The UK’s top brands according to 18–24s
Report 2012
Introduction
The Youth 100 is something new and unique
for the marketing community. It’s the UK’s
most loved and liked brands, as decided by
over 1,000 young people who took part in
surveys and focus groups this year.
Perhaps a question to answer up front is
this: why? Why research 18-24-year-old’s
favourite brands, create a table and then invite
the analysis of marketing experts, industry
journalists and agency professionals?
The reasons I think are best revealed in the
pages that follow, as sentiment towards the
brands in young people’s lives is explored,
category by category. But that does not
explain what originally inspired The Beans
Group to take on this project and commit to
updating it year after year.
12 Fast Food
14 Food & Snacks // Food
16 Food & Snacks // Snacks
18 Drinks (AlcoholIC)
20 Drinks (Non-alcoholic)
22 Entertainment
24 Technology
Contents
26 Retail
28 Banks & Finance
30 Online Shopping
Introduction 03
Meet the contributors 06
Youth 100 resultS 10
32 Health & Beauty
34 Fashion
36 Travel
38 Media, Websites & Apps
40 Mobile Providers & ISPs
42 Charities & Campaigns
2
Young people are important. On an
economic level, they are key to numerous
markets, from mobile, fashion and
technology to alcohol, snack foods,
entertainment and more. Imagine the
somewhat maligned British high street
without them and you’ll picture many more
empty shops. The youth audience spends
money. In the case of students alone, who
account for around half the UK youth
population, they contribute an estimated
£20 billion to the UK economy every year.
On a societal level, 18-24s are influential.
Highly social, open-minded, aspirational
and ambitious, young people are full of
energy and enthusiasm, exploring a life
that surprises them every day.
Do you remember the first time you
bought a car, gained entry to a
casino or went on your first date
in a ‘proper’ restaurant? Life is
full of novelty when you’re
18. Young people are taking
the first hit of adult life and
sharing their experiences
through word-of-mouth
and expression. They
have the capacity to
propel ideas into the
mainstream.
Many of the top-performing names in this
report leverage both these factors, identifying
the passions of youth - music, film, sports
to name a few - and finding a role for their
brand within them, while understanding the
dynamics of youth spending.
So young people are important
now, but there’s also the future to
think about. Students are the next
generation of ABC1 consumers.
Capture their interest and
commitment today and you’ll
secure a relationship for life.
Some of the value of this
Youth 100 research will
be realised over the
long term. We will
get to monitor the
performance of
these brands,
many of
which have
been relevant to youth for a decade
of more, on an annual basis. We
can judge the impact of their
work and the changing mood
of young people.
Yet many insights are
immediate. You’re closer
to young people’s hearts
if you’re a website
brand or app than
if you’re a mobile
provider or
ISP (contract
haggling and
tech issues
spoil the
chance
of romance). Those of us outside the
demographic may think Vice magazine
and American Apparel are hip, but most
18-24s have more love for Primark and the
Metro. Sleazy snack brand Pot Noodle, long
considered a nutritional staple for students,
comes nowhere in this research; Innocent and
its healthy smoothies are what students want.
So how did we arrive at this list of 100
brands that young people like most?
The project began in July 2012. We initially
collated a list of around 400 brands that
are relevant to the everyday lives of UK
18-24s, based on those they use, those who
evidently market to them, those discussed
in forums and social media, and those
young people referenced in face-to-face
conversations with around 30 individuals
from the demographic. We then worked
to narrow this down to around 220 brands
that we could practically present to young
people. The shortlisting process was like
any other: it was based on the judgement
and opinion (of those working in youth
marketing) and with the aim of creating a
diverse list that included a mix of bestselling brands, rising brands and in some
cases brands that would provide an
interesting contrast.
For example, it wasn’t feasible to
include every UK supermarket,
but we did include Waitrose
and Lidl for contrast. From
earlier discussions we were
aware that including
every supermarket
would not provide any
noteworthy response.
With a list of 220 brands, all of which you
will find within the pages of this report, we
then created an online survey to measure
sentiment. This was promoted by email in
August 2012 to The Beans Group’s database
of 250,000 current UK students. We received
1034 responses over a four week period.
The survey had to be simple and userfriendly for the amount of data we were
looking to collect. For each brand shown to
the young person, they could choose their
feeling towards it: Love, Like, No feeling,
Dislike, Hate. It was as simple as that: an
instinctual, gut emotion when presented
with the brand in front of them.
To calculate the top brands, we looked at the
combined scores of ‘Love’ and ‘Like’. Those
with the highest overall scores made it into the
Youth 100.
Once we had all the data, we invited around
25 students from all across the UK into our
offices. They literally came from all regions,
and we even flew over a young woman
from Northern Ireland. We spoke to them
throughout a day about the results and
we sought to dig deeper into some of the
reasons behind them. Their comments
were given to the expert commentators who
feature throughout this report.
It’s worth outlining how the approach
described is different to something like
Coolbrands, a popular annual list and probably
the closest in concept to the Youth 100.
Like our research, Coolbrands involves a
council of experts who initially identify the
shortlist brands. But those experts are also
responsible for deciding the final selection,
with only a 20% weighting of public opinion
added. It’s fitting that a list of cool brands
should be decided by a small and exclusive
set of opinion-formers from fashion, music
and advertising.
But this is where the Youth 100 is different.
Once the shortlist of over 200 brands
was agreed, it was down to young people
themselves to rank them. These results
are weighted 100% by UK 18-24s. And
this is something we at The Beans Group
are passionate about. Too often in youth
4
marketing the talk is of what’s edgy. For a
long time the trends that have influenced
marketers and the work that has been
celebrated has been the kind that appeals to
those at the margins or involves sub-culture.
What about regular young people? What
about the millions of youngsters who watch
the X-factor, work part-time in Asda, enjoy
nights out at Weatherspoon’s and Nando’s,
shop on the high street and love their mum
and dad? We are interested in them, because
they represent the majority.
A final word on some of the prominent
names that didn’t make the Youth 100. For
some, like Red Bull, the ‘issue’ was that
they cause strong feeling. There are young
people that love them and those that hate
them, but not many in the middle. Most
brand managers would agree it’s better
to generate a mixed response than no
response at all. Red Bull do great work and
will not be concerned to miss out in a survey
of this kind. The brands that should be
concerned are those that achieve high ‘no
feeling’ scores. STA Travel, with 70% neutral
sentiment, should be disappointed. They
could argue they operate in a fairly functional
niche and are less likely to generate strong
emotion; but look at services like National
Rail and National Express who managed to
sneak into the top hundred.
I hope you enjoy reading through these
results and the comments from our diverse
array of expert professionals. They have
brought sector insights to each category and
the report has added value because of it.
Once digested, let me know your thoughts
on Twitter and LinkedIn. I look forward
to coming back to you next year with an
update of these brands’ fortunes.
Luke Mitchell
Head of Youth Strategy, The Beans Group
twitter @thebeansgroup
linkedin the-beans-group
Meet the contributors
David Kisilevsky
Sub Regional Director,
McCann Erickson
David is a senior marketing professional
with more than 30 years client and agency
experience, building strong brands and
delivering successful business results
across multiple territories. He is currently
employed by McCann WorldGroup (MWG)
as regional director for Central and Eastern
Europe. In this capacity, he’s responsible
for all aspects of operational performance
of MWG offices in CEE. Prior to joining
McCann, David spent 4 years at Burger
King, initially as senior marketing director
Northern Europe and subsequently as vice
president of marketing Europe, Africa and
the Middle East, overseeing a total marketing
and communications spend of £70 million.
David led successful turnaround plans in
the UK and Germany, reversing negative
sales and traffic, improving brand image
and restoring the confidence and belief of
franchisees, shareholders and employees.
He spent 19 years at Leo Burnett where
he was responsible for the McDonald’s
business, presiding over a period of
sustained growth which saw annual sales
increase from £262 million in 1987 to
£1.3 billion at the end of 2005. David
has experience in advertising, design,
marketing, PR, experiential, branding and
digital. He’s worked across diverse business
categories, including food, retail and financial
services and is an experienced public speaker
having spoken frequently at conferences and
events in the UK and Europe.
6
Mark Stringer
Founder, PrettyGreen
Mark founded PrettyGreen on 4th July 2008
as a way of fulfilling his entrepreneurial
dream of helping create and own new
brands and after being convinced by one
particular client that it would be fun (whilst
also realising that he wasn’t quite ready
to retire). With over 15 years of client and
agency experience, across a broad spectrum
of clients, he’s an integrated thinker who
loves bringing brands to life, and currently
works with clients such as Nando’s, Red
Bull, All About Food, Cadbury, Electronic
Arts and Under Armour. He also sits on the
Board of C4 Britdoc and is a co-founder
of Metropolitan Spirits, helping create and
launch La Maison Fontaine®, an Ultra
Premium Absinthe, which is now the most
awarded Blanche Absinthe in the world.
