University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Growing up with Alphas: how animation marketers can survive the next generation

(USC Thesis Other)

Growing up with Alphas: how animation marketers can survive the next generation

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

Growing Up With Alphas:
How Animation Marketers Can Survive
The Next Generation

By
Jeremy Bonds

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS)

May 2019

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 1
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction: A Changing Animated Landscape ................................................................................... 3
Entertainment’s Historically Problematic Marketing Strategy ............................................................ 6
The Changing Media Consumption Rates: Mobile Reigns King....................................................... 7
Understanding Children’s Media Preference Age as They Grow and Advance Through Life ..... 10
PESO: The Solution to Reducing Marketing Costs.............................................................................. 11
Who is Generation Alpha? ..................................................................................................................... 13
Millennials: The Parents of Generation Alpha ................................................................................. 15
A Generation of Firsts ........................................................................................................................ 15
The Monetary Power of Millennials .................................................................................................. 16
Predictions on Alphas ......................................................................................................................... 18
Societal Issues Facing Generation Alpha .............................................................................................. 19
Depression/Anxiety ............................................................................................................................. 19
Gender Inequality/LGBTQ+ Issues ................................................................................................... 22
Ethnic Representation ........................................................................................................................ 24
Current Animated Programs of Note Addressing These Issues .......................................................... 25
Cartoon Network Programs ............................................................................................................... 25
Adventure Time .............................................................................................................................. 26
Steven Universe ............................................................................................................................... 32
Nickelodeon Programs ........................................................................................................................ 37
The Loud House .............................................................................................................................. 37
Los Casagrandes ............................................................................................................................. 40
Disney Programs ................................................................................................................................. 41
Coco ................................................................................................................................................. 41
Why PESO is needed .......................................................................................................................... 44
Social: The Powerhouse of PESO .......................................................................................................... 48
Case Study: Cartoon Network’s CSR Embodies the Best of PESO .................................................... 49
Stop Bullying: Speak Up..................................................................................................................... 49
Empowerpuff Program....................................................................................................................... 50
Steven Universe’s Partnership with Dove Self Esteem Project ....................................................... 51
Recommendations for Marketers .......................................................................................................... 58
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 65
P a g e | 1

Acknowledgements
Writing this paper has been a dream come true for me. I have always had this vision of an
animation/communication hybrid paper and was finally pushed to create just that this project.
Through this paper, I am able to combine my passion for animation and my career in
communications and create a partial guide for those interested in both, like myself. Growing up
with Alphas wouldn’t be possible without my amazing committee: Jennifer Floto, Fred Cook and
Matthew K. Le Veque. It has been a true privilege and honor work with the three of you on this.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include the generous contributions I received from the
individuals who agreed to speak with me on the topics of animation, PESO and Generation
Alpha: Kim (Barnhill) Warden, Hoai-Tran Bui, Lauren Rearick, Professor Burghardt Tenderich,
Professor Joe Nellis and Ashley Cassity Simpson.
I would also like to give a special thank you to Brenda Lynch who helped me narrow my
vision and flesh out my overall idea for this paper. You were crucial in the development of this
project and I can’t thank you enough.
Finally, I’d like to thank my loving and patient fiancée, Jessica Gilbert, for enduring
countless hours of proofreading, discussions and late-night research and writing sprees during
the duration of this project. You are my rock and I can’t overstate how much your support means
to me.

P a g e | 2

Abstract
Millennials have aged out of the traditional target audience for animation with Generation
Z taking their place; however, marketers are ignoring perhaps their most important consumers,
some of which have yet to be born: Generation Alpha. This emerging generation, born between
2010 – 2025, are expected to exemplify the traits of their Millennial parents, though their
demands from brands will be amplified to unheard of levels. These true digital natives are
expected to be the most difficult consumers to win over in history. Pundits believe they will be
the most socially conscious generation to date and, among other predictions, will expect their
animation to reflect their views. In order for animation marketers to break through the clutter and
reach this emerging demographic in a fiscally efficient manner, they will need to fully embrace
the communication PESO (paid, earned, shared and owned) method. By properly employing
PESO, animation marketers will be able gain the attention of Alphas and earn the loyalty of their
Millennial parents by promoting the socially conscious messages modern animation portrays in
the most appropriate consumable methods for each generation.

P a g e | 3

Introduction: A Changing Animated Landscape
The purpose of this paper is to help serve as a guide for those creating and marketing
child-centric animated programs and theatrical features for today’s crowded and content heavy
media landscape alongside modern society’s demand for socially conscious storytelling. Through
this white paper, the author plans to explore the best practices to convey the socially conscious
messages modern animation promotes to their viewers and how doing so will earn the loyalty of
their parents. The author will dissect the communication PESO model, examine Generation
Alpha and their Millennial parents, explore the subtle and implied messages of select animated
programs and discuss the challenges and proposed solutions on how marketers can best
communicate to this emerging generation in a cost-efficient manner.
This paper is crucial for animation marketers since their primary consumers, Generation
Alpha, are predicted to radically change the way society consumes media in the near future.
Additionally, as society changes and advances, the demand for socially conscious animation
increases. To reach this audience, maintain loyalty with them and utilize the subtle messages
animation conveys, marketers must understand Alphas in order to survive the next ten years and
beyond. Since the late 1990s, the media landscape has constantly been changing; with the digital
revolution still upon us, how people consumed media ten years ago was radically different than
how we consume media today – which in turn will be radically different in the future. The same
is true of animation.
Gone are the days of Felix the Cat’s magic bag of tricks and early to mid-Twentieth
Century frivolous feline follies
1
. Today, it has become the norm for children’s animation to

1
Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan, made his debut in 1919 as a character called Master Tom in Feline Follies
(Furniss 2016 53).
P a g e | 4

tackle heavy topics such as representation, gun violence and body positivity – topics that would
previously never been allowed out of development. In an interview with IndieWire, Disney
Channels Worldwide executive Jane Gould
2
stated that a study Disney conducted in 2016 found
that children wanted to see more inclusivity and diversity in their programming to better reflect
their own surroundings – something unheard of a few decades back. “What it signaled to us is
that childhood had shifted because the world had shifted,” she said. “They live in a different
place than we do. We heard them asking for their lives to be reflected through media and were
looking for ways for that to happen for characters and stories” (Nguyen 2018). These young
consumers are predicted to be the most socially conscious, ethnically diverse and digitally
connected generation in history, so it’s imperative for animation to not only be able to reach this
generation wherever they are, but to convey socially conscious messages in a way that will
organically translate to this audience. By understanding Alphas and the different ways they are
predicted to consume their media as they grow and advance through different life stages,
animation marketers will be able to dominate the content-heavy scene we have now and survive
the overly-crowded media landscape we are rapidly headed in.
Because animation is such a diverse and at times convoluted field (with some scholars
claiming that cave drawings depicting movement constitutes as animation) (Zeke 2015), this
paper will focus on animation in the traditional sense: i.e. animation as depicted through film.
According to Maureen Furniss, president of the Society for Animation Studies, animation is
divided into three categories: 2D, stop-motion and 3D animation. Animation has evolved
significantly from its inception to what we know of it today. Starting off as simple hand-drawn

2
Jane Gould’s official title is: Senior Vice President, Consumer Insights and Programming Strategy, Disney Channels
Worldwide (Disney ABC Television Group).
P a g e | 5

cells in Fantasmagorie (1908)
3
depicting minimalistic stick figure movements, to computer-
generated million-dollar blockbusters that weave complex and emotional storylines, animation
has evolved alongside society’s view of the medium. Currently many types of animated products
are being produced, from forms of entertainment to education, promotion, therapy and fine art
(Furniss 2016 12), with a growing sense of inclusivity across all, reflecting the changing world.
Today’s animated programs not only reflect society’s views of inclusivity and
acceptance, they’re able to reinforce them as well. According to Cartoon Network Senior
Publicist Kim Barnhill, “people more than ever are seeking to be represented on screen and
animation is starting to reflect that.” Along with portraying a wider range of characters, setting
and inclusivity, the animation medium is able to “reach emotional depths that wouldn’t be
possible in live-action. The format can be a Trojan Horse for complicated themes or sadness,
made surprising because they’re delivered in primary colors” (Schwartz 2017). Programs like
Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe and Adventure Time depict strong female characters,
promote feminism, embrace the LGBTQ+ community, portray various ethnicities, explore body
acceptance, and more – all of which are major social issues in today’s society and are expected to
be substantial issues for the emerging generation. Though Cartoon Network is leading the way
with socially conscious animation such as the two programs mentioned above, studios such as
Nickelodeon and Disney are paving their own way forward with programs including The Loud
House, Las Casagrandes (working title), and the feature-length film Coco.
It is the author’s goal that this paper will reinforce the importance of socially conscious
animation as well as serve as a “PESO best practice guide” for marketers when promoting
animated programs and film to children.

3
Belgian scientist and artist Étienne-Gaspard Robertson is credited with the earliest example of traditional
animation with his film Fantasmagorie considered by historians to be the first animated cartoon. (Furniss 2016 16).
P a g e | 6

Entertainment’s Historically Problematic Marketing Strategy
With the plethora of content made available daily, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for
entertainment marketers to “break through the noise” and reach their target audiences. The
routine tactic for decades has been to “go big” on marketing campaigns, which for major
blockbuster films that generally means spending a total as half as much of the total production
budget of the film (Roos 2008). According to James Rainey, senior film reporter for Variety,
another factor of the high costs of films comes from the intense pressure studio marketing
executives are under while trying meet the box office projections – which tends to lead to the
thought of it’s better to buy too much, rather than too little. “It feels like a guilt-driven business,”
stated Russell Schwartz, a co-principle in the consulting firm Pandemic Marketing Group, in an
interview with Rainey. “‘Who am I missing?’ rather than, ‘Who am I getting?’” (Rainey 2016).
Additionally, as one anonymous studio executive stated to Rainy in the same article “… you
can’t use your marketing budget to experiment with something new.”
Herein lies the problem, the entertainment industry (most notably the theatrical portion)
are remaining overly reliant in their antiquated television marketing ways with costly television
ad buys and are either too afraid or too stubborn to try something new. It’s been documented that
television isn’t the powerhouse go-to medium it used to be due to how different age groups
access and consume media in different ways. Simply look around at your next multi-generational
family gathering. You’ll notice the Builders, Baby Boomers and members of Generation X fully
engaging each other in conversation or actively viewing a program on television, meanwhile
younger Millennials, members of Generation Z and the oldest of the Alphas almost certainly
have their phones out, sharing images and moments with each with from their devices. However,
P a g e | 7

don’t think of the older generations as relying solely on television as their go-to entertainment
source.
According to a 2015 study by CRM software company BuzzStream and marketing firm
Fractl, Baby Boomers spend more time-consuming content online than Gen Xers and
Millennials, with 25% of those surveyed consuming 20+ hours of digital content per week. All in
all, more and more people spanning all generations are accessing information through mobile
devices at faster rates than ever before; be that through smart phones, tablets, smart watches, etc.
– the reality is mobile is the future, not traditional television as some major studios still seem to
believe.

The Changing Media Consumption Rates: Mobile Reigns King
The media landscape continuously changes and evolves, and with the spread of mobile
devices alongside increasingly rapid data networks, media and entertainment consumption across
the world has transformed dramatically in recent years. According to Zenith’s Media
Consumption Forecasts 2018
4
(as seen in Figure A), 24% of all media consumption globally in
2018 was predicted to be accessed via mobile devices (up from just 5% in 2011), and by 2020 it
is expected to increase to 28%. Additionally, 71% of Internet use in 2018 was via mobile
devices, up from 27% in 2010 – this is in response to the shrinking desktop use which has
decreased 17% since 2010. Notably important, time spent watching traditional television and
time listening to terrestrial radio shrank by three and eight percent, respectively.

4
This is the fourth annual edition of the Media Consumption Forecasts, which surveys changing patterns of media
consumption since 2011, and forecasts how the amount of time people allocate to different media will change
between 2018 and 2020, in 63 countries across the world.
P a g e | 8

This continuous rise in mobile Internet use has clearly affected all other media,
consuming the viewership of traditional print publications (though they have since made up for it
by building their own online presence) and positioning TV and radio to face stiff competition
from digital native platforms such as Spotify and YouTube (afaqs 2018). The use of mobile
devices and media content catered to said devices has blurred the boundaries between traditional
channels, such as entertainment, information, news, communication, socializing and research.
“Under traditional definitions, all other media are losing out to the mobile Internet,” stated
Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s Head of Forecasting and Director of Global Intelligence, in a Zenith
Media report. “But the truth is that the distinctions between media are becoming less important,
and mobile technology offers publishers and brands more opportunities to reach consumers than
ever.”
Table 2
P a g e | 9

For entertainment marketers, this can be seen as a blessing as the blurring has the ability
to play a role in building awareness around an animated property, engaging in one-on-one
communication with the target audience, capitalizing on user-generated content and more.
However, marketers must be aware of their audience’s mindset when they are browsing on their
devices. Someone looking for the latest information on an upcoming animated feature is most
likely in a different mindset than someone looking for Thanksgiving recipes on a social media
site. According to Vittorio Bonori, Zenith’s Global Brand President, brands (such as major
entertainment studios) “need to understand both the consumer’s mind-set and where they sit on
the consumer journey, to determine how to communicate with them. By using data, ad tech and
artificial intelligence, brands can coordinate their communications across media and mind-sets to
move them along the consumer journey most effectively” (afaqs 2018).
Coinciding with the increase in mobile use is the increase in the amount of time someone
spends consuming media. Pundits theorize that this is because people have access to an abundant
amount of content nearly anywhere and at any time. It’s estimated that on average, an individual
will spend just under eight hours a day (479 minutes) consuming media in one form or another –
this is a 12% increase from 2011 – with the forecast projecting that the total will reach just over
eight hours (492 minutes) in 2020. “The media consumption forecast reveals that brands have
huge opportunities that they can leverage across mediums and the mobile phone is, in many
ways, a facilitator,” stated Tanmay Mohanty, group CEO, Zenith India, in afaqs!.com’s article on
Zenith's Media’s 2018 consumption forecast. For marketers of child-centric animated programs,
it's important to note that children, today more than ever, have access to these mobile devices
and are expected to increasingly rely on them as they age.

