GALE and Milk have launched milkXP, a free YouTube series that pairs real educators with popular creators Ben Azelart, Lexi Rivera, Harper Zilmer, Angelo Bahu, SeanDoesMagic, and Markell Washington to make real-world topics teens are interested in learning about into engaging and relevant lessons on a platform they already use to learn.
In each milkXP episode, an educator teams up with a creator to explore a topic teens want to understand through the storytelling and pacing they expect and genuinely enjoy online. The initial milkXP semester explores financial literacy, one of the subjects teens connect most closely with their future goals.
The program launched alongside the new Relevance Gap Study, conducted by The Harris Poll, which suggests that teens may not only be distracted, they may disengage when what they are learning does not feel connected to their lives or futures. The study finds that more than half of teens (55%) say what they learn in school does not feel relevant to what they need for future success, and nearly all (97%) say they are less engaged when they cannot connect a lesson to their goals or interests.
While 82% of teachers have observed declining classroom attentiveness, the findings suggest teens are not rejecting learning; they are seeking stronger connections between their education and their futures. In fact, teens are eager to learn—especially via YouTube. 95% of teens say they would watch long-form educational YouTube content connecting school subjects with real-world opportunities, careers, and goals. Sixty-nine percent already use YouTube several times a week or daily to learn something new, the highest of any platform measured in the study. It is an opportunity to support educators further by meeting teens where they’re at and helping them make stronger connections between classroom learning and their lives.
"We wanted to flip the script by building an entirely new, innovative learning format from the ground up to serve as a supplement to traditional education,” said Josh Braithwaite, Managing Director of Creative at GALE. “By identifying what teens actually want to learn and delivering it through the creators who already hold their attention, milkXP makes learning feel engaging and advertising feel entertaining. It’s a culturally relevant way to teach essential skills, like financial literacy, and position milk as nutrient-dense fuel for teens to lock in and focus."
The program builds on milk’s role as a nutrient-rich choice for teens. Nearly three-quarters of teens (74%) say they reach for a snack or drink when they need to focus on homework, while 94% say eating a nutritious breakfast or lunch makes concentrating easier.
“Teens are hungry for lessons that feel relevant to their lives, but they also grow up in a digital environment that makes focus harder to protect,” said Jennifer Grubb, Senior Marketing Manager at MilkPEP. “We designed milkXP to meet both realities, bring relevant topics to the platforms and formats teens already use while showing how milk can help fuel their focus throughout the day.”
Each episode is guided by the Milk Flow State Framework, a digital content scorecard developed with digital wellness expert Dr. Michael Rich and reviewed by education expert Dr. Gregory Barton, designed to help ensure that content is age-appropriate, participatory, and purposeful.
The series premieres September 15 with Harper Zilmer and educator Dr. Gregory Barton on YouTube at @milkXPofficial. Additional episodes will be released through the fall.
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