Craig Butcher
Senior Editor,
MSN Food and MSN Him
MSN UK reaches 19.9 million unique users
per month, two-thirds of all online users
in the UK. Craig has extensive online
experience launching and relaunching
websites including Channel 4 Food
and delicious magazine, along with
communications and PR experience for
print magazine Sainsbury’s Magazine and
delicious. He is also a freelance food, drink
and travel journalist contributing to titles
including the London Evening Standard,
The Guardian online, The Sunday Times
Travel Magazine, Esquire and GQ.com. Craig
is also a commercial copywriter for brands
including Grant’s whisky and Haagen-Dazs.
Lucy Dartford
Managing Director,
Lucy Dartford PR
Lucy Dartford is the owner and director of
Lucy Dartford PR, a boutique PR agency that
represents a selection of beauty, fashion,
health and lifestyle brands. Lucy Dartford has
worked in PR for over 8 years specialising
in consumer and lifestyle PR, celebrity
endorsement and media event management.
Lucy has worked at both large and small
public relations agencies . Prior to setting
up Lucy Dartford PR Ltd, she worked as a
consultant for various high-profile brands
and individuals. Lucy wanted to open up
an agency that echoed her same values
and achieved the same high profile PR
campaigns that she is known to achieve. She
now runs a successful agency that continues
to grow in size.
David Price
Editor, iPad & iPhone User
David has been writing and blogging about
the technology industry for a little over a
decade. He is the editor of iPad & iPhone
User magazine and a regular contributor
to macworld.co.uk, but hasn’t always
viewed things from the Apple side of the
fence; he was previously managing editor
of PC Advisor and has also worked for
the industry journal CRN. David has also
reported on technology developments for
Channel 5 News and annually presents IDG
Communications’ Macworld Awards event.
Antony Welfare
Retail Expert & Author,
www.retailpotential.com
Antony is a passionate retail expert and
author, with over 20 years experience in
the industry, including 15 years learning
from the large retailers (Marks & Spencer,
Sainsburys, Dixons Retail) and experience
of smaller retailers, including the set-up
of a very successful online retailer and the
development of a TV shopping channel
business. In July 2011 Antony published
the highly-regarded The Retail Handbook:
Helping you achieve your Potential in Retail.
Sean Pillot de Chenecey
Marketing Consultant,
Captain Crikey
With over 15 years experience working for a
range of leading brands on an international
basis, Sean is a marketing consultant who
specialises in trend analysis, consumer
insights and brand/marcoms strategy. His
USP is that in addition to consulting with
companies at board level, he combines
this with street-level research, alongside
interviewing key social/cultural experts.
Frequently quoted in the media in the US,
Asia and Europe; he also gives speeches
around the world to agency and client-side
audiences, and is a visiting lecturer (on
cultural/social trends) at Central St Martins
and the London College of Fashion.
Graham Charlton
Editor, Econsultancy
Econsultancy blog attracts more than
250,000 unique users per month. Graham
writes about all aspects of digital marketing,
specializing in mobile marketing,
e-commerce and SEO. He has also written
and contributed to Econsultancy’s Best
Practice Guides on mobile and e-commerce.
Econsultancy is a global community-based
publisher, focused on best practice digital
marketing and e-commerce, and used by
over 400,000 internet professionals every
month. It has 130,000+ members worldwide
from clients, agencies and suppliers alike
with over 90% member retention rate. You
can connect with Graham on Twitter (@
gcharlton) or LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.
com/graham-charlton)
Rees Hitchcock
Brand & Digital Manager,
Beatwax
Rees has been lucky enough to work with
some fantastic brands such as Disney, Warner
Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, H&M,
Virgin Media, Sony, Häagen-Dazs and Nissan
on a variety of national and international
campaigns. In the past 18 months he’s run
experiential events in New York and Dubai.
Rees has witnessed first hand the strength
of engaging with consumers through
experiential events through the eyes of an
agency and brand, but it also wasn’t too long
ago that he was a student at Bournemouth
University, so he’s well placed to judge what
works well with the youth market and what
can fall flat on its face.
8
Katrina Drake
Fashion Blogger, Carousel
Diary
Katrina Drake is 21 and from Leigh-on-Sea
in Essex. She runs the popular fashion,
beauty and lifestyle blog Carousel Diary. In
her day job Katrina works in a role which
incorporates marketing, websites and
social media for a firm of solicitors. She is
dedicated to growing her blog and sharing
reviews, stories and coverage with more
readers. A keen user of Twitter, her handle is
@carouseldiary and she’s keen to share her
keen interest in fashion and beauty with like
minded people.
Lee Hayhurst
Head of News,
Travel Weekly Group
Lee has reported on the UK outbound leisure
travel industry for the last seven years and
for the last two years has also been editor of
Travolution, Travel Weekly’s publication for
the online sector. Travel Weekly is the leading
publication for the UK travel industry both
online and in print with 40 years heritage
covering the sector. In 2009 the title was
bought from Reed Business Information by
industry entrepreneur Clive Jacobs, founder
of Holiday Autos, and now operates as an
independent business from offices in central
London.
Oliver Brann
Editor, studentbeans.com
Oliver Brann is a specialist in the creation
of youth focused content, products and
marketing principles. He has been working
online for over 12 years at Lycos, Espotting,
Hotcourses and currently as the Editor of
studentbeans.com. At Hotcourses, Oliver
was the Editor/Product owner of Whatuni.
com leading the transformation of the site
into the UK’s leading university comparison
destination, growing traffic by a factor of ten
in a two year period.
As Editor of studentbeans.com, Oliver has
overhauled the site’s editorial offering and
navigated a meteoric rise in traffic numbers
through the channels Easy Money, Student
101 and World Weird Web. What’s more Oliver
promises that studentbeans.com’s unique
content mix will continue to produce ever
more ‘useful, original and super viral hits’.
Oliver is potty about dogs and skiing and
lives in Victoria Park, London.
Richard H Harris
Founder, Ensygnia
Richard H Harris (@TelecomGuru) is a
serial technology entrepreneur, with a
track record of building and transforming
early-stage technology companies. He
has been involved in various high-profile
enterprises, operating at Board-level to assist
companies such as Authenticon, Mobix,
Swivel Secure, Flasma and Clearswift. He
currently holds board positions with the
Young Entrepreneur Society, Authenticon
and Flasma and has invested in a number
of early stage companies such as the award
winning SAVortex. In his spare time, as well
as enjoying playing guitar, glass-blowing,
Ceroc & scuba diving, he mentors Carly
Ward, founder of The Young Entrepreneur
Society, and Nicholas Fearn, a young man
with Asperger’s who created gadgetxpert.
co.uk. He is currently 100% focussed on
building his new security technology startup: Ensygnia and has recently been granted
a patent for using encrypted QR codes to log
into websites by simply scanning them with
a mobile app.
Chrystyna Chymera
Marketing Manager,
Anthony Nolan
Chrystyna is leading the charity’s drive to
reach an increasingly younger audience.
Chrystyna has a background in large-scale
education campaigns – including the
Electoral Commission’s hugely successful
campaign to help voters understand the 2011
referendum on the voting system. Having
come from a students’ union background,
Chrystyna is uniquely placed to understand
the ins and outs of campus life and the best
way to get the attention of students.
Youth 100 results
The UK’s Top Brands According To 18–24s
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Fast Food
OUR RATING SYSTEM EXPLAINED
7 HATE
M DISLIKE
A NO FEELING
T LIKE
>LOVE FOVERALL SCORE
The results of the survey show that, in spite of clamours for tighter
regulation of the fast food industry to counter the threat of rising obesity
levels, fast food continues to play an important role in young people’s lives.
One of the most interesting trends has
been the emergence of Greggs and Subway
as serious challengers to the traditional
domination of the ‘Big 3’: McDonald’s,
Burger King and KFC. While Greggs is
experimenting with new, more modern
and aspirational store designs - no doubt
with the goal of pulling the brand away
from its traditional image as a purveyor of
cheap gut-fill food - Subway has continued
to leverage its positioning as a lighter and
‘healthier’ alternative to traditional fast food.
The ‘Big 3’ continue to polarise opinion.
McDonald’s has struggled to convert its
superior restaurant footprint and marketing
muscle into positive brand empathy.
For a brand which not that long ago was
described by one national newspaper as
“as British as fish and chips”, it’s a little
surprising that McDonald’s still generates
a high level of ‘dislike’ and a relatively low
level of ‘love’. Successful international
brands often struggle against the curiously
British phenomenon of resentment of
success. However, McDonald’s seemed to be
making inroads here and, while they have
worked hard to change their image as an
‘ugly American’ and their UK business has
contributed significantly to the company’s
global turnaround, it’s clear they still face an
uphill struggle to win the hearts and minds
of the British public.