P a g e | 10

Understanding Children’s Media Preference Age as They Grow and Advance
Through Life
While children cognitively and developmentally change as they grow, their cross-
platform habits change along with them. According to Nielson, these changes often begin to
occur around eight years old, when a child’s curiosity, social interaction and specific interests
begin to grow within them. Younger children (2-11-year-olds) are more likely to use a tablet to
watch a program, whereas 12-17-year-olds tend to use their own personal phones to view
programming. Per Nielson, 90% of all 14-17-year-olds who use their phones regularly watched
videos on their devices. Additionally, over 80% of parents of children within the Alpha age
range say they watch videos or play games on a mobile device daily (Carter 2018) with them.
This is important to note for marketers since parents tend to dictate their children’s viewing
habits early in their lives. Additionally, per Dan Schawbel, Partner and Research Director at
Future Workplace, with their heavy reliance on mobile devices, marketers must have mobile-
friendly sites to reach Alphas now and in the future since the mobile phones they receive when
they become teenagers are expected to be sophisticated to the point that they will primarily use
them over a traditional laptop or desktop computer (Schawbel 2014).
Yet, despite all this readily available information, the majority of entertainment
marketing dollars are still being spent on traditional television advertisements in the hopes the
ads will be seen by their desired audience (Neustar 2018), whereas they could be spent on
targeted PESO campaigns to ensure the appropriate audiences are practically guaranteed to be
reached.

P a g e | 11

PESO: The Solution to Reducing Marketing Costs

Historically, there were clear lines drawn between marketers and public relations
professionals, where public relations would develop relationships with journalists to ensure
coverage for their clients via earned media while advertisers would focus on the creative
strategies for a campaign through paid and owned media. However, as public relations grew as a
profession, it began to overtake many roles that were traditionally delegated to marketers and
began focusing on the Paid (advertising) Earned (media relations) and Owned (content that is
yours and that you actually own) model (PEO). With the rapid growth of digital and social
media, a new element emerged: Shared. Social media and digital technology drastically changing
the media landscape and marketers found themselves desperately struggling to stand out. As
stated by Burghardt Tenderich, Professor of Professional Practice at USC Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism, the PESO model became the answer to their question of how
they can get heard in an extremely busy media environment.
The PESO model was officially coined in 2014 when Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of
Arment Dietrich (an integrated marketing communications firm) published her book Spin Sucks:
Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age. The concept takes the four
media types – paid, earned, shared and owned, and merges them together (Dietrich 2018) into the
following:
• Paid Media: Paid media is exactly what it sounds like: media that you pay for -
essentially advertising. Examples of paid media include the traditional radio and
television buys, billboards, social media ads and sponsored posts.
P a g e | 12

• Earned Media: Earned media is what some of the public relations industry is typically
known for: media relations. Media placement in print, having your client appear on the
news or securing an interview on behalf of your brand are all examples of earned media.
• Shared Media: Shared media is primarily comprised of social media platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and more. These platforms are
considered “shared media” because they can typically be approached as paid, earned or
owned media (Tenderich 2015). However, shared media is more than just social media.
“If you create content or experiences that people share, say at a conference or other way,
it is technically shared,” stated Brenda Lynch, senior partner at Finn Partners, in an
interview with the author.
• Owned Media: Owned is everything you have editorial control over, such as your logo,
website, blog and all the content you create. You control the messaging and tell the story
in a way you want it told (Dietrich 2018).
An easy way to look at the PESO model is to view every form of media as a part of PESO,
meaning “every media is shared and everything can easily run through the whole PESO model”
(Tenderich). As Megan Keohane stated in her 2018 article Putting the PESO Model into Action,
for the PESO model to work, there must be blending and cohesion between the four elements. In
the case of influencer marketing, there is a crossover between earned, shared and paid media.
When pitching influencers as a part of your media outreach plan, you may come upon some who
request a fee to cover your client. If you reach out to an influencer who does require a fee and
you accept, you have just merged shared and paid media. Conversely, if the influencer does not
require a fee, you’ve just merged earned and shared.
P a g e | 13

“By using PESO, and especially the social aspect of PESO, you are enabling
conversations and you’re expanding above and beyond one-directional communication, which
both PR and advertising traditionally have been, PR less so than advertising,” stated Tenderich.
“If you use PESO, you’re starting a conversation.”
However, in order to use PESO effectively, you need to know your audience, and when it
comes to animation – your audience is not always who one initially thinks of. First and foremost,
animation is not just a children’s medium – it’s a medium that people of all ages and cultures are
able to enjoy. It’s a relatively underutilized format for the storytelling capacity that it has with
imagination being the only limit of all of its capabilities, yet there’s no denying that the majority
of animation consumers are children, hence the need to understand the children of today:
Generation Alpha and conversely, their Millennial parents.

Who is Generation Alpha?
The term “Generation Alpha” was originally coined by futurist and social researcher
Mark McCrindle in 2005 when he and his team ran a nationwide survey in Australia searching
for what comes after Generation Z (Sterbenz 2015). According to his research, children born
between 2010 and 2025 are considered “Generation Alpha” – they are largely the children of the
Millennial Generation (born between 1981 and 1996
5
). As of 2018, the age range of Generation
Alpha is 0 – 8 years old with the eldest of them starting kindergarten in 2014 (Carter 2018).
There are 2.5 million members of this generation born each week (Bronwyn) and when all the
members of this generation have been born, they are expected to number almost two billion

5
In 2018 the Pew Research Center decided to use 1996 as the last birth year for Millennials. According to the
center, anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is
part of a new generation (Dimock 2019).
P a g e | 14

(Schawbel 2014). For the purpose of this paper, those born in this generation will hereafter be
referred to as Alphas.
Generation Alpha is the first generation born and fully shaped in the 21st century. Those
born in this generation are considered digital natives and are predicted to be the most
technologically literate generation to date (McCrindle Research 2018), a crucial factor marketers
must take into consideration when promoting a project. According to Joe Nellis, professor of
Global Economy at the Cranfield School of Management, the fundamental characteristic of
Alphas will be their relationship with digital technology. Alphas interact with technology at
much younger ages than any other generation before them and do not view digital tech as a new
development, experiment or a toy, but rather they are born into it like it’s a fifth element of
nature. A digital-enhanced life where mediating mundane, everyday roles to a digital device is
already the norm to them (Nellis 2017). In an interview with Business Insider, McCrindle states
that Alphas “don’t think about these technologies as tools. They integrate them singularly into
their lives” (Sterbenz 2015).
While we do know some information about this new generation, “the reality is that no
one knows how [Alphas] will develop” (Nellis 2018). Who could have predicted in 1990 that
most Millennials would be forever scarred by 9-11? However, as stated by Dan Schawbel in a
2016 SmartBrief article focusing on the future trends on this generation, Alphas will “adopt
similar patterns to their parents, the Millennials.” Hence, to know about this currently-being-
developed generation, we must look at their Millennial parents.

P a g e | 15

Millennials: The Parents of Generation Alpha
Per the United States Census Bureau, there are more than 83 million Millennials (people
born between 1982 and 1996) in the U.S. representing more than one quarter of the nation’s
population. Millennials are more diverse than previous generations with 44.2% belonging to a
minority race or ethnic group (United States, Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census).
Millennials across the world vary country by country, but due to globalization, social media and
the speed at which Western culture is penetrating the globe, Millennials worldwide are more
similar and connected to each other than previous generations before them (Stein 2013).
According to a 2014 Reason-Rupe Poll
6
, 71% of U.S. adults believe Millennials are
selfish, with 65% viewing them as entitled. In contrast, Millennials are reportedly more socially
conscious than previous generations and have high expectations from the companies they do
business with in terms of corporate social responsibility (Sarah 2014) and the programs they
allow their children to watch.

A Generation of Firsts
Millennials are considered the first generation of digital natives – coming of age in a
world where digital technology and the Internet are part of everyday life. They are also smart
consumers due to the proliferation of smart devices such as smart phones and tablets (Goldman
Sachs 2016). They are the first generation to “grow up digesting and assimilating mass quantities
of information at a time” statistically making them better multi-taskers than previous generations
(Nellis 2018). Additionally, Millennials are considered tech-savvy, creative problem solvers, are

6
The Reason-Rupe polls are part of the Reason-Rupe public opinion research project. Launched in 2011, the
project is intended to understand American thoughts and attitudes on government and major issues through a
series of public opinion surveys (Reason Foundation).
P a g e | 16

seen more as avid browsers than buyers, strive for transparency and are generally socially
conscious (Brian 2017). Millennials are also the first generation to prioritize access over
ownership with the rise of the digital-based “sharing economy” (Goldman Sachs 2016), which
the author believes has attributed to the rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu
(paying for access to the service while not actually owning a physical DVD as the programs are
streamed on the platform).

The Monetary Power of Millennials
Millennials have a staggering purchasing power of $200 billion per year ($10 trillion in
their lifetime) (Nelson 2012) and have been the major focus for countless brands’ marketing
strategies for over a decade. Because Millennials were raised with technology and have a
relationship with the Internet on a practically daily basis (particularly social media), they tend to
react differently to marketing trigger points than prior generations (Mendler 2017). Millennials
are active on social media and expect to engage with companies on the various platforms.
However, to have an impact on Millennials, a company needs to do more than just respond to
tweets or like comments, they need to add value to the social experience through events,
contests, special access to loyal customers and, most importantly, create an impression that each
customer, regardless of the numbers, is special to the brand (Mendler 2017).
Currently, Alpha’s spending power comes from their parents, who will be making most
of their buying decisions for the next decade or two with their mothers making as much as 85%
of the purchasing decisions (Muratoglu 2015). With over 17 million Millennial mothers living in
the U.S. alone (Livingston & Bialik 2018), their purchasing power reaches an estimated $170
billion a year (Crang 2012).
P a g e | 17

To reach these Millennial parents, marketers need to be authentic in their messages.
Millennials tend to dislike being marketed to in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, to gain
trust in Alpha’s parents, animation marketers need to be genuine and create custom messaging
that resonates with them (Muratoglu 2014). Additionally, because Millennials are socially
conscious, it’s important for them to expose their children to entertainment sources that embraces
and promotes social responsibility as well. However, it’s important to not ignore Alphas
completely since children influence nearly 80% of their parents purchasing decisions (Muratoglu
2014), a concept marketers term “the nag factor.”
With roughly 40% of Millennials being raised in single parent or mixed-family
households (step-parents, same-sex parents, mixed-race parents, etc.), these Millennial parents
are predicted to place parenthood and marriage over career and financial success, with a large
focus on their children (Carter 2018). Moreover, because Millennials are having fewer children
later in life and are having fewer than the previous generations per family, they are expected to
have more money and time to spend with their children (Alphas) than they had with their own
parents. From this, Alphas are expected to have the highest standard of living than any other
generation in history (Bronwyn). Millennials came of age during tough economic times and tend
to be more frugal than their Baby Boomer parents. In contrast, Alphas are growing up in a more
prosperous economic environment and are on track to become more materialistic like their Baby
Boomer grandparents (Muratoglu 2014). Because Alphas will likely be the only child in their
household, they statistically have a greater chance of growing up selfish and expecting instant
gratification, the same characteristics that have traditionally been placed on their Millennial
parents (Carter 2018).

P a g e | 18

Predictions on Alphas
Alphas are predicted to be the most demanding consumers in history, expecting speed,
responsiveness and customization as a standard from businesses. They will demand an app-style
like service from any organization they choose to do business with and will require more than
just mass produced, off-the-shelf products from them. Marketers will need to view each Alpha as
a market fragment demanding mass customization. In part because of this, along with the
information they will have access to (knowing about how products work and the spreading of
news via social media and other forms), it will be harder to win the loyalty of Alphas and likely
that currently-established entertainment brands will be ditched in favor of newer ones that share
the same philosophy and mindset of Alphas (Nellis 2017), such as gender equality, ethnic
representation and LGBTQ+ acceptance.
According to Nellis, there is “no reason why Alphas in the USA will behave any
differently than Alphas elsewhere given global connectivity of information and trends.” Alphas
being the most connected generation in history, they will be a generation more keenly aware of
inequalities of all kinds. Because of this, it will be tough for entertainment marketers to prove to
Alphas that their studio’s CSR is more than just a tokenism business tact. Marketers will need to
demonstrate, as a matter of routine, their companies are for social good through their treatment
of staff, environmental imprint, social sensitivity and more (Nellis 2017).
Alphas will have the knowledge that they can “vote” with their wallets, and with their
expected increased levels of wealth, they will be able to choose alternatives allowing them to
make more ethical choices in who they wish to do business with (Nellis 2017). To win over
Alphas, organizations will need to demonstrate trust – not just words but definable actions. If a
studio claims care about children, they’ll need to prove it through their CSR efforts.
P a g e | 19

In truth, while we do know some information about this generation, this is an entirely
new, relatively understudied group of people with very little data surrounding them. All of the
information above is nothing more than an educated guess from some of the brightest minds in
their respective fields. As Nellis emphatically stated in an interview with the author “the reality
is that no one knows how Alphas will develop. They are the first kids to be born with an iPad in
their hands [sic] and are the first truly digitally literate generation so there is no data to use as
evidence base!”

Societal Issues Facing Generation Alpha
Now that we’ve explored who Generation Alpha is and what we can expect from the
members of this emerging group, let’s take a look at some of the societal matters they will be
facing that marketers will have to address. Many of these concerns are the same society faces
today, however, with the growing rise of technology dependency, Alpha’s issues are believed to
be exasperated compared to the generations before them. The following issues are what the
author believes to be the most important and difficult ones Alphas will face during their
lifetimes.

