As we have noted before, Millennials represent a huge, demanding, and challenging consumer segment for marketers. With that in mind, let’s ask: What brands are doing best among Millennials?
Recently, Moosylvania — a company involved with branding, digital, and experiential (“Digital connectivity has changed the way we interact with one another – people no longer want to consume marketing, they want to participate in brands.”) asked more than 1,5000 Millennials to select their favorite brands. The findings are interesting and some rankings may be surprising!!
In describing the top five companies in the 2016 Moosylvania study, Mallory Schlossberg and Kate Taylor report the following for Business Insider. [Note: In their article, all 100 companies are described.]:
- Apple — “has a fanatical following, and many of its customers are Millennials. The company’s iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks, and Apple Watches are wildly popular. The company has a cultish following.”
- Target — “owns the intersection of style and affordability. It has been giving its kids’ clothing business a makeover to be more stylish. The company also sells gender-neutral room decor and stopped labeling its toys by gender.”
- Nike — “When it comes to active wear — and apparel in general — Nike is the go-to brand. Nike has focused on incorporating top-tier technology into its clothing. It helps that it’s a massive retailer.”
- Sony — “is ready for innovation, from robots that can interact with humans to its wildly popular PlayStation.”
- Samsung — “Galaxy phones and tablets are extremely popular with Millennials. The brand’s Galaxy S6 smartphone received rave reviews. Tech Insider’s Steve Kovach said that Samsung’s designs have eclipsed those of competitor Apple.” [NOTE: The Moosylvania study and these comments preceded the problems that Samsung is now facing due to product safety issues. It’s unlikely that the firm would be ranked so highly today. Right?]
Click the image to see the top brands for Millennials, from 100 to 1.
Photo by Business Insider / Matt Johnston
As a millennial, I find this to be very true. I know I’ve definitely shown my love for apple and nike. I think the main reason these companies are picked is because they’re always making more. Three of the five companies named specialize in producing electronics that are always bigger and better. As for nike, this brand comes out with things like Air Jordans, and because of customer loyalty and millennials desire to get the next best thing, they buy them. As for target, us millennials hate spending money. A cheap source to get all the things we need sounds like a good deal to us.
what about Samsung? 🙂
From the top five, it’s observed that millennials are attracted to electronics and affordability with some social awareness (Target may be expected, especially considering its gender neutral stance on the transgender bathroom topic this last summer). I am surprised to see that Sony is above Microsoft among Millenials. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 not only caters to millennial video gamers, but Microsoft’s Surface is a strong pull for college age consumers.
From the top five brands, I think that the first three are very popular. However, I wouldn’t have thought that Sony and Samsung would be so high. Of course gaming is very popular, but there are so many online options that are competing against Sony. I think that Sony deserves to be in the top 8, but not necessarily the fourth position. Similarly, Samsung competes with apple constantly. Most millennials use apple, while older people use Samsung. I think that it should be in the top 8 as well, but now there are also numerous safety risks and hazards. In my opinion, I think that Amazon should be in the top five, and possibly Coke or Microsoft.
I am not surprised Apple is #1. And I find truth in the comment of Apple having a “cultish following.” First of all, I have been an Apple customer since 8th grade when I got my first iPhone. I could not wait for it to come. After I started using it I knew that I would never have a different phone ever again. Years later, I am still an iPhone user. Also while in 8th grade, I wanted a mac laptop. My parents wouldn’t get one for me as they are PC users and felt that my existing PC was working fine (it was). But I wanted a mac. So in 8th grade I saved up my money to buy it myself. I’ll never forget that price, $1,100. At 13 I saved up that much money just because I wanted that computer. Even at that age I was so desperate for a mac that I bought it myself. Says something about Apple (or about me).
Today, I have acquired a mac laptop (I got a new one for high school graduation), an iPhone, an iPod, and an iPad. I have been going back and worth about getting the watch. My main issue is that I already wear a watch everyday so I’m on the fence about getting the Apple watch. I do think it’s a nice idea. And my older cousin says it’s amazing to have while at work. Your phone can be at your finger tips without actually being at your finger tips. Oh Apple, how do you do it?
I’m definitely apart of the “cult.” If anyone has anything bad to say about Apple I’m the one to jump in and defend them. I think they make great products! I love how everything since together. The softwares are simple and to the point. I can do school work on my computer and then switch to photoshop to edit some photos. Yes, yes. I know. Macs are not the best for businesses. I still love them though.
(Side note: I am not happy about the new headphone mumbo jumbo.)
Stepping aside from Apple for a minute. 3 out of 5 of the companies were technology. Typical. That is what millennials thrive on. My car talks to me, enough said. My grandfather can’t even work his cable tv to order a movie.
