brands and agencies with the creative insights they need to make transformative business decisions.
We’d love to do the same for you.
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