Depression/Anxiety
It’s predicted that Alphas will face a number of psychological challenges in their lifetime
as they will feel more alone and isolated because the majority may grow up without siblings but
also because of the constant digital connection they’ll be immersed in (Schawbel 2014). A 2018
study of over one million American high schoolers found that teenagers who spend more time on
screens and less time on non-screen activities (like face-to-face socializing, exercise, or
P a g e | 20

homework) were psychologically worse off. The study also found that when children spend more
time with screen-based activities, their overall happiness declines (Twenge, Martin, & Campbell
2018). A 2015 report by Common Sense Media
7
finds that Alphas spend an average of 48
minutes a day staring at mobile devices. This is important to note as this is expected to increase
as they age and that mobile devices have been reported to be addictive to young people,
including those in this generation. Additionally, there is still some uncertainty from educators
and psychologists on the effects of early exposure to the Internet and mobile devices have on
developing brains (Bronwyn 2018).
Clinical psychologist Ellen Hendriksen states in her Psychology Today article How
Technology Makes Us Anxious that while technology (such as mobile devices) has the tendency
to take away uncertainty, this can actually increase a person’s anxiety level. “You’d think that
taking away uncertainty would make us less anxious,” Hendriksen wrote, “but instead, because
technology has lessened our experience handling uncertainty, we’re less prepared to deal with
ambiguity when it arises.” Hendriksen went on to state that mobile technology allows users to
generally avoid people, which causes a lack in confidence. Additionally, on-screen
communication (texting, email, etc.) allows for one to compose, edit and perfect a message,
whereas face-to-face communication happens in real time, preventing you from perfecting your
message to another person which in turn makes people anxious (Hendriksen 2018).
According to Licensed Professional Counselor Ashley Cassity Simpson
8
, when people
communicate through digital means (such as via texting, social media, emails, etc.) a natural

7
Common Sense is a non-profit organization that advocates for safe technology and media for children and
families (Common Sense).
8
Ashley Cassity Simpson is a Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, ACRPS, ADC, ICADC, SAP based in Mobile,
Alabama. Her specialties include marriage and family therapy, childhood and adolescence matters and addictive
disease issues.
P a g e | 21

detachment occurs. “When people communicate with one another, it is not only what is said but
how it is said,” stated Simpson in an interview with the author. “This is called
Metacommunication.” According to Simpson, metacommunication is how one communicates a
message non-verbally through body language, tone of voice, rate and rhythm of speech, eye
contact, etc. – none of which occurs during digital conversations. “This is lost during digital
communication. We infer the meaning of the communication, not based solely on ‘what is said’
but on ‘how it is said,” Simpson explained. “We base our responses/reactions on this
metacommunication. I am concerned about this generation’s ability to connect empathically in
their interactions with other people. Metacommunication is important to our ability to empathize
with each other. Empathy is what we need to establish and maintain healthy relationships.” It can
be said that metacommunication is evolving with technology with emoticons being used in
modern technology (text messages, email, social media, etc.) to replace words and express
emotions, such as a smiley face emoji conveying agreement or happiness in something (Danaei
& Chen 2016).
Social media has a part to play in technology-based anxiety as well. Public adoration and
shaming happening in front of everyone, it’s hard not to compare and end up feeling inadequate
to those digitally around you (Hendriksen 2018). A negative body image combined with low
self-esteem have been attributed to an increase in depression and anxiety among all age groups.
A 2006 study by researchers at Bradley Hospital, Butler Hospital and Brown Medical School
found that children and adolescents with negative body image concerns are more likely to be
depressed, anxious, and suicidal than those without intense dissatisfaction over their appearance
(Science Daily 2006).
P a g e | 22

Anxiety and depression do not discriminate, they affect people of all ages and gender,
however, it’s reported that women are more likely to develop depression during their
adolescence years than their male counterparts (SAMHSA 2014). A 2018 report in the Journal of
Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics found that 2.8 million children in the United States had
diagnosed anxiety and/or depression disorders from 2011 – 2012 (Bitsko, et al. 2018). According
to adolescent and adult psychiatrist Richa Bhatia, the number of children with depression have
been rising in the last several years, yet there persists a stigma among the population regarding
mental health. In fact, research has shown that this stigma is among the top reasons why those
with mental health issues do not seek professional help or help from help from their peers
(Gulliver, Griffiths, & Christensen 2010).

Gender Inequality/LGBTQ+ Issues
As Millennials have redefined our notion of sexual orientation and shown enormous
acceptance, so, too, will their Alpha children. Americans have become more accepting of the
LGBTQ+ community ever since same-sex marriage was legalized nation-wide in 2015. With the
increasing acceptance rate, it is believed that the number of people who identify as LGBTQ+ is
also rising (Brown 2017). In fact, the Pew Research Center
9
has found that public support for
same-sex marriage has dramatically increased over the past decade, noting that over 60% of
Americans are in support of same-sex couples marrying. However, though there is a consistent
upward trend in acceptance of the community, LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to be targets
of hate crimes than any other minority group (Park & Mykhyalyshyn 2016). According to a 2015

9
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan U.S. fact tank based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on
public opinion, social issues and demographic trends shaping America and the world (The Pew Charitable Trusts
2010).
P a g e | 23

report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community rises,
those who are not accepting tend to become more radical in nature, which in turn can result in
hate crimes (F.B.I. 2015).
With the rise of same-sex marriages comes also the rise of children with same-sex
parents. Of the nearly 600,000 same-sex couple households in the U.S., 115,000 have children
(Lifelong Adoptions "LGBT Adoption Statistics"). According to Gary J. Gates of the Williams
Institute UCLA School of Law, as many as six million children nationwide have an LGBTQ+
parent. Additionally, same-sex couple parents, along with their children, are more likely to be
members of racial and ethnic minorities (Gates 2013).
Along with the rise of LGBTQ+ acceptance, the gender inequality gap is also shrinking –
however there is a long way to go before the gap is completely closed. With all the regulations
intended to fight gender discrimination worldwide, the fact remains that women statistically face
more challenges and have fewer opportunities than men. The fight for gender equality, as David
Kennedy so eloquently put it in his Economist foundation article Why gender equality is
important? Not just for me, or for women but for everyone, is “a chance to maximize the
potential of each and every one of us to boost the economy and create a society where we are all
seen as people regardless of our gender. It’s a chance for us all to progress” (Kennedy 2018).
For freelance writer Lauren Rearick
10
, cartoons were previously very gendered, meaning
“as a woman, I often felt that I couldn’t watch certain things, like they weren’t made for me.”
However, Rearick believes animated programs have grown up with the times, removing the
barrier of gender and access. Modern animated programs are amplifying the voices of women
and “spreading an important and much needed message of feminism and strength” (Rearick,

10
Lauren Rearick is a contributing editor for Teen Vogue and a freelance writer featured in publications such as
CNN Opinion, Teen Vogue, The Fader, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, Travel + Leisure, Huffington Post and more.
P a g e | 24

"Four cartoon characters that push a fabulous feminist agenda" 2018). After decades of over-
sexualized female characters depicted in media, modern animation studios are creating fully-
realized three-dimensional female characters or all shapes, sizes and ethnicities.
Current animated programs are “using relationships among characters and a narrative
that’s appropriate for all ages to broach [sic] topics” such as LGBTQ+ relationships,
relationships that aren’t the norm and mental illness. “The characters and families depicted are
diverse, and though it’s based in fantasy, we can still find that children can connect with them.”
(Rearick, 2018).

Ethnic Representation
As previously stated, Generation Alpha is the most ethnically diverse generation to date.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 50% of Alphas born in 2011 (the second year of the
generation) were from minority families (United States Census Bureau 2012), and this is
predicted to increase in the future.
As Laura Scott stated in her Affinity Magazine article, The Importance of Representation
in Kids’ Cartoons, “cartoons can be an extremely influential and important form of media if
handled correctly.” The words “if handled correctly” are of utmost significance. Representation
of all kinds has always been an issue, not only in animation, but historically in all of
entertainment (films, tv, literature, etc.).
Studies have shown that it’s crucial for children to see characters who look like them and
their families in tv and film and that there’s a noticeable relationship between low self-esteem
among minority groups and negative media portrayals of said groups. Misrepresentation of
ethnic groups in media can cause confusion and self-doubt among children of these groups
P a g e | 25

(Dobrow, Gidney, & Burton 2018), hence the importance of positive portrayals of all ethnic
groups in animation. One of the earliest animated programs to portray a non-white main
character to Millennials is Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer (2000 – 2015) which depicts a 7-
year-old child of Hispanic heritage in the lead role who speaks to the preschool-aged viewers in
both English and Spanish (IMDb 2000),

Current Animated Programs of Note Addressing These Issues
With Alphas requiring inclusivity and representation from their animated programs, the
three most notable child-focused entertainment brands catering to this demand are Cartoon
Network, Nickelodeon and Disney by tackling these objectively controversial issues head-on.
For marketers, the following programs and topics are the perfect subjects needed to break
through the noise and reach Alphas. If properly executed, a PESO-centric campaign surrounding
the following issues will easily and cost-efficiently win over the loyalty of both Alphas and their
Millennial parents.

Cartoon Network Programs
Launched on October 1, 1992, Cartoon Network is the world’s longest running 24-hour
children’s channel (Milholen 2017). Throughout the channel’s history, especially within the past
few years, Cartoon Network has been known for airing programs that subtly depict controversial
subjects such as homosexuality, childhood depression, body dysmorphia, mental illness and
more. The two most notable of these programs (as of 2018) are arguably Adventure Time and
Steven Universe.

P a g e | 26

Adventure Time
Adventure Time was a Cartoon Network staple from April 5, 2010

– September 3, 2018
about a boy named Finn and his shape-shifting, talking dog/brother named Jake. They live in an
absurdist world, fighting villains who aren’t really evil and saving princesses who don’t need
saving. Among the notable characters is a villain named Ice King, who controls ice and snow,
and wants to date a princess (as well as close friends with penguins). Two other prominent
characters are the 1000-year old vampire named Marceline, who wants to play her bass guitar
and drink the color red (instead of sucking blood from a victim, she consumes the color red) and
Princess Bubblegum, a technologist who wants nothing more than to advance her knowledge of
science and help her kingdom prosper.
As you can tell, Adventure Time is a series that can be difficult to explain and hard to
follow if you’re not paying attention. The plotlines while present, are often times accompanied
by standalone episodes or episodes that hardly move the plot along, with many of the episodes
dealing in fantastical and ridiculous realms, characters and stories. However, Adventure Time
consists of a plethora of subtextually-adult themes, with one of the key underlying themes being
its ever present and understated post-modern values surrounding feminism and mental health. As
eloquently stated by Mary Grace Garis in her 2015 Bustle article 7 Times 'Adventure Time' Is a
Feminist Playground, “few things make sense in The Land of Ooo, except a silent understanding
that women should be treated like people... even when they're a pile of purple lumps
11
.”

11
Lumpy Space Princess (often referred to by her initials LSP) is the queen of Lumpy Space, a cloud-like area in
another dimension in Adventure Time. She is depicted as a floating purple mass composed of numerous lumps.
P a g e | 27

Breaking the Damsel-in-Distress Trope
The feminist characters in Adventure Time teach the viewers (including Alphas) of all
backgrounds important lessons about intelligence, strength, consent, self-acceptance and more.
Characters that exemplify these traits include (but are not limited to): Princess Bubblegum,
Marceline the Vampire Queen, Flame Princess, Finn the Human, Jake the Dog and BMO.
Granted, there are times when Finn and Jake must save the ‘damsel in distress’ due to the duo
primarily being the main characters of the series – but those instances are few and far between.
In fact, as the narrative progresses, the series essentially rejects the traditional fairytale princess
troupe where the princess lives happily ever after once she is rescued by a male suitor and
replaces it with women who are rulers of their respective domains and choose when, if and with
who they wish to partner off with.
The way Adventure Time throws away the shackles of damsels-in-distress is a perfect
reflection of where American society is heading for Alphas. Take Princess Bubblegum for
example: throughout the series many characters vied for Bubblegum’s affection, but she
consistently rejects these would-be suitors for her love of science and technology. This is
important because in a current world where women make up roughly just one third (32.3%) of
the North American scientific community (UNESCO Institute for Statistics) and are statistically
less likely than men to enter STEM careers in the first place (Beninger 2014), Princess
Bubblegum stands as an inspiration for young girls in Gen Alpha who wish to pursue science and
technology. Princess Bubblegum is “fiercely independent, spreading a message that no matter
your gender, anything is possible if you believe in yourself” (Rearick "Four cartoon characters
that push a fabulous feminist agenda" 2018).

P a g e | 28

Normalization of LGBTQ+ Relationships
When Adventure Time first started airing in 2010 (the first year of the Alpha generation),
LGBTQ+ rights were becoming more prominent and those in the LGBTQ+ community were
becoming more hopeful as laws were being lifted that harmed the community and enforced the
ones that protected them.
12
Adventure Time took note of this growing trend and subtly included
two prominent non-heterosexual characters via Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire
Queen. Throughout the course of the series, there were hints that Princess Bubblegum and
Marceline used to be close but have since had a falling out. After slowly rebuilding their
relationship and seeing each other as friends once again, the subtext of their relationship became
apparent during the “Stakes” story arc where the viewer sees Marceline’s idealized version of
herself as growing old and living with Bubblegum in harmony. It is unclear if they are a couple
in this fantasy world Marceline envisions, but there’s no doubt that the pair love each other in
some form.
It’s important to note the fact that the two characters are both female is never addressed
on the show and their suggested past romance was never commented on directly – they were
simply two characters who just so happened to be females – neither of them were labeled
straight, gay, or anything else – they just were. As Brandon Zachary points out in his 2018 article
Adventure Time’s Princess Bubblegum & Marceline May Be TV’s Best LGBT Romance, “in a
world where people are sometimes just piles of slime, sexuality is somewhat fluid.”
In the same article, Zachary justifiably points out that Bubblegum’s disinterests in her
suitors (who all happened to be males) throughout the series suggests that, aside from her
dedication to science and technology, she’s simply not interested in boys – implying (but never

12
Same-sex marriage became legalized in the entirety of the U.S. on June 26, 2015.
P a g e | 29

outright stating) she’s a lesbian. With regards to Marceline, she’s shown to have had a boyfriend
and is attracted to men as well, suggesting she’s bisexual. The two finally shared an on-screen
kiss in the series finale, fully embracing their LGBTQ+ relationship. Throughout the show, the
two worked on repairing their relationship and let it naturally regrow without ever forcing the
issue on the young viewers. By not having their sexuality a factor of their personality, the two
characters are able to “quietly introduce [Alphas] to the idea of a variety of sexual orientations
without ever pushing it” and teaching those in this generation that “there are people who like
different people than others -- it's not a lesson about acceptance, just as matter of fact” (Zachary
2018).

