Gen Z Influencers And Honda Drive Change At Olympics

In a rapidly shifting digital landscape where influence and innovation collide, two worlds—youth-driven content creation and major brand marketing—are converging in unexpected ways. As the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics approach, Honda’s groundbreaking campaign and the rise of Gen Z and Gen Alpha influencers are rewriting the rules of engagement for brands and audiences alike. If you’ve scrolled through TikTok lately, you’ve probably noticed: everyone, it seems, is an influencer now. And big brands are watching, learning, and adapting just as quickly.

Last summer, Nya-Gabriella Parchment, vice president of marketing and brand partnerships at Digital Brand Architects, posed a classic question to her Gen Z intern: what are your career goals? The answer was anything but traditional. The intern laid out a detailed five-year plan, starting with becoming a content creator and culminating in launching her own brand. According to Parchment, "Now that more people are seeing creators and what can become of it, they are starting to see it as a launchpad to do other things. People create a career on their own terms and it can fund whatever you want."

This sentiment is echoed across a generation that has grown up fully online. For Gen Z and the even younger Gen Alpha, content creation isn’t just a hobby—it’s a legitimate starting point for a career. The numbers back it up: advertising giant WPP Media projects that content creator revenues are expected to double by 2030. And the faces of this movement are getting younger every year. On their mother-managed TikTok account, eight-year-old twins Koti and Haven Garza have amassed a staggering 5.2 million followers, securing brand partnerships with skincare line Everdeen and vitamin brand Hiya. Not to be outdone, 15-year-old and 13-year-old entrepreneurs are running their own skincare labels, Sincerely Yours and Yes Day.

For 18-year-old fashion influencer Demetra Dias, who first went viral at 15, the journey has been both lucrative and instructive. Dias, who boasts 4.5 million TikTok followers, has charged upwards of $20,000 for individual posts, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Her followers eagerly snap up the Brandy Melville sweatpants, White Fox tees, and Hollister jeans she showcases—so much so that videos tagged "The Demetra Effect" have become a phenomenon unto themselves. Dias’s career has already included a collaboration with Aéropostale in 2025, and she has her sights set on launching her own brand next.

"Initially I didn’t even know getting paid for TikToks was something that could happen. Now it’s shifted [to be] a much more open conversation, which is why a lot of people want to be in this world," Dias explained. The new generation of creators is savvy, picking up lessons in brand partnerships and audience engagement that took their predecessors years to master. Their followers, meanwhile, are hyper-aware of advertising and demand authenticity. As Dias puts it, "I only promote things that align with my personality and what I like. It’s more ‘she likes that, I like that too,’ not ‘she’s telling me I need this.’"

This new dynamic has forced brands to rethink their strategies. No longer can they rely on celebrity loyalty or one-off partnerships. As Monica Chun, president of Acceleration Community of Companies, observed, "They follow the moment more so than the celebrity." Brands now have to stay attuned to what’s trending in real time, constantly engaging with the hottest creators and responding to the shifting tides of youth culture. Pacsun’s experience illustrates this shift: when microinfluencer Lyla Biggs posted a video featuring Pacsun's Casey Jean in 2023, the brand sold 11,000 pairs of jeans within 48 hours. Brieane Olson, Pacsun’s chief executive, noted, "The brand is no longer deciding who it wants to work with, the community is deciding."

Amid this influencer boom, regulatory scrutiny has also increased. France and Australia have implemented social media bans for children under 15 and 16, respectively, with Australia’s already in effect. U.S. states like California and Nebraska are passing legislation to get kids offline, and platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have rolled out enhanced safety features for teen accounts in the past year. Brands like Pacsun and Sephora are responding with purpose-built initiatives, such as Pacsun’s Youth Advisory Board—where Gen Z and Gen Alpha members as young as 14, including Life With Bex (who has over 700,000 followers), consult on products and marketing—and Sephora’s My Sephora Storefront, which lets influencers curate shoppable picks.

While youth-led influence is changing the game from the bottom up, major brands are also rewriting playbooks at the top. Take Honda’s “This is the Power of Dreams” campaign, launched in January 2026 as the official automotive partner of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics teams. The campaign, which will run throughout the Milan Cortina Winter Games from February 6 to 22, features Team USA athletes and spotlights products from both Honda and its luxury Acura line. But what really sets it apart is its modular approach: Honda can mix and match creative assets and same-day footage from the Games across all channels, updating TV spots and social videos within hours of an athlete’s big moment. "Within two hours, say one of our athletes wins the gold—we could edit that footage, put it in the spot and have it on air," said Ed Beadle, VP of Digital Services & Marketing at American Honda Motor Co., in an interview with Marketing Brew.

This nimbleness is crucial in today’s social media environment, where content can go stale in an instant. Beadle, himself a heavy TikTok user, explained, "You have to have another asset." Honda’s partnership with NBC, the exclusive U.S. Olympics broadcaster, allows the brand to quickly pivot and maximize relevance. The company also segments its messaging for different audiences—Acura for luxury buyers, Honda Civic for mainstream, and motorcycles for adventure enthusiasts—using data-driven insights and real-time testing to optimize effectiveness across platforms like TikTok and Meta.

Honda is also embracing artificial intelligence in its campaign development. By using AI tools for prototyping, the company has cut concept time and production costs. "Just take a storyboard," Beadle said. "A creative, in the past, has an amazing idea for an ad... But when the real thing comes out, that’s not what [they] thought you said. So now, in real time to see a storyboard or see creative, is unbelievable." For the Milan Cortina campaign, Honda used AI to create finished concepts before any talent was even filmed, allowing for more efficient feedback and iteration.

Yet, Beadle insists the human element remains vital, especially in storytelling. "Who’s a better storyteller than the athletes themselves? ... In a TikTok world, that recognition of ad versus content, ideally, is a blurred line where it’s bringing an entertainment value and information overall." Honda’s sports marketing doesn’t end with the Olympics—the brand invests heavily in NFL broadcasts, March Madness, and will have a visible presence during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. "We live in this world where achieving reach is almost limited to sports these days," Beadle noted, highlighting the unparalleled engagement that live sporting events deliver.

Honda is already planning for an even bigger presence at the LA28 Summer Olympics, with preparations underway since 2025. The company must not only staff up and align resources but also coordinate vehicle production and logistics for the event—a far longer lead time than is typical in the automotive industry.

From eight-year-old influencers to multinational brands leveraging AI and modular storytelling, the landscape of influence and marketing is undergoing a transformation. As the lines between creator and consumer, ad and content, continue to blur, the winners will be those who can adapt quickly, engage authentically, and ride the wave of cultural change with both agility and purpose.