MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Avoiding the 'Cringe Factor' in Marketing to Gen Z

Connecting with the next generation is an eternal challenge for businesses. But as brands consider ways to engage Generation Z, defined roughly as those born in the mid- to late 1990s through the early 2010s, they’re facing an unprecedented situation. Never before has a demographic cohort been so in control of their own media.

Dubbed “digital natives” because they have grown up with widespread internet access, social platforms, and mobile technology, members of Generation Z create content everywhere, from TikTok to Instagram to gaming platforms, and interact with one another in unprecedented numbers. Whereas previous generations watched TV shows and commercials designed and created by adults, Gen Z is well accustomed to having a wide array of online content creators in their own peer group — many of whom have morphed into a new kind of celebrity.