Addressing Mental Illness Through the Ice King
Like with the LGBTQ+ positive messages, animation is a realm where serious,
controversial issues surrounding mental health are able to be addressed head on, albeit in subtle
ways. Featuring an animated program that teaches Alphas about mental health is imperative
since, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six children aged 2 – 8
years old have a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder, with about three in four children
aged 3-17 suffering from both depression and anxiety (U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services). One of Adventure Time’s main characters, former enemy-turned-frenemy-turned-
friend, the Ice King and the depictions of his struggles is a perfect way to introduce Alphas to
mental health issues.
Ice King’s main motivation throughout the early run of the series is to date a princess and
he attempts to do this by plotting many kidnapping attempts but is always foiled by the show’s
main protagonists Finn and Jake. The initial turning point for the character is when his backstory
P a g e | 30

and mental illness is revealed in the season four episode “I Remember You” which has become a
critic and fan-favorite moment from the show. “I did like the depiction of Alzheimer's within
Adventure Time with the storyline regarding the Ice King's deteriorating mental state and how
that affected the people he loved,” stated Hoai-Tran Bui, writer for /Film
13
in an interview with
the author.
In the episode, Ice King seeks the help of Marceline in writing a sad song, as he’s heard
that women love men with tragic backstories. He takes the pages of one of his scrapbooks to
Marceline and attempts to write a song to “lure the honeys in with.” During the writing process,
he starts to throw a tantrum and begins to cry exclaiming “I’m so alone. Why won’t anybody tell
me what’s wrong with me?” Exasperated and heartbroken, Marceline shouts “stop acting crazy!”
to the Ice King, who responds by meekly stating “I just want to be loved.” Startled by the lyrics
and Ice King’s reaction, Marceline grabs the scrapbook pages and begins reading them – the
viewers come to find out that the Ice King wasn’t always some crazy princess-obsessed goof, he
was once a scientist name Simon Petrikov who actually helped raise Marceline shortly after the
Great Mushroom War when she was a child and that the crown he wears and grants him his
magical powers is also the cause of his insanity.
It turns out that even though the crown is what has allowed Ice King to survive all these
years, it’s also destroying his brain. During flashback sequences, it’s shown that Simon knew of
the dangers of the crown, but he feared leaving Marceline alone with no one to take care of her,
so out of love he kept the crown on in order to protect her, eventually succumbing to the crown’s
corruption and eventual transformation into the Ice King. At the end of the episode, after

13
Founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005, /Film (www.slashfilm.com) is a blog that covers film, television and
pop culture news, reviews and discussions.
P a g e | 31

Marceline pleads with the Ice King to remember their time together, she eventually realizes that
he’ll never be able to remember her as she does him.
As Brandon Zachary explains in his CBR article Magic Is Madness: How Adventure
Time Explores Mental Health, the portrayal of the two characters “plays as an extended
metaphor for symptoms of mental disorder and the pain they wreck on loved ones.” Mental
disorders can range wildly in severity and by having an animated program portray something as
complicated and delicate as this to Alphas in a way they can easily digest is a feat unto itself. The
show portrays Ice King in a relatable way to Alphas by indirectly portraying a loved one fading
away. “Anyone who’s had someone they care about lose their mental faculties can speak to that
kind of pain. And it’s important that a show with such broad appeal could showcasing how
someone tries to deal with that pain” (Zachary 2018).
The crown has destroyed the mind of Simon and any chance of finding meaningful
relationships, leading him into a “desperate life of misunderstood attempts to find compassion
and companionship” (Miller 2016). Once the revelation of the Ice King’s tragic past and
deteriorating mental health issues are brought to light, the character’s storylines hereafter are
focused less on kidnapping princesses and more on the “loneliness and confusion that eat away
of what’s left of him” (Zachary 2018). Because he can’t control what’s going on in his head, Ice
King tends to lash out in pain and frustration. In reference to “I Remember You,” Novelist Lev
Grossman shared on a 2013 episode of NPR’s Morning Edition that the series is “…very
affecting. My dad has been going through having Alzheimer's, and he's forgotten so much about
who he used to be. And I look at him and think this cartoon is about my father dying."
This is a perfect allegory for mental illness, especially with ones that involve memory
loss like dementia and Alzheimer’s. According to Mental Health America, this particular episode
P a g e | 32

“is a great way to help children understand what it’s like to have a mental health condition and
how empathy can help someone” and it is believed that “episodes like this will help the next
generation remove the stigma around mental health conditions.” Children do not always fully
understand what is going on when a loved one is suffering through something along the lines of
Alzheimer’s, but by offering a program that adjacently communicates the subject to them, they
can better comprehend the situation and grow to understanding about other mental health issues
and disorders.

Steven Universe
Debuting on Cartoon Network on November 4, 2013, Steven Universe is a show about a
team of intergalactic warriors who fight to protect the universe. The combination of three highly
trained beings (the Crystal Gems), one quirky young boy (Steven Universe) and a plethora of
other characters leaves the team struggling to overcome the dangerous scenarios that are put in
front of them (IMDB 2013). At its heart, Steven Universe is about a non-nuclear/non-traditional
family working together to save the universe. The characters are almost always the underdogs
who find a way to overcome every obstacle thrown their way – all while keeping a positive and
optimistic attitude. As reported in a 2017 Variety article, Christina Miller, president of Cartoon
Network, believes the animated program is about a nontraditionally family and “along with
gender fluidity, the show is about body positivity. It is coming of age with our audience” (Wolff
2017).

P a g e | 33

Empowerment Through Body Positivity
Perhaps one of the most notable aspects of the show that strikes people right away is the
fact that the main character does not fit the traditional pop-defined hero look – simply put:
Steven is short and fat. Put aside the fact that he’s half human and has a gemstone for a
bellybutton, the simple act of having the main character being an overweight child full of
confidence and bravado is astonishing and a very refreshing take on what a hero can look like for
children: no more bulging muscles or towering figures. Along with Steven, his mother is
depicted as overtly large, his father is balding, has a protruding belly and farmer’s tan, and one of
his guardians, Amethyst, is also short and plump, yet as Samantha Puc points out in her The
Tempest article “Steven Universe” totally changed the way I saw fat characters on television,
none of the “overweight” characters are used solely for comic relief. With the number of children
with eating disorders increasing significantly the past 20 years (with reports of children as young
as five years old dieting) (Reisdorf 2018) having a show that promotes body positivity is a true
asset to Alphas as it can help encourage them to love themselves and others regardless of
physical appearance.
Each of the Crystal Gems, though not human, represent a diverse body type as seen in
Figure 1. From tall and lean like Pearl, to short and muscular like Amethyst, the program
“emboldens a message of self-love and acceptance of others that’s much needed now, and
always” (Rearick "Four cartoon characters that push a fabulous feminist agenda" 2018). Steven’s
mother, Rose Quartz, is admired for her beauty (both inside and out) by every character on the
show, including her enemies. “She is huge and hugely comfortable, and her presence on a
popular children’s show is vital” (Puc 2017).
P a g e | 34

Unlike Rose, Amethyst isn’t as comfortable in her skin – and that’s okay. Steven’s father,
Greg Universe, is depicted with the typical fat character stereotypes (goofy, loud, messy, always
eating, etc.) but the show focuses “more on his bombastic love for Rose Quartz, his love for his
son, and his ability to help save the day even though he doesn’t have any of the same powers as
the Crystal Gems” (Puc 2017). The show’s representation of overweight people is complex,
layered and realistic – portraying the characters as people rather than punchlines. “As an adult
watching this show, it makes me feel seen,” Samantha Puc explained. “It gives me hope for all
the kids who, like me, feel unrepresented in their favorite shows or — worse — like they’re
destined to be third wheels forever because of how they’re represented on TV” (Puc 2017). Body
positivity allows the focus to be taken away from looks and directs it viewing people by their
strengths, personality and other non-physical characteristics. According to psychologist Ashley
Kroon Van Diest, by encourage acceptance of oneself and others regardless of body shape and
size has the chance to help decrease a has the potential to prevent bullying and judgement among
children, including Alphas. “It also helps protect against a negative self-image and unhealthy
attempts at changing body shape and weight” (Kroon Van Diest 2018).
Figure 1
P a g e | 35

Celebrating the LGBTQ+ Community
Despite LBGTQ representation becoming increasingly present in mainstream media, it’s
still statistically lacking in children’s media. Sexual orientation has been shown to develop early,
with research showing that both heterosexual and homosexual children having their first crush at
around that age of ten (Ryan 2009). Steven Universe is one of the few shining examples of how
to address LGBTQ+ representation to children on screen. “The show highlights the importance
of supporting all genders through the actions of their main characters [sic] the cartoon’s
willingness to tackle issues of gender fluidity and challenge the notion of gender expectations,
make it a must watch for viewers of all ages” (Rearick "Four cartoon characters that push a
fabulous feminist agenda" 2018).
The Crystal Gems are a race of sentient rocks (or gemstones) that are depicted as females,
though never explicitly stated as female. These characters have the ability to fuse together and
form more powerful gemstone creatures. The concept of fusion is central to the program and the
act of fusion can make or break relationships with the characters. One of the main characters of
the program is a Crystal Gem named Garnet (Figure 2), who is a fusion of two other characters:
Ruby (Figure 4) and Sapphire (Figure 3).
P a g e | 36

During the series, Ruby and Sapphire are seen flirting with each other and expressing
their love for each other. As Shamus Kelly points out in his Den of Geek article Steven Universe
Is The LGBTQ Representation We Need, the duo’s fusion is an “expression of love and a
defiance against gem culture which frowns on fusion between different types of gems” and “one
could easily read Ruby and Sapphire’s fusion into Garnet as a metaphor for LGBTQ people in
the real world, celebrating their love and relationships even when the establishment may want to
squash it out.”
Kelley later went on to describe the importance of the episode “Keystone Motel” which
has Garnet defused and shows Ruby and Sapphire argue. Kelley states that the simple depiction
of the two characters arguing is revolutionary as there’s a tendency for the media to want to
“protect” LGBTQ+ characters and to not let them be anything but happy. “I understand where
that comes from, and to a point it’s necessary, but LGBTQ characters should still go through
struggles just like any other character,” stated Kelley. “Here, Ruby and Sapphire are allowed to
bicker and be mean to each other. They have a fight, just like any other couple, which normalizes
their relationship even more.”
Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4
P a g e | 37

The evolution of Ruby and Sapphire’s relationship cumulated with the first ever same-sex
wedding proposal depicted on a mainstream children’s show in the episode “The Question” and
the first same-sex wedding depicted on a mainstream children’s show with the episode
“Reunion.” Series creator Rebecca Sugar stated in an interview with Variety that she wanted to
create an image of a queer couple that makes sense together. “Usually the couple is a man and a
woman. But you don’t show that love can exist between two men or two women. I wanted to
create equal-opportunity love stories for children,” stated Sugar. “It’s very important to me that
all the characters are gender expansive and that ‘Steven Universe’ is a gender-expansive show.”

Nickelodeon Programs
To understand Nickelodeon programming, we must first briefly examine its history as a
revolutionary changemaker. Launched on December 1, 1977, Nickelodeon was the first all-
children’s television network. It initially struggled with an operating loss of $10 million by 1984
(Hendershot 2004 163). It wasn’t until August 11, 1991 that the network truly became successful
with Nicktoons - its first foray into original animated content featuring Doug, Rugrats and The
Ren & Stimpy Show ("Nickelodeon to offer cartoons " 1991 20). Today, Nickelodeon is one of
the top children’s networks worldwide, with The Loud House being one of their most popular
currently-airing series. This pioneer network remains poised to continue garnering viewers from
all audiences, including Alphas.

The Loud House
Debuting on May 2, 2016, The Loud House is an animated program that follows 11-year-
old Lincoln Loud and his ten sisters as he gives an inside look at what it takes to survive the
P a g e | 38

chaos of a huge family (Nickelodeon 2016). The program is the first Nickelodeon show to
feature a married same-sex couple (Roshanian 2016). It is also the launching pad for the
upcoming Los Casagrandes, which centers around one of Loud’s friends, Ronnie Anne, living
with her large, multi-generational Latin family in the big city.

Making LGBTQ+ Commonplace and Mainstream
As mentioned previously, LGBTQ+ representation has been sorely lacking in media
(especially children’s media) despite the percentage of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+
consistently increasing year after year with the number increased to 4.5% in 2017, up from 4.1%
in 2016 and 3.5% in 2012 when global analytic firm Gallup began tracking the numbers, as
shown in Table 1. With the number of people identifying as LGBTQ+ increasing with each
generation and with nearly ten percent of Millennials identifying as non-heterosexual (Newport
2018), it can be suggested that there will be an even higher number of Alphas who will identify
as LGBTQ+ as well.

Table 1
P a g e | 39

Nickelodeon is one of the major networks that is now addressing this increase in
LGBTQ+ population with The Loud House by having Loud’s friend Clyde McBride’s parents
depicted as two married men. As Emma Teitel explains in her 2016 article Nickelodeon's The
Loud House Groundbreaking, Embraces Diversity, Nickelodeon’s decision to portray a happily
married gay couple in a kids’ cartoon is groundbreaking for another, more subtle reason: gay
characters (in particular gay male characters) may be historically absent from kids’ entertainment
but their voices aren’t. Teitel states that there’s a “gay voice” characterized by a lisp and/or “up-
speak” that many unfavorable characters in children’s cartoons featured – however this is not the
case with The Loud House.
While Clyde’s parents are minor characters on the series, Lincoln’s sister Luna is a more
prominent character – who displays affection for a female classmate. In the episode “L is for
Love”, it is revealed that 15-year-old Luna Loud has a crush on another girl named Sam. As
Kaydee Donohoo exclaims in her 2017 Odyssey article “The Loud House" Continues To Break
LGBT Barriers, this episode is an excellent example of not having to "come out" to one's family.
There's an "I have a crush" moment that the siblings have in common, and Luna's is not treated
any differently. “I'm excited for all the children watching, who one day may have a "Sam" crush
as well. I wish I had this growing up, so it's fantastic progress that future generations will. The
best part is how normalized Luna's crush, and Clyde's parents are. While the media might be
excited [sic] the kids watching will see it as no big deal, and that is worth celebrating,” stated
Donohoo. “It's only fair to have some non-straight representation to reflect the diversity of the
real world of the kids watching.”

