I see many brands fall into the dangerous trap of chasing trends to win Gen Z
By Mikeblack · September 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I see many brands fall into the dangerous trap of chasing trends to win Gen Z
Trends can get you into the conversation with Gen Z, but it does't mean they want you there
45% of Gen Z say big brands are untrustworthy, so unless you earn credibility first, the cleverest memes and trend plays just become noise
No one knows this better than SiriusXM
Putting cultural intelligence at the core of their strategy, they've established a repeatable, data driven process for building Gen Z credibility, which they are now scaling and making faster with the help of culturally-intelligent AI
If you're at Insights Association's CRC event in Chicago this week, you won't want to miss this session from Jack Mackinnon, M.Ed. and Nicole Buchanan, two of the smarter people working in the culture arena today
September 16 | 12:10–12:40 p.m. CT
Glessner House
#CRC2026 #GenZ #CulturalIntelligence #ConsumerInsights