During a 2021 survey carried out in the United States, ** percent of female-presenting respondents aged 17 to 23 stated that recommendations from friends and family were most likely to influence their purchasing decisions. While this was the most popular answer given in the survey, ** percent of respondents also said they were most likely to buy a product after seeing it on TikTok. Gen Z is fueling social media advertising spending Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with the internet. This affinity for the online world also has an impact on shopping behavior, as young consumers are likely to search for product recommendations and reviews online and directly purchase items via the internet as well. Social media plays a particularly essential part in this consumer journey, as millions of Gen Zers browse their social media feeds for inspiration and brand discovery each day. In 2021, social media advertising spending in the United States amounted to nearly ** billion U.S. dollars, and while ads on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok do not focus on Gen Z users exclusively, they are becoming an increasingly appealing target group. The world of TikTok marketing TikTok is evolving into a highly attractive advertising destination due to its impressive user base and its focus on short-form video. While some brands have yet to embrace the power of TikTok marketing, others are already leveraging the platform to raise brand awareness, stay up to date with the latest trends, and unlock new audiences. Seeing that Gen Z users represent the largest age group on TikTok, marketers trying to reach young audiences will likely flock to the app in even larger numbers in the future.

During a late July 2023 survey among consumers in the United States, 93 percent of responding Gen Z adults stated they liked the marketing for the "Barbie" movie, released worldwide earlier that month. Among millennials and Gen Xers, the shares stood at 84 and 77 percent, respectively.

You can watch, you can play

Three weeks after its theatrical release in the U.S., the box office gross revenue of "Barbie" surpassed one billion U.S. dollars. The notable result came from a multi-month-long marketing campaign to promote director Greta Gerwig's movie, where the iconic doll endures an existential crisis. But an almost last-minute timing coincidence became an advantage. "Barbie" premiered in most theaters worldwide on July 21, 2023, the same day the dramatic biopic "Oppenheimer" hit the big screen. Social media anticipated the dispute for the opening weekend box office – a benchmark for the cinema industry – with plenty of "Barbenheimer" memes and posts encouraging moviegoers to watch both films on the same day.

Barbie: from doll to multifaceted brand

Ruth Handler (1916-2002) created the Barbie doll inspired by her daughter Barbara. Handler's husband was one of the founders of Mattel, the California-based toy manufacturer that, despite its initial unenthusiasm for the idea, launched Barbie in 1959. Over six decades later, in 2023, Barbie ranked fourth among the world's most valuable toy brands, nearly 300 million dollars above another of Mattel's hits, Hot Wheels. The manufacturer's toy (and brand) collection pays off. In 2022, Mattel placed fourth in the global ranking of leading toy companies by revenue, with an annual figure exceeding 5.4 billion dollars.

This statistic shows the results of a survey conducted in 2017 in which British travelers were asked how advertisements can help influence their decision making process when booking travel. The results are broken down by generation. Appealing imagery in the ad was most influential for Generation Z and Millennials at 55 percent and 50 percent respectively. Imagery was less influential for Boomers. For them, informative content was considered more persuasive (51 percent).

According to a survey conducted by Ofcom in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020, ** to 24-year-olds made up the largest group of respondents who had used social media sites or apps in the previous week. This was followed by ** to 34-year-olds, comprising the second largest group. Overall, social media use was the highest among young adults, decreasing steadily within the older age groups. Women and social media In the United Kingdom, more women than men had set up their own social network profile according to an ongoing survey conducted from 2010 to 2019. By 2019, ** percent of women and ** percent of men had created social media profiles, a rise from 2010 where only ** and ** percent respectively claimed to have done the same. Despite social media having a comparatively larger female user base as demonstrated by the previous figures, the share of advertising audience in early 2020 was nearly evenly distributed between males and females, particularly in the largest audience group of ** to 44-year-olds. The growth of influencer marketing Social media advertising spend has been on the rise in the UK, reaching over ***** billion British pounds by 2018. This was a near ** percent increase from the previous year. The sector also experienced a ** percent increase in spend per year between 2015 and 2017, further demonstrating the growth of this marketing niche. With the rise of YouTube and Instagram, influencer marketing has come to play a crucial role in social media advertising with 68 percent of PR professionals having allocated between ** thousand and over 100 thousand British pounds for the sector in 2018. In collaborating with influencers who have an established follower-base, marketers are able to quickly build trust, increase reach, and engage audiences effectively.