Sea Monster Insights

In July, Sea Monster hosted a dynamic lunch and learn session exploring how brands can meaningfully engage younger audiences in 2025 and beyond. The conversation brought together three expert voices — Glenn Gillis, CEO of Sea Monster; Lisa Adams, Founder of Citizen Code and Technology Director at Girl Effect; and Keketso Makape, Head of Strategy & Operations at Nedbank — each offering unique perspectives on youth engagement in South Africa. Together, they unpacked what’s truly working (and what isn’t) when it comes to connecting with younger audiences, revealing why traditional marketing is falling short, and what forward-thinking brands are doing differently to build authentic, lasting relationships with the next generation. Here are the main takeaways.

The financial services industry has a youth engagement problem, but it's not the one most people think it is. The issue isn't that young people don't care about money or financial planning, the problem is that traditional financial education campaigns aimed at the youth are often irrelevant, boring, and completely disconnected from how young people actually live and learn. So how might financial services brands engage with youth in ways that actually feel meaningful and relevant to them?

Reaching young audiences isn’t what it used to be. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are growing up in a world where traditional media just doesn’t cut it anymore. They don’t want to be talked at. They want to participate, co-create, and connect. So where are they doing that? Increasingly, the answer is Roblox and for brands hoping to stay relevant, it’s time to start paying attention.

Generally speaking, nobody wakes up in the morning excited to learn how to budget. Or to understand how credit works. Or how to properly save for retirement. And more often than not, these important topics aren’t adequately taught to us at school or at any point during our formative education journeys. So how do we expect people to gain financial understanding and make informed decisions in today’s increasingly complex financial landscape? And where are people finding relevant financial information that they can really trust? 

Globally, Gen Z is at the forefront of social movements, from climate protests to calls for political reform. Their strong sense of social justice and desire to challenge the status quo pose significant implications for brands and organisations. To align with Gen Z’s values, businesses must adopt innovative strategies as this generation becomes more influential and vocal about their expectations.

A game that goes beyond entertainment - that’s an impact game. A game that is purposefully designed to tackle a particular challenge - that’s an impact game. Whether it's to teach us, train us, mobilise us around a cause, or empower communities, all impact games share a common goal: to improve the lives of users and to ultimately drive positive change in the world. 

Thirteen years ago, Sea Monster was founded with a vision to use games to put users back at the center of learning and marketing experiences. We’ve collaborated with incredible global brands to drive these initiatives, but this is just the beginning. As games become an integral part of the media landscape, with an estimated 3.6 billion gamers worldwide by next year, there’s still immense potential for innovation and impact ahead

Games have been around for centuries and with the advancement of technology, games and game design have developed to a point where they are so integrated into our daily lives that they can actively help us navigate and make sense of our complicated and messy world. We already know that gaming is not just for kids, with over 3.6 billion people gaming on a regular basis globally. But where will the focus for impact games be in 2024?

A growing body of research shows that gaming can positively affect mental health. It’s also becoming increasingly clear that impact games can amplify these effects. As people around the world search for solutions to address the widespread mental health crisis, there’s a strong argument for gaming. Before digging into how games can be used to stimulate mental well-being, it’s worth noting that our understanding is constantly evolving. ‍