Assuming you're a human reading this (take a hike, spam bots), you've probably noticed that a lot is asked of us these days. Be confident. Be humble. Be true to yourself. Keep up with the trends. Be present. Be authentic. Be this. Be that. (*Insert America Ferrera's speech from the Barbie movie here.*)

Interestingly, brands are being asked to do many of the same things. Be consistent. Be relevant. Be local. Be scalable. Be innovative. Be authentic. And nowhere is that balancing act more challenging than trying to connect with the youngest generations of consumers.

As a franchise local store marketing agency, we work with multi-location brands every day that are trying to solve a familiar challenge: 

How do you stay consistent across hundreds or thousands of locations while still feeling relevant to the people in each community you serve? 

And when those people happen to be Gen Z and Gen Alpha? The challenge gets even harder. They're digitally fluent. They're highly connected. They grew up with unlimited information, endless content, and more advertising exposure than any generation before them. They can spot forced marketing from a mile away, and they're not afraid to scroll past it. So how do brands bridge that gap? 

The answer isn't necessarily bigger campaigns or louder advertising. More often, it's brands that naturally fit into the experiences, communities, creators, and routines they already care about. 

Understanding this shift in consumer behavior has become one of the biggest challenges facing modern restaurant marketing, retail marketing, and franchise marketing teams.

5 Things that Gen Z Wants from Brands

Effective Gen Z marketing isn't about reaching more people. It's about reaching the right people in the right way. Based on current trends, here's what we've learned about marketing to Gen Z consumers. 

Gen Z consumers are looking for brands that:

1. Show up in communities and platforms they already trust
2. Create experiences worth sharing online and offline
3. Embrace authenticity and personality
4. Offer exclusive or discoverable moments
5. Deliver value beyond traditional loyalty rewards

For restaurant, retail, and franchise brands, success comes from becoming part of consumers' everyday experiences rather than interrupting them with marketing. Let’s break down the 5 things Gen Z wants from brands.

1. Meet Gen Z Where They Already Are

One of the defining characteristics of Gen Z is their preference for convenience and relevance. That means showing up in the places, experiences, and communities they're already part of. Think: college campuses, community events, offices, podcasts, or creators’ channels. Because convenience is a core benefit for Gen Z (and honestly, every audience), doing your research on where they spend time is crucial.

Why is it important to meet Gen Z where they already are? "Meeting them where they are" isn't just about physical location. It's about cultural relevance, too. Gen Z already has trusted voices they follow, creators they recognize, and communities they participate in. Brands can lower the barrier to engagement by showing up alongside those familiar faces rather than asking consumers to start from scratch.

We're seeing this play out in creator marketing, where brands are moving beyond traditional sponsorships and bringing creators directly into the creative process. Creator Jordan Howlett, better known as Jordan the Stallion, recently directed a commercial for Blenders. Another example is influencer Ken Eurich's recent collaborations with Columbia and Tory Burch, which generated overwhelmingly positive reactions online, with followers commenting things like "the only ads I ever fully watch" and "she's making me genuinely enjoy every ad she's in."

Meanwhile, Chipotle's national campaign handed the cameras over to 100 creators across the U.S., Canada, and U.K., allowing them to tell the brand's story in their own style.

There are countless examples of this kind of synergy between brands and familiar Gen Z people and places. The common thread is familiarity. Your audience already has favorite creators, platforms, and gathering places. Become a part of those experiences to truly resonate. 

2. Create Experiences Gen Z Wants to Share and Participate In

The best brand activations can be easily integrated into existing consumer behaviors. For Gen Z, that’s creating and sharing. Photo dumps, day-in-the-life content, event recaps, and social experiences are standard practice. How can your brand fit into this everyday ritual?  

Take Kai Cenat, for example, who has built a massive community around Streamer University where he selects aspiring streamers to join him on a college campus. The most recent event resulted in 1.2 million Twitch viewers and 58 million watch hours. Brands like Dell, Red Bull, Crocs, State Farm, and Zaxby’s all had a presence onsite and online. 

The results are staggering. Zaxbys’ social channels alone grew by 20K+ followers and received thousands of brand mentions across Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, X and TikTok. The VP of brand strategy, Ali Ghosh, said “Our primary goals for Streamer University were to build brand awareness, generate meaningful exposure and create content that could live well beyond the event itself. From that perspective, the partnership exceeded expectations.” 