Nike I’m not surprised about either. As a girl, when you want to look sporty but still cute you go to nike. Yes, I actually work out. I run, lift weights, and ride horses. But come on, even if I wasn’t active, Nike apparel is the best. And their sneakers are so comfy.
Target I am a little surprised about. Yes they have some good stuff, but I would never buy clothes there. As a matter of fact, I don’t know one friend (my age) that buys clothes at target. For me personally, target is a place I got to when I need something cheap. Maybe something for my family business for example. I just would not think of it as palace for millennials.
This article provides a lot of truth to it. Brand loyalty is very important to millennials because a lot of people want to fit in, and know that certain items will look good just because they are made by a certain company. People also like to save money which is why some people will go to a certain store just to get the same product as they could from another (an outlet mall is a great example). In fashion now a days a certain style of clothes, or a brand name can take over for a certain amount of time, and I have noticed that people will get a piece of clothing and have something printed onto it to make it seem real, and look just like the original so when you look at it you will think they have the real thing. I know this fools me because I do not know how to point out certain flaws in clothing, nor do I care but some people take that as a personal insult.
This article is very accurate based on the fact that I, as a millennial, strongly agree with what it is saying. For one, I have almost one of every item from the top 5 listed. These brands are relevant and popular to us millennials for many reasons. First, technology is increasingly becoming more and more apart of our daily life – academically and socially- therefore we need these Apple and Samsung products to mitigate our work load. These companies produce simple yet efficient products that we, as millennials, need in order to survive, some would say. Target is a given- it has everything for affordable prices, therefore making it the college kids go-to for just about anything. Sony is for our entertainment purposes, and they provide what we need for a reasonable price. Finally, Nike is able to excel in our generation because of the need for comfortable and easy clothes/ sneakers for the gym, the work environment, going to class, and us millennials just hanging out on a day to day basis.
I absolutely agree that these brands are most loved by millennials. Apple, Target and Nike apply to me personally. Apple creates new products every year whether it’s computers, iPads, or watches. They are very good at improving each item so that you want to buy the new one when it comes out. I can literally line up every generation of iPods, iPads and Macs because everyone in my family has a few of each. This is because technology is so important in todays society. Samsung and Sony are also popular for this reason. Everyone loves target because it’s a nicer and more organized version of Walmart, meaning they have great products at even better prices. Lastly, Nike is the most popular brand of sports gear and I think this is due to the amount of advertising they do compared to other sports brands. They also have endorsement deals with really popular athletes from all different sports like Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal.
The thing that I find most interesting about this article is that the interests of Millennials perfectly match the time and circumstances in which they were raised. There is a clear inclination towards technology and affordability. It wouldn’t surprise me if the combination of a technological explosion and the economic recession of 2008 had a huge impact on this. Very interesting post!
First of all, apple can accept the ranking without shame. If we look around, the first thing we see is apple products. I personally just keep buying their products without consideration. Take a step back, even if I want to switch to another brand of phone, I even do not have a better choice. I think maybe that is why they are so popular—-they are just the best.
By the way, I totally agree with the red words which indicate that it is not reasonable for Samsung to have so high ranking. Personally, I think a brand should focus on their specialties based on security no matter which category of industry are you in. Say a car, definitely safety is the priority consideration, unless you just buy for collection; mountain climbing products, yes; electronic products, yes. So I just do not understand the ranking of Samsung.
It is not surprising to see that Apple is on the top when it comes to the best brands that Millennials love. As I walk around campus, most of the products that I see in people’s hands are apple products whether thats Iphones, Ipads, Macbooks or the Apple watch. I myself have a Iphone and a Macbook. Yes, apple may have some complications just as all products will always have but I have always been very happy being an Apple user and will probably be one for a a long time. I was surprised to see Target so high on the list.
This article relates to me because I do love the brands that were listed. Although I was surprised by sony and samsung since they create products that are in competition with other apple ones. Apple users have such a strong loyalty to the brand that I would think most other companies would not be favorites of the Millennials. Target is another one that is always a great store to go too. When my friends and I need ANYTHING we always go to target for a easy and quick shopping trip with prices that are cheap. These brands have developed a name for themselves with products that are great to use and also have a style factor to them. The more well known these brands become the more Millennials will love them because every one wants the same products (or at least thats how i see it).
Given that a couple months has transpired since this study, I’m interested to see just how far Samsung has fallen on this list. There were already concerns over product safety at the origin of the study when just the smartphones were occasionally catching fire, but ever since the washing machines have done the same and top spokesmen of the company have utterly failed to redeem themselves and the company, Samsung has dug itself an even deeper hole. It may just be too much to get themselves out of at this point, given that Apple is almost unanimously associated as a superior company, and that was before the start of Samsung’s demise. It will be truly interesting to watch how the rest of Samsung’s debacle unfolds.