P a g e | 40

Los Casagrandes
Following the 2018 Upfronts, Cyma Zarghami, then-president of Nickelodeon Group,
stated that Nickelodeon would begin focusing on series that “present broader families and more
characters from a broader array of backgrounds” noting that “modern kids want to see shows that
mirror the people in their lives.” Zarghani stated that the network is seeking multicultural,
diverse and authentic themes. Also as part of the Upfronts, Nickelodeon announced the new The
Loud House spinoff series Los Casagrande which will depict Lincoln Loud’s Hispanic friend
Ronnie Anne living with a “chaotic multi-generational family” in the big city (Steinberg 2018).

Broadening Traditional Family Portrayals Through Ethnic Representation
A “backdoor pilot” on The Loud House served as a soft introduction to the extended
family of Ronnie Anne, as well as a brief introduction to Latino culture which featured
references to said culture throughout the entire episode. “Nickelodeon is proud to expand The
Loud House universe by offering a new perspective on family life with Los Casagrandes,” stated
Chris Viscardi, Nickelodeon’s Senior Vice President of Animation Production and Development
in a press release announcing the new series. “There’s no better time than today to tell stories
about a kid growing up in a loving, multi-generational, diverse family.”
In an article on studybreaks.com, Michele Mendez informs the reader that her younger
Alpha-aged cousins will gravitate to the new series because it’s a representation of them.
Mendez stated that they will be able to identify with the characters, the family dynamics,
storylines and more. Mendez also pointed out that it is “uncommon that a Latino is the lead of a
series, especially an animated one, and it’s even rarer for that Latino character to also be a
female” (Mendez 2018).
P a g e | 41

Disney Programs
And, of course, there is the granddaddy of all animation, Disney Studios. Founded as a
cartoon studio in 1923 by Walter Elias Disney, the Walt Disney Company was a pioneer in the
development of animation. One of the most famous names in the animation industry, Disney is
still known for providing entertainment directed to adults and children alike. Overcoming
setbacks from its controversial history, Disney has become arguably the most dominate and
powerful company in the entertainment industry with recent works being the most culturally
inclusive and ethnically diverse to date: enter the 2017 feature film Coco being a shining
example of their recent culturally diverse works.

Coco
Coco is a 2017 Disney Pixar feature film based around the Mexican holiday Día de los
Muertos (Day of the Dead) and follows 12-year-old aspiring musician Miguel who must hide his
love of music from his family due to their ancestral ban on music. After discovering more about
his family’s history, Miguel enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather who
is a famed musician (IMDb 2017).

Introducing Hispanic Culture to Mainstream American
A 2012 study on how representation on television impacted children’s self-esteem found
that minorities tended to experience lower self-esteem than non-minorities, pointing to negative
racial stereotypes onscreen as an explanation (Martins and Harrison 2012). As Carlos Corts
stated in a 1987 Media & Vaules article, when the only portrayals audiences see of minority
P a g e | 42

characters are negative, those portrayals transcend to public image (Corts 1987), which is why
Coco is such an important film – it showcases the Mexican culture in a positive way.
The film takes place in Mexico and features dark-skinned individuals, but it never makes
it about the race of the characters – the film always makes it about the characters as they are and
that’s it. The film never explicitly states that it’s a Mexican-oriented film – Mexico is simply the
setting. It never tells the viewers that its characters are Hispanic – they simply are. If you turn all
the characters into talking animals and have the initial setting take place on Mars, the story stays
the same. However, because it does take place in Mexico and features an all Latino cast – it’s
subtly stating that it doesn’t matter what your skin color is, you can still relate to the story, with
Hispanic cultures able to relate to it even more so because it features Hispanic folklore and
culture.
When Coco debuted in theaters, the U.S. was (and in many areas still is) in the middle of
culture clash, chiefly fueled by politically far-right extremist and nationalist sentiment. “Where
our country might be wanting to put up a [boarder] wall, Pixar built a beautiful marigold bridge,”
stated Kristen Anderson-Lopez
14
in the LA Times article Latino artists and culture leaders
weigh in on how ‘Coco’ got it right. During the heated political climate, it was important for
Disney and Pixar to create an authentic “love letter” to Mexican culture without reverting to
negative stereotypes and Hollywood white-washing (Cerón 2017). “From the beginning, all we
ever wanted to do was make this love letter to Mexico and do it right,” stated the Coco director
Lee Unkrich in the same L.A. Times article. To prevent this from happening, Unkrich (a white
man from Cleveland) took extensive trips to Mexico, hired a predominately Hispanic team to
work on the film and relied heavily on an array of outside Latino cultural consultants (Ugwu

14
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, along with her husband Robert Lopez, wrote the film’s Oscar-nominated song
“Remember Me.”
P a g e | 43

2017). “The Latino community is a very vocal, strongly opinionated community,” Unkrich stated
in the New York Times article How Pixar Made Sure ‘Coco’ Was Culturally Conscious. “With
me not being Latino myself, I knew that this project was going to come under heavy scrutiny.”
The extensive lengths the film makers went through to depict an authentic representation
of Mexican culture clearly worked for Disney and Pixar as Coco grossed over $800 million
worldwide (Tartaglione 2018) on a budget of $175 million (McDonald 2017) and becoming the
highest grossing animated film in Mexico’s history (Tartaglione 2017). The massive U.S. gross
of $209 million (Box Office Mojo) could be due in part of the rising Hispanic population.
According to the Pew Research Center, Latino-Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic
groups in the U.S., with the Hispanic share of the nation’s population expecting to reach nearly
25% by 2065 (Flores 2018). However, it’s generally believed that the film’s success was due to
the story and the inclusivity and representation it featured. “With ‘Coco,’ we tried to take a step
forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and
talk and live like they do,” stated Unkrich while accepting the Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature at the 2017 Academy Awards. “Marginalized people deserve to feel like they
belong. Representation matters.” According to Mirel Herrera, author of Representation Matters:
How the Movie Coco Celebrates Mexican Culture, the Disney Pixar film “felt like our story,
reminded us of our families and of our abuelitas in Mamá Coco. It felt familiar in everything
from the Spanglish to the tamales being served to Miguelito.” Because this is a film that features
Mexican culture and characters, it allows children of Mexican descent the “opportunity to see
their stories, their culture and ultimately, themselves on the silver screen” (Herrera 2017).
As you can clearly see from the extensive list of examples above, the creators, producers
and other behind-the-scenes executives are fully aware of the societal shift towards
P a g e | 44

representation and inclusivity Alphas are craving. Along with these social shifts, these child-
centric studios are embracing the changing media landscape at arguably a greater pace than other
established organizations. “Kids are definitely migrating to other places — we don’t pretend they
don’t love Netflix and they don’t love YouTube — but what we are able to do is set up a mass
simultaneous audience, which is still important to a lot of people,” stated Cyma Zarghami,
former president of Nickelodeon Group, in a 2018 Variety article (Steinberg 2018). They are
doing this by interweaving their marketing budget through the paid, earned, shared and owned
mediums that are most likely to reach their audience. Children are not seeking out late-night
news just as grandparents are not interacting with social media celebrities (though some
exceptions can be expected from the tech and social savvy individuals). Truth is, it’s not that
complicated to pull off, you just need to understand that different age groups have their own
distinct behaviors, values and media consumption methods while incorporating this knowledge
into the PESO model. Does Cartoon Network need a blog presence to reach their main audience,
Alphas? No, but they do if they want to reach their parents as blogs posts are the most consumed
digital content by Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers (Jones 2015). When a studio is in need of
marketing content, it’s essential for them to take into consideration the age range of their
audience to help inform the appropriate content creation and promotional efforts and weaving it
into their PESO model.

Why PESO is needed
Table 2
15
provides a broad overview of the types of media each age group consumes (this
is not to be considered a complete representation of all types of media use, but only as a quick

15
Data used for Table 2 was collected and compiled from: Zenith Media (Zenith Media 2018), Pew Research Center
(Smith & Anderson 2018), AdWeek (Cohen 2017), and CNN (Wallace 2015).
P a g e | 45

overview of each type and age group). For the purpose of this paper, Snapchat and TikTok are
considered emerging social media whereas Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter are
considered established social media.

Table 2
As you can see from Table 2, a person’s media consumption changes as he/she grows
older. From toddler to childhood, individuals tend to consume television and mobile apps, yet
once they approach their teenage years they begin to discover social media and dive into the
emerging platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok. As a person transitions from teenager to
adulthood, he/she foregoes emerging social media with more established media (though what
was emerging at the time could evolve into an established platform) and a heavier online
reliance. Conversely, as an individual goes from adulthood to retirement age, their media
consumption narrows, with television consumption (traditional and non-traditional) being the
norm across all age groups. It’s to be noted that this is the way media consumption is consumed
by different age groups TODAY. How media is consumed by different age groups will change in
the future as new platforms emerge and old ones become obsolete.
P a g e | 46

With the knowledge that different age groups consume media in different ways,
marketers can utilize PESO to reach each of their target demographics in authentic ways, i.e.
toddlers consume media differently than teenagers, so why would one market content the same
way to both? You wouldn’t, however you can retain a person’s loyalty from toddler to teenage
and beyond if you use PESO to organically reach them as they “grow” – meaning have a
campaign element targeted towards toddlers and another one targeted towards teens and once
toddlers age out of the initial campaign element, they will eventually age into the teenage one.
By knowing the preferences in which groups prefer to consume their media in both content and
device type (short form content, social content, tablets vs phone, etc.) marketers can find the best
path to reach each demographic. With Alphas just now emerging, PESO can be used to grow
with them as they advance through their lives and strategically reach them at the different stages
and age ranges. For example:
• Toddlers: put the media out on YouTube, television and streaming where
toddlers will first encounter the programs.
• Children: have family-friendly apps and websites where children can interact
with their favorite characters for the first time.
• Teenagers: have an online presence via social media and blogs where teens are
able to interact with others in digital micro-communities over their appreciation
for the programs.
• Adults: have websites and popular print publications featuring their favorite
characters, enticing them to read and seek out more information on said
characters.
P a g e | 47

By using a model such as above, you are able to “grow” with your audience as they
advance through each stage of their lives. Think of it as each stage is building upon each other.
Toddlers do not engage in online conversations, but teenagers and young adults do. Children do
not typically seek out print outlets such as newspapers that feature their favorite characters, but
adults do. Adults, teenagers and children watch animated programs, as do toddlers.
Another way to look at it is to have each method of PESO working together for a common
goal. Take Figure 5 for example: the goal is to visit a website, so a press release is issued
(owned) which leads to a story on a digital outlet (earned) which will then lead to either an
organic social media post (shared) or directly to the intended website (owned). If it’s led to the
social media post, then it will also lead to the main website. If the press release leads to a print
media outlet (earned) then that will lead to the main website also. Additionally, a television ad
(paid), print ad (paid) or a company’s own social media post (owned/shared) will also lead
directly to the intended website.

If you take Table 2 into account, then you will see that the press release is most likely to
be seen by 18-64-year-olds (same with the digital media outlets); coverage in digital and print
Figure 5
P a g e | 48

media outlets have the chance to reach 18 and up; both organic and the company’s own social
media reaching 4-year-olds (YouTube) and up (different platforms depending on age); print ads
reaching 18 and up; and television ads reaching all age groups.

Social: The Powerhouse of PESO
The “shared” portion of PESO with regards to social media is arguably the best method
of reinforcing the messages as consumers can engage with the brand outside of actively viewing
the program. Additionally, the community aspect of social media enables the audience to interact
with each other and share their own stories in reference with the message the brand is conveying.
As seen in Figure 6 below, when The Loud House posted on Instagram an image of two members
of the Casagrandes family celebrating Dia de Los Muertos reinforcing the diversity and
inclusivity of the program, people commented in support of the post with such comments as “I
have Mexican pride! feliz dia everyone!” and “That's what I'm talking about!!!”.

Figure 6

P a g e | 49

Case Study: Cartoon Network’s CSR Embodies the Best of PESO
Stop Bullying: Speak Up
Cartoon Network is a prime example of how an organization can effect change, promote
positivity and help children, all while still earning a profit. Cartoon Network’s “Stop Bullying:
Speak Up” campaign has been a staple for the network since its launch in 2009. The company is
so enamored with its social responsibility, that they even have their “Stop Bullying: Speak Up”
logo linking to the campaign locked at the footer of their website, so no matter what page you
land on, you will always have access to the campaign. With their on-air ads alongside the
interactive section of their website dedicated to the campaign, the network is making perfect use
of the OWNED portion of PESO. Aside from owned media, the network does a phenomenal job
of utilizing their social media (owned/shared) in reinforcing the positive message the anti-
bullying campaign promotes. As you can see in their September 29, 2015 Instagram post (Figure
7), their anti-bullying message resonates with their young audience, with an overwhelming
majority of the comments being supportive of one another and thanking the network for
promoting the anti-bullying message:
• Arin David (im_hella_arin) “This should be and all year every year
thing. #stopbullying”
• Adrian Rodriguez (adrianrodriguez) “I'm getting bullied so thanks”
• Anonymous (detective_llama) “Stand up don't just sit there if you have an
intimidating friend hang out with them so the bully leave you alone”
• Owain Cynan (reloaduk) “Be A Buddy. Not A Bully.”

P a g e | 50

Figure 7
Empowerpuff Program
In celebration of the 20
th
anniversary of Cartoon Network’s beloved program The
Powerpuff Girls, the network announced the Empowerpuff Program in November 2018. The 12-
month internship program looks to recruit video editors, writers, illustrators and graphic
designers to curate empowerment, socially conscious ideas, positivity and sisterhood across the
entirety of the network’s social media platforms through innovative and engaging content. The
Powerpuff Girls has always been dedicated to showcasing female empowerment, and this new
internship program is another perfect example of Cartoon Network understanding the wants and
desires of their audience when it comes to socially conscious programming and corporate social
responsibility. As of this writing, the program has only utilized the earned, shared and owned
portion of PESO. The announcement of the program was shared through social media (shared
P a g e | 51

media) targeting teens and spread online via notable blogs and websites (earned media) targeting
young adults with the application located on the network’s website (owned media). It is yet to be
seen if Cartoon Network will need to utilize the paid aspect of PESO.