How can restaurant marketing and retail marketing teams create experiences Gen Z wants to share? The goal of experiential marketing is not simply to get attention, but to create something people naturally want to photograph, post, and talk about with friends. Brands that understand this willingness and desire to participate are the ones that win. 

3. Don't Be Afraid to Be a Little Weird

What’s often overlooked about Gen Z is their wonderful, slightly unhinged sense of humor. It’s easy as a multi-unit franchise to have a strong focus on strategy and let simple ideas pass you by. But the truth is, simple ideas may have a good chance of resonating, especially if it’s a little wacky or offbeat. As long as the idea still ladders up to your brand promise. 

So why does authentic and unconventional marketing resonate with Gen Z? In a world of polished brand messaging and carefully curated social feeds, there's something refreshing about a brand that's willing to loosen its tie a little.

A great example is creator Anthony Po's viral Timothée Chalamet Lookalike Contest. While Po has said the event was partially inspired by a desire to foster real-world connection and combat loneliness, it was also undeniably ridiculous in the best possible way. Thousands of people showed up to celebrate a joke that somehow became a community event. And he’s put on several more events with the same level of weird and wonderful since then. 

That's part of the appeal. The event gave people an escape for a while from the seriousness going on. It invited them to participate in something playful as a community. 

Brands can learn from that mentality. Not every brand activation needs to be deeply meaningful. Sometimes creating a moment of joy, surprise, or harmless absurdity is enough to make people remember you. And sometimes the brands that win are the ones willing to show a little vulnerability, personality, and humor instead of appearing perfectly polished at all times. 

Your boss might not get it, but Gen Z probably will. 

4. Discovery and Exclusivity Drive Engagement

At Brandience, we believe strong marketing starts with understanding the audience. In a recent small qualitative survey of Gen Z consumers, brand interactions that give a “limited-time-only” feel was a reoccurring topic of interest.  Upon further research, some of the most popular brands in the restaurant, retail, and franchise industries are doing exactly this. Dutch Bros creates exclusivity through secret-menu items, collectible sticker drops, customizable drinks, and member-only rewards. In this way, the brand creates a steady stream of small discoveries that give customers a reason to come back while wanting to share something exciting with their friends. 

Why do Gen Z consumers respond to exclusivity and discovery? It's because of the feeling of uncovering something before everyone else. It's being part of a moment. It's having a story worth sharing. 

5. Customer Loyalty is About More Than Rewards

All of that said, let's not forget one very important reality: Gen Z can be highly cost-conscious. Even when they have disposable income, they want to feel like they're getting value and "winning" the transaction. What creates loyalty with Gen Z beyond discounts and rewards?

The brands with the strongest customer loyalty are creating deeper, more connected loyalty through: 

• Functional value (points, discounts, convenience)

• Experiential value (ease, environments, service)
• Emotional value (belonging, recognition, identity)

Together, these three dimensions help build stronger customer loyalty that extends beyond points and discounts.

Poppi is a great example. In one of the most competitive industries, Poppi soars because they’ve provide the magic three to Gen Z – functional, experiential, and emotional value.  

• Functional Value = better-for-you ingredients
• Experiential value = product innovation and engaging experiences like the Poppi Juicy Tour
• Emotional value = helping people feel connected to a modern wellness lifestyle

As our VP of Creative says, "Emotional engagement is how brands will earn loyalty. Brands must make consumers feel valued, known, and part of something bigger."

How Can Multi-Location Brands Connect With Gen Z at Scale?

The solution is to create a brand-wide framework that makes room for both brand consistency and local marketing, connecting a national brand strategy with local execution. This is the foundation of effective multi-location marketing.

For multi-location brands, the challenge is figuring out how to become part of the experiences Gen Z is already choosing.

The brands earning Gen Z’s attention aren't necessarily the brands spending the most money. They are the ones inviting their audience to discover, participate, connect, and belong. The brands that t

ruly “win” this audience are the ones that create a strong framework to stay recognizable while staying nimble to show up authentically. 

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About the author

Desi Gilliland, Account Executive at Brandience, brings 8+ years of experience managing marketing for iconic Cincinnati brands. Her expertise includes promotional strategy, email and social media marketing, media trafficking, and endorsement partnerships. Connect with Desi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desi-gilliland-54853459.

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