Brands rewrite Gen Z playbook, double down on Instagram to win young consumers

New Delhi:Brands are likely to push the pedal further on the Gen Z segment following the recent developments, with companies across food and apparel increasing their engagement on social media, particularly Instagram. The renewed push comes even as the Bharatiya Janata Party released a new video aimed at young Indians.

Executives at three Gen-Z focused brands ET spoke to said they are stepping up the focus further on this demographic.

“Given the explosion of interest on Instagram in the past few weeks, we are allocating at least 25% more ad and promotional spends on the platform, compared to last month,” one of the executives said.

On Wednesday, fashion brand Provogue announced a digital campaign with actor Fardeen Khan, focused squarely on Gen Z. In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, Tamisha Sajnani, the marketing director at KFC announced that KFC has hit 1 million followers on Instagram. She thanked the Gen Z community ‘for rewarding authenticity and making KFC more KFC, every single day.’


Sandeep Goyal, managing director of ad agency Rediffusion, said there has been a ‘tremendous spike’ in brand promotions targeting the Gen Z segment on social media platforms recently.

“Brands are stepping up noticeability on social platforms, not just on Instagram. But the higher ad spends should also lead to more consumer engagement and content needs to be relevant to make a difference and cut through the clutter,” he added.

Shivam Shahi, co-founder of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, that has been getting a lot of appreciation among Gen Zs on Instagram for offering assistance during the protests in Delhi, said sales at the Janpath outlet have gone up by 20% week on week. “But, we are not supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party. We helped the students in distress out of basic human decency,” he said. “Our policies are centred around helping those in need on regular days as well. You don’t have to order to be able to use our washrooms and we have first aid at all times. We also replace the coffee for free if you don’t like it and you can order one coffee and take two cups to go with it. This is who we are,” he added.

Gen Zs value authenticity over polish, participation over one-way messaging, and consistency over one-off campaigns. "They don’t just buy products; they buy into stories and values they genuinely connect with,” said Niharika Peri, owner and chef at Eatinn’ Love Trattoria in Bengaluru.

"They are no longer a future audience. They’re already influencing what families buy, where people eat, and which brands become relevant. That’s why, we’re seeing every sector, from consumer brands to institutions, trying to engage them more intentionally,” she said.

Shakti Banerjee, senior vice president and head of qualitative research at Hansa Research said brands have stopped seeing Gen Zs as just a consumer segment.

“They see them as people who shape culture. They may not always have the deepest pockets, but they definitely influence what's trending, what's worth talking about and often even what the rest of the family ends up buying,” she added.

As the Gen Z protests unfolded across key cities in India last week, Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, founder and CEO of influencer marketing platform Qoruz said it was 'genuinely surprising' to see that some Gen Z influencers stopped doing brand collaborations just to focus on the student protests.

“That had never happened before and that to me was unprecedented. Large agencies maintain brand safe standards but after these developments, maybe the evaluation parameters for influencers could change. We saw influencers with millions of followers putting off brand collaborations and their earnings for one or two weeks. That was a big deal,” he added.

Some advertising expects said it’s not an expenditure, rather an investment for a brand to spend money to create more culture around Gen Z.

Amruda Nair, owner, Araiya hotels said within the hospitality sector too, Gen Z travellers are redefining boutique hospitality. "Their view is don’t tell me about the destination but let me participate in it," she said. "The idea of returning from a journey unchanged is becoming unacceptable to this generation, and they can tell instantly whether a hotel’s experiences are genuine or decorative," she added.

Peri said as more brands compete for the attention of Gen Zs, there will be less emphasis on simply reaching out to them and more on earning their trust. "That’s ultimately what builds long-term loyalty."