Steven Universe’s Partnership with Dove Self Esteem Project
Cartoon Network’s partnership with the Dove Self-Esteem Project consists of a series of
six animated shorts using characters from Steven Universe and sharing these shorts across all
social channels, on the network’s website, and on television as well. The project helps young
people overcome body image issues and fulfill their potential by building positive body
confidence and self-esteem by reframing how young people view and accept their bodies. It’s a
true case of best PESO practices reaching each age group.

PAID (teens to adults)
Through primary research, the author determined the campaign did not rely heavily on
paid media. The only paid media examples the author was able to find were short videos placed
in rotation on Cartoon Network (though those can be more closely attributed to “owned” media
as the cost was either zero to minimal as they aired on their own network) and a cover page
advertisement for the July 20/27 issue of Entertainment Weekly (Figure 8).
P a g e | 52

Figure 8
According to Entertainment Weekly’s 2018 media kit, a cover page advertisement can
range from $200,000 - $261,000 and up. With most of their readers in the 18-49 age range
(63.3%) combined with the nearly half of them having children in their household (42.6%), this
relatively high-priced ad was the perfect paid method to expose their over 25 million readers.
Not only did it reach their readers, it was able to reach consumers in the supermarket, newsstand
and virtually everywhere Entertainment Weekly is sold since it was front and center on the
cover. Additionally, the timing of this advertisement was ingenious as this particular edition was
Comic-con Preview Issue, which is one of the most in-demand publications of the year.

P a g e | 53

EARNED (teens and adults)
The initial press release for the partnership between Dove and Steven Universe was
released on April 4, 2018 and was picked up by a plethora of notable online outlets, including
Teen Vogue, AdWeek, BizJournals, Broadcasting and Cable, Animation Magazine, Fast
Company, KidScreen, Broadway World, TV Guide, io9, The Wrap, IGN and more. One of the
major things that helped with the spread of media coverage was the fact that the press release
(released via email to select outlets and digitally via PRNewswire.com) included images and
video for the media to use such as the first look image of the partnership (Figure 9) which was
featured in all of the above-mentioned outlets.

Figure 9
As noted previously, teens and adults get much of their news from online outlets, so this
was a great way to get the word out about the project to adults with children as well as teens who
still watch the program.

P a g e | 54

SHARED (children, adolescences, teens and adults)
Along with the animated shorts, the campaign features stand-alone social media posts
directing viewers to the interact with the campaign by posting comments and redirecting the
viewers to the campaign’s website for more information. From the research the author has
conducted, it appears as those social media is where the campaign has the most impact with
Instagram being the platform with the most interactions and impressions. One such example is
the December 4, 2018 post (Figure 10) consisting of seven images telling one cohesive story
with the caption stating directing viewers to visit the Steven Universe/Dove Self-esteem website
for a customized eBook.

Figure 10
Cartoon Network is partnering with @dove to present “Your Magic Mind and Body” e-Book, featuring Steven Universe and
the Crystal Gems! Discover the beauty and power in your own unique body and mind, and learn to celebrate unconditional
love and respect for others! Download your own personalized e-Book here: www.stevenuniverseselfesteem.com.
#Doveselfesteemproject #StevenUniverse

The above post was liked by nearly 80,000 people at the time of this writing (moderately
above the average number of likes Cartoon Network receives on their posts) and consisted of
P a g e | 55

mostly positive comments such as this one from Isabel Romero (whose Instagram handle is
@izrslc): “This is such a beautiful message for children to hear. I remember as a young child I
was very lacking in self-confidence because I wasn’t [sic] blonde [sic] and didn’t have clear skin
which made me as myself as someone who was less capable on being cared about. I wish I’d had
this around when I was you, I’m so glad that kids today have it.”

OWNED (children, adolescences, teens and adults)
As discussed under the above PAID section, the short videos in rotation on Cartoon
Network’s own network can be considered both paid and owned media. Along with the on-air
ads, both Cartoon Network and Dove had their own individual websites dedicated to the
campaign. Cartoon Network’s website (Figure 11) was dedicated to the eBook (another form of
OWNED media) mentioned in the above Instagram post, whereas Dove’s website (Figure 12) is
dedicated to entirety of the campaign, with major emphasis on the short videos.

Figure 11
P a g e | 56

Figure 12
Children and teens would be drawn more to Cartoon Network’s website as it’s more
colorful and interactive, whereas adults are more likely to visit Dove’s website as it is more
information-based and has been advertised more directly to them (i.e. the cover of Entertainment
Weekly example). Dove’s site, though directly targeting adults, is also designed to cater to
children as it is believed parents will show the website to their children.
By using PESO, the campaign is able to “grow” with its audience by reaching each age
group:
• Children: on-air advertising, social media, Cartoon Network website and eBook (PSO)
• Adolescences: on-air advertising, social media, Cartoon Network website and eBook
(PSO)
P a g e | 57

• Teens: on-air advertising, Entertainment Weekly cover ad, online outlets, social media
and Cartoon Network website (PESO)
• Adults: on-air advertising, Entertainment Weekly cover ad, online outlets, social media
and Dove website (PESO).

P a g e | 58

Recommendations for Marketers
Animation is the perfect medium to quietly introduce children to complex issues such as
LBGTQ+ representation, ethnic and cultural diversity, body positivity and feminism, just to
name a few. However, without the right marketing strategy the subtle messages these animated
programs and films are attempting to portray will be lost in the crowded media noise. With
current the knowledge we have on Alphas, there are five strategies animation marketers can take
in order to reach each of their target audiences in a cost-efficient and effective manner.

1: Engage with Alphas on their Terms
Those in the Alpha age groups are heavy Internet users, though they do not use every
form of the Internet nor do they use every type of Internet-capable device. They tend to mainly
use smart phones and tablets and seek out content such as games, mobile apps, online videos,
streaming services and child-centric websites. For animation marketers who wish to reinforce
their brand with this audience, they will need to meet them on their level, meaning ditching the
traditional heavy reliance of television advertisements for paid, shared and owned content that
can be accessible through digital devices. You wouldn’t advertise a new episode of Steven
Universe in the New York Times just as you wouldn’t pay for a pre-roll video on stock market
tips to be placed in front of a YouTube slime making tutorial. While television is still important,
digital is where Alphas are predicted to gravitate heavily towards.
Marketers must understand the digital landscape how it is now and be aware of where it
can and will be heading towards. Traditional websites are still going to exist, but Alphas will be
frequenting more mobile-centric platforms such as apps, native social media platforms (TikTok,
Snapchat, etc.) and others that haven’t been invented yet. Their smartphones are going to be their
P a g e | 59

computers and marketers need to understand how to make a mobile-sized message compelling
for Alphas without repulsing them with intrusive and mis-formatted messages. Marketers will
need to focus more on driving traffic to their respective apps and websites and build a
community around said apps and websites. Marketers will need to continuously come up with
campaigns that will encourage Alphas to visit their mobile-centric sites and apps enticing them
interact with their favorite characters in visceral and meaningful ways.
A way to do just this is to have a storyline or character’s backstory fully established and
only accessible via access to the app and/or mobile site. If the main character’s favorite color is
blue but the explanation for why their favorite color is blue is not explained on the program, have
the reason explained on the app/mobile site, and then promote it through appropriate social
media channels and encourage children to share what their favorite color is and why. By doing
this for different characters, concepts, scenes, etc. marketers are able to continuously drive traffic
to the desired locations from the desired audience, engage said audience and build loyalty among
Alphas.

2: Engage the Parents of Alphas: Millennials
Reaching Alphas is only half the battle, with reaching their Millennial parents
encompassing the other half. As we’ve learned, Millennials place parenthood above all else and
will want to spend as much meaningful time with their children as possible and will want the
best for them, meaning they will more than likely watch the same programs as their children,
with them being the deciding factors of what content their children consume. Marketers can use
this knowledge to create campaigns around that will directly target the parents using earned,
shared and owned media, such is the case with the Cartoon Network CSR case study above.
P a g e | 60

Marketers will need to promote the specific positive qualities of their programs to the
parents and can do so in numerous ways. For example: a program that features a same sex couple
(such as The Loud House) should promote the introduction of the couple to LGBTQ+ friendly
organizations and publications such as GLAAD and OUT Magazine. Marketers must do more
than simply state there is a same sex couple, they need to explain the importance of having the
same sex couple on the program. However, marketers shouldn’t only promote the episode to
LGBTQ+ outlets, they should also promote it through mainstream publications such as
Entertainment Weekly and Animation Magazine, albeit with slightly different messages than
they used for the LGBTQ+ publications. With all of these earned media placements, there should
also be a call to action that drives the readers (parents) to either the program’s social channel or
website to learn more about the episode and what it will entail. This will allow parents to be able
to have a more meaningful conversation with their children about the episode if needed. It will
also encourage parents to share information on the episode with others through word of mouth or
social media. The same can be said for programs that feature disabled individuals, the death of a
loved one, those of non-traditional families and any other “niche” groups and/or subjects.

3: Utilize the Already-Established Messages in Animation
When an animated program features a socially conscious message (diversity, inclusivity,
etc.), it’s imperative that marketers capitalize on that message through the entire PESO model.
For an animated program featuring an ethnically-diverse cast, it’s imperative for marketers to
have these characters be featured on the program’s social channels (shared) and promoted by the
network through traditional and digital methods (paid). As seen with Coco, by having media
outlets write stories (earned) about the importance of diversity and the need of representation
P a g e | 61

today, people paid attention. Additionally, by having characters who are fun and engaging,
children (regardless of ethnicity) will want to see said program. However, by having characters
that are relatable to specific ethnicities and then promoting the relatable characteristics through
social media (shared/owned) you are able to build a stronger connection to children who identify
with the ethnicity of the character.
When a program features strong female characters, it would be foolish not to showcase
the attributes of these characters to children and adults. Like with Adventure Time and Steven
Universe, these strong female characters should be front and center in nearly all of the marketing
materials and conveying the importance of feminism to both girls and boys of Gen Alpha. Blogs
(earned) need to be pitched to on the important aspects these characters have and why it matters
for children. Publicists should convey these characters’ strengths through social media
(shared/owned) in order to reach their intended audience: children. Dedicated pages on the
program’s website (owned) need to be created celebrating these characters and the ads aired
(paid) should showcase these strong feminist traits as well. These children crave modern female
characters and will gravitate towards a program that features them, especially young girls.
With programs promoting body positivity, publicists should reach out to adults by
conveying what their program is about: teaching children about positive self-image. For children,
you don’t have to shove the message down their throat, you can simply have the body-positive
characters be featured prominently on advertising (paid) and social campaigns (shared/owned).
Additionally, when promoting a program with LGBTQ+ characters, there’s no need to tell
children that these characters are LGBTQ+, simply show them being themselves in social media
and other adverts.

P a g e | 62

4: “Grow” with Alphas as they Advance Through their Life Stages
The fact that different age groups consume different forms of media needs to be at the
forefront of a marketer’s mind when coming up with their campaigns. Marketers must have
different aspects of each campaign reach not just one age group, but multiple age groups. Instead
of having a generic campaign revolving around balancing home and school life for The Loud
House that targets 5 – 12-year-olds, it should be broken up into three segments with each
segment targeting a different market with messages each fractioned market would best resonate
with:
• 5-7 demographic: targeted messages on learning about the world around you such as
showcasing each character’s first day of school experience and posting said experience
on the program’s social media;
• 8-10 demographic: targeted messages about approaching responsibilities such as posting
about the children doing household chores and having an in-app game of them needing to
clean the house in fun ways;
• 10-12 demographic: targeted messages about responsibilities and their changing world
such as showing the characters struggling with their homework (and receiving support
from their siblings) and the delightfully-awkwardness of first loves and sharing said
experiences on social channels.

5: Treat Each Alpha as their Own Market
Similar to the above concept, marketers will need to view each Alpha as their own
individual market. While this is not realistically feasible since there are millions of Alphas,
marketers can achieve this by simply segmenting their demographics into smaller and smaller
P a g e | 63

segments. For example: instead of having a generic demographic of 5 – 12-year-olds, marketers
should fraction that demographic into 5 – 12-year-old Hispanic children, 5-12-year-old girls, 5-
12-year-old boys, and so on. Each segment will have overlapping traits with others, but they will
also have individual traits of their own as well. You can do all of this by embracing the best
aspects of PESO. A way to do this using the paid and shared aspect will be by having a paid pre-
roll ad about a Jewish character’s bar mitzvah play before a video of children’s Hanukkah dishes.
By having a better understanding of who your audience is, marketers will be able to expertly
target each small fraction and when combined, each fraction makes up the entirety of the 5-12-
year-old demographic with marketers reaching (as close as possible) every single child.

Animation is in more demand now than ever before, yet with that demand comes a
crowded playing field with every network, studio, streaming service, etc. vying for the attention
of the next generation of consumers: Alphas. With the little information we have on this
emerging generation, we know their attention will be harder to get than any prior generation in
history and that their loyalty will be a struggle to obtain. To win over Alphas and retain their
interest and loyalty in an animated product, publicists must use PESO to reach them wherever
they are during their life stages. Currently, the social aspect of PESO is strongest in conveying
the socially conscious messages this generation will demand from their media, though the paid,
earned and owned aspects all have their important parts to play as this generation ages from
toddlers, to children, teens and beyond.

P a g e | 64

Simply put, marketers must be able to identify how this emerging generation prefers to
consume their media and will have to include socially conscious aspects in their messaging. The
trend of traditional television and movie filming habits are rapidly changing; print publications,
while still relevant in some forms, are having to find ways to adjust to the changing media
landscape and what we know of the Internet today is going to be completely different than the
Internet of the future with Internet of things becoming part of our daily lives. Simply stated,
sending out a press release, purchasing and placing an advertisement in television rotation or
featuring popup ads on mobile devices simply isn’t enough and will be obsolete with Alphas if
used as standalone actions. The way Alphas consume all forms of media are expected to be
radically different than previous generations before them with PESO being the key to keeping up
with the ever-evolving media landscape and capturing the attention of Alphas wherever,
whenever and however their media tastes will form. Currently, the social aspect of PESO is
strongest in conveying the socially conscious messages this generation will demand from their
media, though the paid, earned and owned aspects all have their important parts to play as this
generation ages from toddlers, to children, teens and beyond.

