Marketing is learning a new language: the one Gen Z actually speaks

Gen Z: rethinking the category, not just the language

This generation grew up drowning in content, and constant stimuli flooding every screen they’ve ever owned. If a message doesn’t grab attention within the first few seconds, it gets scrolled past without a second thought, gone before it registered at all.

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Farchioni’s launch of Drippo, a new brand dedicated to extra virgin olive oil, offers a particularly interesting case in this regard. In this case, the producer did not simply adopt a more contemporary tone to promote its products, but instead created a new brand from scratch, designed to appeal to a younger audience through a squeeze-bottle format, a contemporary visual identity, and a product concept centered on convenience and sustainability.

In fact, a study previously commissioned by Farchioni and conducted by Nielsen—which involved focus groups with consumers aged 25 to 40—found that younger generations place greater emphasis on practicality and ease of use, as well as on new ways of communicating.

Millennials and Gen Z aren’t the same audience, despite what lazy briefs suggest

Here’s where marketing briefs often go wrong: treating “young people” as a single, undifferentiated blob. Millennials and Gen Z are both digital generations, certainly, but they have grown up with technology in very different ways, and that shapes how they interact with brands.

Millennials tend to value authenticity and want to feel that a brand genuinely shares their principles. They also tend to do their homework before buying, often looking for more detailed content that helps them make an informed decision.

Gen Z has grown up with smartphones practically glued to their hands, so it tends to favour content that gets to the point quickly, especially on platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat. This generation also pays close attention to issues that shape everyday life, from sustainability and inclusion to mental health and personal identity. When it comes to buying something, social media often plays a significant role, with influencers and online reviews helping shape decisions before anyone clicks “buy”.

What both generations share matters too: intensive social media use, deep suspicion toward overly traditional advertising, and a strong preference for brands that stay authentic and consistent with the values they publicly communicate.

Speaking the language without faking the accent

Talking like Gen Z doesn’t mean copying a couple of memes and randomly sprinkling slang throughout your copy, or, even worse, trying to appear young at any cost and ending up looking “cringe”. You have to understand the language and the essence of how each target audience communicates.

Marketing platforms increasingly encourage brands to adapt both their content and tone to the generation they want to reach, while also considering where that content will appear. Millennials tend to engage more with detailed formats that give them time to explore a topic, whereas Gen Z is more responsive to communication that feels immediate and visually engaging. New technologies are also changing the way brands can connect with both audiences, although the approach needs to reflect the expectations and habits of each generation.

Communication That Really Works

A strategy cannot simply invest in “marketing aimed at young people”—or any other target group—without thorough research. Brands must take this into account when deciding how to communicate with the audiences they want to reach.

As event planners and marketing professionals, we see this same principle applied every day in the corporate world, whether we are working on a product launch or planning a conference. Effective communication starts with identifying the audience and understanding its characteristics—even before choosing the language to use or the experience to create.

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