Traditional media can help address the Gen Z paradox.

Gen Z is the most influenceable generation, yet the least loyal. It spends more time on social platforms but trusts them least. Making up around one quarter of the world’s population currently, the global purchasing power of Gen Z is estimated to reach $12 trillion by 2030. Much has been written about the expectations of Gen Z, with its love of experiences, its appreciation of a deal, its return to bricks and mortar shopping alongside e-commerce and its desire to see brands behaving authentically and responsibly. For marketers, however, the paradoxical behaviour of Gen Z remains a perplexing challenge. Leading management consultancies are arriving at the conclusion that traditional media has a role to play alongside advertising in reaching and convincing Gen Z consumers. Metricomm data looking at the impact of news coverage for brands across generations also supports this view.

Gen Z is a demanding generation for those in the business of demand generation! How to market to Gen Z?  We asked Google and the AI summary recommended ‘prioritise a mobile-first, digital-first approach on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Use short-form videos, interactive content and personalised experiences to capture their attention.’

That response was exactly what we expected. Surveys asking Gen Z how they like their brand communication tend not to ask about traditional media. Marketing communications and PR teams are convinced that digital natives favour influencers, social platforms and forums above online versions of traditional newspapers and magazines. The reality is more nuanced and complicates marketing and comms choices as Gen Z matures. We have now reached a point where, if Gen Z spending slows, as it was predicted to do in the 2025 pre-Christmas season, there are serious economic repercussions. As a result, we need to better understand where and how they get the information that prompts purchase.

Media coverage works alongside advertising during the brand priming stage of the consumer purchase journey. It raises awareness and builds reputation as consumers weigh their options and become familiar with brands.  This is important for Gen Z, as they seek validation for their choices.

A 2025 Metricomm study looked at 174 brands across nine sectors in the UK over the past four years. The sectors included were Automotive, Holidays, Supermarkets, Beer, Banks, Smartphones, Betting, Carbonated drinks and Rail. On average, we found that share of advertising awareness increases by 7.3% for every 10% increase in the share of audience generated by earned media coverage for brands in these categories. This is across all age groups combined.

The results are even more telling when we look at different age demographics. For the 18 to 34 year-old age group, which includes Gen Z, the increase in ad awareness is slightly higher, at 7.4%; for the 35 to 49 year-old age group it is 7.3% and for those aged 50 and above, slightly lower, at 7.2%.

We are not suggesting that media coverage should replace advertising, or social media, when targeting Gen Z buyers. However, brands that fail to include traditional news media in their Marketing strategy may be missing a trick.

You can read more in our latest whitepaper, ‘Traditional media can help address the Gen Z paradox’, via this link: Demographics_Whitepaper

To discover more about how Metricomm combines media audience data with YouGov BrandIndex data to demonstrate how your media coverage is moving the needle on consumer opinion, across all demographics, drop us a line on hello@metricomm.com or complete the form below.