Neither KFC nor Burger King made it into
the Top 100 brands and both have struggled
to dent McDonald’s domination of the UK
fast food market. KFC has attempted to cast
off its ‘junk food’ associations through menu
diversification and its ‘So Good’ re-branding.
I may be wrong, but this feels to me like a
strategy driven by research findings rather
than genuine insight into its customer base.
KFC is essentially an indulgent treat and by
trying to ‘sanitise’ its menu and broaden the
brand’s appeal, I fear the company may be
12
under-playing one of its greatest assets.
Burger King has more reasons than most
to be disappointed with the findings of the
survey. After years as an also-ran in the
UK fast food market, the brand appeared
to have done a great job in developing a
credible and compelling ‘challenger brand’
positioning. Amidst much gnashing of teeth
from its competitors, Burger King became
the first fast food brand to voluntarily pull
out of TV advertising targeted at children
and was the first hamburger chain to
introduce 100 per cent certified Angus
beef.It seemed as if the brand was ready to
mount a serious challenge to McDonald’s
and KFC.
However, the last couple of years have seen
a return to an emphasis on short-term
tactical promotion and it’s no surprise to see
a low level of genuine brand enthusiasm.
A compelling brand proposition is a prerequisite for success in any market. For
Burger King, already at a significant price
disadvantage to its competitors, the absence
of such a clearly defined proposition
could prove terminal.
David Kisilevsky
Sub Regional Director, McCann Erickson
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Greggs
2
10
9
46
33
79
Domino’s
2
9
11
41
37
78
Millie’s Cookies
0
2
20
46
32
78
PizzaExpress
1
8
16
51
24
75
Krispy Kreme
2
8
17
39
34
73
Subway
3
15
14
48
20
68
Nando’s
5
8
23
30
34
64
McDonald’s
8
21
15
43
13
56
wagamama
1
9
41
25
24
49
Burger King
7
29
16
31
17
48
KFC
11
23
21
33
12
45
GBK
1
8
46
26
19
45
Prezzo
2
5
58
28
7
35
Shakeaway
0
4
65
21
10
31
Food & Snacks // Food
I think we all have a stereotypical view as to what students like and don’t
like, rooted in a belief and a memory of what our student days were like.
Poor, hungover, and buying value lines to enable us to be able to drink
more down the students’ union.
But when it comes to brands that students
love, it’s not necessarily about what goes
in their shopping basket everyday, it’s
about brands that they desire, not brands
they always buy, and this list is made up of
premium power brands, who have spent
millions and years in NPD, marketing, and
creating in-store experiences: Cadbury,
Heinz, Kellogg’s, Hellmann’s, Uncle Bens.
due with the addition of mayo Uncle Bens,
interestingly has smashed Tilda out the
park. The fight for microwave pouches,
clearly has Uncle Bens front and center.
Years of advertising hasn’t managed to sway
the youth that basmati rice is better than
American long grain, with many students
simply existing on the new microwave meal
of rice pouches.
What this list doesn’t tell us is whether
students see these brands as the
unobtainable desired food and snacks, or as
brands of everyday choice. There’s no own
label, M Label, Sainsbury’s Everyday or Tesco
Value, which maybe isn’t that surprising.
And there’s no surprise that Coco-Pops
romps home as a cereal making the Top
100, it’s everyone’s favourite and the guilty
pleasure of adults, it may no longer be “just
like a chocolate milkshake only crunchy”,
but it still rocks, but interestingly Special K
makes a surprise appearance. Obviously
dropping a dress size is important, and
body-conscious students, guilty of all the
over indulgence, love another Kellogg’s
product. Surprised that Tony the Tiger
didn’t make it.
To many we regard these items as relatively
low interest categories, and everyday
items, but for students, named brands are
treats. They could buy 10 Tesco fish fingers
for £0.60p or could buy 12 Birds Eye Fish
Fingers for nearly £2.00 more. They would
prefer, naturally the Omega 3 rich ones
(whatever that is) straight from the
Captain’s Table.
It’s about buying perceived quality, rather
than actual quality for many, but you also
have to remember that most students have
just left home and have spent years eating
named brands, with no regard to price.
Some are still given food parcels, and a
privileged few have online orders arranged
and paid for by their parents.
You could look at this list and say it’s a
classical student diet of chocolate, crisps,
washed down with beans on toast, a few fish
fingers and a bowl of cereal after a night out.
Students don’t like cooking (it leads to
washing up), but these food brands are
all quick fix meals, and multi-meal items.
A jar of Hellmann’s Mayo can be used for
pasta, sandwiches, baked potatoes etc. And
it’s the added value treat to go with cheap
quick meals that can be made to taste great
14
However the focus group quotes around
food brands are quite telling: “Heinz Beanz
you notice the difference, they’re not
watered down and the beans look better”,
and “I can’t cook, so I think if I buy quality
brands my meals taste better”.
Heinz is probably the one food brand on
this list that has actively targeted students,
with clever below-the-line activity to raise
the profile of Heinz Beanz, the others have
used the more classical ‘Housewives with
Kids’ approach. But given that a lot of these
ads run during day-time, it’s probably no
surprise that students see a lot and are
heavily influenced by these messages.
Mark Stringer
Founder, PrettyGreen
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Heinz Beanz
9
10
11
38
32
70
HellmaNns Mayo
7
13
11
42
27
69
Uncle Bens rice
3
9
25
47
16
63
Birds Eye Fish Fingers
3
14
24
40
19
59
Coco Pops
3
13
28
39
17
56
Jelly Belly
0
7
42
26
25
51
Special K
3
13
40
30
14
44
Food & Snacks // Snacks
The snack brands make for interesting reading, brands that make the list
all make it in the top 1/3 of the list, outperforming most other categories.
Demonstrating that there’s a real love for snacks amongst this group.
Cadbury not only tops the list but is literally
three points away from being the number
one youth brand. It’s the biggest chocolate
brand, the nation’s most loved chocolate
brand, and this report has it as a top three
youth brand.
Some would argue it’s the ubiquity of being
in every CTN (Confectioner, Tobacconist
and Newsagent) and every supermarket, but
there’s no Mars or Nestle. What you could
deduce from this is on the one hand it’s the
strong product development, “bite-size”,
“blocks”, “count-lines” that has enabled
Cadbury to offer a “treat” for everyone,
combined with strong in-store presence.
However marketeers would also say that it’s
the high-profile marketing that has made
the biggest difference. Notably for two
years, Cadbury has been relatively singleminded around being the Official Treat
provider for London 2012, outspending and
outperforming its competitors. What often
also gets forgotten is that Cadbury Dairy
Milk also outperforms its competitors when
it comes to taste tests.
Interesting to see Haribo as the highest
performing “sweet”. Many of us would have
expected to see Maynards Wine Gums,
Nestle’s Rowntrees Randoms, Natural
Confectionary Company claiming a place,
but Haribo’s vast product range, pricing,
distribution and advertising looks like it’s
paid real dividends. But watch out for Jelly
Belly, definitely the cooler kid in the block.
Doritos, Pringles, Walkers and McCoys are
an everyday snack for students, and fairly
consistent clever marketing from these
brands continues to keep them front and
center for most students. More interesting
is Kettle Chips. Not a brand associated with
students, more middle England suburban
dinner parties, but obviously the aspirational
quality speaks volumes.
Which leads us onto Pot Noodle. Ask anyone
what students eat, and what’s the brand
of choice in this category and everyone
16
would say Pot Noodle. But no more. It would
appear the shine has gone from this 1970s
classic. It doesn’t make the Top 100, and as
many Hate comments as Ginsters, which
is probably not surprising. Students want
cheap snacks, but students are also much
more health conscious, and aware of what
they are putting in their bodies.
What’s great for marketers is that today’s
students want named brands, and they
are tomorrow’s high income earners with
higher disposable income, and will be
higher basket spenders, but with average
student fees topping £9000 per year,
students are cutting back. Only 22% say they
drink more than 11 units per week (not sure
I believe that) and 50% change their diet due
to financial hardship, so maybe next year
we’ll begin to see a changing list. One that
has more “value” products, offering great
products at great prices.
Mark Stringer
Founder, PrettyGreen
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Cadbury
1
3
4
37
55
92
Doritos
1
4
8
43
44
87
Pringles
1
5
12
45
37
82
Kettle Chips
0
5
14
38
43
81
Haribo
1
6
12
39
42
81
McCoys
1
7
16
44
32
76
Walkers
1
6
18
56
19
75
Pot Noodle
16
27
25
24
8
32
Ginsters
8
27
42
17
6
23
Drinks // Alcoholic
There’s evidently been a significant shift in tastes away from established
or mainstream cider brands such as Strongbow and Magner’s towards
upstart brands such as Kopparberg, Brothers and Rekorderlig. This despite
ongoing significant marketing spend by the Strongbow brand, which
appears to have done little to lift its poor ranking.
