How Crayola and Audible Are Helping Gen Alpha Discover Creativity Beyond Screens

Audible is partnering with Crayola in order to connect with the younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha demographic with its Campaign for Creativity.

By partnering together, the two brands aim to increase listening and engagement among young audiences by providing innovative tools to parents, caregivers, and educators to inspire and guide them through audio storytelling, while simultaneously addressing an issue that is currently facing Gen Alpha and Gen Z: too much screen time. 

As part of Crayola’s Campaign for Creativity, Audible and Crayola will release exclusive activity sheets for kids to creatively engage with select Audible children’s titles, available for download with related Audible Originals. Parents and caregivers will also have access to a two-month free Audible trial to enjoy these titles alongside the activities.

Additionally, Audible will sponsor Crayola’s 2025 Creativity Week and award mobile listening stations to 10 schools nationwide, with two additional stations gifted to public schools in Newark, NJ.

Derek Murphy, Head of Global Business Development at Audible, explained that with the launch of this new feature, designed to encourage kids to listen more frequently, along with Audible’s global brand focus on the idea that “there’s more to imagine when you listen,” partnering with Crayola felt like a natural fit.

“Our hope with this collaboration is two-fold – first and foremost, we’re looking to nurture creativity in children, giving them tools to spark imagination and creative thinking at such a formative time in their lives,” said Murphy. “We’re also hoping to introduce even more young listeners to our growing library of kids’ titles – from forthcoming full-cast audio editions of the original Harry Potter stories to recently released Disney content (based on IP such as Frozen, Star Wars and Cars), we’re excited to continue curating a destination for parents and kids to experience the best that premium audio storytelling has to offer.”

Audible and Crayola are strategically promoting their collaboration through a multi-channel approach across web, email, and social media, with Audible spotlighting audio storytelling’s impact on creativity. Audible will release a series of engaging videos on its YouTube channel, along with shorter versions on Instagram and TikTok, to demonstrate how listening enhances creative experiences.

Crayola will amplify the campaign later this month through a two-week, in-person promotion at all five Crayola Experience locations across the U.S. This effort aligns with Audible’s sponsorship of Crayola Creativity Week, which kicks off on January 27, 2025.

Crayola’s Executive Vice President of Brand Marketing, Victoria Lozano, stressed the importance of fostering creativity to empower children. Lozano emphasized that creativity is about putting imagination into action, which is why they partnered with Audible and launched the Campaign for Creativity. This partnership blends inspiration and action so that children can bring their imaginations to life with audio stories and accompanying hands-on activities.

“This collaboration not only helps to elevate the conversation around the importance of childhood creativity, but also provides parents with more tools to engage children’s imaginations and put them into action,” said Lozano. “Working together, Crayola and Audible can inspire and create millions of creative moments for children everywhere.”

In terms of its influencer strategy, Crayola will utilize about 100 educators and homeschoolers to spread the free Crayola Creativity Week program. Crayola’s focus on creativity to illuminate learning across subject areas is complemented by creative engagements from some of the world’s most celebrated creators between January 27 and February 2. Matthew McConaughey, Henry Winkler, Mo Willems, Phillipa Soo, Ada Limon, Mikaila Ulmer, Max Greenfield, Jennifer Aniston, NASA scientists, and many others are scheduled to attend this year’s event. 

According to Lozano, the brand partners with celebrities, authors, actors, and entrepreneurs who share the brand’s commitment to inspiring, engaging, and supporting children’s education.

“As kids immerse themselves in audio stories, the hands-on activities will bring their imagination to life through action. It’s the perfect combination,” said Lozano.

Gen Alpha consumers have streamed more audio content than ever before. Over the past few years, 12-15-year-olds listened to music at least once a week, up 7%. Among this audience, podcast and audiobook listening has also increased, with podcast listening up 12.8% and audiobooks up 6% according to GWI.