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Hannah Bourne talks about how brands can connect with younger audiences, understand their evolving expectations, and build meaningful relationships through authentic storytelling and creator-led marketing.
Reaching younger audiences today demands nuance and authenticity.
In youth-focused publishing, the marketing message must appeal to both kids and parents, balancing imagination with purpose. For teens, the challenge evolves: this generation is fast-moving, value-driven, and socially aware.
At the same time, the shift from influencer marketing to creator partnerships marks a defining change. While influencers built audiences to monetise, creators cultivate communities built on trust and shared purpose, offering brands more authentic engagement opportunities.
“If you can align yourself with a creator who really understands their community and finds a part of your brand or a product that you have that also aligns with their community, then the seamless transition becomes into sort of like engagement and interaction and the sale becomes complete,” says Hannah Bourne, Marketing Director, Penguin Random House.
Top Insights from Hannah Bourne:
- Marketing to young children requires dual appeal. Content must captivate kids emotionally while reassuring parents of its educational, ethical, and creative value before purchase.
- Teen audiences evolve rapidly, demanding authenticity, entertainment, and social awareness. Brands that lack purpose or integrity risk instant rejection from this hyper-aware, fearless generation.
- The industry is shifting from transactional influencer marketing to deeper creator partnerships, where authentic alignment with community values drives meaningful engagement and sustainable brand trust.
Watch the full interview here.
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