Marketing for the New Generation: How Gen Alpha is Changing the Game in 2025
By Justin | Jan 9, 2025 (5 min read)
Marketing | Social Media | Strategy | Trends
The future of marketing is here, and it’s got a new face—and a sense of humor—like never before. Meet Gen Alpha, the tech-savvy, meme-loving crowd born between 2010 and 2025. Even though they’re still young, Gen Alpha is already changing the digital marketing game and by 2025 their influence will only continue to grow. As brands try to get their attention, it’s clear: the old marketing playbook is out the window.
So, how do you connect with a generation raised on TikTok, memes, and high-speed internet? Let’s explore how Gen Alpha is rewriting the marketing rules—and what brands and digital marketing agencies need to do to stay ahead of the curve.
Understanding Gen Alpha
Who is Gen Alpha?
Gen Alpha born between 2010 and 2025 is growing up in a world where digital technology is as normal as breathing. They’ve never known life without smartphones, social media, and instant access to information. Their characteristics, preferences, and behaviors are different from previous generations making them a fascinating and important target audience for businesses and marketers. Understanding Gen Alpha goes beyond just knowing their birth years; it’s about recognizing their digital-first mentality and how it impacts how they interact with brands.
Why Gen Alpha Should Be Your Top Priority
Before we get into how Gen Alpha is changing marketing strategies, let’s talk about why they should be on your radar. Gen Alpha might seem like the “up-and-coming” generation but they’re already making waves in consumer behavior in a big way. Here’s why you need to start paying attention now:
1. Digital Natives: Gen Alpha is the first generation to grow up entirely in a digital world with constant access to smartphones, social media, and information online. By 2025 they’ll be influencing purchasing decisions and shaping the future of the internet, from shopping habits to content consumption.
2. Buying Power: Many Gen Alpha’s are still kids but they already have buying power. According to a Shopify survey, 70% of Gen Alpha’s parents say their kids directly influence purchases based on favorite shows or characters. This influence will only grow as Gen Alpha gets older.
3. Future Consumers: Gen Alpha is the future of the consumer market. By understanding and connecting with them now you can build brand loyalty early and be relevant for decades. If you’re not building your strategy around this generation you’ll be left behind.
4. Marketing Agency Insight: Marketing agencies know the importance of Gen Alpha and are building strategies to engage this digital generation. By combining traditional and digital marketing they’re helping brands get visibility and connect with Gen Alpha.
The Meme Culture Revolution: Embracing the Madness
When it comes to Gen Alpha’s sense of humor, “chaotic” is the word that best describes it. They love content that’s bizarre, random, and often nonsensical. The era of the polished ad is over; in 2025 authenticity, playfulness and meme-driven madness are the way to get attention. Brands that are embracing this madness are winning big with Gen Alpha.
Take Sour Patch Kids for example. Known for their edgy brand personality this candy brand is chaos personified. By creating funny, shareable memes or encouraging fans to tag friends in silly, offbeat posts Sour Patch Kids are having fun and resonating with Gen Alpha. They’re not afraid to go silly, meme-worthy content that feels more spontaneous than planned—because let’s be real, Gen Alpha loves the unexpected.
Meme-Driven Marketing: Engaging Gen Alpha in 2025
Engaging Gen Alpha isn’t just about throwing out random jokes. To resonate with them brands need to understand the humor that drives this generation. Take Nutter Butter for example, they’ve got meme-inspired humor down to a science by creating short, punchy posts filled with randomness. From wild visuals to zany text overlays Nutter Butter’s chaos and experimentation always land.
Why does this work? Gen Alpha sees the world through an ironic lens and rapid-fire cultural references. They move fast from trend to trend so brands that can stay agile and tap into those fast-changing cultural shifts will win. By being more “anything goes” brands like Nutter Butter and Crocs are showing that being self-aware and going with the flow is key to connecting with the next generation of consumers.
