JUV Consulting x Shaina Zafar: Amplifying Gen Z’s Voice

Today’s teenagers don’t just stomp off to their rooms and blast angry music when they feel unheard — they start companies that amplify their voices. At least that’s what Shaina Zafar did when she co-founded JUV Consulting, where she now serves as CMO and works alongside her (mostly) fellow-Gen Z colleagues to help brands understand Zoomers and their communities on a deeper level. And in this episode of the podcast, she’s spilling the tea on what makes this social media-native generation tick — and what gives them “the ick.” Shaina shares the biggest differences between Millennials and Gen Zers, which unlikely brands have mastered marketing to Zoomers, why the future of marketing is community-first, and much more. Regardless of which side of the “is a hot dog a sandwich” debate you’re on (yes, it matters!), this episode is for you. Key Takeaways: We discuss what Shaina calls the “Great Reawakening” and how Gen Z is rethinking the institutions that disempower us.Still focused on influencer marketing? Shaina breaks down how top brands are going beyond this trend and tapping into community.We learn why brands shouldn’t worry about getting “canceled.”Shaina reminds us of the importance of authenticity and that the personal is usually political for Gen Zers.Guest Bio:Shaina Zafar, 23, is the Co-founder/Chief Marketing Officer at JUV Consulting. She is an American-Muslim obsessed with solving problems with human-centered design, powered by Gen Z to build creative solutions.At JUV, she oversees community building, partnership development, and thought leadership. She has authored Gen Z yellowpapers at the company ranging from topics on Gen Z Yellow to The Future of WebZ (“Web3”) and oversees their weekly trends newsletter, The Screenshot with a subscriber base of 5,000+ business professionals. She is also a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and wrote her thesis about impactful business ESG practices and focused on Asian/Muslim advocacy work on campus. She has spoken for major brands like L'Oréal, VF Corporation, and KPMG as well as conferences like the U.S. Travel Tourism Conference. She has been quoted in the likes ofThe Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Business of Fashion. Every year on her birthday, she makes a Spotify playlist with 365 songs—customized with its own Playlist cover. If she isn’t exploring new music, you can find her searching up new fonts, cooking at odd hours of the night, or tweeting @ShainaZafar!Follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter as @ShainaZafar.