As Gen Z continues to dominate cultural dialog and spending energy, Penquin, considered one of South Africa’s main model and communication businesses, is urging manufacturers to rethink how they present up in 2026. In accordance with Nicole Glover, Govt Inventive Director – Digital at Penquin, the previous playbook of flashy campaigns and creator collabs is shedding its grip.
“Gen Z isn’t ready to be entertained by manufacturers,” says Glover. “They’re watching how manufacturers behave when nobody’s clapping. They don’t cancel manufacturers anymore, they mute them. Quietly. Completely. In case your values disappear the second they threaten revenue, Gen Z sees that immediately, and no quantity of tone-of-voice decks or creator collabs will prevent.”
Values in Motion, Not Simply Phrases
In 2026, Penquin predicts that the manufacturers resonating most with Gen Z will likely be these prepared to stand for one thing, even when it prices them one thing. This era has grown up with digital transparency and any inconsistency between what a model says and what it does is shortly uncovered and remembered.
As we speak, Gen Z prioritises manufacturers that exhibit real dedication to social and environmental causes, are clear about processes, provide chains and decision-making, have interaction in long-term motion reasonably than short-term activism and practise accountability when errors are made.
“Authenticity isn’t a buzzword,” Glover explains. “It’s a strategic crucial. Gen Z can scent surface-level makes an attempt to ‘carry out’ values a mile away. The manufacturers that may win in 2026 are those who embed moral behaviour into the core of how they function, not simply how they convey.”
Radical Consistency as a Digital Technique
In 2026, youthful audiences care much less about chasing tendencies and extra about radical transparency. Glover explains that this era is more and more resistant to “performative activism” and may detect “value-washing” with surgical precision.
Glover provides that the manufacturers successful with Gen Z in 2026 are those who transfer from storytelling to story-doing. “The manufacturers that win gained’t be the loudest in tradition,” Glover explains. “They’ll be those prepared to make a sacrifice for his or her beliefs. Whether or not it’s pulling out of a worthwhile however unethical market or standing by a controversial trigger even when it impacts the underside line. That’s the solely language Gen Z respects now.”
Knowledge backs the shift
Glover’s perception is backed by latest world and native information. A 2025 Deloitte survey discovered that 68% of Gen Z shoppers in rising markets (together with South Africa) say they may swap manufacturers in the event that they understand inauthenticity or inconsistent values. In South Africa particularly, a 2025 Youth Lab report confirmed that 73% of Gen Z respondents usually tend to help manufacturers that take clear, risk-bearing stands on social points, even when these stands might alienate different audiences.
“Gen Z has grown up in a world of fixed content material,” Glover explains. “They’re resistant to spectacle. What they’re not resistant to is sincerity. The manufacturers that perceive this aren’t simply surviving, they’re constructing a era of advocates who will carry them ahead for many years.”
A 2026 guidelines for manufacturers
Glover advises manufacturers to audit their 2026 calendar by way of a Gen Z lens: Are values seen in choices, not simply in campaigns? Is the model prepared to say no to short-term revenue for long-term belief? Are they exhibiting up in ways in which really feel useful reasonably than performative?
“The price of muting is invisible however everlasting,” Glover concludes. “The reward for exhibiting up constantly, even when it’s inconvenient, is a relationship that no algorithm can replicate.”
