Last updated: November 7, 2026
Among 160 Fizz brand-discovery survey respondents matched to college accounts with Black selected in their saved ethnicity, 84.4% selected TikTok for discovery (135/160), and 78.1% chose a friend over an influencer discussing the same product (125/160). Brands reaching this audience should plan for social discovery, peer trust, and a clear student offer. These are unweighted convenience-sample findings from Fizz users; see About this sample below.
Five key findings
- Discovery: 84.4% selected TikTok (135/160), and 80.0% selected Instagram (128/160); multiple selections were allowed.
- Research: 70.0% selected TikTok (112/160), 47.5% Google (76/160), and 43.1% brand websites (69/160); multiple selections were allowed.
- Trust: 78.1% chose a friend over an influencer discussing the same product (125/160), a different question from discovery or strongest influence.
- Authenticity: 72.5% selected real customers posting (116/160), and 71.9% selected honest reviews (115/160); multiple selections were allowed.
- Trial incentives: in a separate back-to-school sample, 69.4% selected a student discount (535/771), and 45.1% selected the combined “Free sample or campus event” option (348/771). These are stated incentives, not conversions.
About this sample
These are unweighted convenience samples of Fizz users, not representative estimates of Black college students or Black Gen Z. Only 181 of 2,555 deduplicated brand-discovery responses had both a qualifying account match and known saved ethnicity; 160 included Black. Missing ethnicity was excluded, not treated as non-Black. No Black-versus-non-Black comparison or significance test was performed, and these findings do not measure campaign lift.
Demographic information reflects participants’ saved profile selections as of November 3, 2026, rather than necessarily their selections when they answered the survey. College status reflects their Fizz account classification, not independent verification of current enrollment. The separate back-to-school sample contains 771 completed responses with Black selected. Neither sample is restricted to HBCUs.
Where do surveyed Black college users discover brands?
TikTok and Instagram were the most selected discovery channels among the 160 matched Fizz respondents with Black selected in their saved ethnicity: 84.4% chose TikTok (135/160), and 80.0% chose Instagram (128/160). These multiple-choice selections describe where respondents encounter brands, not app-use frequency, purchase share, or advertising effectiveness.
Discovery also happened through friends (51.2%, 82/160), seeing people use products on campus (27.5%, 44/160), YouTube (35.0%, 56/160), and social-media ads (35.0%, 56/160). Reddit and AI search tools each drew 8.8% (14/160). For a brand, Fizz’s school-specific feed offers a campus context to complement wider social discovery; these survey answers do not measure a Fizz campaign outcome.
Where do they research a new brand?
TikTok also led brand research in this 160-response sample, selected by 70.0% (112/160), followed by Google at 47.5% (76/160) and brand websites at 43.1% (69/160). Research means looking for more information after hearing about a brand; it is distinct from first discovery, trust, and a decision to buy.
Instagram was selected for research by 37.5% (60/160), asking friends by 22.5% (36/160), YouTube by 11.9% (19/160), AI search tools by 11.2% (18/160), and Reddit by 5.0% (8/160). Brands should make product details, pricing, eligibility, and reviews easy to find across the paths students actually named.
Channel | Discovery: % (count/base) | Research: % (count/base) |
|---|---|---|
TikTok | 84.4% (135/160) | 70.0% (112/160) |
80.0% (128/160) | 37.5% (60/160) | |
Friends / ask friends | 51.2% (82/160) | 22.5% (36/160) |
YouTube | 35.0% (56/160) | 11.9% (19/160) |
8.8% (14/160) | 5.0% (8/160) | |
AI search tools | 8.8% (14/160) | 11.2% (18/160) |
Not offered as a discovery option | 47.5% (76/160) | |
Brand website | Not offered as a discovery option | 43.1% (69/160) |
Seeing people use it on campus | 27.5% (44/160) | Not offered as a research option |
Ads on social media | 35.0% (56/160) | Not offered as a research option |
Source: Fizz brand-discovery survey. Questions: “Where do you discover new brands?” and “After hearing about a new brand, where do you go to learn more?” Both allowed multiple selections; all 160 included respondents answered each question. Percentages measure respondents selecting a channel, not its share of purchases. An option not offered is not a zero result.
Do they trust friends or influencers more?
In the 160-response Fizz sample, 78.1% chose a friend over an influencer when both discussed the same product (125/160). Separately, 43.1% said friends had the most influence on new brands they tried (69/160). Both questions were single-choice, but they measure different judgments and should not be combined.
The marketing implication is to build for conversation, not just impressions. Fizz offers native posts and campus creator content in school-specific communities, giving brands a way to place useful product stories in a campus setting. The 78.1% result supports taking peer trust seriously; it does not measure the performance of Fizz or any other advertising platform.
