Gen Alpha Rising: Addressing Ethical Marketing to Kids

Hello, Alex, long time no talk. How's life? You still look the same. I'm looking at this. Hey, I was I was in the sun a lot. You should you should actually compliment me for my nice brown skin tone. I mean, you're generally brown. That's true. I mean, that's jealousy speaking, because I can sit hours in the sun and I will always reflect that. So I mean, can be an advantage. You can be an amplifier, right with your reflection to others. Oh, yeah. Like when you're on a boat and you get tanned faster, that's like sitting next to me in the sun. I see. I see. Well, then we should meet for coffee sometime. Yeah. And bring your oil. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, I have some some oil for today, Alex. I think it's a while since we talked about market research. And I wanted to bring those easy topics for me, right? Yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, I'd love to hear your opinion. So, well, there's a project I'm working on for a quite a big company that produces drinks. And what they want to do is they want to address Generation A. So Generation Alpha. Is it Coca-Cola? I can't tell you that, you know, for NDA reasons. But I was just thinking to talking about it today because I found it really, really interesting how to approach such a target group, right? I mean, when I look at market research, I see multiple layers and multiple types of markets you can enter. But so Generation A, that's like. Well, the young generation that is just after Gen Z. So it's like the young kids who are getting yet digital or are they already digital? Yeah, that's that's the interesting part. So these are the four, five, six, seven year old people who are growing up with a phone or tablets that their parents are putting into their hands because they're not shutting up. Oh, shit. Yeah, I had a I had an amazing conversation about this on the weekends. Yeah, you go on, you go on. Yeah, I mean, I will very likely come to the point that you were discussing eventually because so the idea of this company is to start thinking about how to address this younger generation. And the question that is coming up, how are we going to do that and what kind of products can we develop? And my feedback was before you think about a product, especially for such a young, aspiring generation, you should rather think about how to address those people. Right. Because, I mean, my sister has a couple of kids. They are 10, 11 years old. I was just talking to them. Right. And they have a phone. And when I look at their screens, I don't see an Amazon app. I don't see a kind of fashion brand app on their phones. Right. They're playing games. They're on social media. They're using obviously WhatsApp. And the question is, how do you target these kids and these aspiring humans? So I found it really interesting because it's a completely different way. I mean, not a completely different way, but to me, it's a very specific way on trying to enter a new market or to be more specific, a specific target. Right. And I wanted to talk to you about it because I'm happy to hear your thoughts on, first of all, how to approach research and also how to come up with a strategy to reach those people. Because in my opinion, oh, I save my opinion before I go on. I don't want to bias you. I mean, you know, I love your opinions. I mean, it's a hard time. I don't even know where to start. Let's put it like that. I mean, I know you're not a fan of personas, right? Yes, no, I'm not. I'm not. I'm definitely not. I keep having that conversation. My team proposed that they want to have personas. And you said just no. No, but like they already came and they were like, yeah, well, like. We know you don't like personas. Please don't fire me. No, I feel like I created this image of not liking personas. But you know that it's not about me not liking personas. It's about me not liking when people use frameworks for the sake of using frameworks without using their brain on what makes sense. Yeah, because you do shit with a persona that is like Peter, 75 years old, retired, living in Germany, likes to walk his dog. I mean. So what? So what? But yeah, that's that's about personas. You can have personas. Just make them useful. I think about the problems of a specific group of people. And I always say, like, I'd rather separate, you know, by specific jobs to be done. Then buy some archetype based fictional personas. And yes, make it try to emphasize more. And it's easier to emphasize with a person than it is with a JTBD. But I think it's just more helpful to talk to your customers and understand, OK, what different jobs are we trying to serve? What different problems do we have? What different mindsets do we have? What are the key archetypes? And then different mindsets could have the same job to be done. Or you can mix and match them, right? And then you can still build a product that serves all those jobs and you can validate it through the lens of different mindsets than just like having fictional people. Fictional people just never work, right? That's why we do research. Yeah. And when it comes to, I mean, this is now covered, but when we look at the existing people, the existing kids out there, how would you approach trying to enter this new market or trying to address your products and services to this target