Gen Z media strategy—how brands determine spend across social, AI and commerce

Written by The Charm Team | Mar 25, 2026 2:56:13 PM

March 16, 2026

For years, media plans were built around reach, frequency and a relatively stable set of channels. But Gen Z has upended that model.

This generation moves fluidly between entertainment, shopping and social interaction—often within the same app—making it harder for brands to define what counts as media and where budgets should go. As platforms evolve and new formats emerge, marketers are being forced to relearn how attention is earned, scaled and converted in a Gen Z-first world.

The shift reflects a deeper change in how media works. Reaching Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, requires brands to adapt not only to new platforms, but to new formats, behaviors and content ecosystems that don’t follow traditional planning logic.

One example of how platforms are adapting to these shifts is PineDrama, a standalone app launched by TikTok in early 2026 in the U.S. and Brazil. Built specifically for “microdramas,” the app condenses the essence of soap operas and serial storytelling into bingeable episodes designed to match Gen Z’s consumption patterns. The rise of microdramas reflects how younger audiences favor immersive, story-driven content, delivered in compact formats and optimized for mobile attention spans.

AI apps popular with Gen Z are also turning into paid media channels. OpenAI in January announced that it would begin testing ads inside ChatGPT. OpenAI is charging based on CPMs (cost per thousand impressions), with the opening price set at $60.

Media executives are adapting by spending not just in new places, but in new ways. U.S. advertisers are expected to spend $43.9 billion on creator marketing in 2026, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report, released in November. More than half (55%) of that is expected to go toward paid amplification of creator content, not the creation of content itself. Media executives told Ad Age that spend is only becoming more popular as brands seek to scale their creator marketing efforts.

How paid amplification is reshaping the social media budget

The Gen Z media plan, as expected, starts on social. SharkNinja has adopted a social-first marketing strategy, said Dave Kersey, global head of media at the appliance and tech product company. The brand has consistently built momentum before layering in paid amplification, he said.

For the launch of its Shark Glam hair styling tool, Shark Beauty worked with creators such as Mo & Mar to create educational content about the product. Allocating spend toward the amplification of creator content has become essential to scaling messaging and achieving the brand’s desired reach with Gen Z. Paid amplification is also becoming a more popular destination for media dollars as it provides brands with analytics needed to measure the effectiveness of their creator partnerships.

“The value of that ecosystem is heightened because of scale,” Kersey said. “It’s when we start to scale some of our paid amplification that we make sure we can broadcast creator communications and extend that engagement.”

Brands are also prioritizing paid amplification of creator content as that creative sometimes outworks their own, said Ben Allison, executive VP of media at VaynerMedia.

“Creators are running laps around brands,” he said. “The sands have shifted, and you’re now in a position where there’s a chance to do more work side-by-side.”

Brands largely haven’t altered which platforms get most of their media spend. TikTok and YouTube still tend to be the go-to platforms for reaching Gen Z consumers, media buyers said.

They are spending with these partners in new ways, however. Brands are increasingly ramping up investments in social commerce as platforms add livestream, creator monetization and shopping features. They’ve expressed interest in TikTok Shop in particular, as brands including Clorox, Gap, H&M, Ralph Lauren and SharkNinja have joined the platform in the last year.

Emarketer predicted that TikTok Shop will reach $23.41 billion in U.S. e-commerce sales in 2026, which is a 48% increase year over year. Brands are increasing investments to match that growth. Last year, TikTok Shop brought in $2.7 billion in video ad spend in the U.S., up from $1.4 billion in 2024, according to e-commerce intelligence platform Charm.io.

Social commerce platforms such as TikTok Shop have garnered brand interest because they offer advertisers space to roll out full-funnel marketing campaigns where Gen Z already spends much of its time, Allison said. He added that live shopping, in particular, gives brands an effective way to take users all the way through their funnel.

“It creates that moment in discovery that will allow brands to cut through, maintain attention, get wide exposure and then, ultimately, go from consideration to purchase—all while having the technical underpinnings to make that process as seamless as possible.”

How advertisers are testing AI platforms and rewriting creative playbooks

As AI apps such as ChatGPT turn into paid media channels, they offer brands yet another way to reach Gen Z consumers. AI usage is highest among Gen Z and millennials, with 67% of both generations using AI platforms weekly or more, according to Tinuiti’s 2026 AI Trends report. That rate drops to 55% among Gen X and 39% among baby boomers.

Media experts are encouraging brands to take advantage of emerging AI ad offerings, such as ChatGPT ads.

One media buyer, who spoke to Ad Age on the condition of anonymity, said they are “encouraging brands to be in it to guide the strategic roadmap of the ads platform,” adding that “ChatGPT is building a new ad ecosystem and testing enables these brands to be on the strategic forefront for pushing the leadership agenda.”

Tory Lariar, senior VP of search at Monks, told Ad Age that the agency’s recommendation to brands would partially depend on whether their offering and growth strategy caters to Gen Z, since a majority of ChatGPT users are in younger age brackets.

Some brands are also allowing their creative ideas to guide the format of their ads and media strategies. For example, brands such as Procter & Gamble’s Native have pursued long-form marketing through microdramas. Its 80-minute, 50-episode soap opera series, “The Golden Pear Affair,” is focused on reaching Gen Z consumers on social media.

Brands have pursued long-form marketing partially because they’ve taken inspiration from creators, who are shaping Gen Z media consumption habits with a wide variety of content. This has allowed brands to free themselves from the limitations of traditional ad lengths and channels when marketing to younger generations. For example, Maybelline’s five-episode Christmas microdrama ran on the short-form drama platform ReelShort, as well as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

View full post