If you want to reach Gen Z, start by realizing they’re not waiting for you. They’re not loyal to legacy brands, they don’t live in your marketing funnel, and they don’t speak fluent ad copy. But they do care deeply about identity, inclusion, and being heard. That’s the entry point. And few people understand this better than Luke Hodson, the founder of NERDS Collective, a youth-focused creative agency that’s built its playbook not around projections, but proximity.
Hodson doesn’t sell dreams. He listens. What follows is a guide shaped by his insights, not into what brands think young people want, but what they actually live.
1. Forget Focus Groups. Immerse Yourself
Most brands drop into youth culture like parachutists: brief, bewildered, and ultimately forgotten. Hodson argues that to understand Gen Z, you have to embed yourself, not observe from a distance. You have to walk the same streets, scroll the same feeds, sit through the same group chats where cultural fluency is traded in memes, not mission statements.
NERDS Collective uses a proprietary research platform called FRONTLINE, pulling data from tens of thousands of real Gen Z voices. But the point isn’t just the numbers. It’s the stories underneath them. Trends don’t form in boardrooms. They begin in bedrooms and bus stops.
2. Start With Trust, Not Hype
You can’t fake credibility. And you can’t borrow it by hiring a TikTok influencer for a one-off campaign. “Community” isn’t a section in your deck; it’s a relationship. Hodson calls for brands to treat young audiences not as targets, but as co-creators. The goal isn’t to talk at them. It’s to build with them.
NERDS Collective often works directly with cultural insiders like DJs, designers, and youth activists to ensure that campaigns are rooted in lived experience. When a campaign hits, it feels like something that could have been made by the culture itself. That’s the litmus test.
3. Be Useful or Be Forgotten
Purpose has become a buzzword. But Gen Z has a sharp eye for performative branding. They’re looking for something else: practical value. That can mean amplifying their voices, creating real-world opportunities, or just acknowledging the pressures they’re under – economic, social, environmental.
According to Hodson, the most effective youth marketing today isn’t aspirational in the traditional sense. It’s affirming. It says, “We see you. We’re with you.” And if you can back that up with action, like paying young collaborators fairly, not just featuring them in an ad, you’ve done more than most.
4. Use Data, But Don’t Let It Write the Script
There’s a tendency to overcorrect with data. If the past decade of marketing was dominated by guesswork, this one risks being paralyzed by dashboards. Hodson uses data not to replace intuition, but to sharpen it.
FRONTLINE isn’t just a survey tool. It’s a window into subcultures in motion. You see which scenes are growing, which aesthetics are merging, and what’s falling flat. But the human layer still matters. Algorithms can tell you what’s trending. Only people can tell you why.
5. Choose Creativity Over Convention
Most brand campaigns still follow a formula. Hodson says that’s exactly the problem. Today’s youth, raised on infinite scrolls and algorithmic serendipity, don’t respond to predictable beats. You’ve got to surprise them, make them laugh, make them think, or at least not bore them.
That means getting weird sometimes. Doing a pop-up at a skate park. Dropping limited runs with unknown artists. Or simply stepping back and letting young people lead. The point is to disrupt their expectations, not just their attention span.
6. Don’t Build for the Moment. Build for the Movement.
Too many youth campaigns are built around a seasonal drop or a PR stunt. Hodson advises taking the long view. What does your brand stand for, really? And are you showing up for that consistently?
Brands that win with Gen Z aren’t those who jump into every trend. They’re the ones that pick a lane—sustainability, mental health, creative freedom, and stay the course. It’s not about being everywhere. It’s about being somewhere meaningful.
7. Be Ready to Get It Wrong (And Learn Fast)
Youth culture shifts. What worked last year might get side-eyed next week. Hodson doesn’t shy away from that volatility. Instead, he builds adaptability into the strategy. Test ideas. Get feedback. Pivot if needed. The goal isn’t to always be perfect. It’s to always be present and willing to adjust.
If your brand can’t take criticism or evolve in real time, Gen Z will move on. They’ve grown up in a world of beta versions and updates. They don’t expect you to be finished. But they do expect you to care enough to change.
Final Thought
Youth marketing isn’t about chasing clout or speaking Gen Z’s language like a tourist. It’s about relevance. Not in the short-term, but in the way that matters. That is cultural relevance earned through respect, insight, and action.
Luke Hodson doesn’t pitch a fantasy. He shows how to meet young people where they are, honor who they are, and build something that lasts beyond the campaign cycle. That’s the step-by-step guide. But really, it’s a mindset: show up honestly, stay humble, and listen louder than you speak.
