• by Karl Greenberg , September 30, 2013

Are Millennials’ most-loved brands different than those of the general market? A new study from Vision Critical’s BERA (Brand Equity Relationship Assessment) group, based on surveys of 7,000 Millennials and 28,000 participants in the general market, found that yes, they are -- and it’s a rough mix of everything from digital brands to Reese’s.  

As part of the study, consumers were polled to name their favorite brands based on product features, pricing, communications, distribution and service. All of this was then factored into a list of the top 25 brands for both Millennials and everyone else, per the study. 

Good news for Google, bad for autos: both Millennials and the general market ranked Google among brands they love the most. Neither could come up with a car brand to put anywhere in the top 25. Also popular among both groups are YouTube, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Apple, Reese's, and Lego.  

After those brands the favorites diverge. Millennials put Nintendo, Oreo, iPod, Crayola, Google Chrome, Kit Kat, Sony, M&M’s, Crest, Facebook, Colgate Total, Wikipedia, Wii by Nintendo, Coca-Cola, UPS, Visa and Hershey's on their best-loved lists. Also only on the Millennials list -- and the only products in their categories -- were Visa, Coke, and UPS.

The general market, meanwhile, favored Samsung, GE and CPG brands Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Vicks, Dawn, Oral-B, Life Savers, Lysol, Rubbermaid, and Listerine. Millennials favor the Red Cross. The general market liked The Salvation Army.  

“What also struck me about these findings,” said Ryan Barker, EVP, marketing & decision analytics at Vision Critical, “is that no automotive brands were named on either list, nor were any broadcast or other content channel brands, with the lone exception of YouTube, selected by the Millennials."  

Barker said Millennials have more of an interest in digital entertainment, but not so much traditional. The general market, not Millennials, listed National Geographic, Discovery, PBS and the History Channel. 

“Will Millennials change as they age is a question to be addressed by both CMOs and CFOs alike,” noted Barker, “But for the time being, this is who they are and those outside the ‘Top 25’ must now set their sights on how to become one of the ‘Most-Loved’ brands, especially since that love always translates to the bottom line.”