It’s also likely that the diverse flavour ranges
of Kopparberg, Brothers and Rekorderlig offering different fruit flavours - gives the
brands wider appeal. Comments from focus
groups included: “Kopparberg is a drink girls
can enjoy”, “Kopparberg provide a better
variety of flavours” and “I love Kopparberg”.
These brands, with their more underground
vibe positioning and Scandinavianleaning brands benefit from being seen as
alternative, spontaneous, urban, pop-up
and chic.
Given the timing of the survey and summer
predilections for ciders and American-style
easy-drinking beers, the strong showing
of Budweiser, Corona and Desperados is
unsurprising. While seasonality does explain
the poor showing of Guinness, it can not
entirely explain the the weak results for
Carlsberg and Coors. Coors suffered from
respondent indifference, perhaps because
of low marketing spend and restricted
availability in bars, while it’s likely Carlsberg
has suffered from failing to evolve the brand
in recent years. It’s possible that those most
prevalent beer brands, particularly those
available on draught in bars and pubs such
as Stella Artois, Carlsberg and Guinness, lost
out to brands more associated with bottled
drinks and at-home consumption.
Spirits and wine brands are dominated
by the out-of-home spirits brands.
Jägermeister performed well owing to
ubiquity with nights out and Jägerbombs.
Its popularity seems entirely out of kilter
with its limited marketing activity, but
benefits from being deeply entrenched
with ‘big nights out’ among this age range.
Comments included: “Every time someone
says ‘Jägermeister’ I just smile, I can’t
help it,” “Jägerbombs are often on offer”
and “Jäger have a good brand reputation
with their music sponsorship”. The theme
of brands being closely-tied with music
events, and benefiting thereby, permeates
18
this sector. One brand “had quite a good ad
campaign, I think it features a band, it seems
cooler than beers,” suggesting that brands
associated with music are ‘cooler’.
Other spirits brands to do well included
Malibu and Smirnoff, with vastly differing
marketing spends. The popularity of gin
brands witnessed in older age groups is
not reflected in the Youth 100, with both
Bombay Sapphire and Gordon’s faring badly.
Rum and vodka are in favour in this age
range, gin and whiskey are not. Ubiquity
can not entirely explain the results, nor can
price points, since cheaper brands such as
WKD and VK performed to middling effect.
It’s possible that favoured brands including
Malibu, Smirnoff and Baileys divide along
gender lines, being much preferred
by females.
Looking forward, I don’t see wine brands
making serious in-roads into this age
range and a continued poor perception of
established beer brands including Stella
Artois, Carlsberg and Guinness (though the
latter will improve in autumn and winter).
The explosive growth of perry and cider
brands including Kopparberg and Rekoderlig
will slow. Mainstream spirits brands
including Malibu and Smirnoff will continue
to be liked.
Craig Butcher
Senior Editor, MSN Food and MSN Him
Beer & Cider
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Kopparberg
2
9
21
34
34
68
Brothers
2
8
40
32
18
50
Budweiser
5
20
25
31
19
50
Corona
4
21
26
34
15
49
rekorderlig
3
4
56
17
20
37
Desperados
0
8
55
24
13
37
Stella
8
18
38
26
10
36
Guinness
14
19
34
22
11
33
Carlsberg
11
30
30
26
3
29
Strongbow
13
27
32
20
8
28
Coors
5
19
52
20
4
24
Spirits & Wine
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JÄgermeister
4
8
21
39
28
67
Malibu
9
14
18
37
22
59
Smirnoff
6
13
24
39
18
57
Baileys
7
17
19
37
20
57
Bacardi
6
13
26
44
11
55
WKD
11
22
15
41
11
52
Jack Daniels
9
21
24
29
17
46
VK
7
21
38
29
5
34
Bombay Saphire
2
14
53
22
9
31
Gordans Gin
8
22
41
18
11
29
Jacob’s Creek
8
14
51
22
5
27
Red Square
4
13
58
20
5
25
Barefoot
2
4
84
8
2
10
Drinks // Non-alcoholic
The most striking aspect of the results is the dominance of caffeinated
drinks brands. Of the top five brands, only Innocent reflects a range of
drinks without caffeine. Of the top 10, seven are caffeinated, another is an
energy drink. Just two - Innocent and Frijj - would be considered ‘healthy’
options, sugar content aside.
This reflects the growing trend towards
‘tired Britain’, reliant on caffeine hits and
energy drinks, often without a strong
correlation with sports activity. Strong brand
associations with adventure activities and
edgier attitudes, for example “Monster are
more associated with rock music”, seem
more prevalent. While the normalising of
activating energy and caffeinated drinks
into mainstream consumption, regardless of
the time of day, seems to have continued.
Additionally, more established energy drink
brands including Red Bull and Lucozade
seem to be losing ground to new rivals,
including Monster and supermarket ownlabels. Comments included: “Supermarkets
have released their own versions, which
are cheaper”, “Red Bull is drunk by younger
teenagers” and “energy drinks - there are so
many choices now, you can get bigger cans
for less price.”
It appears perceptions may reflect the more
sombre, borderline angry, economic times,
with more ‘relaxed’ brands such as Alibi
and virtuous eco-brands such as Snapple
suffering. Similarly, some respondents
may be trading down to cheaper brands,
one comment stated: “It’s very rare now to
be served Red Bull in a bar because it’s so
expensive and they know you’d rather pay
for something the same but cheaper.” It is
possible that the unusually high number
of Red Bull ‘hates’ relates to perceptions of
premium expense. Additionally, the rather
tired cartoon advertising may have reached
its use-by date.
The dominance of the big corporate
brands, with Costa, Starbucks and Coca
Cola at the top, is unsurprising. Their everpresence on UK high streets ensures wide
recognition, though Starbucks is notable
for not pursuing television advertising.
The brand has suffered some setbacks
over the last three years, but this appears
20
to have had minimal impact on this age
group. A refocusing of the brand ethos and
attempts to personalise the service may
have contributed to positive perceptions. It’s
important to note the above-average ‘dislike’
scores, offset by strong ‘likes’. One focus
interviewee commented: “Starbucks is the
best coffee.” Respondents did at least have
an opinion about the brand. It’s also possible
that brands such as Starbucks, Costa and
Cafe Nero, all offering affordable, accessible
social spaces in these chastened times, are
able to ensure perceptions of their brand are
more positive, even more grateful, perhaps.
Costa’s particularly high ‘likes’ may well
have resulted from the edgier refurbishment
of cafes that has taken place over the last
two years.
Coca Cola’s contrary approach, of huge
investment in high-level sponsorship of
the Olympics, for example, along with vast
marketing spend, have ensured a very good
result for the brand in this busy year for
events. It’s likely their involvement in these
feel-good events has had a halo effect on
the brand itself.
It’s likely that cafe brands will continue
to be successful, provided prices are
kept moderate and their interiors evolve
towards a more ‘independent’ look and feel.
Established energy drink brands such as
Lucozade and Red Bull may well suffer to
newer brands with more alternative brand
identities and lower price points.
Craig Butcher
Senior Editor, MSN Food and MSN Him
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Costa
1
6
11
56
26
82
Starbucks
5
13
8
43
31
74
Coca Cola
5
8
15
39
33
72
Innocent
0
5
28
35
32
67
Cafe Nero
1
6
28
50
15
65
Pepsi
7
16
21
43
13
56
Nescafe
4
14
27
43
12
55
Frijj
2
11
35
28
24
52
Red Bull
10
20
19
32
19
51
Lucozade
8
23
21
36
12
48
Irn Bru
6
17
36
25
16
41
Lavazza
1
9
68
17
5
22
Nourishment
2
8
69
14
7
21
Snapple
1
7
73
14
5
19
Alibi
1
6
88
4
1
5
Entertainment
The youth market is very much receptive to brands that are able to provide
an experience, but more than ever these experiences need to represent value
for money. 18-24 year-olds have disposable cash to play with, but there are
countless brands and events seeking to have them as paying consumers.
From the list Ladbrokes is the one brand that
sticks out, which you would say goes against
that premise of value for money. In the most
case, bookies are the overall winner and
the high number of negative votes shows
that young people will not forget if they are
stung financially.
Despite the high rankings Cineworld, Odeon
and Vue were subject to criticism in the
focus group, however as an experience
cinema still resonates highly with the youth
market. A key aspect of this is likely to be
cinema’s strong partnership with Orange
through the fantastic Orange Wednesdays
promotion. The offering this brand
partnership has created will definitely sit
well with 18-24-year-olds by allowing for
an extremely cheap cinema experience and
thus positive brand profiling in this report.
