There’s a familiar pattern in marketing: a new generation shows up and the whole industry gets twitchy. Reports are written, trends named, labels invented. And in the rush to define them, we often forget to actually listen.
That was the starting point for the latest wave of PopPulse - Leo UK’s ongoing study of what Britain is really feeling, built by listening to the people who hear it first: hairdressers, bar staff, decorators, PTs, youth workers. The ones with a front-row seat to what’s really going on.
This time, we focused on Gen Z, not as a niche 'youth segment’ to decode, but as a social force. We thought we were exploring their influence. We ended up rethinking influence altogether.
The micro-influencers in every home
For all the noise around Gen Z, most of it is stuck in caricature: fragile, flaky, ‘feckless’ but what we found was almost the opposite. They’re not opting out or falling apart – they’re stepping in and holding things together.
The old flow of wisdom was top-down. Young people brought the newness; older people brought the know-how. But in a world where technology moves faster than tradition can keep up, that flow has flipped.
"Wisdom no longer trickles down, it circulates. And Gen Z sit at the centre."
They’re the ones sorting the tech, spotting the scams, finding the deals, fact-checking the feeds, and helping everyone else make sense of the everyday. Their influence doesn’t always look loud or glamorous (although it can). It’s most often kitchen-table advice, WhatsApp nudges, “don’t buy that, get this instead”. Practical, emotional, everyday.
And the numbers back it up: 77% of adults over 28 told us they’ve taken advice from someone in Gen Z. They’re the biggest net influencers of any generation, across entertainment, money, tech, DIY, fashion, beauty, travel, food. They’re shaping decisions daily for parents, grandparents, siblings and peers. Their influence isn’t just emergent cool stuff – it’s happening right now, in every home across the country.
So why them, and why now?
Partly, it’s the times - rolling shocks have pulled generations closer - but it’s also that Gen Z are fundamentally built for this world.
They’ve grown up in the full glare of the Information Age - forged in chaos and contradiction. They navigate it fluidly, filter the noise instinctively, read signals fast, and carry an optimistic realism that cuts through the overwhelm. They’re navigators, filters and glue all at once. It’s an energy people can’t help but lean into.
What does this mean for brands?
Gen Z aren’t tearing things down; they’re holding things together - filtering the noise, sharing the good stuff, and helping Britain move through the chaos one small decision at a time.
You can discover how in the full PopPulse report which you can download here.
Leo UK are part of Publicis Groupe UK, Partners of The Marketing Society.
"To influence the nation, work with the generation already connecting it."
