This summer, advertising research firm Adalytics released research about YouTube, claiming the video giant may have served ads on videos targeted to kids and installed cookies on the browsers of people watching those videos, potentially in violation of a federal privacy law. Google has denied the allegations.

The report underscores the restrictions marketers can face when trying to reach Gen Alpha, whose oldest members are around 13 years old.

Companies including Claire’s and Crayola have rolled out campaigns geared toward the demo. Meanwhile, Disney+ and ESPN+ recently aired a Toy Story-themed NFL alternative telecast—and next year’s Super Bowl is set to have an alternate telecast on Nickelodeon—in a bid to reach younger fans.

As marketers try to capture this generation’s attention, they’re relying on different strategies. Some are leaning into gaming and metaverse campaigns, while others are hoping to reach them via their parents.

“We’re going to see a lot more happening with Gen Alpha in the next two to three years,” Christina O’Toole, VP of marketing at Refuel Agency, told us.

Continue reading here.—JS

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Last year, Spotify’s VP and global head of advertising, Lee Brown, told us most people don’t skip podcast ads, according to the company’s data, suggesting that people might not be all that bothered by promos from the likes of Athletic Greens and BetterHelp.

It seems people don’t mind, or are at least willing to put up with, audio ads: A report from Integral Ad Science found that consumers are fairly open to hearing ads while listening to music and podcasts, but only in certain instances, according to its research, which was conducted in June among more than 1,000 US listeners.

Most respondents said they’ve interacted with digital audio ads in the past year—with some even having made purchases as a result—but many also said they can be put off by disruptive or irrelevant ads.

Bring it on: Spend on digital audio in the US is expected to reach more than $7.5 billion next year, a 10.5% jump year over year, according to the report. Brands investing in the space aren’t shouting into the void:

• More than three-quarters (81%) of internet users in the US have listened to digital audio in the past year, primarily on Spotify and YouTube.
• Of those listeners, 63% have interacted with audio ads in the past 12 months, 28% have visited a store or website as a result, and 20% have actually made a purchase.
• Host-read podcast ads were most effective at driving purchases, per the report, but not by much more than pre-recorded, audio-only ads.

​​”Every marketer has to think about these things in terms of what best is going to convey the message,” Jeremy Kanterman, VP of research and insights at Integral Ad Science, told Marketing Brew. “Some hosts can do that really well, and sometimes you want to have a pre-roll ad in there…It’s good for advertisers to have options. Not every strategy is going to fit every brand.”

Read more about the research here.—AM

Dollar stores have been making headlines recently as cash-strapped consumers increasingly turn to them for essentials amid continually inflated prices.

Ahead of Groceryshop, Retail Brew had scheduled time to chat with Dollar General SVP and CMO Chad Fox, who was in attendance for a panel at the show. Initially, the plan was to discuss Dollar General’s marketing strategy and challenges Fox is facing as a retail marketer, but an in-depth Bloomberg story detailing a slew of allegations around employee safety and product quality issues was published the night before the interview and brought a different challenge to the forefront.

Before we share some of Fox’s broader marketing insights, we wanted to share his response to the recent headlines and how, in his role, he says he’s working to improve consumer sentiment around store safety and employee treatment.

“I’m going to leave that to our PR team and other people who deal with that on a daily basis,” Fox prefaced. (Dollar General’s PR team told Bloomberg it’s boosting labor to improve these conditions, among other efforts. It declined to comment further to Retail Brew.)

“From my perspective, we need to do a couple of things,” Fox told us. “I’m not going to say that we’re perfect, but the customer is at the center, and the customer does come first, and that’s why we do what we do. And so I think those things will continue to improve. I think a lot of retail is still recovering from the pandemic and supply-chain issues, and then it just worked its way down to where the stores are the tip of the whip. Our mission is to fill that gap and deliver for them.”

Read more of Retail Brew’s conversation with Fox here.—EC

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