P a g e | 65

Bibliography
“10 SISTERS? NO PROBLEM! Nickelodeon’s New Original Animated Comedy Series, The
Loud House, Opens Its Doors, Monday, May 2, at 5:00p.m. (ET/PT).” Nick Press,
Nickelodeon, 26 Mar. 2016, www.nickpress.com/press-releases/2016/03/28/nickelodeons
-new-original-animated-comedy-series-the-loud-house-opens-its-doors-monday-may-2-
at-500p-m-etpt.

ACLU. “Overview of Lesbian and Gay Parenting, Adoption, and Foster Care.” American Civil
Liberties Union, www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/overview-lesbian-and-gay-parenting-adoption-
and-foster-care?redirect=overview-lesbian-and-gay-parenting-adoption-and-foster-care.

Afaqs! “Mobile Internet to Reach 28 percent of Media Use in 2020: Zenith's Media
Consumption Forecasts 2018.” Afaqs!, 1 June 2018, www.afaqs.com/news/story/53041_
Mobile-internet-to-reach-28-per-cent-of-media-use-in-2020-Zeniths-Media-
Consumption-Forecasts-2018.

Barnard, Jonathan. “Mobile Internet to Reach 28 percent of Media Use in 2020.” Fipp.com, 5
June 2018, www.fipp.com/news/insightnews/mobile-internet-28-percent-media-use-
2020.

Barnhill, Kimberly. “Quick Questions for Thesis.” Received by Jeremy Bonds, 30, Oct. 2018.
Email Interview.

P a g e | 66

Beninger, Anna. High Potentials in Tech-Intensive Industries: The Gender Divide in Business
Roles. Catalyst, 2014. https://www.catalyst.org/system/files/high_potentials_in_tech-
intensive_industries_the_gender_divide_in_business_roles_2.pdf

Bhatia, Richa. “Childhood Depression.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA,
adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/childhood-depression.

Bitsko, Rebecca H., et al. “Epidemiology and Impact of Health Care Provider–Diagnosed
Anxiety and Depression Among US Children.” Journal of Developmental & Behavioral
Pediatrics, vol. 39, no. 5, 1 June 2018, pp. 395–403.,
doi:10.1097/dbp.0000000000000571.

Box Office Mojo. “Coco (2017).” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/
?id=pixar1117.htm.

Brian. “Personality Traits of Millennials: How to Market to This Generation.” Morris Creative
Group, Morris Creative Group, 4 Mar. 2017, www.morriscreative.com/personality-traits-
Millennials-market-generation/.

Brown, Anna. “5 Key Findings about LGBT Americans.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research
Center, 13 June 2017, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/13/5-key-findings-about-
lgbt-americans/.

P a g e | 67

Bui, Hoai-Tran. “Thesis Questions RE: Animation.” Received by Jeremy Bonds, 9, Oct. 2018.
Email Interview.

Carter, Christine Michel. “The Complete Guide To Generation Alpha, The Children Of
Millennials.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Feb. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/
christinecarter/2016/12/21/the-complete-guide-to-generation-alpha-the-children-of-
millennials/#4e4151e23623.

Cartoon Network, www.cartoonnetwork.com/.

Cerón, Ella. “I'm Mexican-American and This Is What Disney's ‘Coco’ Means to Me.” Teen
Vogue, TeenVogue.com, 27 Nov. 2017, www.teenvogue.com/story/disney-pixar-coco-
mexico-representation.

Common Sense. “Our Mission | Common Sense Media.” Common Sense Media: Ratings,
Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media, www.commonsensemedia.org/about-
us/our-mission.

Corts, Carlos. “A Long Way to Go: Minorities and the Media.” Media & Values, no. 38, 1987,
www.medialit.org/reading-room/long-way-go-minorities-and-media#bio.

Crang, Doug. Next-Generation Strategies for Advertising to Millennials. ComScore, 2012, pp. 2–
2, Next-Generation Strategies for Advertising to Millennials.
P a g e | 68

Danaei , Zahra, and Lisa Chen. “Should We Refrain From Using Emojis and Emoticons?” Her
Campus, 19 Jan. 2016, 8:00 a.m., www.hercampus.com/school/u-toronto/should-we-
refrain-using-emojis-and-emoticons.

Dietrich, Gini. “What Is the PESO Model?” PRSA Content Connection, Public Relations Society
of America, 14 Mar. 2018, contentconnection.prsa.org/resources/articles/what-is-the-
peso-model.

Dimock, Michael. “Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z
Begins.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 17 Jan. 2019,
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-
begins/.

Disney ABC Television Group. Disney Channel Executives, www.disneyabcpress.com/
disneychannel/executives/.

Dobrow, Julie, et al. “Why It's so Important for Kids to See Diverse TV and Movie
Characters.” The Conversation, 20 Sept. 2018, theconversation.com/why-its-so-
important-for-kids-to-see-diverse-tv-and-movie-characters-92576.

Donohoo, Kaydee Eleanor. “‘The Loud House’ Continues To Break LGBT Barriers.” The
Odyssey Online, 2 July 2018, www.theodysseyonline.com/loud-hous.
P a g e | 69

Elliott, Christopher. “Chatbots Are Killing Customer Service. Here's Why.” Forbes, Forbes
Magazine, 27 Aug. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/christopherelliott/2018/08/27/chatbots-
are-killing-customer-service-heres-why/#1bf464b313c5.

Furniss, Maureen. A New History of Animation. Thames Et Hudson, 2016.

Flores, Antonio. “Facts on Latinos in America.” Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends
Project, Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project, 13 June 2018,
www.pewhispanic.org/2017/09/18/facts-on-u-s-latinos/.

Garis, Mary Grace. “7 Times 'Adventure Time' Was Feminist.” Bustle, Bustle, 25 Apr. 2018,
www.bustle.com/articles/72829-7-times-adventure-time-is-a-feminist-playground.

Gates, Gary J. “LGBT Parenting in the United States.” Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law,
27 Feb. 2013, williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-
studies/lgbt-parenting-in-the-united-states/.

“Gen Z and Gen Alpha Infographic Update.” McCrindle, McCrindle Research, 15 May 2018,
mccrindle.com.au/insights/blogarchive/gen-z-and-gen-alpha-infographic-update/.

P a g e | 70

Goldman Sachs. “Investing in the Millennial Effect.” Fundamental Equity, Goldman Sachs,
Sept. 2016, www.gsam.com/content/dam/gsam/pdfs/common/en/public/articles/global-
equity-outlook/investing-in-the-millennial-effect.pdf?sa=n&rd=n.

Gulliver, Amelia, et al. “Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Help-Seeking in
Young People: a Systematic Review.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 10, no. 1, 30 Oct. 2010,
doi:10.1186/1471-244x-10-113.

Hansen, Jame, et al. “Young People’s Burden: Requirement of Negative CO2 Emissions.” Earth
System Dynamics Discussions, 18 July 2017, doi:10.5194/esd-2017-121.

Hendershot, Heather. Nickelodeon Nation: the History, Politics, and Economics of Americas
Only TV Channel for Kids. New York University Press, 2004.

Henderson, Taylor. “'Steven Universe' Makes LGBT History with Same-Sex Wedding.” Gay
Pride - LGBT & Queer Voices, PRIDE.com, 11 July 2018,
www.pride.com/stevenuniverse/2018/7/11/steven-universe-makes-lgbt-history-same-sex-
wedding.

Hendriksen, Ellen. “How Technology Makes Us Anxious.” Psychology Today, Sussex
Publishers, 27 Mar. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-be-
yourself/201803/how-technology-makes-us-anxious.

P a g e | 71

Herrera, Mirel. “Representation Matters: How the Movie Coco Celebrates Mexican
Culture.” The Education Trust, 4 Dec. 2017, edtrust.org/the-equity-line/representation-
matters-movie-coco-celebrates-mexican-culture/.

Horst, Carole. “'Steven Universe' Thrills Fans With Emotional July Story Arc.” Variety, Variety,
5 July 2018, variety.com/2018/tv/news/steven-universe-rebecca-sugar-cartoon-network-
1202865636/.

Ifeanyi, KC. “Inside Cartoon Network's Racially Groundbreaking Show ‘Craig Of The
Creek.’” Fast Company, Fast Company, 2 Apr. 2018, www.fastcompany.com/
40551963/inside-cartoon-networks-racially-groundbreaking-show-craig-of-the-creek.

IMDb. “Coco.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 27 Oct. 2017, www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/.

IMDb. “Dora the Explorer.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 14 Aug. 2000, www.imdb.com/title/tt0235917/.

Jones, Kerry. “The Generational Content Gap: How Different Age Groups Consume
Content.” Marketing Land, 27 Aug. 2015, marketingland.com/generational-content-gap-
how-different-age-groups-consume-content-138810.

Kelley, Shamus. “Steven Universe Is The LGBTQ Representation We Need.” Den of Geek, 9
Nov. 2016, www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/steven-universe/259902/steven-universe-is-the-
lgbtq-representation-we-need.
P a g e | 72

Kennedy, David. “Why Gender Equality Is Important? Not Just for Me, or for Women but for
Everyone.” The Economist Educational Foundation, 21 Feb. 2018,
economistfoundation.org/why-gender-equality-is-important-not-just-for-me-or-for-
women-but-for-everyone/.

Keohane, Megan. “Putting the PESO Model into Action.” Buchanan Public Relations, 18 May
2018, buchananpr.com/2018/05/putting-the-peso-model-into-action.

Kim, Torry. “What Will Generation Alpha's Trends Be?” SmartBrief, 31 Oct. 2016,
www.smartbrief.com/original/2016/10/what-will-generation-alpha’s-trends-be.

Kroon Van Diest, Ashley M. “Body Positivity: An Important Message for Girls, AND
Boys.” Nationwide Children's Hospital, 30 Oct. 2018, www.nationwidechildrens.org/
family-resources-education/700childrens/2018/10/body-positivity.

Lehr, Andrea. “Exposing The Generational Content Gap: Three Ways to Reach Multiple
Generations.” Moz, Moz, 6 May 2015, moz.com/blog/the-generational-content-gap-three-
ways-to-reach-multiple-generations.

LeVeque, Matthew. “Message Development and Spokesperson Training.” Digital, Social and
Mass Media Public Relations Strategies. University of Southern California. Los Angeles.
4 June 2018. Lecture.
P a g e | 73

“LGBT Adoption Statistics.” LifeLong Adoptions, www.lifelongadoptions.com/lgbt-
adoption/lgbt-adoption-statistics.

Lifespan. “Negative Body Image Related to Depression, Anxiety and Suicidality .” Lifespan.org
-- News, 6 June 2006, www.lifespan.org/news/2006/06/bh_body_image_6_6_
06.htm. Webpage no longer available, can only be accessed via web.archive.org at
https://web.archive.org/web/20070624173254/https://www.lifespan.org/news/2006/06/bh
_body_image_6_6_06.htm

Livingston, Gretchen, and Kristen Bialik. “7 Facts about U.S. Mothers.” Pew Research Center,
Pew Research Center, 10 May 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/10/facts-
about-u-s-mothers/.

Lynch, Brenda. “Quick PESO Question.” Received by Jeremy Bonds, Quick PESO Question, 21
Oct. 2018. Email correspondence.

Marketing Charts. “Cable TV's in the Rearview Mirror for Teens, as YouTube Gains Greater
Prominence.” Marketing Charts, 31 Oct. 2018, www.marketingcharts.com/demographics-
and-audiences/teens-and-younger-106255.

Martins, Nicole, and Harrison, Kristen. “Racial and Gender Differences in the Relationship
Between Children’s Television Use and Self-Esteem: a Longitudinal Panel
P a g e | 74

study.(Survey)(Author Abstract).” Communication Research, vol. 39, no. 3, Sage
Publications, Inc., June 2012, pp. 338–57, doi:10.1177/0093650211401376.

Masci, David, et al. “5 Facts about Same-Sex Marriage.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research
Center, 26 June 2017, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/26/same-sex-marriage/.

McDonald, Adrian. 2017 FEATURE FILM STUDY. FilmL.A., 2017, pp. 21–21, 2017 FEATURE
FILM STUDY, www.filmla.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2017_film_study_v3-
WEB.pdf.

Mendez, Michele. “Nickelodeon Is Diversifying Its Network With Upcoming 'Los Casagrandes'
Series.” Study Breaks, 29 Mar. 2018, studybreaks.com/tvfilm/los-casagrandes/.

Mendler, Rachel. “What You Need To Know To Market To Millennials.” Forbes, Forbes
Magazine, 3 Oct. 2017,
www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/09/18/what-you-need-to-
know-to-market-to-millennials/#7344cad01b34.

Mental Health America. “Mind Over Pop Culture: Adventure Time ‘I Remember You.’” Mental
Health America, 4 Oct. 2016, www.mentalhealthamerica.net/blog/mind-over-pop-
culture-adventure-time-i-remember-you.

P a g e | 75

Milholen, Cody. “The History of Cartoon Network.” Hidden Remote, FanSided, 9 Oct. 2017,
hiddenremote.com/2017/10/09/history-cartoon-network/.

Miller, Lindsay A. “Men, Women, and Mental Illness in 'Adventure Time' – Toon In.” Toon In,
13 Mar. 2016, toonin.xyz/men-women-and-mental-illness-in-adventure-time/.

“Most Children Younger Than Age 1 Are Minorities, Census Bureau Reports.” United States
Census Bureau , United States Department of Commerce, 17 May 2012,
www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-90.html.

Muratoglu, Suley. "Here's what Marketers should Learn about Generation Alpha."Food
Manufacturing, 2014. ProQuest, http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://search-
proquest-com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/1614309622?accountid=14749.

Nellis, Joe. “What Does the Future Hold for Generation Alpha?” Cranfield School of
Management, 17 July 2017, www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/thought-leadership-list/what-does-
the-future-hold-for-generation-alpha.

Nellis, Joe. “RE: Research Questions RE: Generation Alpha.” Received by Jeremy Bonds, 2
October 2018. Email Interview.

P a g e | 76

Nelson, Erin Mulligan. “Millennials Want to Party With Your Brand But On Their Own
Terms.” Ad Age, 2 Aug. 2012, adage.com/article/digitalnext/millennials-party-brand-
terms/236444/.

