Pop culture often uses generations to compartmentalize people by age. Referencing generations by their titles can speak to an era in time, collective experiences, and how segments of the population view life, engage with brands and each other. From a marketing perspective, the line that divides Boomers, Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha is how they shop.
Many companies have a consumer base that straddles multiple demographics and generations. Ultimately, successful brands must understand what motivates or repels each demographic to ensure marketing campaigns are effective at accurately connecting with each generation. As the two youngest generations that are old enough to start making purchasing decisions, Gen Z and Gen Alpha present unique marketing challenges – and opportunities.
The Current Generations
To date, there are currently eight generations living now with seven of them actively engaging with brands:
- The Greatest Generation (born between 19001 and 1927)
- The Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945)
- Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)
- Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980)
- Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)
- Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2010)
- Gen Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024)
- Gen Beta (born between 2025 and 2039)
The first five generations (The Greatest Generation through Millennials) are all fully adults. So, marketing experts are well-versed on how to market to — and appeal to — these cohorts. The eldest of Gen Z’s population are in their mid 20’s. Meanwhile Gen Alpha ranges from infants to mid-teens.
Because Gen Z & Gen Alpha’s age ranges cover demographics from teens to adults and preschool to tweens, successful marketers will create multiple customer personas. These personas should accurately reflect motivations, interests, and the most effective channels for not just connecting with these generations, but converting them (or their parents in some cases) into active customers. To do this correctly, marketers must first identify key traits for each generation, and then translate that into an actionable marketing strategy.
An Overview of Gen Z Characteristics
It’s impossible to encapsulate every person within a given generational title into one personality archetype. Every consumer is unique, and there will always be outliers when generalizations with which to create a customer persona. This is especially true for people born in the very beginning or end of that group who might also share similarities with the generations that came before or after them – those born on the cusp of being a Millennial within the bounds of Gen Z might share certain traits usually associated with Millennial audiences. However, there are a few common characteristics assigned to Gen Z.
Digital Natives
Gen Z is the first group that hasn’t known life prior to the internet and social media. For them, a connected landscape is the norm. Additionally, they’re used to a mobile-first approach to consuming content which includes connecting with friends or romantic partners, shopping, and researching information. Social media platforms exploded as this demographic came of age.
An Inclusivity Mindset
While it isn’t to say that other generations don’t care about inclusivity, Gen Z consistently pushes brands and the powers that be to reflect the landscapes around them. This means that diversity is a true tenet, and brands would do well to authentically reflect that without pandering or turning .
Independent Thinkers
This isn’t exactly exclusive to Gen Z; younger generations typically endeavor to stand out from their peers and be seen as independent, unique, and a free thinker who isn’t influenced by the mainstream or even influencers. Gen Z is no exception. However, this can be somewhat debatable given the rise of “aesthetic chasing” thanks to social media and the resurgence of both 90’s and Y2K influence in their fashion scene. Some experts attribute this phenomenon to an interest in thrifting and vintage appreciation.
Experiences Over Things
Gen Z is often credited with preferring “experiences over things.” This is a carryover adopted from the previous Millennial generation. The older cohort displayed an increase in spending power allocated towards excursions and experiences as a response to difficulty in securing home ownership and other items usually attributed with typical archetypes of success.
This was due in part to external factors like the housing market crash in 2008. Similarly, much of Gen Z entered early adulthood during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a massive shift in employment and lifestyle trends as people attempted to adapt to yet another cataclysmic life event.
An Overview of Gen Alpha Characteristics
Gen Alpha’s age range includes literal newborns all the way up to 12- and 13-year old tweens, making this group more difficult to pin down. On the one hand, truly young members that aren’t even in elementary school are too young to have created a breakout persona. As a result, their parents are the primary consumers on their behalf. This means marketers would be targeting older Gen Z members and individuals across the Millennial spectrum.
However, the older elementary and tween segments are just starting to build their personalities. The eldest members may more closely resemble the youngest of Gen Z’s because they’re so close in age. Meanwhile, younger members can still be marketed to via traditional successful (and compliant) methods when targeting the children’s niche. Still here are a few characteristics to be mindful of as this cohort becomes the primary target over time.
Digital Natives with a Twist
Like Gen Z, Gen Alpha was truly born into a digital world. However, their world also incorporates AI. This means that digital and media literacy are even more crucial since deep fakes and automatically generated content are entrenched in the content they might consume.
However, unlike Gen Z, it’s not unusual to find Gen Alpha kids in the older half of the generation taking a break from screens to enjoy the real world. This usually manifests as spending time with friends and family. Offline enjoyment means sectors like out-of-home entertainment are seeing a resurgence with Gen Alpha eagerly attending movie theaters. The number of Americans aged 12-15 who say that the theatre is their favorite way to watch a movie has gone up by 12%.
