Hershey's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ranked third overall, Nabisco's Oreo's fourth, Subway seventh, Hershey's Milk Chocolate eighth and PepsiCo/Frito-Lay's Dorito's ninth, among other convenience-industry [image-nocss] brands.
Brands rated by all respondents M&Ms Google Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Oreo's iPod Target Subway Hershey's Milk Chocolate Doritos Pixar "Today's youth are not just tomorrow's consumers; they are already consumers in their own right with their own money to spend. What companies need to remember is that if brand loyalty is built in these early years, that brand loyalty will remain for years to come," said Regina A. Corso, senior vive president of youth and education research at Harris Interactive. "At this stage, the brands that resonate the most with youth are mostly ones that involve food--six of the top 10 are candy, snacks or restaurants."
Among the youngest set, ages 8 to 12 years old, Doritos and Oreo's ranked second and third, respectively. M&Ms followed next, ranking fourth in brand equity among this age group.
Brands rated by 8 to 12 year olds Nintendo Wii Doritos Oreo's M&Ms Disney Channel Nickelodeon Nintendo DS McDonald's Toys R Us Cartoon Network While ranking third in brand equity among all age groups, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups took the top spot for highest brand equity among 13 to 17 year olds. M&Ms and Oreo's continue to make appearances in the top five brands, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively, among this audience.Brands rated by 13 to 17 year olds Reese's Peanut Butter Cups iPod Google M&Ms Oreo's Subway Hershey's Milk Chocolate Target Sprite Microsoft Though sweets topped the brand equity lists for younger teens and tweens, for young adults, it's all about tech. PepsiCo's Gatorade ranked fourth, Subeay sixth, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ninth and Oreo's tenth.
Brands rated by 18 to 24 year olds Google Facebook iPod Gatorade Target Subway Apple iTunes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Oreo's
"As kids age, their tastes, and therefore their favorite brands, change with them. Tweens are all about Disney and Nick as well as gaming, where teens add more technology to the mix. For young adults the snack foods are still there, but technology takes an even stronger presence in their top 10," said Corso. "It's also important to remember that youth have ways to learn about brands, as well as discuss brands, that previous generations could not have dreamed of. When marketers focus their efforts on just adults, or even just young adults, the teens and tweens take notice of that perceived snub. And, not only do they have the tools at their disposal to let their dissatisfaction with a brand be known, they are not afraid to use them."
Youth EquiTrend is a complement to Harris Interactive's EquiTrend study which has been tracking consumers' awareness and perception of brands for more than 20 years.
The Youth EquiTrend study evaluates Equity, which provides an understanding of a brand's overall strength and is determined by a calculation of familiarity, quality and purchase consideration. The 2010 Youth EquiTrend study was conducted online in August 2010, among 5,077 U.S. 8 to 24 year olds, including: 740 interviews among 8 to 9 year olds; 860 interviews among 10 to 12 year olds; 879 interviews among 13 to 15 year olds; 644 interviews among 16 to 17 year olds; 1,086 interviews among 18 to 21 year olds; and 868 interviews among 22 to 24 year olds.
The sample was drawn primarily from the Harris Poll Online (HPOL) panel of respondents ages 13 to 24. Respondents 8 to 12 years of age were recruited through HPOL parents. Potential respondents were drawn at random within targeted age and gender quotas and were invited by email to visit the password-protected survey site and participate. Unless otherwise noted, data represents all 8 to 24 year olds.
The total number of brands rated was 98 among 8 to 12 year olds and 125 among 13 to 24 year olds. Each 8 to 12 year old respondent was asked to rate 12 randomly selected brands, and 13 to 24 year old respondents rated 19 randomly selected brands each. Brands rated by both 8 to 12 year olds and 13 to 24 year olds received approximately 700 ratings. Brands rated by just 8 to 12 year olds received around 150 ratings, while brands rated by only 13 to 24 year olds received around 500 ratings.
Harris Interactive, New York, is one of the world's leading custom market research firms. It offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant and consumer package goods.
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