group? I mean, you're touching a very interesting topic because I have worked on a project that was working with kids in that age. I think back then we didn't call them Alpha, or maybe we did. Adam, actually, and this is a spoiler for everyone who's applying for my roles. I have a kids-based whiteboarding challenge in my interview process because I find it interesting to see what creative approaches people find and how they can analyze a problem space that's not as known. So, yeah, now everyone who's listening and who's trying to apply knows how to get ready. The thing with kids is that kids is a very specific target. Now there is ethical questions or even regulations at times, like, okay, are you selling, like, are you targeting the kids? Can you even target the kids? Can you sell to the kids? Or do you need to follow a different approach and do you go for the parents and so on? Or do you raise brand awareness by just being present somewhere, right? And then, again, ethical, is that the right thing? I mean, big soda brands, and I mean, I don't even want to go there, oh, that could be Red Bull, right? Could be. Is that ethically correct to then subconsciously target a kid that's, like, watching a kid's movie on YouTube? Yeah, and I think this is also the conversation that we had on the weekend, right, of, like, especially now with AI-generated content and parents who just, like, give the iPad to the kid to keep them quiet for a few hours. YouTube is on autoplay, and suddenly there's, like, all this AI-generated content made specifically for kids, but it doesn't make any sense at all, which is, like, it lands there, people who produce it make money without doing anything, and nobody controls it because the parents also don't really watch, right? So I mean, that's a whole other thing. But I think if we're looking at it from, okay, we have good intentions, it's a good product, and so on, I mean, I think the important thing is to start looking at, okay, where do I find those people? How can I reach them? What are the things? Where are they hanging out? Yeah, what are the things that they are using, right? You mentioned there is a way, there is very different patterns or behavioral patterns when you look at kids than it is with our generation, right? Even the way they use social media is very different from the way we use social media. One of the most important things to me is the whole value and belief system. The whole value and belief system is completely different. I mean, if we just look at Gen Z, right, and how they look at the world, and I mean, there are many studies about it, you can check it out, right, that there's also, like, a lot of social media affection, that there is also a lot of, I mean, like, end-game, end-time thinking that the world goes down because climate is shit, economy is shit, everything is shit, right? But how do you talk to those people? How do you sell a product? How do you address certain messages? I think it's not easy, and you really need to understand your target group. But this is exactly where the research comes in, right, and this is, there is no true answer to that, or I also haven't done enough broad research in that field. I told you about the project they did, it was, like, specific on finances for children. But when it comes to their broader approach to the word, I can't talk about it. But it's really about understanding, okay, what are the problems that they are facing? What's on top of their mind? Like, they're in a very different situation, life-wise, than we are. They don't need to pay rent. They didn't think about the job, but maybe there is a lot of other social pressure that they have. And what are those things? What is their emotional state? Yeah, so just to give you some insights, there are two things that I just got out, also in the first steps of research, is that there is a huge need and a huge drive for individualism. And at the same time, there's also a lot of pressure to keep up with peers and compete against them, which is kind of contradicting, right? So on one hand, you want to be completely individual, but on the other hand, you don't want to miss out on being cool like the other kids. So I think just being in this discrepancy is already super interesting. And one thing that I've learned from copywriting is if you want to sell a product, if you want to make someone want to buy your services or your products, you need to think like them. You need to look at the world in their glasses. That's the best way to, for example, define marketing messages. And it's also the best way to design and build a product, in my opinion. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how I do it. