An Inside Look at Millennials' Favorite Brands

It's no coincidence that millennial consumers are inherently drawn to big digital brands. This age group now falls within the 18-29 years old range, meaning that they grew up alongside some of the most influential digital brands there are.

YouGov BrandIndex is a public perception research firm that interviews over 1.5 million consumers on a yearly basis. They recently conducted a survey unveiling the biggest brand names among millennial consumers. Their survey reveals specific brands that have made waves in the millennial consumer market.  It's safe to assume many, if not most, of these brands fall under the umbrella of heavy hitting digital brands, like Snapchat, Instagram and Uber.

The table below illustrates a brand's customer score which reflects the percentage of U.S. millennials who are current customers of that particular brand.  The brand's numerical ranking sheds light on the overall improvement of the brand within the millennial consumer market.

The No. 1 spot in terms of improved brand standing is the unforgivable Uber.  Uber grew its millennial consumer base by 8.2 percent points this year.  This may come as an astonishing statistic to most, considering Uber's recent uproar and alarming news in all facets of their company.  But according to Ted Marzilli, millennials still appear to behave like the rest of us when it comes down to spending money.  Ethics are good, but convenience and and price often prevail. 

Another small surprise within the millennial consumer rankings show that old brands, such as Ace Hardware for example, have not faded out.  This offers proof that twentysomething consumers still have an affinity towards the brands of yesteryear.  However, there is one catch.  YouGov makes it clear that these "old" brands aren't popular among millennials so much for the nostalgic value as their ability to adapt to the ever-changing market place.  

Take TLC for example (☺) which ranks at No. 5, having grown its millennial customer base by 4.7 percent points.  As we know, TLC started as an educationally based channel co-founded by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and NASA in the 1970s.  While some deplored TLC's devolution from the Learning Channel to the home of Cake Boss and Honey Boo Boo, essentially what it all comes down to is that TLC has survived by keeping up with the times.  While it is true that millennial consumers are generally attracted to large digital brands, there's no doubt that old brands have the potential to engage with this audience as well by keeping up with the changing pace of millennials.