Wetherspoon’s marketing strategy is
very much geared towards its simple but
significant strength as a brand: the cheap
prices. No matter where you are in the
country you can count on a Wetherspoon
to be amongst the cheapest bars or pubs in
town, however they also manage maintain a
set level of quality of service throughout and
this is reflected in the standings.
Alton Towers and Thorpe Park manage to
connect very well with young people by
providing desirable, engaging experiences
despite being considered to be relatively
pricey. They are both able to be creative with
their brand partnerships and destination
events, as they provide a platform to
connect directly with a range of ages. Fright
Nights, Scarefest, Ministry of Sound ride
and club nights specifically offer unique
experiences for consumers which are aimed
solely at the 18-24 demographic. The strong
performance in this study is a clear sign
that their relevant marketing strategies
are working and hopefully they will keep
on evolving and planning strategically to
ensure that strong connotations
are maintained.
22
Entertainment brands will always have
very good opportunities to engage with
the youth market and despite 18-24s being
very adventurous and open to various types
of marketing, they are also very clued up.
If they do not feel an experience is worth
the money, then they are likely to seek
an alternative. Brands in this category
should always look to keep assessing and
ultimately refreshing their marketing
efforts (this doesn’t mean just making an
app!). Communication channels should
be suitably managed, with all touch points
between the brand and the consumer key.
Especially with 18-24s now choosing Twitter
and Facebook as the initial choice of contact
with a brand, they will react according to
the way they are treated and word of mouth
is the strongest marketing tool available to
entertainment brands in relation to
this demographic.
Rees Hitchcock
Brand & Digital Manager, Beatwax
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Alton Towers
0
5
19
40
36
76
Wetherspoon
2
6
16
40
36
76
Thorpe Park
0
5
25
33
37
70
Cineworld
1
4
27
46
22
68
Odeon
0
7
29
51
13
64
Vue
0
3
45
38
14
52
Ministry of Sound
5
12
31
40
12
52
Go Ape!
0
3
54
28
15
43
Walkabout
1
12
48
29
10
39
Oceana
7
11
48
24
10
34
Tenpin
2
4
66
25
3
28
Scream Pubs
1
5
67
13
14
27
Ladbrokes
13
22
49
13
3
16
Jongleurs
1
3
88
6
2
8
Technology
As might be expected from the most valuable corporation in the world,
Apple’s shadow lies heavily across the technology category. The California
tech giant finished top of the survey with a ‘love’ rating almost 70 per cent
higher than that of the second-placed brand (Microsoft), and the vast
majority of participant comments in this category concerned the iPhone
maker. Apple is the tech brand that young people are talking about.
Apple was referred to as “trusted”, “ahead
of innovation” and “just considered to be
the best”, and young people described the
company’s wares as “easy to use”, “the way
forward” and “products that everyone wants
to have”.
Apple has worked hard to achieve this
perception. It focuses its marketing efforts
into a relatively small number of expensive
adverts in high-prestige environments,
and largely ignores specialist technology
publications, knowing it is a big enough
draw in terms of reader interest that they
will write about it regardless.
But Apple remains an opinion divider of a
company, as was clear from its score for the
middle-of-the-road “no feeling” answer (just
13 per cent: the lowest in the category), and
the number of participants who went out of
their way to tell us that they do not subscribe
to Apple’s values. The strongest message
coming from anti-Apple commenters was
a sense of rebellion against the dominant
force on the market. These young people see
Apple’s disciples as brainwashed acolytes. “I
Apple
24
don’t want to be the same as everyone else,”
proclaimed one.
Various rival companies have attempted to
exploit this minority spirit, which is relatively
strong among young consumers, by using
explicitly ‘anti-conformity’ marketing. In
2006 SanDisk promoted a portable music
player using a campaign called ‘iDon’t’,
which compared iPod owners to sheep.
More recently (and more memorably) rival
smartphone maker Samsung has run a
series of adverts parodying the stereotypical
Apple fan’s unquestioning adoration of (and
willingness to queue for) the latest model of
iPhone.
These strategies, ironically enough, echo
those pioneered by Apple itself in earlier
eras. The company has consistently
cultivated a youthful, alternative image
by setting itself in opposition to stuffier,
commercially dominant rivals. In one
iconic TV commercial Apple went so far as
to compare IBM to Orwell’s Big Brother; in
later years Microsoft would be the target,
its users parodied as drab middle-manager
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3
8
12
38
39
77
Sony
1
4
19
59
17
76
Microsoft
2
10
14
51
23
74
Samsung
1
6
23
50
20
70
Skullcandy
5
17
31
34
13
47
Dell
2
16
40
30
12
42
HTC
3
14
43
29
11
40
Beats by DrDre
13
18
30
25
14
39
Blackberry
12
32
27
22
7
29
G-shock
1
10
76
9
4
13
types who spend their computing time on
spreadsheets.
But this strategy has taken a knock recently,
as Apple’s increasingly muscular use of
patent law against its mobile tech rivals
makes its executives seem less like the hip,
blue-jeans-clad hippies of Steve Jobs’ day
and more like bullying corporate lawyers.
Apple enjoyed the best of its recent legal
battle with Samsung in California, but its
public image suffered.
Samsung itself did respectably in this
survey, finishing fourth, and certainly has
a stronger brand image among young
consumers than HTC, another of Apple’s
smartphone rivals. The aggressive strategies
previously mentioned have succeeded in
creating a public persona for Samsung as
an alternative to Apple, whereas HTC and its
lower-key marketing have made less of an
impression. It seems likely that many of its
users would identify themselves as users of
Google Android rather than HTC.
Microsoft’s strong showing in the survey,
meanwhile, was mildly surprising, since
the brand has historically been thought of
as somewhat middle-aged, as is reflected in
the Apple attack ads mentioned previously.
But Microsoft appears to have improved its
image, aided by glossy and youth-oriented
adverts for Windows 7 and its phone
software, and for Internet Explorer 9.
The company’s commitment to mobile
technology – the next version of Windows is
substantially optimised for tablet computers
– is also likely to be helping it to get away
from the ‘desktop accountancy’ image;
compare the performance of Dell, still seen
as a desktop PC player, which had around
half the ‘love’ ratings as Microsoft.
David Price
Editor, iPad & iPhone User
Retail
Young people “like” and “love” brands that scream value and innovation.
This is what the results of the Youth 100 Brand survey tell me. The survey is
based on the retailers that they actually use (i.e. the visit and buy products
from them) and that brings up a few nice surprises within the retail world.
Four of the top five brands are in the fashion
sector - this is as I would expect from a
retail brand survey. All generations spend
a lot of time choosing clothes, and brands
are particularly important in the buying
decision within the youth market.
At the top of the list is H&M. Why? What
H&M does extremely well is offer good
value clothing, but adds the celebrity
endorsements and great marketing. It uses
celebrities to promote ranges and creates a
buzz and a following in the youth market,
which is clearly acknowledged in this survey.
IKEA is number 2 in the list! A big surprise
for me - I did not expect to see a furniture
store in a survey of 18-24-years-olds.
However, it is no surprise that the brand is
so well loved and liked - who does not like
shopping there and eating the meatballs?
Young people know a good deal, and though
they may only buy the candles now, soon
enough their first home will be full of IKEA
furniture.
It is interesting the see Morrisons above
Waitrose and Lidl. They have set out to
differentiate themselves and focus on
freshness and quality. The results imply that
young people are looking for more than price.
Waterstones in such a high position is a
surprise. They have a massive challenge at
the moment, as competition from online
is eating into their markets - the fact that
young people like them so much could be a
sign that young people do want a bookshop
on the high street after all!
We all love a good deal, and young people
want the same, but they also value quality
and difference. This survey reflects the need
for quality and difference in the brand.
Antony Welfare
Retail Expert & Author, www.retailpotential.com
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H&M
7
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F
1
4
11
49
35
84
IKEA
1
5
22
49
23
72
New Look
3
11
19
39
28
67
River Island
2
12
20
48
18
66
Primark
7
15
13
36
29
65
Office
0
4
31
49
16
65
Morrisons
0
10
26
45
19
64
Schuh
1
7
29
45
18
63
Lidl
1
14
22
44
19
63
Waterstones
1
5
32
47
15
62
TK Maxx
3
19
16
50
12
62
Paperchase
0
3
36
37
24
61
Topman
2
15
22
47
14
61
HMV
0
10
32
44
14
58
Waitrose
1
16
25
41
17
58
Zara
2
13
28
37
20
57
TopShop
2
12
30
37
19
56
Argos
1
11
33
48
7
55
WH Smith
2
7
37
49
5
54
Accessorize
5
17
24
35
19
54
Miss Selfridge
4
12
34
34
16
50
Urban Outfitters
3
12
35
28
22
50
French Connection
2
19
32
36
11
47
Foot Locker
2
22
38
29
9
38
JD Sports
7
31
25
33
4
37
Toni & Guy
4
17
45
29
5
34
American Apparel
4
15
51
23
7
30
Sole Trader
2
9
69
17
3
20
Banks & Finance
The Youth 100 research makes for interesting reading, with Visa coming in
as Financial League Champions and Virgin Money heading for relegation.
