Banks can win Gen Alpha’s attention on mobile and via video

Gen Alpha-focused marketing must be mobile-forward. During the pandemic, Gen Alphas became more reliant than ever on mobile devices for education, socializing, and entertainment—and they never looked back. Eighty percent of US internet users ages 0–11 will be tablet users this year, and almost 30% will be smartphone users, per our forecasts.

Digital video is Gen Alpha’s top online pastime and should be marketers’ go-to format. Among the 36.2 million Gen Alpha internet users in the US, digital video is the most prevalent activity by far (81.4%), followed distantly by digital gaming, per our forecasts.

Gen Alpha’s love of digital video makes YouTube the center of their online universe—and the key platform for marketers to build rapport with them.

• Most US Gen Alphas use YouTube. Around 79% of internet users under age 12 will watch YouTube monthly in 2024, versus 7.5% for TikTok, 6.8% for Instagram, and 5.0% for Facebook, per our forecasts.
• It has strong brand affinity among kids. Gen Alphas named YouTube the coolest brand in a 2023 Beano Brain survey cited by SGB Media, beating the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Advertisements there could automatically be more appealing to children.
• YouTube is also the top channel for product discovery. Almost 60% of Gen Alpha parents said that their kids discover new brands and products through YouTube videos, per the Morning Consult report. More importantly, they remember what they see there: YouTube is the top channel where US kids ages 2–12 remember seeing ads, according to an October 2023 Precise TV survey.