Neustar. “Do Movie Marketing Budgets Need a Digital Reboot?” Neustar Marketshare, 2018.
https://ns-cdn.neustar.biz/creative_services/biz/neustar/www/resources/whitepapers/
marketing/neustar-movie-marketing-budgets-whitepaper.pdf?_ga=2.92665945.551421
28.1552760261-1368079757.1552760261

Newport, Frank. “In U.S., Estimate of LGBT Population Rises to 4.5%.” Gallup.com, 22 May
2018, news.gallup.com/poll/234863/estimate-lgbt-population-rises.aspx.

“Nickelodeon Greenlights Los Casagrandes, Original Animated Spinoff of Hit Series The Loud
House.” Nickelodeon Press, Nickelodeon , 2 July 2018, www.nickpress.com/press-
releases/2018/07/02/nickelodeon-greenlights-los-casagrandes-original-animated-spinoff-
of-hit-series-the-loud-house.

“Nickelodeon to Offer Cartoons .” The Victoria Advocate, 9 Aug. 1991, pp. 20–20,
news.google.com/newspapers?id=y4cLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WFYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4932
,1889166&dq=nickelodeon&hl=en.

Nielsen. “Grow and Tell: As Children Age from Toddlers to Teens, Their Media Palate
Changes.” What People Watch, Listen To and Buy, 3 Mar. 2015,
P a g e | 77

www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/grow-and-tell-as-children-age-from-toddlers-
to-teens-their-media-palate-changes.html.

Nguyen, Hanh. “From 'Sabrina' to 'Steven Universe,' Family-Friendly TV Has Grown a Social
Conscience.” IndieWire, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2018, www.indiewire.com/2018/11/best-
kids-tv-shows-socially-conscious-big-mouth-sabrina-star-wars-1202019366/.

Oscars. “"Coco" wins Best Animated Feature.” YouTube, director Lee Unkrich accepting Oscar
for best animated film. 17 April. 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN32y
YH9944.

Park, Haeyoun, and Iaryna Mykhyalyshyn. “L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of
Hate Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group.” The New York Times, The New York
Times, 16 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/16/us/hate-crimes-against-
lgbt.html.

Puc, Samantha. “‘Steven Universe’ Totally Changed the Way I Saw Fat Characters on
Television.” The Tempest, 14 Oct. 2017, thetempest.co/2017/10/05/entertainment/steven-
universe-body-positive/.

Puig, Claudia. “Latino Artists and Cultural Leaders Weigh in on How 'Coco' Got It Right.” Los
Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2018, www.latimes.com/entertainment/
movies/la-ca-mn-coco-latino-culture-20180222-story.html.
P a g e | 78

Rainey, James. “The Perils of Promotion: Pricey TV Campaigns, Fear of Change Shackles
Movie Spending.” Variety, Variety, 8 Mar. 2016, variety.com/2016/film/features/movie-
marketing-advertising-tv-campaigns-1201724468/.

Rearick, Lauren. “Animation Questions for Thesis.” Received by Jeremy Bonds, 29, Sept. 2018.
Email Interview.

Rearick, Lauren. “Four Cartoon Characters That Push a Fabulous Feminist Agenda.” Grok
Nation, 22 Mar. 2018, groknation.com/culture/four-cartoon-characters-that-push-a-
fabulous-feminist-agenda/.

Rearick, Lauren. “Watching Cartoons Has Helped Me Manage My Mental Illness.” HuffPost,
Huffington Post, 20 June 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/cartoons-anxiety-
depression_n_59385ce9e4b0b13f2c667c37?2i=.

Reason Foundation. “About the Reason-Rupe Public Opinion Project.” Reason.com, Reason,
reason.com/about-poll.

Reason-Rupe, “Public Opinion Survey.” Questionnaire. 19 August 2014. http://reason.com/
assets/db/14084333327480.pdf

P a g e | 79

Reisdorf, Ana. “How to Teach Your Child Body Positivity.” Mental Health America, 7 Nov.
2018, www.mentalhealthamerica.net/blog/how-teach-your-child-body-positivity.

Roos, Dave. “How Movie Marketing Works.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 25 Sept. 2008,
entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-marketing1.htm.

Roshanian, Arya. “Nickelodeon's 'Loud House' to Feature Married Gay Couple.” Variety,
Variety, 19 July 2016, variety.com/2016/tv/news/loud-house-gay-couple-nickelodeon-
1201816592/.

Ryan, Caitlin. Helping Families Support Their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)
Children. The National Center for Cultural Competence, 2009, Helping Families Support
Their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Children, nccc.georgetown.edu/
documents/LGBT_Brief.pdf.

Ryan, Kyle. “Matt Groening.” AV Club, 25 Mar. 2009, tv.avclub.com/matt-groening-
1798216089.

SAMHSA. “Age- and Gender-Based Populations.” Stages of Community Readiness | SAMHSA,
24 Sept. 2014, www.samhsa.gov/specific-populations/age-gender-based.

Sanchez, Cole, and Rebecca Sugar. “I Remember You.” Adventure Time, created by Pendleton
Ward, season 4, episode 25, Cartoon Network, 15 Oct. 2010.
P a g e | 80

Sarah, Cahan. Perceptions, Millennials and CSR: How to Engage the New Leaders of Tomorrow.
Cone Communications , 28 May 2014, www.conecomm.com/insights-blog/csr-and-
millennials.

Schawbel, Dan. “5 Predictions For Generation Alpha.” Dan Schawbel, 17 July 2014,
danschawbel.com/blog/5-predictions-for-generation-alpha/.

Schwartz, Dana. “BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty, and The New Golden Age of
Animation.” EW.com, EW.com, 20 Sept. 2017, 1:09PM, ew.com/tv/2017/09/20/bo-jack-
horseman-rick-and-morty-and-the-new-golden-age-of-animation/.

Scott, Laura. “The Importance of Representation in Kids' Cartoons.” Affinity Magazine, 31 Jan.
2017, affinitymagazine.us/2017/01/28/the-importance-of-representation-in-kids-
cartoons/.

Smith, Aaron, and Monica Anderson. “Social Media Use 2018: Demographics and Statistics.”
Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center: Internet, Science
& Tech, 19 Sept. 2018, www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/.

Simpson, Ashley Cassity. “Thesis questions.” Received by Jeremy Bonds, 24 Oct. 2018. Email
Interview.

P a g e | 81

Stein, Joel. “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation.” Time, Time, 9 May 2013, time.com/247/
millennials-the-me-me-me-generation/.

Steinberg, Brian. “Nickelodeon Plots Content Explosion to Keep Kids Watching Its
Screens.” Variety, 8 Mar. 2018, variety.com/2018/tv/news/nickelodeon-upfront-2018-
kids-tv-advertising-1202719562/.

Sterbenz, Christina. “Here's Who Comes after Generation Z - and They'll Be the Most
Transformative Age Group Ever.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 5 Dec. 2015,
www.businessinsider.com/generation-alpha-2014-7-2?r=UK&IR=T.

“Steven Universe.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 27 July 2013, www.imdb.com/title/tt3061046/.

Tartaglione, Nancy. “'Coco's Otherworldly Mexico Run Lands Pixar Toon As Market's #1 Movie
Ever.” Deadline, Deadline, 15 Nov. 2017, deadline.com/2017/11/coco-pixar-mexico-
highest-grossing-film-all-time-box-office-record-1202209221/.

Tartaglione, Nancy. “'Coco' Sweet With $800M Milestone At Worldwide Box
Office.” Deadline, Deadline, 2 May 2018, deadline.com/2018/05/coco-crosses-800-
million-global-box-office-disney-pixar-1202380459/.

Teitel, Emma. “Nickelodeon's The Loud House Groundbreaking, Embraces Diversity:
Teitel.” Thestar.com, Toronto Star, 25 July 2016,
P a g e | 82

www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/07/25/nickelodeons-the-loud-house-
groundbreaking-embraces-diversity-teitel.html.

Tenderich, Burghardt. Personal Interview. 17 Oct. 2018.

Tenderich, Burghardt. “Transmedia Branding vs. Integrated Marketing: What's the
Difference?” LinkedIn, 10 Oct. 2015, www.linkedin.com/pulse/transmedia-branding-vs-
integrated-marketing-whats-burghardt-tenderich/.

The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens. Common Sense Media, 2015, pp.
59–59, The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, www.
commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/census_researchreport.pdf.

The Loud House (theloudhousecartoon). “The Casagrandes are celebrating Dia de Los Muertos
today…” 2 Nov. 2018. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpr3kjmBXnO/.

The Numbers. “Coco (2017) - Financial Information.” The Numbers - Where Data and Movies
Meet, 22 Nov. 2017, www.the-numbers.com/movie/Coco-(2017)#tab=summary.

The Pew Charitable Trusts. “About Pew Research Center.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research
Center, 25 Mar. 2010, www.pewresearch.org/about/.

P a g e | 83

Twenge, Jean M, et al. “Supplemental Material for Decreases in Psychological Well-Being
Among American Adolescents After 2012 and Links to Screen Time During the Rise of
Smartphone Technology.” Emotion, vol. 18, no. 6, Sept. 2018,
doi:10.1037/emo0000403.supp.

Ugwu, Reggie. “How Pixar Made Sure 'Coco' Was Culturally Conscious.” The New York Times,
The New York Times, 19 Nov. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/movies/coco-pixar-
politics.html.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. “Women in Science.” Fact Sheet. United National Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. Web. http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/
documents/fs51-women-in-science-2018-en.pdf.

Ulaby, Neda. “An 'Adventure' For Kids And Maybe For Their Parents, Too.” Morning Edition ,
National Public Radio , 17 June 2013. https://www.npr.org/series/pop-culture-happy-
hour/2013/06/17/192385255/an-adventure-for-kids-and-maybe-for-their-parents-
too?sc=tw&cc=share

United States, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. “Millennials Outnumber Baby
Boomers and Are Far More Diverse, Census Bureau Reports.” 25 June 2015.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-113.html

P a g e | 84

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health
| CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html.

Wallace, Kelly. “Teens Spend 9 Hours a Day Using Media, Report Says.” CNN, Cable News
Network, 4 Nov. 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/teens-tweens-media-screen-use-
report/index.html.

Ward, Pendleton, creator. Adventure Time. Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios,
2018.

Wells, Paul. Animation and America. Rutgers University Press, 2002.

Williams, Bronwyn. Mommy's Little Cyborg: Meet Generation Alpha. SyndiGate Media Inc,
Cape Town, 2018. ProQuest, http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/2038157621?accountid=14749.

Wolff, Ellen. “Animated Series Tackles Diversity Issues Impacting Young Audiences.” Variety,
3 May 2017, variety.com/2017/tv/spotlight/nickelodeon-disney-loud-house-1202407637/.

Zenith Media. “Mobile Internet to Reach 28% of Media Use in 2020.” Zenith, 23 May 2018,
www.zenithmedia.com/mobile-internet-to-reach-28-of-media-use-in-2020/.

P a g e | 85

Zachary, Brandon. “Adventure Time's Princess Bubblegum & Marceline May Be TV's Best
LGBT Romance.” CBR, CBR, 31 Aug. 2018, https://www.cbr.com/adventure-time-
princess-bubblegum-marceline-best-lgbt-romance/.

Zachary, Brandon. “Magic Is Madness: How Adventure Time Explores Mental Health.” CBR,
CBR, 1 Sept. 2018, www.cbr.com/how-adventure-time-explored-mental-health/.

Zeke. “A Quick History of Animation.” New York Film Academy Student Resources, Alumni |
New York Film Academy, 26 Feb. 2015, www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/quick-history-
animation/.

Zenith Media. “Mobile Internet to Reach 28% of Media Use in 2020 – Zenith.” Zenith, 23 May
2018, www.zenithmedia.com/mobile-internet-to-reach-28-of-media-use-in-2020/.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Millennials have aged out of the traditional target audience for animation with Generation Z taking their place

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The Digital Revolution and its impact on the beauty industry

PDF

Strategic planning model: how KFC China can attract Gen Z and Millennials through appreciating Chinese values

PDF

Generating valuable content for a destination in order to reach a new generation of travelers

PDF

Marketing to Millennials and Gen Z: a strategy presented for a startup creative agency

PDF

Experiential public relations: the importance of strategic messaging, understanding target audiences, and analysis of successfully curated brand-consumer interactions

PDF

Memes, meme marketing, and how brands and influencers can leverage them on social media

PDF

Using a digital publication to connect Black & Latinx women in Los Angeles

PDF

Traditional and social media in modern crisis communications

PDF

How the internet and social media has changed movie marketing [pdf]

PDF

Analyzing the decline of symphonic music in the United States: public relations strategies to attract Millennials

PDF

Strategic planning model for the Chatsworth-Northridge Industrial Core - Innov818

PDF

Strategic communications in dietary supplement marketing — a case study of the marketing of Coenzyme Q10 supplements

PDF

Evolution of visual public relations: the essentials of branded video

PDF

The share factor: implications of global digital strategy for public relations

PDF

The search for authenticity in influencer marketing

PDF

Let the Rose City shine: a blog series exploring why Portland, Oregon, should be Major League Baseball's next expansion city

PDF

Generation Z: social media, influencers and brand loyalty in entertainment

PDF

Substance use and technology: testing an innovative method for recruitment of young men who have sex with men

PDF

How Brand USA will reach its fastest-growing international market - China: Brand USA Chinese strategic public relations plan

PDF

Roller derby, from spectacle to sport: moving past perceptions

Asset Metadata

Creator Bonds, Jeremy (author)

Core Title Growing up with Alphas: how animation marketers can survive the next generation

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 04/28/2019

Defense Date 04/25/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag alpha,animation,animation marketing,cartoon network,Disney,Entertainment,entertainment marketing,Generation Alpha,Marketing,Millennials,Nickelodeon,OAI-PMH Harvest,PESO,PESO model,Public Relations

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Floto, Jennifer (committee chair), Cook, Fred (committee member), Leveque, Matthew K. (committee member)

Creator Email jeremybbonds@gmail.com,jeremybo@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-150285

Unique identifier UC11660074

Identifier etd-BondsJerem-7313.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-150285 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-BondsJerem-7313.pdf

Dmrecord 150285

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Bonds, Jeremy

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA