Repeated encounters matter more than the first impression for GenZ: Meta

Mumbai: It’s not the first ad that gets Gen Z to click; it’s the fourth. That’s the message from Arun Srinivas, Managing Director and Head of Meta India, who believes the advertising industry needs to stop chasing first impressions and start mastering repetition.

Speaking at FICCI Frames 2025, Srinivas said the rulebook of media planning is being rewritten by a generation that consumes content at lightning speed. “The younger the audience, the shorter their processing time. It has gone down from 4.2 seconds to 1.4 seconds,” he said, citing an external study based on ad lift and eye tracking.

According to him, today’s users decide within seconds whether to engage with something. “They take just a few seconds to decide if they should engage with something or not. And this applies to both ads and creator videos,” he said.

The fourth impression is the new first

Srinivas said ad frequency, how often an ad is shown to a user, is now the real driver of engagement. “When my 19-year-old daughter sees the same brand come to her on Instagram for the fourth time, that’s when she clicks. She understands that if a brand is coming again and again, it’s meant for her,” he said. 

He added that this trend flips the traditional playbook on its head. For decades, marketers focused on reach, trying to show an ad to as many people as possible while keeping frequency low. Now, Srinivas said, younger users respond better to familiar brands that appear multiple times in their feed.

“It’s counterintuitive to what we’ve heard for years, but that’s what’s happening with younger generations today. Marketers must adapt to audiences who expect personalised, high-frequency exposure instead of long-form, repetitive messaging,” he said. 

Attention spans aren’t shrinking; they’re speeding up

Srinivas argued that the change isn’t about people losing focus but about how quickly they process content. “Today’s audiences don’t have less attention; they just process things faster. Brands that adapt to this mindset will win,” he said.

That means a single exposure rarely sticks. Repeated, short bursts of visibility are what build familiarity and trigger action. But this also demands better creative rotation and smarter use of AI to avoid fatigue from overexposure.

Short-form replaces television in the frequency game

The rise of short-form video is reshaping how frequency works. Citing an Ipsos study from April 2025, Srinivas said 97% of Indians watch short-form videos daily, compared to 83% who watch television.

“This is no longer just an urban phenomenon. Even in rural households, there’s now a television and two phones, which means individual consumption patterns are emerging across India,” he said. 

With social media now dominating daily attention, Srinivas said Reels have become the new television spot, except with better control over frequency and relevance.

Reels thrive on repetition

Srinivas revealed that 43% of all Reels consumption in India comes from Gen Z, while globally, over 4.5 billion Reels are reshared every day, doubling year-on-year. “India leads the world in the creation, consumption and sharing of Reels,” he said.

He explained that short-form videos, by design, encourage multiple touchpoints. “Reels offer short, sharp bursts of visibility, and when these appear repeatedly in a user’s feed, they create both familiarity and intent,” he said.

This approach has also powered movie marketing on Meta platforms, where repeated exposure across Reels, creator collaborations and WhatsApp reminders has helped films reach 300 to 400 million people within days.

AI becomes the frequency fixer

Meta is now using artificial intelligence to help advertisers fine-tune how often users see their ads. Srinivas said over four million advertisers globally used Meta’s generative AI tools last quarter to create 15 million ad assets, which delivered double-digit ROI improvements compared to manually created campaigns.

“AI is now not only generating creative assets but also determining the right ad frequency and matching content to the right audience,” he said. “That’s how we are improving both efficiency and experience.”

Meta’s latest tools,  such as Edits for quick video editing and new AI apps for writing and design, aim to help creators keep content fresh even when audiences see their brand several times a day.

For marketers, Srinivas said the big takeaway is clear: success now depends on balancing attention and repetition.

“Earlier, we thought the first impression was everything,” he said. “Now, the fourth or fifth impression might be the one that drives engagement.”

As short-form platforms dominate and processing speeds increase, Meta’s message to advertisers is simple: don’t fear frequency, manage it smartly. “The future of advertising belongs to those who can balance attention, repetition and relevance,” Srinivas said.