Grasping youth culture’s most pertinent shifts – attitudes, ideals and spending – as Gen Z segues into Alpha (the oldest of whom are now 29 and 15, respectively) underpinned YMS 2025. Ultra-brand-relevant observations included acknowledging ‘the f*** it bucket’ (why impulse spending and chaotic content is holding court), continued kidulting, a growing ideological gender gap and opportunities to step up in providing hope and optimism.

Multiple speakers spotlit tools and tactics for sharpening social media commerce strategies. The best included trend-tracking or ‘vibe-checking’ dashboards for getting ahead of the TikTok game (including time frames for when brands should step in), comment analysers turning real sentiments into more engaging content and guidance on supercharging social-first search engine optimisation (SEO).

As 17% of American and British Gen Zers are willing to drop brands over content they deem cringeworthy (Pion, 2025), several speakers highlighted how harnessing the chaos (see the ‘f*** it bucket’ mentality detailed above) and absurdism can help brands resonate, including sidestepping tone-deaf trend-hopping. Key tactics include unhinged meme-driven brand personification and ‘chaos content marketing’ social activations.

Zalpha parents’ perspectives were another core debate, with speakers discussing a) switching cynical selling – i.e. commodifying the tween/teen years – for supportive strategies, and b) rerouting the increasingly negative impacts of tech (artificial intelligence (AI), social media algorithms and devices). Embracing the “booming digital balance economy” was posited as vital for connecting with a generation (Z) that’s re-evaluating its relationship with technology.

Showing up in real life (IRL) was a hot topic, with speakers from TV, beauty/grooming, travel and dating discussing annexing well-established online identities with physical activations to court contemporary relevance. IRL experiences with a digital component (phygital interplay), inserting your brand into unusual routines, a third-space resurgence and the power of unexpectedness were priority subtexts.

Dovetailing with discussions about the desire for shared experiences, other speakers rallied around the perennial but fast-fluctuating topic of fandom. Women’s sports headlined alongside spin-off possibilities for film and TV entertainment.