TL;DR: As big brands pivot to classic guerrilla tactics to capture our dwindling attention spans, a parallel shift is happening in tech. From the supermarket aisles to SaaS platforms, we are perhaps becoming too preoccupied with the how (the shiny tech and the flashy adverts) and losing sight of the why (the real-world social value and human impact). To win over a savvy new generation, brands and tech providers must prove they aren’t just doing things ‘faster’, they are doing them better.
Last week, I was driving past my local Waitrose – the undisputed queen of luxury UK supermarkets – when I actually laughed out loud. Parked brazenly in a layby right outside the entrance was a truck. Not a delivery van, but a mobile billboard equipped with a massive, high-definition OLED monitor. It wasn’t advertising organic hummus; it was flashing a bright, neon-blue-and-white advert for their competitor, Tesco, conveniently situated three minutes down the road. Specifically, it was shouting about their cost-cutting Clubcard Prices.
It was a classic piece of guerrilla marketing: disruptive, cheeky, and intentionally provocative. Think Innocent Smoothies dressing up as giant fruits and handing out free samples at festivals, even back to the famed 1960s Avis advert in the US, simple advertising that read “Avis is only No.2 in rent a cars. So we try harder.” Guerilla marketing isn’t flashy, it isn’t polished – it’s out-of-the-box and more commonly favoured by the up-and-coming and the underdogs due to it’s low cost / high impact ratio.
Seeing the UK’s biggest supermarket “ambush” its posh rival in such a low-fi way almost felt like a glitch in the matrix. I might also be a little biased, because I love a bit of guerilla marketing done well, but as I reflected on it later, while watching a series on Amazon Prime, I realised this wasn’t a case of a marketing manager gone rogue. Even the adverts on Prime – which I refuse to pay to remove on principle, given the existing subscription fee – were surprisingly… good? They were (mostly) creative, quirky, pattern interrupting, and I didn’t pick up my phone to avoid watching them.
There seems to be a shift occurring. Big brands understand that customers are no longer content with polished, passive TV spots and perfectly curated video. They are being forced to work harder, think faster, and act more human. From the streets of Bristol to the ads on streaming services, the era of generic corporate messaging is dead.
The Rise of the Latest Savvy (Sober) Spender
For years, Gen Z has been written off as a generation with the attention span of a goldfish and a penchant for e-cigarettes. The reality is far more nuanced. While our attention spans may be shorter due to an era of digital convenience, we have become ruthlessly selective about where we “spend” that attention.
At a recent event, a group of colleagues and I were swapping stories about our families. We were genuinely stunned to learn that the stereotypical teenage weekend has undergone a radical transformation. Gone are the days of teenagers drinking cheap cider in damp fields or spending their Sundays “rotting” on the sofa. Instead, they are at the gym, obsessing over their health and swapping recommendations for macronutrients, protein powders, and electrolytes. They care about ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and would rather eat products with whole ingredients.
This is a whole new generation of consumer. This is a generation of savvy spenders. They value ‘real’ content, ‘real’ food, thrifting over fast fashion, and they demand brands with a genuine story and a clear purpose. We have pivoted from the demand for instant gratification to one of uniqueness and value, as instant gratification has become the commodity. For example, according to research by First Insight, the majority of Gen Z shoppers prefer to buy from sustainable brands and are willing to spend more on products they perceive as ethically manufactured (First Insight, 2021). They aren’t just buying a product; they are buying into a value system, one that impacts their own social currency.
Just last week, I was speaking to the founder of a successful B2B videography company. He said that his team have been taken aback recently by the volume of companies rejecting edits that look ‘too good’. He’s been asked to completely alter his approach, making it less polished.
“Could you record it on your phone? It’s still too steady, maybe just hold it for that POV feel.”
Similarly, my wedding photographer said there has been a sizmic shift toward couples asking for ‘disposable-style’, candid, imperfect shots. This consumer feedback is so interesting and serves as an excellent reminder that we need to bring our strategies back down to earth, as businesses are chomping at the bit to use AI. Consumers now prefer reality over perfection.
In the SaaS world, we often talk about “AI inertia” – the hesitation within procurement and IT departments to pull the trigger on new tech because of the sheer noise in the market. However, this inertia is spreading. Consumers are no longer wowed by the mere presence of “AI-powered” features, and what’s more they are fast becoming able to spot it from a mile away. We are seeing a “so what?” filter being applied to every new launch.
Take Agentforce, for example. In a business context, customers are no longer impressed by generic chatbots or automated email templates. They are demanding proof of concept and real-world social value. They want to know: How does this actually solve a problem? This mirrors the consumer world. We don’t want faster; we want better. The Tesco truck outside Waitrose worked because it understood the “cost-of-living crisis” context perfectly – it was a real-world use case of price transparency delivered with a wink.
What’s My Point Here? The Blue-Sky Potential of Purposeful Tech
To break through this inertia, both brands and tech providers need to stop thinking about incremental gains and start looking at the big picture. Blue-sky thinking is often dismissed as idealistic, but in an age of cynicism, it is the only thing that resonates.
If we apply the same level of ingenuity seen in guerrilla marketing to our most pressing social issues, the potential is staggering. Successful AI implementations shouldn’t just be about decreasing service times and increasing conversions. They should be about:
- Using precise technology to support patients and allieviate strain on our healthcare system.
- Personalising AI tutors that close the attainment gap for underprivileged students.
- Streamlining bureaucracy so effectively that local councils can reinvest millions back into community spaces.
- Making the day-to-day lives of everyone in society just that little bit easier (and better!)
The ultimate goal of this technological evolution should be human time. If AI agents can handle the “drudgery” of administrative tasks, we move closer to the viability of a four-day working week. This isn’t just a “phase” or “hype”; it’s the pursuit of a society where people have more time to actually live their lives, rather than just manage them.
Authenticity is Becoming Currency
Whether it’s a truck parked in a layby or an AI agent managing a complex global supply chain, the demand from the modern consumer is the same: I don’t care about the hype, just show me the value.
The move towards guerrilla tactics by big brands is a symptom of a larger truth: the “generic” is dead. In an era where we can skip, block, or ignore almost anything, brands must be bold enough to be interrupted and smart enough to be useful. We are no longer passive recipients of advertising; we are active curators of our own lives.
Big brands have realised that to catch a savvy spender’s eye, they need to step off the screens and into the real world. They need to prove they aren’t just a logo, but a participant in the cultural conversation. The “and what?” generation is watching – and they are remarkably hard to impress.
Ready to stop chasing the hype and start building the proof of concept? Book a call with our experts to design agentic solutions that resonate with the modern, purpose-driven consumer
Read more on how the path to purchase is changing here.
References
- First Insight (2021). The State of Consumer Spending: Gen Z Shoppers Demand Sustainable Retail. [online] First Insight. Available at: https://www.firstinsight.com [Accessed 15 April 2026].
- Haimari, F. (2023). The Death of Generic Marketing: Why Personalization is No Longer Enough. Journal of Digital Strategy, 12(4), pp.145-158.
- Salesforce (2024). Agentforce: The Shift from Copilots to Autonomous Agents. [online] Salesforce News. Available at: https://www.salesforce.com/news [Accessed 15 April 2026].
Vizard, S. (2023). Why Big Brands are Turning to Guerrilla Tactics to Cut Through the Noise. Marketing Week. [online] Available at:https://www.marketingweek.com [Accessed 15 April 2026].