Gen Alpha stays connected in a variety of ways. From social media to streaming, and even broadcast television and podcasts, this young niche is consuming content at a voracious pace.
Social-First Shopping
Social-first shopping isn’t exactly new. Many consumers — even those from older generations — are more likely to start a shopping journey on social media than directly on a brand site. Since Gen Alpha’s older members have their own social media accounts and direct access to the internet, they’re starting to develop their own style and may even have immediate access to shop for themselves without asking for a parent’s credit card.
Discerning Posters
Similar to their elder Millennial parents or Gen X older relatives, Gen Alpha understands that the internet is forever and is mindful of what’s shared online. Some people attribute this to the rise in parental controls available for social media. However, tweens are discerning about how their data is being used, and also take precautions to protect themselves while using social media.
Growing Independence
Unsurprisingly, a cohort that’s literally growing up before society’s eyes is taking a more active role in their daily lives. From fashion choices to deciding what to eat for dinner, the older Gen Alpha members are taking ownership and even influencing their parents’ spending habits.
What to Consider When Marketing to Gen Z and Gen Alpha
It’s important to remember that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are separate cohorts — even though they’re consecutive generations. Marketing to Gen Alpha can present challenges by way of legal restrictions like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that dictate how brands can advertise to, and engage with underaged audiences.
For example, most social media platforms don’t legally allow minors under the age of 13 to create independent accounts. So, a toy brand that wants to target four to six year olds will need a multi-channel campaign that prioritizes ads for broadcast or digital streams, along with influencer deals centering on truly kid-friendly creators to effectively reach their target audience.
The goal is for the children to watch these ads or content placement stories, and then tell their parents that they want the toy. It’s the parents who will engage with these toy brands on more traditional social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. But if you’re marketing to Gen Z and older members of Gen Alpha, here are five factors to prioritize.
1. Be Authentic
The more immersion to social media and the digital landscape people have, the savvier they are about spotting fake or inconsistent messaging. No one wants to be pandered to, but this is especially true of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. As a brand, be authentic and transparent. From DEI initiatives to even sharing the creation story behind a bestselling product, be honest.
Don’t pretend that a product has gone viral when in reality it was a stealth paid influencer campaign that was improperly labeled on social media.
2. Highlight Intrinsic Value
Especially for Gen Z that’s seeking experiences over things, if brands want them to engage with and spend money on their products, then make a clear case for value. How does a brand’s product or service improve the Gen Z shopper’s life? How is it differentiated from competitors or how is the price justified?
3. Be mindful of Piggybacking on Viral Social Trends
Hopping on viral trends can be a great way for brands to boost visibility — especially with how saturated social media has become. But these days, trends pop up at such a frenetic pace that these of-the-moment ideas might already be dated by the time they’ve made it through layers of production and distribution.
Understanding the origins of a viral meme, TikTok sound or trend at its source should be a mandatory part of the research process when attempting to latch onto a timely, eye-catching joke. Brands should remain cautious; some social trends have dubious or downright disrespectful origins that can backfire. All it takes is one outraged creator drafting a call out video to tank a reputation that took years to build.
Just because a topic, dance, or dubbed voice over is going viral on social media doesn’t mean a brand should participate. Always research a trend’s origins and be sure that it truly aligns with the image a brand wants to present, the type of customer they want to attract, and their customer persona’s values.
4. Take a Video-First Approach
More than previous generations, both Gen Z and Gen Alpha prefer video content over static images. While there are outliers like the current viral Pepe the Shrimp screenshot carousel trend on TikTok and Instagram, data supports prioritizing video over images.
5. Build a Community
Gen Z and Gen Alpha both want to feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. This is a carryover from Millennials that isn’t going away. Younger generations don’t want random products shoved in their faces. Instead, they want to be the force to champion that burgeoning brand — especially if it aligns with inclusivity, intersectionality, or highlights marginalized voices.
For brands (especially upstarts), this means taking the time to build an authentic brand story that places a spotlight on how the business behind the brand is working to create a more equitable society. This in turn boosts the brand’s intrinsic value and clearly defines why younger consumers should demonstrate loyalty through their purchase power.
Pivoting for the Next Generation
Gen Z isn’t new to the commercial landscape, but Gen Alpha is. Both cohorts carry similar interests, even with Gen Alpha still finding its voice. Brands focused on longevity and boosting market share need to understand how to effectively pivot by expanding their campaigns to embrace these younger demographics while still maintaining market share with older generations. Smart brands will be able to navigate this, as many other firms have done over the decades.