The results follow recent coverage of
‘youth issues’ at the main political party
conferences, each keen to show they
understand young people and each facing
the same key brand issue of trying to build
and maintain an emotional connection
with ‘youth’.
This generation face hard times and are
being forced to make hard choices, at a time
when the very notion of youth and youth
culture is being called into question. Banks
as much as brands in any other sector now
find the ‘archetypal’ understandings of
youth and youth tribes are outmoded and
unrepresentative of the ‘real’ youth of 2012.
Earlier this month, the BBC stated that the
teen rebel may be a dying breed, and asked
‘where have the sub-cultures gone?’ In an
era where adolescent identity is defined
more by the use of social media than the use
of illicit drugs; with texting and messaging
and Facebook providing the exclusive amity
once provided by gangs and musical
sub-cultures.
Meanwhile, young people are illustrated in
the media by stereotypes like the farcical
Inbetweeners, a menacing hoody in a
sink-estate or posh-boy JP from Fresh Meat;
whilst youth insight teams fall back into a
default mode of viewing youth through a
static prism of Converse trainers, Xfm and
the V Festival.
But a more realistic picture begins to
emerge when you consider the context in
which young people are growing up. The
harsh reality is that this generation are
facing a situation where cost of education,
non-existent job prospects and a lack of
affordable housing are putting them into
a really harsh Catch-22 situation. One that
leaves many of them absolutely powerless
and lacking clear direction at a highly
catalytic point in their lives.
With job prospects being so tough, this
generation see that being self-starting
and having an adaptable approach is THE
28
way to get ahead, unless they’re one of the
privileged minority that can afford to take
on endless unpaid internships - another
harsh choice when ‘employers are looking
for relevant work experience rather than
just a degree.’
So when dealing with these young people,
financial brands are facing a complex
consumer facing a plethora of ‘hard reality’
issues, most of which have a distinct
financial angle to them. Hence a rock solid,
clear, useful and friendly source of advice
that demonstrates an understanding of their
genuine needs being so sought after, in a
sector where clear points of differentiation
remain elusive. (As several respondents
stated in the report ‘I don’t think banks
do anything interesting when it comes to
young people, they are all pretty bland’.)
But for all the negative issues that young
people face, it’s always worth repeating loud
and clear that this generation also possess
some incredibly positive attributes that
are too often forgotten: they’re pragmatic,
open-minded, highly informed and ethically
aware. Hence taking into consideration
those values when making brand adoption
choices i.e. ‘the Co-op’s ethical values makes
them stand out. Media discussions affect
things, and we’re are looking for something
different to the big banks.’
Elsewhere, on a tactical level, practical
promotional offers remain a core student
favourite: ‘So many of my friends changed
banks to get the NatWest railcard’ is a typical
quote, whilst elsewhere, and despite all the
‘new’ attitudes and behaviour shown by this
generation, some things remain absolutely
the same, as shown by several quotes which
simply stated that ‘Visa came top because they
give you lots of money’ and ‘The only thing
I’m interested in is the size of the overdraft’.
So perhaps JP and his Fresh Meat
housemates aren’t so unrealistic after all…
Sean Pillot de Chenecey
Marketing Consultant, Captain Crikey
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Visa
0
1
18
65
16
81
Post Office
0
10
17
62
11
73
The Co-operative
0
10
18
58
14
72
PayPal
2
3
32
45
18
63
comparethemarket
3
11
35
46
5
51
moneysupermarket
3
5
55
29
8
37
HSBC
1
12
51
31
5
36
Lloyds TSB
3
11
50
29
7
36
NatWest
2
6
59
23
10
33
Virgin Money
0
9
75
15
1
16
Online Shopping
Online retailers, pure-plays anyway, don’t feature very heavily in this list,
which perhaps reflects the fact that people are more likely to identify with
products and services rather than retailers themselves.
What the seven e-commerce websites featured
here have in common is that they all help
support under 24s with their lifestyle, offering
fashion and fun products at competitive
prices with fast and often free delivery.
It’s an interesting mix of brands. Amazon,
Boohoo.com and M&M perhaps appeal to the
more price conscious shopper, though the
same cannot be said of ASOS and Net A Porter,
while Firebox and Iwantoneofthose provide
fun and original gifts and gadgets.
Of the seven online retailers, only Amazon
features in the top ten, and is liked or loved
by a majority of respondents. This reflects its
position as the major force in online retail,
and from the comments left; it is a mixture
of range, convenience and reliability which
inspire admiration, rather than having a
‘cool’ brand.
Still, it is interesting that a brand like Amazon
can attract such positive sentiment by simply
meeting customer expectations and being
easy to use and reliable. There is a lesson there
for other online retailers.
Another key trend is that five of these top
seven sites have well-optimised mobile sites,
which helps young people shop for the items
they want from wherever they are, and helps
the brands in question to target such a techsavvy demographic.
30
None of the seven online retailers featured
here is particularly aggressive in its offline
marketing activities, though some are
making good use of social media marketing.
For example, ASOS uses social media very
effectively and has built up strong followings
on Facebook and Twitter which should help
the brand reach this younger demographic.
It seems that, while there is some love for
Amazon and ASOS, the survey respondents
are relatively ambivalent about the other five
online retailers. However, there is no real
sign of any strong dislike of these brands,
so I think the results say more about the
lack of awareness of brands like Firebox
and Boohoo.com among this demographic,
rather than any ‘problem’.
Firebox, for example, is a different brand with
lots of fun products and great interactivity
within its site. Shoppers frequently leave
their own product videos, and are very active
in rating and reviewing products.
However, Firebox does very little marketing
and hasn’t built the kinds of followings that
other brands have on social media, though
both its Facebook and Twitter pages are fun
and engaging.
Graham Charlton
Editor, Econsultancy
7
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Amazon
1
2
11
42
44
86
ASOS
1
3
43
32
21
53
iwantoneofthose.com
1
4
57
28
10
38
boohoo.com
1
8
55
26
10
36
firebox.com
0
2
66
21
11
32
M & M Direct
1
6
74
16
3
19
Net a Porter
2
6
83
8
1
9
Health & Beauty
A consumer’s sentiment towards certain health and beauty brands in
my opinion boils down to the ‘golden equation’ –a high quality product
wrapped up with a clear and consistent brand identity and an eyecatching and unique PR and marketing strategy.
Boots is seen to come out ahead of all other
health and beauty brands included in this
study with the most ‘likes’ and ‘loves’. Boots
is, in my opinion, is an iconic brand and is
a national treasure born and bred in the UK.
Boots is a trusted brand and easily accessible
with an outlet found on nearly every high
street. Consumers go to Boots to purchase
medicines, health and lifestyle products
so there is a sense of ‘getting looked after’
teamed with a sense of ‘we care’. Boots could
almost be considered as more of a lifestyle
choice with all a consumers’ health and
beauty requirements found under one roof.
Boots also place an emphasis on rewarding
their customers with numerous deals and
an advantage card, which can also be a large
factor in why they sit above other brands in
this study. It’s also interesting that this is an
umbrella brand that ‘houses’ various brands
- some of which are included in this
same research.
Although Boots has come out on top, the
brand Durex is not far behind with only
one ‘hate’. Thanks to powerful marketing
and PR, teamed with excellent branding,
I believe Durex has become the generic
word for ‘condom’ - similar to the ‘HooverVacuum Cleaner’ description. Durex has
morphed beyond its product functionality
and has a sense of ‘cool’ surrounding it.
Linking the brand to the likes of boy band
JLS has certainly helped boost this brand’s
reputation among a younger market. Durex
has also expanded their product line, which
will have a substantial effect on these results.
Another noteworthy result can be taken
from the MAC data. MAC has the highest
level of ‘hates’ within this study, yet also the
highest number of ‘loves’ beating Boots,
making this the ‘Marmite’ brand of the list.
This love/hate split result could be down to
the fact that it is predominately targeted at
women only. MAC provides an accessible
yet higher end form of make up. Perhaps
considered pricey by this younger market,
32
MAC does make the mark with high profile,
clever and relevant celebrity endorsement
and brand ambassadors.
