Gen Z Trend Check: Attention, Culture & Commerce | Storyboard 18 | CNBC TV18

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:09]The week is done, but the news isn't. I am Sakshi Dingra and this is News Makers on Storyboard [music] 18. Let's go.

[00:00:22]We start with the story everyone in advertising is talking [music] about this week. Piyush Pandey has been awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, a recognition that goes beyond advertising. For decades, Piyush hasn't just made ads, he's made [music] culture. From Fevicol to Cadbury to Asian Paints, his work has shaped how India sees itself. This one means something.

[00:00:47]Now, let's talk about the numbers.

[00:00:49]Brands are spending and [music] the signals are getting stronger. Colgate nearly doubled down in Q4, ad spend up 10.5% to 200 crore as sales growth accelerated. Nykaa up 20% to 380 crore, profit up four folds. Emami up 12% through a tough macro. Info Edge up 19% to 118 crore. And the ones to watch, Ola Electric. Bhavish Aggarwal has signaled an advertising push in the upcoming months to expand EV adoption. A brand that builds itself without traditional advertising is now ready to spend. And when Ola Electric enters the room, the EV market story changes. And then things get competitive. You can't cut, so you show up.

[00:01:37]Now, let's look at the CXO moves this week. Three moves and one loud exit.

[00:01:43]Mahindra creates its first-ever CBO role and brings in Unilever's Purnima Lamba from September. Reliance appoints Sandeep Karwa to lead Ajio as quick commerce circles fashion.

[00:01:56]Truecaller brings former Meta India head Sandeep Bhushan on to its board.

[00:02:00]Monetizing is [music] the mandate. And Javier Campopiano exits Omnicom post the IPG merger. The global creative chief gone. He wants to make things again and in this industry that takes courage.

[00:02:17]The big story. Meta launches Forum, a Reddit-style community app built on Facebook groups. A direct play for community at scale. If this lands, it reshapes where brands conversation live online. Every social media strategy in India will need a rethink.

[00:02:36]Now, let's talk about the segment in this episode. Brands are spending more, hiring sharper, platforms are shifting, but do they know who they are actually spending for? We got into this, the attention, the authenticity, and the generation that is about to become a $2 trillion consumption force in India.

[00:02:56]With Snapchat India, L'Oreal, and a creator, and an agency who lives it every day. Take a look.

[00:03:04]>> In a world overloaded with content, attention has become the most valuable currency in business. But what really captures Gen Z? What shapes their culture, influences their choices, and drives commerce? In partnership with Snapchat, we launched Gen Z Trend Check, Attention, Culture, and Commerce, a new quarterly intelligence series decoding the trends, behaviors, and shifts redefining the future of marketing and consumer culture.

[00:03:31]Listen in on the first in a series of conversations exploring the influence generation and head to Storyboard 18 for deeper insights into what drives Gen Z, how they shape culture, and what brands need to do to truly capture their attention. Let me just ask each one of you, what does attention mean today? And I'll come to you first, Pulkit. In your context, in your role leading Snapchat in India, what is the definition of attention for you?

[00:04:02]>> Thank you, Dilshad.

[00:04:04]I think the fact that the environment today, they specially the internet today is so cluttered.

[00:04:13]Uh people have so much enormous amount of data that's coming their way.

[00:04:18]Uh and brands and businesses are trying to uh take a sliver of their uh pie in terms of how they uh make their business a brand uh work with them and get them to purchase a product. I think attention becomes uh significantly important.

[00:04:35]And what we did with WPP Lumen recently was to take this very critical aspect in the current context where there is enormous amount of data that's that people are exposed to. Uh we showed them that a 5% increase in attention drives to X brand impact.

[00:04:56]And in the context of Gen Z where their attention span is actually less than that of a goldfish, it becomes even more critical because they're they're they're really uh you know, sifting through so much of content that they take less than 2 and 1/2 seconds to to decide whether they should really uh see this content or they move on.

[00:05:17]>> on.