Embracing Authenticity and Imperfection
A key takeaway from Gen Alpha is that they value authenticity over perfection. Marketers need to understand Gen Alpha’s values and tastes to develop effective strategies. The era of slick and polished is over. In 2025 authenticity and reliability are the winners. Brands that can laugh at themselves and be genuine and unfiltered will connect more with this audience.
Crocs is a great example. Known for their weird and wacky design Crocs have leaned into their weirdness with a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. They don’t pretend to be something they’re not—they celebrate their quirks. By doing so they’ve built a loyal following with Gen Alpha who love brands that are comfortable in their own skin.
Building a Strong Brand for Gen Alpha
Marketing Agencies
Building a brand for Gen Alpha isn’t just a tagline or a logo. It’s a deep understanding of their values, tastes, and behaviors. Here are some branding strategies marketing agencies can use to connect with Gen Alpha:
1. Be Online: Gen Alpha lives online and expects brands to be too. Build engaging websites, social media profiles, and content that speaks to this digital generation.
2. Social Media Marketing: Social media is Gen Alpha’s playground. Marketing agencies should create social media marketing strategies that include posting, hashtags, and influencer marketing.
3. User Engagement: Gen Alpha values experiences and interactions with brands. Create experiences like interactive content, gamification, and events to connect with them more deeply.
4. Content: Gen Alpha consumes a lot of content online. To reach and connect with this generation prioritize content creation which includes video content, blog posts, and social media content.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Gen Alpha uses search engines to find information and products online. Marketing agencies should invest in SEO to get their clients higher organic rankings and visibility in search results.
6. PR: Develop PR strategies that build brand awareness, credibility, and trust as Gen Alpha values authenticity and transparency.
7. Research: Understanding Gen Alpha’s values, tastes and behaviors is key. Marketing agencies should research to inform their branding strategies and make sure their marketing is effective in reaching and connecting with this audience.
By getting to know Gen Alpha and developing branding that speaks to this generation, marketing agencies can build brands that attract and retain customers.
Data-Driven Insights: What Does Gen Alpha Want?
Gen Alpha is a media-influenced generation. A Shopify survey found that 70% of Gen Alpha parents say their Gen Alpha kids directly influence purchases based on beloved characters or shows. For brands wanting to reach their audience, aligning with popular characters or tapping into the latest trends will win.
And Gen Alpha isn’t just a passive audience. They want to engage, share, and interact with content on their own terms. Brands like Sour Patch Kids are doing this by encouraging fan interaction – whether it’s through tagging friends, creating user-generated content, or sharing funny memes. Brands that invite Gen Alpha to join the fun will connect with them.
How Brands Can Keep Up with Gen Alpha
To thrive in 2025 marketers will need to be aligned with the unique preferences of Gen Alpha. This generation is all about the digital-first experience, meme culture, and real connections. So how can brands keep up? Here’s how:
1. Memeify: Gen Alpha loves random, weird, and meme-inspired humor. Grab their attention by thinking outside the box and creating content that’s fun and shareable.
2. Be Authentic: Forget perfect content. Gen Alpha values authenticity and self-aware brands. Embrace your quirks and imperfections to build stronger relationships.
3. Engage and Interact: Gen Alpha loves to be part of the conversation. Don’t just push out content – invite them to share, tag, and participate. The more interactive the better.
4. Be Unpredictable: Gen Alpha is drawn to brands that take risks whether it’s trying out weird trends or embracing offbeat humor the more unexpected the better.
Gen Alpha is the Future—Are You Ready?
The rise of Gen Alpha is changing the way we think about digital marketing. By 2025 the brands that get meme culture, authenticity, and deep engagement with their audience will win.
If you haven’t yet adapted to Gen Alpha’s mix of random meme-driven humor and crazy chaos, now’s the time to get on board. In Gen Alpha’s world chaos is the new cool and the brands that get it will lead the way. At Brandastic, we’re experts in creating digital marketing strategies that connect with the next generation of consumers. Whether you want to be authentic, leverage trends or create shareable content we have the expertise to keep your brand ahead of the curve.
Connect with us today to ignite your brand’s potential!
