Kidscorp data shows how teens aged 13 to 18 consume, play and interact with brands in the digital environment
By: meio&mensagem
Black Friday is approaching, and one figure is catching the attention of retailers and advertisers: six in ten Brazilian teens aged 13 to 18 already shop online. The numbers are part of the U18 Radar, a study by Kidscorp, a media company focused on kids and teen audiences, on the habits of this age group in Brazil.
In an interview with Meio & Mensagem, Roberta Sirota, Kidscorp's country manager in Brazil, says that teens have stopped playing a secondary role in purchasing decisions and are now seen by the market as potential consumers.
“The teen audience has stopped being just a passive vector of influence on family consumption and has become a consumer with financial autonomy,” she explains.
This behavior also shows up in gaming. According to the research, among teens who play, 54% make purchases inside games or apps. Debit cards, mentioned by 42% of respondents, already surpass cash, mentioned by 31%, as a payment method.
For the executive, winning over this audience can bring results that go beyond immediate consumption. “It is precisely in this window of the life cycle that the brand affinity and lifetime value that last into adulthood are built,” she says.
Platforms that are part of their routine
To get closer to teens, brands need to understand how they consume content and which platforms are part of their routine.
According to the study, YouTube is the most present activity in their daily lives: 82% of respondents access the platform on a typical day, ahead of activities such as gaming and chatting. Among the most watched content are comedy videos (49.2%), music (46.1%) and educational material (39.3%).
Among teens who play, 53% mainly use their phones for this activity, while 70% watch gaming content on YouTube. Roblox (48.2%) and Minecraft (45.8%) are among their favorite games. “The smartphone has established itself as the primary console, and environments like Roblox have become the new digital public squares,” Roberta sums up.
In the executive's view, these habits open the door for brands to expand their strategies aimed at Gen Z and at older audiences. She highlights that 83% of teens say they live their most memorable brand experiences on immersive platforms.
According to Kidscorp, thinking about each channel in isolation can raise costs without necessarily expanding reach. Almost six in ten teens who identified their favorite online ad said they saw it on YouTube.
From cultural participation to privacy
To earn a place in teens' routines, brands need to rethink the way they communicate with this generation. According to Roberta, this work rests on three pillars:
- Replace interruption with participation in these young people's culture. In this scenario, content creators and communities play an important role in the relationship with the audience. “The brand's role stops being that of an imposing protagonist and becomes that of a co-author that adds real value to the experience, whether through entertainment, usefulness or the amplification of gameplay,” she says.
- Combine authenticity with a mobile-first strategy. For the executive, trying to copy slang and trends without understanding teens' cultural context can lead to rejection. “Superficial attempts to mimic slang or trends without proper cultural mastery generate immediate rejection,” she says. That is why she advocates for visual, objective content with a clear value proposition from the first seconds.
- Treat compliance as a competitive differentiator. With the consolidation of the Digital ECA, Roberta believes that complying with privacy and safety rules may stop being seen only as an obligation and start contributing to the differentiation of companies.
In her view, the market needs to reduce its reliance on tracking user behavior and invest in ads related to the content users consume, in safe environments and with specialized media partners. The strategy can help brands reach their audience without compromising data protection and legal certainty.
Methodology
The data on gaming and in-game purchases is part of the Kids & Teens Tracking, an ongoing Kidscorp study conducted since 2021, and was collected between 2025 and 2026 from 305 Brazilian teens aged 13 to 18 who play games.