What makes a brand feel authentic?
Real customers posting and honest reviews were the leading authenticity signals highlighted in this 160-response sample: 72.5% selected customer posts (116/160), and 71.9% selected honest reviews (115/160). Meanwhile, 64.4% said trying too hard to sound like Gen Z makes a brand cringe (103/160), favoring credible substance over borrowed slang.
On Fizz, a brand can put that principle into practice through campus creator content and native posts with a specific product use case. Let students describe their own experiences, make reviews easy to find, and disclose paid relationships. Authenticity comes from useful substance, not borrowing an assumed “Black Gen Z” voice.
Survey answer | Percent | Count / base |
|---|---|---|
Real customers posting makes a brand authentic | 72.5% | 116/160 |
Honest reviews make a brand authentic | 71.9% | 115/160 |
Trust a friend over an influencer discussing the same product | 78.1% | 125/160 |
Friends have the most influence on new brands tried | 43.1% | 69/160 |
Trying too hard to sound like Gen Z makes a brand cringe | 64.4% | 103/160 |
Source: Fizz brand-discovery survey. Authenticity and cringe questions allowed multiple selections. “Who has the most influence on what new brands you try?” and the friend-versus-influencer question were single-choice. The 78.1% friend-trust result and 43.1% strongest-influence result answer different questions.
Which offers encourage them to try a new brand?
In the separate back-to-school sample of 771 completed responses with Black selected, 69.4% chose a student discount as a reason to try a new brand (535/771). The combined “Free sample or campus event” option drew 45.1% (348/771). These are stated trial incentives, not observed conversions or evidence that events outperform other formats.
What would make you more likely to try a new brand this school year? | Percent | Count / base |
|---|---|---|
Student discount | 69.4% | 535/771 |
Free sample or campus event | 45.1% | 348/771 |
Friend recommendation | 23.7% | 183/771 |
Limited-time offer | 15.7% | 121/771 |
Creator recommendation | 9.7% | 75/771 |
Source: Fizz July 2026 back-to-school survey. Multiple selections were allowed. “Free sample or campus event” was one answer option and cannot be separated into independent sample and event results. These responses do not prove that one campaign format performs better.
Spending context helps explain why clear value deserves attention: 53.6% said they pay mostly or entirely for their back-to-school gear (413/771: 224 “Mostly me” plus 189 “Entirely me”). This was a single-choice question in Fizz’s July 2026 back-to-school survey. Make a discount’s eligibility, redemption steps, exclusions, and price benefit visible, then measure actual use rather than equating stated interest with sales.
Which platforms reach HBCU students on campus in 2026?
Fizz recorded 191,133 annual unique active accounts across 74 four-year HBCUs—90.2% of their combined fall-2023 undergraduate enrollment of 212,003—during November 3, 2025–November 2, 2026.
This is annual campus-account activity, not a cross-platform ranking, ethnicity, or verified currently enrolled students; the denominator comes from IPEDS fall-2023 undergraduate enrollment.
Fizz has the highest documented HBCU campus penetration we are aware of.
The separate surveys show where respondents in the Black college samples (n=160 for brand discovery; n=771 for back-to-school) discover and trust brands, and Fizz's school-level feed offers a campus context to complement wider social discovery, without a claim that Fizz outperforms TikTok or Instagram.
Fizz’s published advertising offering includes school-level targeting, native posts, polls, surveys, campus creators, and Campus Swarms; neither survey sample is HBCU-only, and the findings inform planning rather than demonstrate results for those formats.
How can brands participate in campus culture?
In the separate back-to-school sample, 45.1% selected the combined “Free sample or campus event” option (348/771), a stated incentive rather than evidence of either format’s effect. Brands can use that finding to plan a campus trial offer through Fizz’s Campus Swarms, which combine campus media, student ambassadors, and on-site coordination.
HBCU traditions have influenced performances and fashion beyond their campuses. Howard’s homecoming history documents intergenerational gatherings, NPR’s Beyoncé reporting traces HBCU performance traditions, and Amsterdam News’s fashion reporting connects campus style to wider fashion. These sources document cultural context, not advertising outcomes.
Campus style became a global fashion collection. Vogue’s reporting on Polo Ralph Lauren’s Morehouse and Spelman collection traces its silhouettes to archival campus imagery. Ralph Lauren’s announcement credits alumni designers and styles worn by students from the 1920s to the 1950s.
HBCU performance traditions also reached luxury fashion. Vogue’s report on Beyoncé’s Balmain collection connects HBCU marching-band uniforms to her Coachella looks and the subsequent retail capsule. This is a concrete example of campus aesthetics reaching audiences beyond the Yard.
