With TikTok Ban Looming, Advertisers Face a Gen Z Connection Crisis

ANA | January 17, 2025 | By Gregory Friend, VP, Content, Insights, and Strategy, Nativo

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Brands are scurrying to pivot their influencer and advertising plans in advance of the looming U.S. TikTok ban, but there’s little that can be done to avoid short-term disruption. When more than $10 billion in ad revenue is in flux, the market is going to feel it—perhaps nowhere more so than in the connections between brands and Gen Z. 

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In time, the pieces will fall back into place, as they always do. Creators will find new spaces for their content, and brands will follow along in the normal cycle of reluctance-to-obsession. However, given Gen Z’s prevalence within TikTok’s user base (representing 60 percent of the TikTok audience, by some counts), brands are going to have to be more intentional this time if they want to bridge the gap with these important (and elusive) consumers. 

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For Gen Z, TikTok has become a preferred search engine for local results, trumping even the likes of Google. So, it’s not just that having a presence on TikTok helps brands look cool in the eyes of younger generations. Organic and paid TikTok strategies have become essential for driving brand discovery, consideration, and commerce among this generation. That full-funnel role is hard to replace, given the fragmented nature of Gen Z’s remaining media time—and the unpredictability of where this generation will build its new social media home. 

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Content Strategies in the TikTok Aftermath

In the wake of TikTok, advertisers that want to maintain connections with Gen Z are going to need to lean into enhanced content distribution strategies. For years, TikTok has played an important role in helping brands’ content get discovered—but no more. Rather than simply pivoting TikTok budgets to remaining social channels where saturation has already become a concern, advertisers can combat the fragmentation of Gen Z media habits by investing in targeted content-driven advertising across the open web, including via high-impact video units. 

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This shift in investment is important on multiple levels. Brands are spending a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money creating content. To allow those investments to go to waste while the social media sphere regroups would be a double whammy—loss of audience connection compounded by loss of content investments. 

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That said, TikTok had its own Gen Z playbook—one that many brands had carefully dialed in over time. Connecting with Gen Z across the broader internet requires an understanding of where else Gen Z is leaning into content, as well as the approaches most likely to resonate with them. 

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Where Brands Are—and Aren’t—Getting Content Distribution Right

Performance data from over 580 million impressions across 150 branded content campaigns on the Nativo platform reveals where brands are getting content distribution right—and where many of them aren’t. Consider: 

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• Travel brands: Gen Z is 2.1x more likely to engage with airline content, but at present, they're not finding what they need. This demographic is spending 23 percent less time with airline content than other generations, and they’re converting 56 percent less often.
• Auto brands: Similarly, Gen Z is 1.6x more likely to engage with auto content, and they are spending 20 percent more time with this content than other groups. However, they’re still not finding enough to motivate them to continue, as evidenced by their 65 percent lower conversion rate.
• Financial brands: On the flip side, it’s hard to get Gen Z to engage with investment content (22 percent lower engagement rate). However, when brands succeed, they’re reaching a captive audience that spends 45 percent more time with the content than other generations. 
• Health and fitness brands: These brands have found the right path with Gen Z, with their content achieving 11 percent higher engagement rates, 10 percent higher time spent, and 2x higher conversions with these audiences.

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In short, a lot of industries have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to their post-TikTok content distribution efforts. 

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Best Practices for Reengaging Gen Z

As brands pivot for the post-TikTok reality, they need to get serious about forging value-driven relationships with Gen Z. That requires aligning content-driven ad strategies with what Gen Z cares about most. It also means being a partner to them—not just trying to sell them something. In this sense, it all boils down to the who, what, and where of Gen Z audiences: 

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• Who: Beyond just age groups, brands would do well to put themselves in Gen Z’s widely varying shoes. Within this demographic exist consumers worried about finances, consumers looking to travel, and consumers who are excited about playing and watching sports. Each of those audiences warrant their own messaging and content strategies.
• What: The what refers to the substance of the content-driven ad experience, which might be as simple as leveraging imagery that reflects playing sports or taking a road trip. However, the content campaigns that connect best with Gen Z are the ones that position brands as partners on the consumer journey through tailored content—for example, tips for saving up for summer escapades in Europe or advice for buying a first car. 
• Where: Finally, brands need to understand the best contextual environments for reaching Gen Z—the ones where they willingly engage with a brand’s content. For example, Nativo’s performance data indicates that Gen Z is 1.2 - 2.3x more likely to engage with sponsored content when they're consuming sports content. They also engage around airline, auto, and investment content. Brands should be meeting them in these spaces with content that matches the subjects they're already interested in.

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The impending TikTok ban isn’t just a disruption—it’s a defining moment for brands to rethink their strategies and reimagine how they connect with Gen Z. To thrive in the post-TikTok reality, brands must embrace a proactive, multifaceted approach to content distribution—one that prioritizes substance over saturation and partnership over promotion. The brands that adapt with intention and purpose won’t just survive the TikTok ban—they’ll lead the way in defining the next era of meaningful connections.

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Read the full article on ANA

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