What Fortnite x The Simpsons, KFC x Stranger Things and Disney x F1 tell us about the new rules of brand relevance
When Fortnite announced its collab with The Simpsons, the internet barely had time to blink before the memes, streams and fan edits flooded social feeds. A week later, Disney revealed its latest partnership with Formula 1 and the reaction was much the same: excitement, curiosity and a flurry of speculation about what these worlds could become together.
To an adult, these might feel like unexpected pairings, but to Gen Alpha they feel entirely natural. This is a generation raised on mashup culture, where the boundaries between worlds are thinner, the definitions of fandom are looser, and the joy comes not from purity, but from creative collision. It’s about the thrill of seeing two cultural forces join up to create something bigger, funnier and more playful than either could be by themselves.
So what makes collabs so important for brands engaging with Gen Alpha? We’ve outlined some of key principles you should consider below:
The Fortnite x The Simpsons crossover works because it bridges generations. Many Alpha kids didn’t grow up watching the Simpsons, but they grew up hearing their parents quote it, or seeing characters recycled as memes. So, when those characters suddenly land inside their favourite gaming universe, it feels less like a nostalgic throwback and more like an open invitation into a shared cultural moment.
And this lets kids co-own a piece of something their parents loved, on their own terms, inside a world they control.
LEGO’s and Disney’s partnerships with F1 taps into something slightly different but equally important: kids’ expanding cultural diets.
F1 has surged in youth fandom, not because motorsport suddenly became child-oriented, but because its storytelling, personalities and behind-the-scenes drama made it emotionally accessible. Add LEGO’s innovation and the endless capabilities of the product itself, and suddenly every child can become an F1 engineer for a day.
It’s not about teaching kids the rules of racing, rather it’s about giving them a route into belonging. Gen A’s relationship with brands is highly creative, and collabs are a natural extension of that creativity. Kids don’t consume culture in neat boxes. They stitch it together, remix it, move between it and form their identities from the overlap. When brands collaborate, they’re effectively giving kids new cultural LEGO bricks - more pieces to build with, more combinations to explore, more ways to express who they are.
A desire for belonging sits at the heart of why collabs matter so much. Children consistently reward brands that feel fun, surprising and capable of reinventing themselves in ways that still feel authentic. Collabs do this effortlessly by creating moments that feel alive, conversational and participatory.
A good collaboration isn’t simply merging two logos, it’s blending tones, characters and narratives in a way that invites kids to play with them.
But collabs also speak to a deeper truth: Gen Alpha expects brands to behave socially, almost like characters in a story. 40% of toddlers will have a tablet by age 2, so they could swipe before they could read. This means that there’s an expectation on brands to chat, respond, experiment and show personality on and offline. Sure, a standalone brand can do that to a point, but two brands together can do it in a way that sparks genuine delight! A mashup allows humour to surface, flaws to show, and a sense of spontaneity to thrive.
These are the qualities that will succeed for this generation: not superiority, but energy, openness and play.
The most powerful collabs feel like a cultural moment, not a marketing campaign. They give kids something to talk about, something to share, something to perform. Take a look at any social media feed and it’ll show you that great collabs can turn passive fans into active participants (we’re fans of the current Wicked mania).
This signals that a brand understands how kids are actually moving through culture today - not by following one vertical, but by flowing between them.
We believe that as the landscape of Gen A continues to evolve, collaborations will only grow more important. Not because crossovers are trendy, but because they mirror how kids already behave: socially, creatively and fluidly.
If brands want to matter to Gen Alpha, they need to stop thinking about who they are in isolation and start thinking about who they could be in combination Collabs are no longer a tactic, they’re a cultural language that Gen Alpha speaks fluently.
Curious how your brand can tap into these insights? Connect with our kids and teens experts at hello@beanobrain.com or reach out to us here.