Interestingly, Original Source has come out
with the least ‘likes’ and the highest number
of ‘No feeling’. In my opinion, indifference
to a brand is more damning than dislikes as
it shows lack of awareness. This is where the
power of PR comes into play. Used wisely
and effectively, pound for pound, PR is the
most powerful and cost-effective marketing
tool available to make a brand stand out
from the crowd.
Lucy Dartford
Managing Director, Lucy Dartford PR
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Boots
0
0
13
62
25
87
Durex
1
2
37
44
16
60
Lush
1
7
33
42
17
59
MAC
4
7
30
32
27
59
Body Shop
1
5
40
42
12
54
Benefit
0
3
54
23
20
43
Barry M
1
7
50
27
15
42
Gillette
1
4
54
37
4
41
Revlon
1
6
52
32
9
41
Original Source
1
2
69
21
7
28
Fashion
It comes as no surprise to me that Converse was voted so highly by this
demographic. As it is promoted so often by celebrities and fashion leaders
alike, those between the ages of 18-24 are instantly going to become
attracted to them. Their prices also aid this popularity as they are fairly
reasonable, especially considering the fact that they’re longer lasting than
many of their counterparts.
The focus group comments support
this stating that Converse is viewed as
“mainstream” and a “worthwhile investment”.
They have been a long-standing trend and
so for those with a low income they are a
perfect purchase as they will not go out as
quickly as they have come in.
I am surprised to see a brand such as Chanel
rated so highly within the fashion category.
Although I know this is a very popular
brand, seen as highly luxurious and often
very coveted across the world, it is also
very expensive and not something I would
expect the demographic to be able to readily
purchase. It is, however, often seen as a
wishlist purchase; something those that I
have spoken to will support.
Miss Sixty has long been a popular designer
label with those of this demographic, their
jeans especially are often seen as a highlycoveted item and their price tag is not that
high compared to other designer brands.
The jeans are well fitting and long lasting,
something that is important to those of
this age group because they cannot usually
afford to be replacing a pair of designer jeans
too often.
Lacoste and Ralph Lauren are a popular
choice among the males of this age range,
they are on-trend and as these brands are
readily worn by celebrities within the UK and
US they gain instant popularity. Similarly to
this, Calvin Klein has long been a top choice
for males to purchase their underwear. I
believe that this is because their products are
long lasting and durable; they have also been
on-trend for so long that they will survive
the various trends of each season.
What I think these statistics prove is
that those people of this age are greatly
concerned in purchasing clothes that
will be long lasting, durable and be worth
34
the money paid. I think there is also
anxiety about designer labels within this
demographic, something I face myself is the
attempts of others to outdo each other and
impress with their array of labels.
There is the danger of the popularity of an
item ruining its own popularity however; I
think this can be shown with Abercrombie
& Fitch and Jack Wills. They have each
got 17 hates, despite having been quite a
popular brand and one to “be seen” in. My
feelings are that this is because they have
been over-worn; people do not want to be
seen in something that is so popular with
others. Despite their love of designer brands
they still want to keep their originality. Quite
often the clothing by these companies is
emblazoned with the company’s name
also, which puts some people off. Having
spoken to other 18-24s, despite their love of
designer clothing they do not want to shout
about it with the products being covered
in the label.
Overall I think results in this category are
positive. It shows that this demographic
reject a throwaway approach, preferring
products that will last and not quickly
become outdated. The brands that seem
to be the most popular are mostly classic
brands and I am sure they will long remain
favourites with both this demographics
and others.
Katrina Drake
Fashion Blogger, Carousel Diary
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Converse
1
5
11
41
42
83
Vans
1
8
20
43
28
71
Levi’s
0
13
30
41
16
57
Calvin Klein
3
10
39
36
12
48
adidas
7
17
31
33
12
45
Diesel
2
14
41
32
11
43
Chanel
4
13
41
27
15
42
Nike
6
21
32
29
12
41
Lacoste
5
23
32
32
8
40
Tommy Hilfiger
4
22
35
29
10
39
Superdry
9
23
32
28
8
36
Kurt Geiger
1
9
54
19
17
36
Ralph Lauren
7
16
44
25
8
33
Hollister
13
27
32
17
11
28
Miss Sixty
2
19
55
20
4
24
Abercrombie & Fitch
17
26
35
14
8
22
Jack Wills
17
23
41
12
7
19
Dickies
1
10
79
9
1
10
Carharrt
1
13
80
5
1
6
Travel
From the perspective of the UK outbound travel industry it is overall very
disappointing, and not a little worrying for the industry, that travel brands
fare so poorly in the top 100.
The vertical’s top two ‘National Rail’
and ‘National Express’ represent a more
functional form of travel than the leisure
travel industry that the titles in the Travel
Weekly Group tend to focus on.
And yet the travel industry is one of the
more fun, exciting and digitally aware of all
the retail sectors suggesting it ought to be
on the radars of the demographic.
Indeed, the sheer scale of travel related
transactions and interactions online puts
the sector up there with the very biggest and
yet where is travel’s Google, Facebook
or Amazon?
Putting the overall performance aside,
the travel category has some interesting
inclusions that do point to what it takes
to become a top brand for today’s young
people. The top four are all very much in the
budget travel sector, no doubt reflecting the
focus group comment about travel
being “expensive”.
It’s something of a surprise to see Thomas
Cook so high up - the traditional package
holiday operator having struggled in the
online channel amid its well-publicised
financial woes. No doubt this underlines
the sheer power of a brand people have
traditionally associated with and what a strong
high street presence can still do for you.
But the two firms I’d pick out as of particular
interest are STA Travel and Trek America.
Clearly the latter benefits from its student
roots, despite the fact it has been putting
greater efforts in recent years into
expanding its market footprint. But just like
Trek America, STA is known for its approach
to social media, and while this hasn’t really
translated into as many ‘likes’ or ‘loves’ as
you might expect this can only grow.
While STA has exploited the power of social
media in a series of innovative marketing
campaigns, Tui Travel-owned Trek America
36
has sought to create a vibrant online
community. Its Trek America Live social
portal is a hub in which its customers and
potential customers can meet, share, discuss
and have their questions answered before,
during and after their trips. With around 60%
of its customers opting to interact with the
brand, it’s a prime example of what can
be achieved.
As the web moves to a more personalised
offering, powered by the possibilities of Big
Data, it points to what travel firms will be
expected to offer. And this takes us back to
the original disappointment over travel’s
general performance in this survey.
Holiday firms are fond of saying how they
“sell the dream”, making it a highly emotive
purchase, not to say a major financial
commitment. But too often they’ve gone down
the price comparison route and so customer
loyalty in the sector is an all-too-scarce
commodity. However, many travel firms,
through use of rich content in all consumer
interactions, are devising all sorts of ways to
woo, and ultimately own, the customer.
Mass market travel possibly has a
fundamental issue in that among young
people today environmental and social
factors arguably mitigate against it. But
if it is to have a future it must nurture
the travellers of tomorrow by exploiting
emerging technologies.
As bandwidths and the processing power of
consumer devices increase exponentially
in coming months and years expect to see
travel brands featuring more and more
highly in this survey.
Don’t bet against travel brands joining
the like of YouTube, Google, Wikipedia,
Skype and Amazon in the top 10 brands for
Generation Z.
Lee Hayhurst
Head of News, Travel Weekly Group
7
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F
National Rail
4
14
18
48
16
64
National Express
2
7
39
45
7
52
Easy Jet
1
12
36
40
11
51
MegaBus
3
7
46
32
12
44
Thomas Cook
2
11
48
33
6
39
Ryanair
10
18
33
32
7
39
Camp America
1
5
69
20
5
25
STA Travel
1
5
70
18
6
24
AA Driving School
3
10
68
16
3
19
Trek America
2
5
75
14
4
18
BUNAC
1
5
84
7
3
10
Media, websites and apps
The top five media brands are noticeable in that they’ve all proven
consistently forward-thinking in terms of their digital offering. The Beans
Group’s research identifies that students watch as much TV on their
laptops as they do traditional TV.
It follows that companies who lead the way
in providing usable solutions in this area
- the iPlayer and 4OD - are the most valued
and positively perceived. The Guardian’s
and Metro’s early adoption of online and
exploitation of its potential, sees them also
reap the rewards of popularity amongst
student users.
The top five in websites and apps, have
played a part in, and are also markers of,
significant social and cultural change which
has formed a huge part of students’ lives.
What’s more, these brands have all achieved
and maintained a position as the dominant
face of their respective areas of change.
The Beans Group’s research shows that 95%
of students spend more than five hours a
week on the internet with 31% spending
more than 20 hours. They spend more
time on the internet than out with friends,
watching TV or reading print. Furthermore,
all these brands provide a ‘free’ service in the
traditional sense.
The revolutionary impact of Wikipedia,
Facebook, Skype and Google are recognised.
