Meet Generation Alpha

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In the business communication landscape, we make a clear distinction between communication with consumers (B2C) and communication with companies (B2B). Numerous books and articles have been written about the communication strategies that underlie this. Consumer and business are strictly separated: where the consumer makes his decision based on emotion, the business customer seems to act more often from reason. In PR, too, we first look at the target groups, after which we choose a B2B or B2C approach. But a new generation of consumers is coming that could well change this: generation Alpha.


Meet Generation Alpha: born from 2010 onwards and raised in a constantly changing technological landscape. Named after social scientist Mark McCrindle , this new generation is a generation that, like every generation before them – from Gen Nix to Millennials – has access to new tools and communication options. But for the Alphas, these developments are happening faster than ever before: last year’s technology is nothing like today’s technology. This means that we need to radically japan phone number list change our communication approach to connect with this generation. Although Generation Alpha is still in its infancy, companies need to prepare now for this changing approach: a communication strategy that blurs the lines between B2B and B2C.

To help marketers approach this generation, Yellow Communications launched the report ' Insight into Generation Alpha ' (pdf). Because whoever wants to reach this new consumer will benefit from a more businesslike approach.



The line between B2B and B2C is blurring
In order to approach business customers, a foray into B2C communication is now also ventured every now and then. Especially in the area of ​​social media, companies are advised to communicate personally, with a more emotional message – characteristics that we normally find more in B2C communication. The reverse is much less the case. Because why would we choose a more businesslike, impersonal approach in our communication with the consumer? That does not fit in with the technology of today: we can increasingly personalize our messages and target the consumer, thanks to smart retargeting and tracking campaigns.

Our brain
To understand why a different approach is needed for this new generation, we must first look at the development of these Alphas. The human brain is not a static clump of cells: our gray matter continuously adapts as we learn and gain experience. Our brain is fundamentally different from the brain of early humans. Hunters and gatherers knew how to get food and how to make fire, but they didn’t need to specialize in either of these tasks. Today, our brains are much more specialized: we know more, but about a narrower range of subjects and have often focused on a specific area of ​​knowledge. Generation Alpha is therefore characterized as a generation of super-specialists.