Let’s get one thing straight: if you think Gen Z was the last frontier for youth marketing, you’re already behind. Enter Gen Alpha, the first generation born entirely into an algorithmic world, and they’re already shaping culture before they’ve even hit high school.
According to a new report from Horizon Media’s Why Group and Blue Hour Studios titled The New Media Multiverse (because of course it sounds like a Marvel movie), this kid-powered cohort is sitting on an estimated $28 billion in direct spending, not to mention the cash flow they influence just by asking their millennial parents for stuff.. which is a lot.
They’re Born with Brand Awareness
While you were learning how to skip ads, Gen Alpha was learning how to recognize them. These kids are scrolling, tapping, and curating their own digital experience, all before hitting puberty. Horizon Media found that millennial parents could name over 250 brands their kids request by name. So yeah, forget the “short attention span” stereotype. These kids are focused, just not on your legacy marketing funnel.
And don’t even think about fooling them with basic content. Gen Alpha prefers interest-based, community-fueled discovery, not whatever a brand is forcing into their feed. That makes your job as a marketer harder… but also way more interesting.
The Parent-Child Power Dynamic Is Different
Millennials were the first digitally native generation. Gen Alpha? They’re algorithmically native. That means they’re growing up with YouTube, Roblox, and TikTok as normal parts of daily life, and millennial parents are mostly cool with it.
77% of parents say their kids influence purchases more than they ever did at that age. And 82% of parents claim they share more interests with their children than their parents did with them. It’s not just screen time, it’s screen bonding time.
How? Nostalgia. The stuff millennials loved, from The Office to Pokémon, is being rediscovered by their kids, and it’s creating the perfect marketing sweet spot. One kid in the study said they’re into The Office like it’s some hot new drop. For brands, that’s your green light to dig into the IP vault and revive some classics, but make them feel new.
Gaming Isn’t a Hobby, It’s a Social Lifeline
Gaming platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite are not just for play, they’re where social life happens now. Think of them as Gen Alpha’s version of AIM and Myspace… except way cooler and more immersive.
Here’s the kicker: advertising in these spaces can’t feel like advertising. It has to feel like participation. Brands that win will be the ones who actually “get” the game, showing up with custom content, creator collabs, and in-world experiences that enhance the play rather than interrupt it.
Regulations around advertising to kids in games are tightening (for good reason), so brands need to be smart, ethical, and intentional. But those who get it right? They’re not just selling, they’re building long-term relationships.
YouTube Reigns Supreme
Surprise: YouTube is still king, and it’s the one platform that both Gen Alpha and their parents feel good about. With 94% of Gen Alpha using it, and millennial parents feeling in control, YouTube is the go-to co-viewing hub. From Shorts to long-form and everything in between, it’s the closest thing we have to a universal family-friendly platform right now.
Microinfluencers > Megastars
Another major takeaway? Relevance beats fame. Gen Alpha doesn’t care how many followers you have, they care if your content speaks to their interests. Most parents said their kids bounce between creators based on content, not personality. That’s a massive shift. Forget trying to land one big-name ambassador, it’s better to seed your message across many micro-voices.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Sleep on the Kids
As Matt Higgins from Blue Hour Studios puts it, these kids are basically mini media planners. They know the brands. They understand the platforms. And they’re influencing more purchases than ever before.
Whether your target audience is families now or not, understanding Gen Alpha is a future-proofing move. This is a generation raised on screens, community-driven content, and algorithmic curation. If you want to stay culturally relevant for the next 5–10 years, start studying them like your brand depends on it, because it does.
Or as Maxine Gurevich of Horizon Media put it:
“These are early indicators of real digital shifts. Even if you’re not marketing to Gen Alpha now, you need to think about what your brand looks like when they grow up.”
Welcome to the multiverse. Hope your marketing plan’s ready for it.