The impact and significance of YouTube can
sometimes be underestimated. Not, of course,
in terms of volume of content or views but in
terms of considering it as simply a repository,
with utility, of a media that already existed.
YouTube, in actual fact has heralded a new
form of media language - bite size, user
generated, re-appropriated, re-invented,
mashed up, democratised content.
YouTube has morphed ‘video’ into a
conversation between creators, writers,
producers, audience and those roles have
become fluid. YouTube has provided a
framework and platform where the humble
video has been transformed through the
essence of the online revolution and is a natural
number one, not just in the website and apps
category, but for the whole of the Youth 100.
Oliver Brann
Editor, studentbeans.com
38
Media
BBC
7
.
A
T
>
F
1
3
7
54
35
89
Channel 4
0
2
19
56
23
79
E4
0
3
18
46
33
79
The Guardian
1
5
37
47
10
57
Metro
1
6
41
40
12
52
Cosmopolitan
2
11
38
32
17
49
Daily Mail
18
27
24
28
3
31
Glamour
2
9
59
19
11
30
The Economist
2
6
63
25
4
29
The Sun
26
27
29
14
4
18
Vice
1
8
81
7
3
10
7
.
A
T
>
F
0
1
4
40
55
95
Websites & Apps
YouTube
Wikipedia
0
2
5
37
56
93
Google
0
1
8
39
52
91
skype
1
3
8
51
37
88
Facebook
3
8
9
39
41
80
Spotify
1
8
20
42
29
71
Twitter
7
14
26
30
23
53
Instagram
6
15
27
35
17
52
Tumblr
3
14
35
29
19
48
Rapidshare
1
5
66
21
7
28
Zynga
3
10
76
9
2
11
Rovio
1
5
84
7
3
10
Mobile Providers & ISPs
It is very clear that the younger members of society are becoming more
connected online. Twitter and Facebook enable viral spread of the joy of
receiving a brilliant service or the irritation at being fobbed off with a less
than perfect experience yet again. Even if that viral spread is localised to
small social groups rather than the world at large it is significant.
An ISP or mobile provider can easily be
in direct e-communication with their
customer and prospects (or should be)
and they also have a lot of data about what
they do, the question is: can they use it
effectively to enable real-time individual
and permission based marketing?
Traditional demographics are fairly arbitrary
aggregations of customers and prospective
customers such as age groups. With modern
data collection demographics become more
useful when viewed as a combination of
behaviour and the ability to communicate
with the individuals exhibiting that
behaviour; for example all people who value
unlimited data as the most important aspect
of their mobile package. Age demography
is actually a bizarre way to approach wooing
your target customer, especially when you
consider that it’s effectively segmentation by
manufacturing date.
That said let’s have a closer look at the 18-24
year olds in the UK student market.
When you start to analyse what excites or
annoys individuals within a particular age
group, you see that on an individual basis
they have many of the same basic drivers as
other market segments; for example a desire
for good customer service or to get what
you pay for. This study showed that these
drivers are actually what are most important
and some brands fall short of the mark. This
is illustrated by one focus group comment
in particular, which actually I can personally
relate to: “Virgin Media customer service is
rubbish. We’re paying for 50 Meg but we can
only get 25 Meg. They charge a premium
rate but they can’t do anything.”
Reliance on traditional marketing and
reactive (rather than proactive) customer
retention can also lead to significant
irritation and potential churn. This study
revealed comments like: “I’m not surprised
that networks don’t rate highly. People
expect a lot from them these days.
40
If someone calls me from a mobile provider
call centre I just tell them exactly what I want
and they go out of their way to match it, but
then you get annoyed if you see another
offer that’s better somewhere else.” And:
“I always go through the ‘I’m leaving you’
speech and then in the end you have to go
through to the loyalty team and that’s when
you get what you want.”
Why make your customers go through
that rigmarole? It’s very easy to pre-empt
this! It’s interesting to note that with BT,
Carphone Warehouse (Talk Mobile) using
Vodafone’s network, Giff Gaff (one to watch
on the social media front) using O2 and
Virgin using T-Mobile the difference in how
much people love these brands is clearly
related to their overall brand positioning
and spend as well as how they interact,
communicate, retain and deal with issues
rather than the underlying service.
Brands like BT & Sky obviously leverage
their wider appeal and awareness across
many years and more than just mobile or
broadband. But the winner for me out of
the ISP mobile companies is actually O2, as
with six times as many students loving or
liking them as opposed to hating or disliking
them they are clearly doing something
right! Priority gig tickets for the O2 arena,
best offers for local services e.g. Domino’s
pizza, and investment in apps have certainly
helped. But all ISPs and mobile providers
ranked well down the list in general. Only
Boots was universally loved, with You Tube,
Google, Cancer Research and VISA not far
behind, it would be well worth marketers
looking more closely into the reasons as to
why that is.
Richard H Harris
Founder, Ensygnia
7
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Sky
2
12
24
40
22
62
BT
4
12
22
40
22
62
O2
2
7
34
44
13
57
Carphone Warehouse
2
13
33
46
6
52
VirginMedia
5
11
34
40
10
50
Orange
3
14
46
30
7
37
Vodafone
4
19
44
25
8
33
giffgaff
5
6
64
16
9
25
3
8
21
48
16
7
23
T-Mobile
4
21
55
16
4
20
Ovivo
1
4
89
6
0
6
Charities & Campaigns
What do these figures say about the brands? The brands are doing what
they set out to do – the majority of the organisations listed proactively
target student audiences.
There is a clear split between organisations
that have general high brand awareness
across a broad age range and demographics
(Cancer Research) and those who work hard
to target young people (Vinspired). As one
young person said about Cancer Research
UK: “I’m surprised they’ve come where they
did because they’re not really something you
associate with students”. Their presence is a
reflection of their excellent all-round brand
presence in every aspect of life rather than
a specific young person target. Of course,
there is a notable absence of some other
well known charities including NSPCC and
RSPCA and so it’s a testimony to their broad
appeal that these charities appear on the list.
The notable pattern is the prevalence
of campaigning organisations – those
offering young people a way to engage
with a charity that doesn’t necessary
mean giving money. Is there any obvious
correlation with their marketing activity?
Greenpeace and Amnesty have carved
themselves a fantastic niche in the youth
market. Greenpeace’s presence at festivals is
notable, their volunteers are young and hip
and their gimmicks appeal to young people.
They are a cool brand who deserve to be on
the list – who didn’t love the Stormtroopers
stunt and what young person doesn’t want
to waste time in Photoshop making spoof
Shell adverts? Greenpeace know what will
get them not only press coverage but even
more important for this audience, what has
viral power.
On campus, going to a debate or a talk
organised by Amnesty’s local student branch
is a popular thing to do and campaigns and
protests are innovative, vocal and visual.
They have a long-established presence
across many universities with most having
an Amnesty club or society. This peer-led
approach is an extremely powerful tool –
both in terms of constant brand presence
but also in providing an army of innovative,
energetic young campaigners. Of course, all
of this is underpinned by their presence in
42
schools – a fantastic feeder system of future
campaigners and fundraisers.
Oxfam deserves a mention too. As well as
general high brand awareness across the
board, Oxfam have worked hard to build
their youth marketing though their festival
presence and Oxjams.
VInspired has done a fantastic job in six
years to gain such recognition among the
audience it is targeting. Again, offering
young people an opportunity to do
something that doesn’t necessarily just
mean handing over cash has been a popular
and logical approach to the audience. Their
language, their brand, their campaigns have
been very focused though they still have a
way to go to really establish themselves.
NUS seems to have evoked some mixed
reactions and students only real connection
with it is with the logo on their discount card
or a couple of high profile protests and not
much else.
Young people love these brands mainly
because they are there; they have a presence
in young people’s lives.
Chrystyna Chymera
Marketing Manager, Anthony Nolan
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Cancer Research UK
0
1
14
43
42
85
NUS
1
5
27
44
23
67
Oxfam
1
4
32
45
18
63
Amnesty International
1
3
50
32
14
46
Greenpeace
3
6
51
28
12
40
people & planet
1
2
74
17
6
23
ActionAid
0
1
79
17
3
20
Vinspired
0
4
84
9
3
12
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Youth 100 - The Beans Group.
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Cover: flickr.com/pinksherbet p2: flickr.com/uggboy/ flickr.com/universbeeld p3: flickr.com/ag2r flickr.com/tulanesally p4: flickr.com/loyal_oak flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography
p13: flickr.com/q80_outsider p15: flickr.com/pmt-cr p17: flickr.com/mrsmagic p19: flickr.com/jesse757 p21: flickr.com/tabsinthe p23: flickr.com/jennyellenbrown
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p37: flickr.com/didbygraham p39: flickr.com/citycollegenorwich p41: flickr.com/macabrephotographerp43 p44: Joseph John