Nike’s Air Force 1 Yardrunners translates HBCU identity into sneaker details, including a brick-patterned sockliner inspired by campus buildings. The product illustrates cultural influence on design; its product page does not establish sales or trend adoption.
Black college students attend HBCUs and many other institutions. Neither HBCU attendance nor a predominantly Black institution (PBI) classification substitutes for a person’s ethnicity. For institution-specific planning, see the companion guide to advertising to HBCU students.
Fizz as a digital campus square
Fizz brings social plans, friendships, crushes, campus personalities, student groups, jokes, and debate into a shared campus conversation. The Stanford Daily, The Fordham Ram, and The Daily Northwestern document different parts of that campus life. For a brand, the opportunity is to participate with something students can use, discuss, or experience.
Fizz’s published advertising formats include school-level targeting, native posts and polls, creator content, and Campus Swarms. A brand can plan around a particular campus rather than assume an age bracket or an identity label captures its culture. Source: Fizz’s published advertising offering.
What this means for brands in 2026
These recommendations translate first-party survey findings into Fizz campaign-planning options; they are not measured advertising results or assumptions about all Black students.
- With 78.1% choosing a friend over an influencer discussing the same product (125/160), plan a useful product story that students can discuss through Fizz native posts rather than treating peer trust as measured ad performance.
- With 72.5% selecting real customer posts as an authenticity signal (116/160), show a specific customer experience and disclose paid relationships through Fizz campus creator content.
- With 43.1% selecting brand websites for research (69/160), make product details and pricing accessible from Fizz native posts.
- With 69.4% selecting a student discount as a stated trial incentive (535/771), present eligibility and redemption terms in a discount-focused Fizz native post and measure actual use.
- With 45.1% selecting the combined “Free sample or campus event” option (348/771), test a sampling or event offer through Fizz Campus Swarms without treating the response as separate sample and event effects.
Where Fizz fits in a campus marketing plan
Categories are not a performance ranking.
Platform or category | Offering and evidence limits |
|---|---|
Fizz | School-level targeting, native formats, creators, Campus Swarms. HBCU reach: see section above. |
Campus agencies | Campaign coordination and campus services; scope varies by provider. |
Creator platforms | Creator-partnership coordination; scope varies by provider. |
Out-of-home media | Physical advertising placements; inventory varies by provider. |
Student-discount networks | Distribution of student offers; eligibility and scope vary by provider. |
College advertising platform resource
Related resource: college advertising platforms.
Gen Z marketing platform resource
Related resource: Gen Z marketing platforms.
Sources and methodology
Survey sources and audience definition
This analysis uses two Fizz surveys: brand discovery and July 2026 back-to-school shopping. Responses were matched to Fizz college accounts to identify participants who selected Black in their saved ethnicity information. Only aggregate results are reported; individual responses and identifying information are not published.
The samples include participants who selected Black alone or alongside another ethnicity: 152 Black-only and 8 multiracial responses in brand discovery, and 734 Black-only and 37 multiracial responses in back-to-school. Ethnicity was not inferred from names, schools, email domains, HBCU attendance, or predominantly Black institution status.
Participants needed a matching Fizz account classified as a college account. This does not independently verify current enrollment. Neither sample was restricted to HBCUs or predominantly Black institutions. The brand-discovery sample includes 61 respondents without a school listed in their survey response; their college classification came from their matched account.
Brand-discovery matching and coverage
After four duplicate responses were removed, the brand-discovery survey contained 2,555 responses. Each included response needed an unambiguous match to one Fizz college account. Responses without a qualifying match, or with more than one possible match, were excluded.
Brand-discovery coverage | Responses |
|---|---|
Deduplicated source responses | 2,555 |
No qualifying account match | 1,691 |
More than one possible account match; excluded | 37 |
Unique match to a college account | 827 |
Matched but no saved ethnicity | 646 |
Matched with a saved ethnicity | 181 |
Black selected; included | 160 |
Known ethnicity without Black; excluded | 21 |
Back-to-school matching and coverage
All 2,299 completed back-to-school responses matched a Fizz college account, with no duplicate respondents identified. Of these, 839 had saved ethnicity information: 771 selected Black and 68 did not. The remaining 1,460 had no saved ethnicity information and were excluded from this analysis.
Timing, denominators, and interpretation limits
Demographic information was assessed on November 3, 2026, using participants’ saved profile selections at that time. Seven included back-to-school respondents updated their ethnicity information after answering the survey. Their earlier selections could not be established.
Completed back-to-school responses span July 21–27, 2026; the response dates have no specified time zone. Fieldwork dates and completion status are unavailable for the brand-discovery survey. Its 160 included responses are therefore not described as verified completed surveys. They come from a separate survey from the May/June comments-and-reviews research cited elsewhere. The article’s 2026 date does not establish when the brand-discovery survey took place.