[00:05:18]>> And therefore, in that context to us, uh we thought that we should take a proactive approach in telling brands and businesses that it's important to really pivot from a very traditional way of uh speaking to or communicating to these Gen Z audiences and move away to a very valuable metric, which I think will become increasingly uh even more valuable uh in times to come.

[00:05:43]So therefore, uh we see attention as what we call the future of marketing in many ways.

[00:05:50]>> And I although I'll disagree with you on one point. I don't I don't think it's just Gen Z that's struggling with the attention these days and I'll come to come to you on that Muskan. But let me get Maya in on how she sees essentially how do you define attention for L'Oreal for the for the job and the role that you do today?

[00:06:10]>> In today's world with with all the clutter and I'll I'll allow myself to say especially in India where it's massive and you need to stand out.

[00:06:20]Attention is is about making sure that you link a very engaging story so massive on storytelling but also creating an impact so that you create a strong connection with with the consumer. So that's besides just standing out, you want them to come back to you. So it's about the love that we try to create behind the brand.

[00:06:43]>> Absolutely. You have to get have them coming back, right Shekhar?

[00:06:46]Shekhar with WPP, right? And and we've had this conversation before as well.

[00:06:51]How do you see it before before I ask Muskan what's the Gen Z take on it?

[00:06:57]>> Yeah, I think often when we talk talk to our advertisers, our clients or in general also to consumers we often get this feedback that many ads are today a blind spot. We are doing lot of impressions, GRPs, many things but they don't get noticed.

[00:07:14]I think that's where the question came into that why it is not getting noticed and there's a play of attention there.

[00:07:21]And that's how we are seeing it. So let's put it this way uh most of the marketing ROI sits at the cusp of how efficient you are and how effective you are.

[00:07:32]This attention actually works at the the part where effectiveness comes into play.

[00:07:38]So the more attentive as a ad it is it's likely to get registered more and therefore remembered and recalled more in later. So that's where in a very in my definition I will put attention as >> You're absolutely right. I mean they don't there's no other context, right?

[00:07:53]And only when we talk about in relative terms to a previous generation do we think of it as perhaps, you know, like you said, it's not something bad.

[00:08:01]But let me let me ask you this, you know, you mentioned uh Shekhar you you said that, you know, how the basic currency, the primary currency of media planning is changing.

[00:08:12]Dig into that a little bit deeper because as Pulkit also mentioned, the data shows that attention is 8x better than VTR at predicting recall. And even a 5% lift can double brand perception.

[00:08:25]So is this that inflection point, right?

[00:08:29]Are we are we looking at that switch in in the currency for media planning?

[00:08:34]>> Uh my answer will be yes and a no because uh uh we are scaling it up a lot and this can be a big build on top of pure reach.

[00:08:46]Uh that the passionately that we chase reach, it can be a great build on top of it, for sure.

[00:08:52]>> Let me switch tracks to uh when we were talking about how how we can engage with Gen Zs and how essentially content and advertising as we know it is changing. Um do you feel that ads as we know it know them right now, are they being redefined in this context of Gen Z and attention on platforms like Snapchat?

[00:09:13]>> Yeah, there's context to how advertisers have traditionally been thinking. I mean, if you look at advertisers, most marketers today still cling on to uh VTR as a metric.

[00:09:23]>> Mhm.

[00:09:23]>> Uh the very definition of uh advertising is still a 15-second or a 20-second creative. The future of advertising, or I would say not just the future of advertising, I would say AR advertising, for example, is right here. So, when you club video plus AR advertising, as we see on our platforms, the power of storytelling increases multifold.

[00:09:45]And we've seen this in campaigns. Uh we've seen this how L'Oreal recently launched their one of their flagship mascara brands, 1.2x more attention, and almost 2.7x uh higher uh product association. Uh we've done this with a Jio. We've done this with Swiggy on a Friendship Day. A lot of entertainment companies when they uh OTTs when they launch their uh you know, flagship uh labels, they use uh AR advertising where they want people to know about what kind of next big show they are launching. Uh a recent example last year was uh the Netflix Squid Games. So, it's AR is definitely kind of uh allowing brands to to make their uh storytelling more immersive.

