Loving prestige, unflashy brands
Generation Y loves brands, with some 65% of American women and 61% of men considering themselves brand conscious, according to The Gen Y Prestige Brand Ranking survey conducted by L2Thinktank.
And just 1% females and 3% of males aren’t into brands, which isn’t surprising for a demographic which has grown up in the age of branding and been the target of a barrage of marketing messages since birth, says L2Thinktank.
So, what’s the top Gen Y – or millennial, if you prefer – brand? For men, it’s Apple – ranking ninth among women – which is also the most likely next prestige brand purchase for both sexes.
Surprisingly, women rate car brands higher than those in beauty and skincare, and the category ranks second only to fashion. And it’s the high-end BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi marques which appeal to both men and women.
European kudos still counts for a lot. In the Fashion category eight of the top 10 brands for women are from Europe, among them fashion houses such as Chanel, Prada, Hermes and Gucci. Marc Jacobs is the only American brand in the top five.
One in five Gen Y respondents ‘like’ a prestige brand on Facebook, and one in 10 follow a high-end label on Twitter. Almost half have signed up to receive e-mails from a prestige brand. The survey highlights that those brands embracing social media are enjoying strong word-of-mouth.
“Arguably, it’s better to be disliked than not known at all, and hated brands can take solace that strong brands evoke strong reactions,” says L2Thinktank. “Iconic, logo-driven, brands such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry – for females – generated some of the most bifurcated reactions and, despite appearing in the top 20, are also among the most disliked. Trump is the most disliked prestige brand in the survey – 40% of men and 34% of women report they ‘hate’ the brand. The Trump aversion suggests that although supremely brand conscious, Gen Y is wary of flashy self-promotion.”
