YouTube is the top youth brand in the United Kingdom. The results come from a survey of over 2,500 students from across the U.K. which was conducted by Voxburner in partnership with Thinkhouse’s “State of the Youth Nation” research. This is the second year the top youth brands have been ranked and the second year that YouTube took the top spot.
As part of the research, students were asked to rank brands based on a number of factors to determine what makes a brand relevant to young audiences.
The most important reasons that youths like brands based on the research results are:
- Young people can relate to the brand.
- The brand offers value for the money.
- The brand’s marketing work entertains youths.
The overwhelming use of social media by U.K. youths also played a big role in shaping this audience’s opinions about brands. The study found that nearly 75% of students claim to spend more time on social media than with parents or in lectures, and more than one out of three young people check social networks at least every few hours (38%).
The top 20 youth brands in the U.K. based on this study are (follow the link at the beginning of the article to see the full list):
- YouTube
- Amazon
- BBC
- Ben & Jerry’s
- Cadbury
- Pringles
- Wikipedia
- Channel 4
- Cancer Research
- eBay
- PayPal
- Walkers
- Sony
- McCoys
- Doritos
- Apple
- Skype
- Coca-Cola
The top fashion brand among U.K. youths, according to this study, is Converse at #55, and the top non-alcoholic beverage is Coca-Cola at #20. However, many brands didn’t rank as high among students who responded to the survey as you might think. Twitter ranked 60th while Starbucks ranked 70th. Even brands that target youths didn’t rank as high as you might expect. Spotify ranked 75th and Red Bull ranked 92nd.
As you look through the top 10 brands in the ranking above, you’ll notice brands that offer utility and entertainment performed particularly well among the youth audience. Similarly, brands that offer “one-stop shopping” for finding information, being entertained, making purchases, and so on, performed well.
In fact, there is a common thread among many of the brands that young people ranked high in the study—convenience. Want to be entertained? Visit YouTube. Want to find information about anything? Go to Google of check Wikipedia. Want to connect with other people? Log into Facebook or Skype.
What do you think of the ranking of brands by U.K. students? Do any of the brands on the list surprise you? Leave a comment and share your thoughts below.
Image: Yutaka Tsutano
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