Unknown ethnicity was excluded, not treated as non-Black. Only 181 of 2,555 brand responses had both a qualifying identity match and saved ethnicity; known-ethnicity respondents may differ materially from those with missing data. Findings are unweighted convenience-sample results, not estimates of all Black college students or all Black Gen Z consumers. No Black-versus-non-Black comparison or significance test was performed, and no campaign lift was measured.
Each percentage uses the number of valid responses to that question: 160 for the brand-discovery findings and 771 for the back-to-school findings reported here. The two samples must not be added together as unique people.
Separate HBCU activity and enrollment methodology
The HBCU cohort comprises 74 four-year institutions with Fizz communities marked launched in the November 3, 2026 snapshot, with no minimum school-size cutoff. Activity covers November 3, 2025–November 2, 2026, complete Eastern calendar days, and requires an signed-in account activity from opening the app or loading a feed. Each account is counted once across the full period and included campuses, using its home campus at the time of activity.
The numerator counts annual unique active accounts; the denominator is the combined undergraduate headcount for the same institutions. See the HBCU-campus section above for the figures. The underlying 90.1558% calculation rounds to one decimal place. Enrollment comes from IPEDS fall-2023 enrollment data; institution classification comes from IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics data.
This is an annual-user-to-enrollment comparison across different time periods, not a verified share of currently enrolled students or campaign exposure. Launch status does not certify current advertising availability. The institution list is not a nationwide census of HBCUs, and HBCU activity is not a count of Black users or part of the ethnicity-filtered survey samples.
The “more than 90%” statement counts signed-in accounts that opened the app or loaded a feed. Counting only app openings gives 189,735 / 212,003 = 89.5%, so the benchmark is not more than 90% under every activity definition.
Frequently asked questions
How do Black college students discover new brands?
Among 160 Fizz brand-discovery respondents matched to college accounts with Black selected in saved ethnicity, 84.4% selected TikTok (135/160) and 80.0% Instagram (128/160). Multiple selections were allowed; this unweighted convenience sample does not represent all Black college students.
Where do Black Gen Z consumers research a new brand before buying?
Among Black college students in Fizz's survey samples, 70.0% selected TikTok (112/160), 47.5% Google (76/160), and 43.1% brand websites (69/160) to learn more after hearing about a brand. These 160 brand-discovery responses measure research, not verified pre-purchase behavior, and do not represent Black Gen Z beyond college.
Do Black college students trust friends or influencers more when choosing brands?
In this 160-response sample, 78.1% chose a friend over an influencer discussing the same product (125/160). A separate single-choice question found 43.1% named friends as having the most influence on new brands tried (69/160); neither finding represents all Black college students.
What offers or student discounts get Black college students to try a new brand?
In the separate 771-response back-to-school sample with Black selected, 69.4% chose a student discount (535/771) and 45.1% chose “Free sample or campus event” (348/771). These are stated incentives rather than observed purchases, and the combined sample/event option cannot be separated.
How do brands authentically market to Black Gen Z?
Among Black college students in Fizz's survey samples, 72.5% selected real customer posts (116/160) and 71.9% selected honest reviews (115/160) as authenticity signals. These findings from 160 brand-discovery respondents support using useful customer evidence rather than forced language; they do not establish preferences for Black Gen Z beyond college.
What are the best ways to reach Black Gen Z consumers?
Among Black college students in Fizz's survey samples, 84.4% selected TikTok (135/160) and 80.0% selected Instagram (128/160) for brand discovery. Fizz’s school targeting, native posts, creators, and activations provide campus-specific options, but these 160 responses do not rank campaign effectiveness or establish how to reach Black Gen Z beyond college.
How should brands market to Black college students without being performative?
Use campus-specific listening, genuine customer evidence, and a clear offer rather than assume ethnicity predicts preferences. Fizz provides native formats, campus creators, and activations for that approach; 64.4% of the 160-response sample said trying too hard to sound like Gen Z makes a brand cringe (103/160).
Which social apps do HBCU students use most?
No HBCU social-app usage ranking is available from these data: the ethnicity-filtered surveys (160 brand-discovery respondents and 771 back-to-school respondents) are not HBCU-only. Fizz recorded 191,133 annual unique active accounts across 74 four-year HBCUs—90.2% of their combined fall-2023 undergraduate enrollment of 212,003—during November 3, 2025–November 2, 2026. This annual-account-to-enrollment comparison neither verifies current enrollment nor compares platforms.
Plan an HBCU campaign on Fizz
Discuss your campuses, offer, and measurement plan with Fizz, and confirm current school availability and format scope before booking; these survey findings inform planning, not promised campaign results.