[00:10:31]>> Mhm. Mhm. Engaging, immersive, those are the those are the keywords there, right?

[00:10:35]Uh Maya, do you want to come in here with a few examples? It could be something in uh something that you've seen in India or something L'Oreal has done globally, uh specifically trying to uh you know, attract, engage, uh a Gen Z, a younger audience.

[00:10:50]>> For sure. Um so, we do have many. Um the last one I'll recall is the the Colossal uh Snap Lens that we're talking about.

[00:10:58]And when when talking to Gen Z, we make sure to we mention to grab the attention, have them try it, uh so, that's they relate to it. It's actually um their best friend, so that it's part of the story. Um and that partnership that we've done with Snap uh last year, if I'm not mistaken, was an amazing immersive um interaction for them.

[00:11:20]They are actually sitting up there so far. They're not just uh going, getting a tester, uh messing them up, uh or their perfection self that is a projected on on screen.

[00:11:30]They're able to in their comfort at their home try a product, try on several shades instead of having the go-to shade that they're used to.

[00:11:39]So that they can diversify that persona that they built to themselves in the different um situation they bring in.

[00:11:55]>> Shikar, why do we think this is battle of, you know, uh storytelling on these uh new formats and platforms?

[00:12:03]>> You're right. I also wondered that because see any of the creator walk, they tell great stories.

[00:12:09]>> Yeah.

[00:12:09]>> They tell great stories. They have a opening hook, then they are able to build. So absolutely it's doable. I think it's a bit of a rediscovery that we're going through. Means uh like Pulkit was mentioning, many of our many of us are trained in our particular design of doing doing the story.

[00:12:26]Uh that rediscovery is happening. And I I must mention and give a lot of credit to L'Oreal. Like for example, you have to see the vertical format ads that L'Oreal creates globally or in India when we advertise.

[00:12:38]It's there. I means they're subtle changes, but have huge impact. For example, models are looking up because the screen is like this rather than the screen right in parallel. They make a difference. So there these changes are already happening. So it's not a battle. It's just a rediscovery of how you tell the stories.

[00:12:57]And the conflicts maybe the conflict is more in the mind than actually.

[00:13:00]>> Maybe. Yeah, absolutely. Pulkit, when it comes to measuring uh success on some of these campaigns, what are your conversations with uh with marketers like? Uh What What are they looking for in terms of success when it comes to uh the work that they're doing, whether it's on the immersive frontier or if any of the other technology that's happening on platforms right now when it comes to sort of grabbing attention and then seeing that convert to action.

[00:13:29]>> I think there is a concerted effort in making this shift happen. It takes time.

[00:13:35]For example, attention to me is going to be one of the most valuable currencies in the next few years. Right? And it'll it's probably going to take different different forms. It probably is going to replace CPM for it.

[00:13:48]It could be an attention per mile which we've introduced along with the lumen and WPP research that we've done. So, as of now it's a hard conversation, but I do believe people are lapping up to the idea of what it means to really change advertising in the modern world where people like Muskan and Muskan both sides, the influencer and Muskan the shopper.

[00:14:11]>> Right. Right.

[00:14:12]>> How they behave and consume content and how they see my ad and therefore how they shop. So, these conversations will become even more critical and it is upon us it is upon us, all the platforms who are there, to go and demonstrate value so that people understand.

[00:14:30]>> What separates content in your view that earns attention organically versus something that is just chasing trends or algos or you know trying to game the platform, the system.

[00:14:45]Um what what makes truly uh you know engaging organic content?

