Brands need to up their game for Gen Alpha | WARC | The Feed

Brands need to up their game for Gen Alpha

Gen Alpha has high expectations and benchmarks for the brands they have in their lives, according to an extensive piece of research from The Beano.

The research 

The Beano Brain team spent a year talking to UK kids and teens about their likes and dislikes and observing the brands kids are wearing, chatting about and coveting, before testing their findings with the Beano Brain omnibus panel of 30,000 youngsters and producing The 50 Coolest Brands report. The top five places are occupied, in order, by YouTube, Netflix, McDonald’s, Amazon and Disney.

Why it matters

The 50 Coolest Brands is the first of what will be an annual report to help brands understand how to interact with young people and their families.

The brands identified come from a variety of sectors spanning gaming, social media, retail, entertainment, hospitality and more, and reflect Gen Alpha’s (those born in or after 2010) increasing levels of discernment and their desire to interact both online and offline.

What do kids want?

They expect depth and breadth of content, Beano Brain reports, as well as full integration across multiple platforms and next day delivery as standard. They also expect to see a sense of guardianship of the planet and giving back alongside innovation and safety protocols.

What should brands do? 

It’s a tricky balancing act as brands need to help Generation Alpha ‘fit in’ while also expressing their individuality. That means listening to creator communities and helping them build autonomy and independence while respecting their intelligence by not talking down to them.

Kids like brands that allow them to discover safely without skills barriers, give them a sense of aspiration and let them succeed quickly and then build expertise. Brands that allow shared experiences with family or friends are also valued.

Key quote

“So often we forget that increasingly kids and young people are navigating their way through a world designed by and around adults. Brands that make them feel safe, welcomed and valued stand out for Gen Alpha, and with this generation’s predisposition for nostalgia and a mix of old and new, this suggests that those brands who get the balance right now will be nurturing lifelong fans” – Helenor Gilmour, director of insight, Beano Brain. 

Sourced from Beano Brain [Image: Austin Pacheco on Unsplash]