My eight-year-old son is fascinated with playing table tennis using disposable cups. Before this it was origami planes made out of waste paper and right before it, he was collecting empty water bottles and using them to invent a series of games that he played with the neighbourhood friends. And this isn’t my son alone. I’ve talked to enough Gen Alpha kids, and most of them are brimming with ideals and ideas that influence them at a micro & macro level. While the pandemic and parental control has kept this generation under wraps, it’s time now that we pay attention to this under 12 years of age segment who is slowly and steadily emerging & finding their much-deserved place in the sun.
While my older teenage son epitomizes the Gen Z vibe at home, my younger Gen Alpha is not one to miss out on the spotlight. Born in or after 2010, Generation Alpha shares its birth year with the legendary iPad. Which explains why he treats the device like his Siamese twin. This generation has grown up in a digital environment. While technological advances shifted the human race, the Gen Alpha is the ultimate expression of this advancement. They live their life through screens and speak in a language that doubles up their on-screen and off-screen presence. Their physical and digital worlds are blurred. The Gen Alpha will be the most technologically advanced generation, having grown up amidst artificial intelligence (AI), advanced healthcare, robotics & mobile devices in their day-to-day lives. And this isn’t a bad thing at all. The technology that this generation has access to is used for almost everything- entertainment, education, communication and connection.
Parents of this generation, mostly millennials, are also far more willing to spend on their children as well. And they are also a lot more welcoming of influence from their Gen Alpha kids. Most children hold a lot of power over their parent’s purse strings and have an almost open budget to spend through digital channels and brands like Amazon & other shopping platforms.
And while this generation will only become a cohort if they have common experiences, concepts, language and vocabulary that differentiates it from previous generations, there is no harm in finding some commonly seen traits that provide marketers more clarity on reaching them better.
Their futures aren’t going to be entirely virtual
While the Gen Alpha has been raised in a largely technological world, their entire future isn’t going to be necessarily virtual. Gen Alpha will interact with other human beings, and a work-from-home future may not rid them of the human connection. Marketers will certainly need to look beyond the digital world, to create differentiated connect with this generation which fosters the need for physical interaction and interpersonal connect.
Influence is a big part of these kids’ vocabulary
Generation Alpha is influential and also easily influenced. When it comes to influencing their parents, the Gen Alpha holds the purse strings for holidaying, electronic gadgets, eating out and car purchases. But when it comes to being influenced, these kids are already beginning to have a steady presence on social media- and YouTube is a big part of their lives, where they follow influencers who are especially talking the Gen Alpha language. A lot of the Gen Alpha are also beginning to become influencers in their own right. The creator economy bug has bitten them too and creating and uploading their videos on social media handles, especially YouTube is fairly common.
Build trust and transparency through open dialogue
As Gen Alpha ages into becoming full-fledged consumers, they are going to demand social and ethical practices from corporations. They are well aware of damages being caused by corporations and are going to be drawn towards organisations who are claiming to repair and do good. All this is going to be through responsive technology- not one-way communication. Gen Alpha has grown up using platforms that help them converse and not just passively consume. They want to be a part of the solution and connect and communicate through open, transparent and honest channels.
The author is Rutu Mody-Kamdar Founder Jigsaw Brand Consultants
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