THE NEXT-GEN PERSONALIZATION EDITION
Inside Gen Z’s Simplest, Sharpest Signals
Dear Community,
The last few weeks have been a reset…mentally, creatively, and physically. I’ve finally had time to reflect after a whirlwind of travel and inspiration. But of course, more is on the horizon. Two moments have stood out.
First, I was invited to speak at a creative summit hosted by a prolific leader Alison Anziska from Edmunds.com and CarMax, focused on the intersection of music, marketing, and cultural resonance.
I had the honor of sharing the stage with executives from Reservoir Media, and my talk centered on one key idea:
“Gen Z doesn’t just treat social as a media channel….they treat it as a playground.”
Here’s what I shared:
Community over consumption: They remix sounds, stitch memes, and turn music into social glue.
Commerce is native: If it doesn’t feel culturally embedded, it gets skipped or worse, dragged.
Play is the strategy: The most resonant campaigns give Gen Z tools to play, not just listen.
It reminded me again: Music isn’t background noise…it’s branding. The right song tells your story louder than any tagline.
And as if the universe wanted to reinforce that message, just days later, my op-ed on founder-led marketing was published in Ad Age, a piece rooted in the same truth: people trust people, not platforms.
The Ad Age piece was personal. It began with my daughter tapping impatiently on her iPad, waiting to skip an ad. That moment, simple as it was, made one thing clear: we are living in the age of skip culture. Gen Z and Alpha aren’t just ignoring traditional marketing, they’re rejecting it. They want stories, not statements. People, not corporations. And they want brands to feel like humans, not logos.
In that piece, I argued that the next frontier of brand relevance isn’t built on performance metrics, it’s built on personality. On trust. On a founder’s voice that feels real, raw, and resonant.
And the timing of this couldn’t be more aligned. Just this week, I spoke to a 15-year-old creator who made over a million dollars building digital accessories and environments in Roblox. It’s identity, storytelling, monetization and community-building all in one. For this next generation, the lines between creator and consumer, brand and human, are completely blurred.
That’s what this edition is about—how founder energy, digital culture, and AI-powered personalization are converging to shape the next wave of marketing.
Let’s dive in.
CULTURESCOPE: WHY CUSTOMIZATION IS THE NEW CULTURE
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Personalization is as much showing the right product as it’s about showing you know them.
Brands like Etsy and eBay are re-engineering their experience to mimic TikTok’s feed-first UX, serving hyper-curated content powered by AI. On Spotify, the AI DJ doesn’t just suggest songs—it builds real-time soundtracks.
Why This Matters: Cultural resonance now means being able to reflect back identity in real time. If your brand doesn’t adapt, you’re just noise in a sea of signal.
What Brands Can Learn:
Build feed-first experiences, not category-first ones.
Invest in AI that can reflect taste, tone, and vibe.
Treat your brand like a co-creator, not a narrator.
Personalization = empathy at scale.
COMMUNITYVIBES: DIGITAL COLLECTIBLES AND THE NEW SOCIAL CURRENCY
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
15-year-olds are becoming millionaires building Roblox maps and digital accessories. One creator from my Next-Gen Community I spoke to made seven figures last year by selling custom maps, outfits, and experiences inside the platform.
From Fortnite skins to Balenciaga filters to Bored Ape chatrooms, digital collectibles are the new access pass.
Why This Matters: Communities form around co-ownership. If your brand lives in pixels, it needs to offer digital value.
What Brands Can Learn:
Treat your loyalty program like a collectibles line.
Drop token-based access perks for superfans.
Don’t just create merch—create assets they can flex in virtual space.
Think beyond avatars. Think ecosystems.
COMMERCELENS: WHY AI-DRIVEN COMMERCE IS THE NOW
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
AI isn’t just optimizing marketing. It’s reshaping how we buy.
Amazon’s AI-powered styling feed, Spotify’s merch tie-ins, and Shopify’s new smart storefront modules are just the beginning. Brands are letting algorithms drive upsells, cart builds, and even limited-edition product drops.
Why This Matters: Gen Z doesn’t want to shop. They want to be shopped to. The difference? Feeling seen.
What Brands Can Learn:
Let AI build cart experiences tailored to emotion, not just price.
Use predictive design to tailor drops and announcements.
Treat shopping as storytelling.
Marry data with design to build emotional velocity.
INTO THE NEXT-GEN MULTIVERSE
I had some powerful conversations with Gen Z voices:
Apollonia (28) told me how Kylie Jenner’s branding blew her mind. Not because of the product. But because Kylie “used herself as the market.” No ad dollars. Just presence.
Ben (18) said it clearly: “Knowing who you are as a brand and standing by it? That’s what matters.”
Preet (22) added: “If something resonates with me, I’m buying. But I need a human connection first.”
And Alisha (19) summed it up: “Don’t try too hard. Just be honest.”
What they’re really saying? While Gen Z wants personalization, they also look for personality.
NEXT-GEN CENTRICITY™ NUGGET
WHY HYPER-PERSONALIZATION REQUIRES HYPER-HUMANITY
In a world of infinite scroll, being customized is easy. Being remembered is rare.
Here’s how to stand out:
Show up as a person, not just a brand.
Customize the context and the content.
Use data to surprise, not surveil.
Let your audience edit, remix, and own part of the story.
Because personalization without humanity is just another algorithm.
Let’s build something that actually feels made for them.
Until next time, Karan.