<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69089aa76b0b1e330ca9aacf_651d7ece5cc43ebdefc6f0d0_64c37ff78e3559214ff5b6fd_Gen-Z%252520-%252520Brands%252520that%252520have%252520captured%252520the%252520hearts%252520of%252520their%252520generation%252520(1)%252520(1).png" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Event · Expression</span> <h1 class="gn-title">Deep Dive - Gen-Z and the Brands that have Captured their Hearts with IMA-HOME</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>22 August 2023</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>1 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-event-meta gn-reveal"><div class="gn-event-meta__block"> <span class="gn-event-meta__label">When</span> <span class="gn-event-meta__value gn-date">Tue, 22 Aug 2023 · 09:00</span> </div><div class="gn-event-meta__block"> <span class="gn-event-meta__label">Where</span> <span class="gn-event-meta__value">Virtual session</span> </div><div class="gn-event-meta__block"> <span class="gn-event-meta__label">Status</span> <span class="gn-event-status gn-event-status--recording">Past · Recording</span> </div></div> <div class="gn-body"> <h2>What Actually Makes Gen-Z Buy: Lessons from the Brands Getting It Right</h2> <p>Gen-Z is now the most scrutinised consumer cohort on the planet, yet many agencies are still briefing clients on assumptions rather than evidence. Understanding what drives this generation's loyalty, spending, and advocacy is no longer a nice-to-have for agencies pitching in the youth, lifestyle, or consumer space. It is table stakes. In a Deep Dive session hosted by <strong>The GO Network</strong>, strategy specialists from global connected marketing agency <a href="https://imahome.global/" target="_blank">IMA-HOME</a> broke down the mechanics of Gen-Z behaviour and examined the specific brands that have turned cultural understanding into commercial results.</p> <p>The session was led by <strong>Molly Holmes</strong>, Strategy Executive at IMA-HOME, and <strong>Ella Bradley</strong>, Concept Senior Account Executive at IMA-HOME. Both work inside a practice that has built its reputation on connected, insight-led marketing aimed squarely at digitally native audiences. What follows are the core takeaways agency leaders can apply directly to their client strategies and new-business thinking.</p> <h2>Who Gen-Z Actually Are (and Why Agencies Keep Getting It Wrong)</h2> <p>The most common agency mistake with Gen-Z briefs is treating the cohort as a monolith defined by platform preference. Gen-Z are broadly understood as those born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, making the oldest members of the group now well into their mid-twenties and active earners. They are not teenagers experimenting with disposable income. They are adults making considered purchasing decisions, often under significant financial pressure.</p> <p>Their behaviours are shaped by a specific set of formative conditions: growing up with smartphones as a primary social infrastructure, reaching adolescence during periods of acute global instability, and developing consumer literacy at a pace previous generations did not. The result is a cohort that is highly attuned to inauthenticity, deeply value-driven in their brand relationships, and far more likely to research before they buy than to respond to interruptive advertising.</p> <p>For agencies, this matters because it changes the brief. A campaign strategy built on reach and frequency logic borrowed from broadcast media will not land. The creative and strategic framing has to start from community, credibility, and consistency.</p> <h2>The Brands Winning with Gen-Z and What They Have in Common</h2> <p>IMA-HOME's analysis focused on brands that have demonstrably captured Gen-Z attention and spending. While the specific brand case studies were explored in the live session, the patterns that unite successful Gen-Z brands are consistent and instructive for any agency building a strategy in this space.</p> <ul> <li><strong>They build around identity, not product.</strong> Winning brands give Gen-Z consumers something to belong to, not just something to buy. The product is an expression of a worldview the consumer already holds.</li> <li><strong>They earn credibility through community before they spend on amplification.</strong> Brands that resonate with Gen-Z typically have deep roots in a specific subculture or interest community. Paid media follows organic trust, not the other way around.</li> <li><strong>They are consistent across context.</strong> Gen-Z consumers move fluidly between platforms and formats. Brands that win maintain a coherent voice and set of values whether they are on TikTok, in a physical retail environment, or responding to a complaint publicly online.</li> <li><strong>They treat Gen-Z as participants, not audience members.</strong> Co-creation, user-generated content, and genuine responsiveness to community feedback are not marketing tactics for these brands. They are operating principles.</li> <li><strong>They take positions without performing them.</strong> Gen-Z has a finely calibrated radar for brand purpose that is bolted on rather than built in. The brands that earn sustained loyalty are those where values are embedded in business decisions, not just campaign messaging.</li> </ul> <h2>What This Means for Your Agency's Client Work</h2> <p>Translating Gen-Z insight into client recommendations requires agencies to challenge some deeply embedded planning assumptions. Here are the practical shifts worth making.</p> <h3>Reframe the channel conversation</h3> <p>Platform-led briefs ("we need a TikTok strategy") produce weak work. The more productive question for your client is: where does this brand already have or could credibly earn genuine relevance with this audience? The channel follows the answer, not the brief.</p> <h3>Build the cultural audit into your discovery process</h3> <p>Before any Gen-Z brief reaches creative development, your strategy team should be mapping the subcultures and communities where the client's category already has organic presence. This is not social listening in the conventional sense. It is anthropological groundwork that shapes everything downstream, from tone of voice to influencer selection to content format.</p> <h3>Reposition influencer as credibility infrastructure, not media buying</h3> <p>For agencies still treating influencer as a paid distribution channel, the IMA-HOME framing is a useful corrective. Gen-Z trust is built through figures who are genuinely embedded in communities, not those who function as ad placements. The selection criteria for influencer partnerships should weight cultural fit and community authenticity above follower counts.</p> <h3>Give clients a long-term narrative, not campaign cycles</h3> <p>Gen-Z brand relationships are built over time through repeated, consistent signals. Agencies that pitch Gen-Z strategies as discrete campaigns are setting unrealistic expectations and potentially underserving their clients. The stronger agency position is to frame Gen-Z engagement as an always-on commitment with a coherent strategic spine, where individual activations serve a larger, longer story.</p> <h2>Applying This in New Business Contexts</h2> <p>If your agency is pitching for briefs with a Gen-Z audience component, the depth of your cultural understanding is a genuine differentiator. Clients are increasingly able to distinguish between agencies that have absorbed surface-level platform trends and those that can speak to the underlying behavioural and attitudinal drivers. Investing in that depth, through partnerships, research, and community immersion, is what moves your agency from competent executor to genuine strategic partner.</p> <p>The full session, including the brand case studies and Q&amp;A with Molly Holmes and Ella Bradley, is available through <strong>The GO Network</strong>. If Gen-Z strategy is a growth area for your agency, it is worth the hour.</p> </div></div> <aside class="gn-related gn-reveal" data-auto="related-reading"> <div class="gn-related__label">Related reading</div> <ul class="gn-related__list"> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/how-can-you-revolutionise-your-brand-with-ux-web-development" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Revolutionise Your Brand with UX &amp; Web Development</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Watch the recording: agency experts break down UX basics, web innovation, case studies, and how to measure ROI from your digital presence.</span> </a> </li> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/playback-podcasting-for-brands-hype-or-growth-machine" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Playback: Podcasting for Brands - Hype or Growth Machine?</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Agency experts break down budgets, production realities, and pitch strategies, so you can decide if podcasting belongs in your service offer</span> </a> </li> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/playback-tiktok-emerging-social-platforms-how-your-brand-can-get-involved" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Playback: TikTok &amp; Emerging Social Platforms: How Your Brand Can Get Involved</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Agency experts break down how to build audiences and drive conversions on TikTok, BeReal, and beyond. 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