[00:14:51]>> You don't feel alone when you imitate, but you feel alone when you create. And I read this today and it hit me and I realized that everyone is just trying to be a version of everyone else around them and that's exactly where most of the creators or people coming in in any sort of phase in their life are going wrong. So, I feel like that is really important if you talk about authenticity and that's when your audience connects because we are too smart. We can tell who is lying, who is pretending, who is pretentious, what are what are you trying to sell me? They can spot it from a mile away. So, the minute you have a person doing this with the product, they just know that like either you're getting paid for this or something like that. And as a generation >> fine as well, right? It's absolutely fine because >> the brand is becoming a part of my ecosystem.

[00:15:39]Like a brand cannot always be the star.

[00:15:42]Right? Because you are coming to my platform. Let's co-create something. Let's not talk about your brand for 40 seconds. Let's find a way to sort of stitch it together so my audience feels like this is good.

[00:15:58]And I feel like, "Okay, this is actually that will work, you know, in the kind of content I create, in the life I live." I work a lot with L'Oréal, Maybelline.

[00:16:07]They have given me so much creative freedom. They are like, "Muskaan, you are doing a get ready with me with life updates. We want our products somewhere there if possible. You can say however you want to say." Things like these matter a lot. You don't always have to show your product in the first 3 seconds because then I will scroll. People around me will scroll. My audience will also scroll. And I get it. I think I'm listening a lot of technical terms. So, I know this is uh yeah, this is uh serious business, of course. Uh >> [laughter] >> but but then again, right? If you're trying to crack a generation which is so used to being sold, you have to find a way to do something better. I feel like just everyone trying to sell a product or a insecurity might not work anymore.

[00:16:52]You're always targeting my insecurity and making me feel bad about myself. I figured it out. I no longer care.

[00:16:58]I am very fine with how I am. And if you want to sell me a concealer, don't sell me a concealer saying that my dark circles look bad.

[00:17:05]Just let's change the narrative a little. I think yeah, that's what is important.

[00:17:11]>> fascinating things you said in in this whole sort of piece that you said right now. Tell me, Shekhar like what did you what was the standout thing for you from what Muskan said right now?

[00:17:23]>> What struck me is definitely that people are coming or advertisers are coming to her platform. She treats it as a platform. She is a brand.

[00:17:31]And we are a brand if we are when we are bringing a brand there, we have to understand that how the brand actually works in her ecosystem. And that's a that's something which is a great notes back and I and to be fair I think most advertisers who work with creators for example L'Oreal to start with, Mondelez we work with, Colgate I work with, Red Bull I work with. They really know how to actually build bridge that gap. And some examples I'm giving in giving but yeah they always know how to build that bridge where they coexist and at the same time not at the on the face of it.

[00:18:09]But the reality is that you have your advertising >> Mhm.

[00:18:12]>> which you can put your hand up like this and show the product. And then there is a creator ecosystem where you have to leverage it the way it works. And we and you have to be authentic like like she said. It can be spotted from a mile.

[00:18:25]>> Yeah.

[00:18:25]>> And what is what is a sales and what is a true recommendation.

[00:18:30]>> Mhm. Absolutely. You can't essentially use creators as billboards. Just My only thoughts on what Muskan said.

[00:18:38]>> Uh she is right. It's a partnership in fact because it's what we know as a 110 year old institution global institution is a um brand equity and brand image which is key and religiously respected and in today's world that is so advanced so fast so um automated and diverse again especially in India we need to connect better with our consumer and make sure that we listen and co-create um them so that besides creating impact and thumb-stopping like we're we're trying to do, we need to be authentic so that that thumb-stopping becomes a that go-to destination or our battle of brand love.

[00:19:29]>> Can I add something more also?

[00:19:31]But another thing is a realization listening to this happened is that as brand custodians, we have been designed to protect us as the holy cow.

[00:19:42]We have to be very very safe. This is how the brand does. This is how the brand does not do. The world has changed around us. Now it's not anymore what I project and that's is received. There's a two-way communication now happening.

[00:19:55]Like immediate Yeah, dialogue. It's a comment. It's a like. Everything in all you're getting feedback.

[00:20:02]So you have to lose a bit of control.

[00:20:04]And that's that's I think the starting point of it. Means if you have to do great work on Snap, you have to lose a bit of control.

