Personalisation is all the rage as a major new trend for content marketers to improve campaigns, but a new study by video platform VidMob has found that the traditional means of doing so may longer be relevant for younger audiences.

The new survey polled the opinions of 2,000 16-to-34-year-olds, evenly distributed between Gen Z (16 to 24) and Millennials (25 to 34), about how they act online when consuming content to uncover interesting behaviours and trends in regard to social media and video ads.

Taste and style appear to be the top priorities for young adults when engaging with content, as 55% are more likely to interact with an ad if they believe it reflects these factors. Ads with celebrities (45%) also resonate, but ads with people the same age (29%) are less likely to do so.

Brands often use traditional personalisation that puts audiences into distinct categories according to age, gender or ethnicity, but it appears young people don’t fit as neatly into these long-standing methods. However, the study did find subtle variances between age groups.

For example, just 32% of Millennials responded positively to ads with a visually beautiful theme, but this figure increase to 41% for Gen Z. The latter also takes umbrage at ads that are overly repetitive, which supports an established trend that teens and younger audiences are more likely to be turned off by a brand if they are too repetitive in their messaging.

Viewing an ad several times does not reinforce a message for Gen Z, and VidMob Chief Marketing Officer Stephanie Bohn revealed that just 25% in this age group says multiple viewings help them to remember what a brand is advertising. However, Millennials appreciate brevity more, as 48% said shorter clips are preferable, while Gen Z places a greater focus on the quality of music.

Social media habits among younger audiences continue to shift, but 42% say they are spending more time on these platforms compared to last year. Stories are particularly popular right now, as a considerable 70% of 16-to-24-year-olds say they watch this format on a regular basis on both Instagram and Snapchat. YouTube has also seen a bigger spike in user growth in this age group year-over-year compared to Millennials.

“Social users are bombarded with content, and it’s harder than ever for advertisers to capture attention, particularly the attention of Gen Z,” said Bohn, who urged brands to focus on serving up content “with style” to drive engagement. “This report has implications for marketers looking to connect with younger audiences. Demographics and the celebrity factor also influence likability, but sense of style is the leading factor.”

She added: “What we glean from these findings is that younger consumers respond better to ads that offer a reflection of themselves, or their aspirational selves. Celebrity status seems to be less influential than personal style but certainly nothing to dismiss, especially when trying to reach Gen Z.”