By Craig Miles, Creative Director at SuperHeroes
In a world where attention is currency, brand storytelling is evolving fast. No longer confined to polished scripts, the stories that resonate today are raw, real and rooted in culture. And for Gen Z, raised on TikTok, gaming and short-form content, they want stories that reflect their values: authenticity, relatability and cultural awareness.
In this piece, I’ll break down how emerging technologies like AI, mixed reality, CGI and digital art are fuelling this shift, and giving brands the power to create narratives that are not only visually captivating, but emotionally and culturally in sync.
From message to meaning: a cultural shift
Traditional brand storytelling relied more on clear messaging, polished production and linear delivery. But for Gen Z, who has been raised on TikTok scrolling, immersive game worlds and short-form videos, these stories can feel disconnected. This audience craves narratives that align with their values and that are built on authenticity, relatability and cultural relevance.
New technologies are enhancing this expectation and adding more depth and resonance to brand storytelling. AI-generated characters, compelling digital worlds and interactive elements are giving stories new layers of significance, allowing for brand experiences that feel more personable and real than traditional media. In turn, these tools are transforming storytelling from passive consumption to participatory culture.
How technology is supercharging storytelling value
Tools like AI, CGI and mixed reality are reshaping how stories are created – and more importantly, how they’re valued. For brands, these tools offer more than efficiency – they unlock expressive power.
Take mixed reality, for example. By combining digital elements with the physical world, it turns storytelling into a multisensory experience. More than ads, it can help brands build campaigns that audiences can touch, walk through, share and remember. Experiences that respond to their audiences feel more alive – and therefore, more meaningful.
AI influencers like Lil Miquela or CodeMiko are also crafting virtual identities that feel relatable and can be adapted to trends in real-time. Brand ambassadors can now be limitlessly customised, scaled and tailored for global relevance, all without losing authenticity.
Tech-driven campaigns that redefine worth
Through our digital art studio That Jimmy, our team at SuperHeroes has launched campaigns that demonstrate how technology can transform not just storytelling, but also how audiences value it:
Netflix: Avatar – The Last Airbender
Using digital art, we brought fan-favourite flying bison, Appa, to life. This campaign earned 81 million organic views and $3.5m in media value – not just because it was visually compelling, but because it struck an emotional chord in viewers.
Netflix: Parasyte – The Grey
This chilling street art campaign brought the show’s eerie body-horror themes into the real world – racking up 20 million views in just three days and sparking a wave of online conversation.
Fenty x Puma
We promoted a new sneaker by placing giant footballs across global cities, driving 10 million views and a full product sell out within 24 hours. This showed how bold visuals, tied to cultural relevance, can have a real-world economic impact.
NBA: In-Season tournament
We turned Las Vegas into a surreal basketball playground using mixed reality, earning 35 million views. This campaign didn’t just entertain – it created collective memory (and even a shout-out from Shaq himself)!
Each of these campaigns were successful not just because of what they showcased, but because of how they showed it – merging technology, art and culture to create something that audiences felt was worth their time and attention.
Rethinking story value: three shifts to watch
1. From static to living stories
Stories are no longer fixed – they now evolve in real time and are shaped by trends, AI and audience input. – reflecting Gen Z’s fluid sense of identity and community.
2. From messages to moments
Brands are moving from stating values to creating immersive, tech-driven experiences that audiences can both feel and share.
3. From celebrities to creators
Today’s audiences – particularly Gen Z – value cultural authenticity. Brands that experiment and innovate with digital tools become co-creators of culture, rather than just marketers.
The new value equation for brands
This shift signals a change in how we assign value to stories. For digitally-native audiences, worth isn’t measured by polish or production budgets – but by emotional depth, cultural fluency and technological inventiveness.
Today, brands must focus not just on the stories they tell, but on how they make people feel – and why they matter. For Gen Z, this means stories that are visually bold, co-created, culturally tuned and tech-enhanced – with substance at their core.