[00:20:11]And then only you might be able to do great work on Snap or you can do a great work on Muskaan.

[00:20:16]>> Lose control, Pulkit. Could that be your message to your brand partners that you work with on the platform?

[00:20:25]>> I think my message would be to just just play with it to start with.

[00:20:30]Trust me, it makes a lot of difference.

[00:20:33]When you get to know the platform, you play with it even for 10 minutes, you understand what the nuances around who the consumers or the audiences who are on the platform, what they're doing with it. And therefore it's becomes more relatable. But yeah, I mean come to think of it, you no longer have control. So what will you lose in this world, right?

[00:20:54]>> [laughter] >> The manifestation has to be instant. The gratification has to be here and now.

[00:21:00]And nobody is going to hold back their comment whether they like or dislike your brand and be uh gracious about it.

[00:21:08]>> Mhm.

[00:21:08]>> Everything is like out there.

[00:21:10]Uh once it's on the internet, it's always there.

[00:21:14]>> Absolutely.

[00:21:15]>> and what Muskan said, she doesn't like uh jargons, but one what what I picked from her is uh that if you come to think of it, trust is very inherent to this generation.

[00:21:27]And how they trust, it's all very real time. It's very It has to be relatable.

[00:21:32]It has to probably uh embed in their value system.

[00:21:35]>> Right. Today, as we as we know how the ecosystem functions, everything functions, who ultimately owns attention today? Is it the platform, the creative idea, or the media strategy?

[00:21:47]Um uh any thoughts on that, Muskan, about who owns attention?

[00:21:52]Give me your take. Forget I gave you options right now, but who owns attention today?

[00:21:55]>> For someone like me who um is at home most of the times doing work from home, um there are bits and pieces of my day where I feel the crash and then I use my phone. And then my attention goes there, I get that dopamine hit, I watch reels, sometimes I'm taking an action, sometimes I'm just mindlessly scrolling, and it dies down there. So, so I feel like you think that you have control over what you're trying to consume, but eventually that dopamine right now is at an all-time high. For me, I feel like I'm going to miss out if I don't watch my social media every day.

[00:22:33]Because I'm getting my IPL news from there, I'm getting my PM Modi speech from there, >> [laughter] >> I'm getting my Maybelline news from there, I'm getting everything from Instagram or YouTube or like I am no longer even going on traditional platforms to sort of check what's happening around the world. Most probably it's going to be on my feed. If it's worth knowing, it's on my feed.

[00:22:55]>> Feed. Wow. Wow, if it's worth knowing, it's on the feed.

[00:22:58]>> [laughter] >> One misconception that you had about Gen Zers that was dispelled or you know a myth busted recently. If there are any thoughts on that that you know like we said like we said sweeping generalizations about you know who Gen Zs are and what they do and how they consume.

[00:23:15]>> One of the myth busting piece she did a fabulous myth busting one but one of the myth thing that I often when I talk to more researchers and also behavior based studies we need to step back and see this Gen Z phenomena and all maybe we have we have just changed the name of generations >> Mhm.

[00:23:37]>> and looking at it just go back in time which teenager or a young adult was any different from them.

[00:23:43]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:23:44]>> I think we have we are just typecasting them for no reason.

[00:23:47]They they have the nuance because they have grown in a different generation with different exposure.

[00:23:51]>> Mhm.

[00:23:52]>> They have the nuance but it's a life stage.

[00:23:54]It's a life stage and often sometimes we step back and see them we were no different in their age.

[00:23:58]>> Yeah. Maybe aspirations and all maybe different. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:02]>> Yeah. Just the just the just the tools have changed.

[00:24:04]>> Yeah. Tools have changed.

[00:24:05]>> And >> Mhm.

[00:24:06]>> life stage is the same and and we behaved in a particular way with the access we had.

[00:24:13]They are behaving a bit different with the access they have.

[00:24:15]>> Thank you. That was eye opening from you Muskaan and thank you for you know putting that out there and thank you to all my panelists.