Gen Alpha Targeting Shift Reshapes Strategy for Gaming, Toy and D2C Marketers

For years, behavioural data has served as the backbone of targeted digital advertising for youth-focused sectors, allowing brands to deliver hyper-personalized messages to Gen Z and younger audiences based on their browsing history, app usage, and past purchase behaviour. But new analysis from Storyboard18 signals a seismic shift in how Gen Alpha — the cohort born between 2010 and 2025 — is being targeted by brands, with gaming, toys and direct-to-consumer (D2C) sectors among the most exposed to the change. This shift is driven by a combination of stricter platform policies, global regulatory crackdowns on youth data collection, and growing consumer awareness of privacy risks associated with behavioural tracking.

Gen Alpha is the first generation to come of age entirely amid widespread restrictions on the collection and use of minors’ behavioural data. Major social platforms including TikTok, YouTube and Instagram have rolled out default restrictions on behavioural targeting for users under 16, while regulations such as the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act have banned the use of behavioural data to target minors entirely in many jurisdictions. For brands that have long relied on these data points to reach young audiences, the shift requires a complete rework of long-standing targeting and campaign strategies.

The move away from behavioural data is not a temporary trend, but a structural shift driven by both regulatory mandates and platform policy changes that are unlikely to reverse in the near term. As of 2024, more than 60% of Gen Alpha’s digital time is spent on platforms that restrict behavioural targeting for under-16 users, per early platform transparency reports. The gaming, toys and D2C sectors rely on youth-focused targeting for 35% to 50% of their annual digital ad spend, making them the most exposed to this regulatory and platform-driven shift.

For CMOs in these sectors, the loss of behavioural data as a reliable targeting tool creates immediate challenges for campaign performance measurement, audience segmentation, and return on ad spend (ROAS) tracking. Many brands have spent years building first-party data repositories to offset the loss of third-party cookies, but these repositories often lack the depth of behavioural data needed to target Gen Alpha effectively, particularly for new customer acquisition. The shift also raises questions about the future of programmatic advertising for youth-focused brands, as many programmatic platforms rely heavily on behavioural data signals to deliver targeted impressions.

As behavioural data becomes less accessible, many brands in the hardest-hit sectors are turning to contextual targeting and creator-led campaigns as a more reliable way to reach Gen Alpha. Unlike behavioural targeting, which relies on tracking individual user activity, contextual targeting aligns ad content with the content a user is actively engaging with — for example, placing a toy brand ad alongside a popular children’s gaming creator’s video, rather than targeting a user who has previously searched for toys. Creator-led campaigns are particularly effective for this cohort, as Gen Alpha prioritizes authenticity and trust in the personalities they follow online, with 72% of Gen Alpha respondents in a 2024 Common Sense Media survey saying they trust recommendations from creators they follow more than ads they see online.

For gaming and esports brands in particular, creator partnerships have long been a core part of their marketing strategies, and the shift away from behavioural data only amplifies the value of these partnerships. Gaming creators have built deeply engaged, contextually relevant audiences that align directly with the core customer bases of gaming, toy and D2C brands, and their endorsements carry weight without requiring behavioural proof of past purchase intent. Many brands are also shifting their creator partnership strategies to focus on long-term, ambassador-style relationships rather than one-off sponsored posts, as these longer partnerships build deeper trust with Gen Alpha audiences and deliver more consistent campaign performance over time.

The shift away from behavioural targeting also brings new compliance and brand safety risks for CMOs to navigate. Non-compliance with youth data regulations can lead to fines of up to 6% of a brand’s global annual revenue under the DSA, while platform penalties for violating data policies can include ad account suspensions, which can disrupt high-volume campaign schedules during peak sales periods such as the holiday season. To mitigate these risks, many CMOs are prioritizing transparency in their targeting practices, working with agencies and creators that can verify compliance with youth data regulations, and implementing stricter brand safety protocols to ensure contextually targeted ads do not appear alongside inappropriate content for young audiences.

Many brands are also accelerating their investments in first-party data collection channels, such as branded community platforms, loyalty programs, and in-game reward systems, to build their own datasets of Gen Alpha consumer preferences without relying on invasive behavioural tracking. While building these channels takes time and investment, they offer a more sustainable and compliant way to understand and reach Gen Alpha audiences over the long term, and can deliver higher customer lifetime value than traditional behavioural targeting strategies.

How immediate is the impact of this targeting shift for our brand? The shift is already underway: platform restrictions on under-16 behavioural targeting took effect for most major social platforms in 2023, and regulatory penalties for non-compliance began rolling out in early 2024. Brands that rely heavily on youth-focused behavioural targeting should expect to see reduced campaign performance and potential compliance risks in the next 6 to 12 months if they do not adjust their strategies.

Will contextual and creator-led targeting be as effective as behavioural targeting for Gen Alpha? Early testing from major gaming and D2C brands shows that contextually aligned creator campaigns deliver 20% to 30% higher engagement rates with Gen Alpha than traditional behavioural targeted ads, as this cohort is highly skeptical of personalized ads that feel based on intrusive tracking.

What steps should we take first to adapt our strategy? Start by auditing your current targeting parameters to remove any reliance on behavioural data for under-16 audiences, then invest in partnerships with creators whose audiences align with your brand values and target demographic. Building first-party data collection channels, such as branded community spaces or loyalty programs, will also help supplement the loss of third-party behavioural data over time.

At Miela, we have long operated on the principle that the most effective marketing for digitally native, values-driven audiences like Gen Alpha comes from authentic human connection, not opaque data tracking. The current shift away from behavioural data is not a barrier to effective campaign performance — it is a validation of the approach we have championed for years: pairing exceptional creator talent with data-driven contextual insights to reach audiences without relying on invasive tracking.

Our proprietary technology is built to support this model, not replace it: we use contextual audience analysis, brand safety scanning, and performance measurement tools that do not rely on individual behavioural data, while our talent management team curates creator partnerships that align with brand values and target audience interests. For CMOs navigating this shift, the opportunity is to build longer-term, more authentic relationships with Gen Alpha consumers, rather than chasing short-term conversion metrics driven by behavioural targeting.

Storyboard18 — Gaming, toys, D2C among sectors most exposed as Gen Alpha targeting shifts away from behavioural data - Storyboard18