Gen Alpha: scripting next gen brand narratives by de-scripting childhoods

What does the pen portrait of a kid look like? Dependent? Immature? Inexperienced? The new generation of children – Generation Alpha – is defying this myopia to come into their own. Born in the 2010s, the Alphas inherited a tech-driven world at their fingertips. The social changes and rising digital connectivity, have imbued them with dynamism and agency.

Today, they influence their family, brands and society at large, as much as being influenced by them. They are reclaiming, redefining and rewriting the meaning of childhood. So, how can brands level up to serve this cohort?

Well, here are some starting points:

Transcending conventional milestones in the quest of their own

Children’s lives are no longer scripted by adults. They are defined by what they do, than when they do it. For instance, The Muskaan Literature Festival in Delhi, recently hosted and mentored 25-plus child authors in India.

From a brand-first perspective, defining a target audience usually meant combining data points and psychographics to define personas. But this new generation doesn’t live by milestones. They live in moments and engage with the world on their time.

While the seeds of “do it on your own time” are being sown by millennials and Gen Z, Gen Alpha will use it to reap a different life. Don’t be surprised if, 15 years down the line, you find someone throwing a retirement party for a 28-year-old. Clearly, this “demographic” is challenging the very notion of demographic groups and “time” as we know it.

Financial products have got a head start. Offerings like the Junio Pocket Money app are being used to integrate kids into the financial ecosystem. Soon, education might take notice. Schools might just do away with “time” tables and class standards.

New age learning is powering their curiosity

Alternate schools like Tridha and Riverside, are using experiential learning to make education practical. Propulsive learning models like LEAD (in collaboration with TBWA\India) are transforming archaic learning systems to propel children ahead. Children are being powered to build a mind of their own.

Many years ago, Adora Svitak had vouched for ‘childish’ thinking in the contemporary world, in her TED Talk. With education becoming an avenue for creativity, brands stand to gain a lot from the originality and optimism of Gen Alpha. Product development teams can take inspiration from the way they think.

Taking charge of their lives, one step at a time

Kids are eager to be their own taskmasters every day. Four year olds want to get themselves ready for school. Preteens want to earn pocket money. Clearly, children are driven by the joy of taking charge - even if they start small.

What does this mean for these neo-consumers? For a start, influencer-driven marketing approaches might just undergo a makeover. While they have struck a chord with relatable and content-driven partnerships, it might not work for Gen Alpha. The seeds are already sown – with Gen Z and millennials gravitating towards “de-influencing”.

With their lives de-templatised, Gen Alpha might bank on building communities that democratise knowledge and endorse initiative. But today’s much-loved customisation might become more personal with a preference for MVPs. Minimum viable products, which adapt offerings based on user inputs, might become one of the key drivers of brand affinity. Minimalism would be wired into the product’s making, which consumers can D-I-Y. For Gen Alpha, production may become user-first than brand-first.

Equipped with a conscience that builds a blueprint of the future

For this generation, doing is their default state of mind. With their distant, challenging future becoming imminent, kids are acting early. They are taking matters into their own hands, instead of waiting for adults to take the first step. Shillong’s nine-year-old Meaidaibahun Majaw was in the spotlight for making an anti-bullying app in 2020.

While millennials Gen Z have taken clear strides in holding brands accountable, Gen Alpha might go beyond. They won’t just call out slacktivism – they would seek the live feed of initiative and activism in progress. They might vouch for social initiatives to have live progress trackers. Results will no longer be in hindsight. Gen Alpha will seek them in real-time.

Putting it all together

ALPHA. A label that infamously stood for insensitivity and stoicism, is now representing a self-powered and versatile generation. Interestingly, Alpha also means ‘beginning’. This is an apt descriptor for kids, because they are marking the beginning of a new kind of childhood.

From consumer research, product development to brand strategy and CSR initiatives, this generation has the power to rewrite what goes to market, and how brands go to market. With the world constantly changing, it's powering this new generation to build the way forward. So, when Jess Lair, said, “Children are not things to be moulded but are people to be unfolded,” he was right, after all.

(Our guest author is Aradhana Varma, strategist-cultural insights - TBWA\India)