When Gen X marketers decode Gen Z: The weird woke at Goafest 2025
Rains in the month of May in the land of sun and sand, Goa, is rather weird. It poured throughout the day as champagne was popped and ceremonial lamps were kindled to celebrate the return of The Advertising Club and Advertising Agencies Association of India's annual creativity carnival—Goafest in Goa. Yet, the weather wasn't the only oddity on show.
Amid the drizzle, three accomplished
Gen X marketers
took the stage to decode the ever-elusive Gen Z, only to serve up an ironic, slightly cringe submission: decoding Gen Z should probably be left to, well, Gen Z.
Amarjit Singh Batra, general manager - SAMEA (South Asia, Middle East, Africa) and managing director- India,
Spotify
, Vikram Mehra, MD of Saregama and Geetika Mehta, MD Nivea India, headlined a panel ambitiously titled "Ignite the Z Factor: Swipe Right For Relevance - Building Brands Gen Z Cares About," moderated by seasoned journalist Anuradha Sen Gupta. But instead of providing use cases, the trio quickly pivoted to a disclaimer: the best answers might actually reside with younger folks. Yet, in classic Gen X fashion, they soldiered on with the discussion anyway.
Mehta highlighted, "Authenticity, sustainability, and social connectedness are critical now because of Gen Z. Earlier, a brand could have afforded to not focus on these areas. Gone are the days when you could do boring advertisements and make great products and do great business." Ironically, boring ads are something no one would pin on Mehta, known for iconic campaigns at Hindustan Unilever and later Hershey's. So, low-key, the warning about dull ads was a bit extra. Moreover, great business meant great ad as great ad intends to rake in performance.
"They are people who are invested in work-life-balance, mental health. This is a generation that embraces the gig economy. They want to experience life and try out new things. They are receptive to change. For businesses launching new brands, GenZs are likely to try out first, and if the brands can win them, they can earn their loyalty. GenZs as employees want to be vocal, they want to learn, and they want to engage with the senior management. As an extension to the gig economy, many of them are going to become entrepreneurs," replied Batra when Sen Gupta quizzed him on the traits he sees among the Gen Zs.
The most telling moment arrived when Mehra earnestly suggested letting go: "Creative and marketing calls must shift to younger teams. At Saregama, we now ensure that music selection is exclusively done by employees below 30." Mehta echoed this, highlighting the younger brand managers increasingly driving key decisions.
But here's where it got ironic, or perhaps just straight-up paradoxical: despite their claims, the reality check came courtesy of Spotify's own wrapped data from 2025. Four of the most streamed hits were decidedly non-Gen Z creations: "Pehle Bhi Main" from the movie Animal (composed by Vishal Mishra and Shekhar Raj), "Husn" by Anuv Jain, "Sajni" from Lapatta Ladies (composed by Ram Sampath, sung by Arijit Singh), and "Satranga" again from Animal, also by Arijit Singh. Turns out, Gen Z's playlist is vibing strongly with creations from seasoned, not Gen Z, musicians. Zoya Akhtar, Vikramaditya Motwane, Raj and DK, Reema Kagti, Kiran Rao make into the favourite filmmakers of Gen Z and yet none of them are from the younger generation that Mehra and Mehta were conceding to.
Thus, the panel inadvertently proved a point Gen Z might indeed lead trends, but decoding them might not strictly require generational membership. Despite the woke proclamations and somewhat performative self-awareness, the evidence on Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Instagram Reels, suggest a more complex reality.
And so, the weird woke remained, hanging awkwardly over Goafest: experienced marketers earnestly advocating to pass the baton, yet clearly still very much holding onto it.
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