• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, August 24, 2016

While kids are too young for most social networks, they are already obsessed with content-sharing platforms.

 

In fact, YouTube is officially the top-ranked brand among children ages 6-to-12, according to fresh findings from market research firm Smarty Pants. 

Up from seventh place on the list of kid’s favorite brands last year, the video platform just beat out Oreo, M&M’s, Doritos and Hershey’s.

Among other media brands, the Google unit bested Disney, Disney Channel, Netflix, and Nickelodeon.

What do kids find so great about YouTube?

“User-generated content is relatable and aspirational,” Dr. Michelle Poris, a quantitative research expert at Smarty Pants, notes in the new report. “There’s no denying that YouTube is revolutionizing the way entertainment is being developed and distributed.”

For their research, Poris and her team had 8,125 children and their parents evaluate 285 consumer brands across nearly 20 categories over a three-month period. Brands were ranked in terms of awareness, love and popularity. 

While streaming video services like Netflix remained popular with kids, YouTube has clearly become the go-to portal for kids seeking a seemingly endless supply of the short-form videos. 

Helping YouTube’s cause, parents are also big fans of the portal. Indeed, over 94% of moms and dads said they loved or liked the brand, while it ranked thirteenth among parents.

As such, “YouTube is no longer competing for kids’ attention in the entertainment space -- TV is,” said Poris. “We’ve moved from a time where the TV was always on to a time when YouTube is always a click or tap away.”