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I think, well, first of all, to the learning that you had, I mean, at the end, individualism is also just like a form of trying to be different, to stand out, to be better, right? Yeah. I mean, nobody wants to be the sheep that follows the masses. Every conspiracy theorist who just follows some other conspiracy theorists thinks they are special because they have something that nobody knows, right? So I think there is always this aspect of individualism while still belonging to a group or then being in this group and measuring yourself, right? So that's, I mean, it totally makes sense as learning. I think the point, and again, it's because we're talking about children, they probably are not the ones making financial decisions. So you need to think even... True. So you're either preparing for when they're making, taking financial decisions, or you need to go this level above, right? Like I need to win the kids. I need to think of how then the kid approaches the parents. So the storytelling to the kid needs to lead to storytelling to the parents when they want them to get it or to buy it or to subscribe to it or whatever. And I think that's where it gets interesting, right? Because we're now talking about two completely different ways of marketing, the short-term or the long-term game. And I mean, you are the branding code writer, the person who has a lot of experience with branding. I think if you want to establish a stable brand, you need to play the long game and look much further into the future. For example, once the children reach this level where they can make financial decisions by themselves. So I just want to highlight that also for everyone who's tuning in, there are completely different ways of researching and also deriving hypothesis out of your research. I need to look at a complete different point of view on that topic if I want to address people or children once they are independent enough to make their own decisions, while I want to win their parents. Yeah, absolutely. Compared to I want to win their parents. So that's a complete different game. I think these kinds of things need to be clear right from the beginning, which means for me as a coaching consultant working with a company, I try to figure out what is the goal of the brand? Where do you see yourself in the next years? What are your core values? Before I even start thinking about research. So this is how I approach it. Please, I'm happy to hear your opinion. But I think you need to look at a very broad angle on branding, on communication, on research, on marketing activities. It's a big topic. And obviously, the goals that you set are important. I think, I mean, especially in branding, I mean, I envy every company that really can think now about nurturing future customers years out without having an immediate benefit, right? So yes, of course, it makes sense to build loyalty. Makes sense to have like this product to get people, I would say hooked, it sounds bad when you use it in the combination with kids, right, especially in the ethical topic. To get them hooked on your brand and to get them familiarized with your brand so that they stick to it, right? The longer the relationship, the stronger it will be. Yeah. Totally. But yeah, I think oftentimes it's also not easy to nurture customers that will only become customers in 20 years. But then it also comes down to, okay, how, again, like how are the current customers then bringing this to the world? Like how is a brand then connected with a certain emotion, with a certain feeling and so on? Where do kids then see it? And mentally, I'm falling back to Coca-Cola and I know it's not your client or maybe this or maybe not, it doesn't matter. But if you think about also their approach in marketing, early days with the Christmas truck, with Santa Claus, with product placements across all the different movies. And this is exactly this, like, okay, you're connecting it to an emotion on all levels and for all generations, right? Because they did it not only for kids. It's a lifestyle, actually. Yeah. It becomes this subconscious choice when you go to a shop and you're thinking of what should I get? And then I tend towards something that feels familiar, that I know where I identify myself with the emotion or with the picture, the image that it has to the outside. So that brings me to my last and most important question of this today's episode, Alex. What is the biggest conspiracy you believe in? Like I said in the last episode, the word is going to implode because we have too much tech. It's my self-made up conspiracy theory. Well, my latest and most addicting conspiracy theory is, do you know this movement, if it flies it spies? Every pigeon is technically not a real pigeon. I love that. There is this guy who drives this truck around. Do you know him? I got a T-shirt from a friend who was visiting the US. If it flies it spies shirt. Amazing. And I mean, honestly, have you ever seen pigeons in the wild? No, they're always in cities. So to me, it's here. Now that the conspiracy theorist also says, have you ever seen a baby pigeon? True. Fuck. But now as a non-conspiracy theorist, I can tell you, I had like baby pigeons in my staircase and they fucked up the whole building because they shat everywhere. It's crazy. You can't get rid of them. They keep coming back. Do you see how advanced these machines are that can eat really shitty? Okay. I think we should end it. It gets messy. But hey, if you made it until now, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share this episode with your family and friends. Oh yeah. Congrats. Quite the minutes of your life spent with us. Or if you're smart enough, 10 minutes at double speed. Don't say that. That reduces our playtime, Alex. Don't say that. We're all about efficiency. Have a nice evening. Bye bye. This was the Product Bakery. All links can be found in the podcast description and make sure to follow and subscribe for weekly episodes on all podcast platforms as well as YouTube.