At Advertising Week New York, top CMOs flipped the Gen Z script. Young audiences aren’t tuning out ads; they’re tuning out inauthenticity. And as recent data shows, radio’s blend of personality, trust, and local connection is winning their attention back.
As reported by Marketing Brew, Hilton CMO and Head of Luxury Brands Mark Weinstein told attendees that Gen Z is, “Growing up in a more tribalized environment. You can debate the merits if that’s good or not, but there is no mass media.” That reality is reshaping how brands and broadcasters must engage: not through mass messaging, but through meaningful community.
Edison Research’s 2025 Gen Z Audio Report found that Americans ages 13–24 listen to more than four hours of audio daily, with Over-the-Air radio capturing 16% of that time, ranking it third behind streaming music and YouTube, but ahead of podcasts and SiriusXM combined. Even more striking is how 10% of teens aged 13–17 now say AM/FM is their top source for new music discovery, double the rate of 18–24-year-olds.
These findings align with Katz Radio Group’s analysis of Share of Ear Q2 2025, which showed AM/FM capturing 45% of daily time spent with ad-supported audio among ages 18–34, outperforming podcasts (32%) and ad-supported streaming (22%).
According to EOS Products President Soyoung Kang, Gen Z is more loyal than marketers think; just more selective. “They’ve had more access to information and they know how to navigate it and they know how to manipulate it,” she said. EOS research shows that Gen Z is 30% more likely to stick with a single brand across categories compared to older generations.
That aligns closely with Jacobs Media’s Techsurvey 2025, which found that nearly half of Gen Z listeners feel a stronger connection to local radio than to any other audio platform, with 55% citing personalities and shows as their main reason for tuning in.
Advertisers are also rediscovering what radio never lost: the power of live, shared experiences. Audacy sponsorship data shows that 40% of attendees discover new brands at live radio events, and 58% feel a deeper emotional connection to sponsors afterward. Among Gen Z and Millennials, that engagement is translating directly into action. 48% and 61% respectively, say they’ve purchased a brand they encountered at a station event.
As top marketers pivot from mass marketing to community marketing, they’re proving the future of Gen Z engagement won’t be built on bombast or banners, but on voice, vulnerability, and value; all things radio does better than anyone.
