Millennials voted for their favorite brands, with Nike, Apple and Amazon emerging as the top three, respectively.
Moosylvania, a St. Louis ad agency, asked 3,000 millennials to write in their favorite brands, reflecting these consumers’ changing tastes and buying behaviors.
A look at this trifecta reveals interesting insights into what the 18-to-37-year-old demographic says they want—and the companies and brands they actually hold dear.
Nike, for example, has had a remarkably tumultuous year. Rocked by a boys’ club scandal that leveled accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination earlier this year and emptied the executive ranks, the world’s most valuable athletic apparel brand has recovered somewhat with provocative ads highlighting Serena Williams post-French Open catsuit controversy and a new “Just Do It” 30th anniversary campaign putting polarizing athlete Colin Kaepernick front and center. As of Thursday, Apex Marketing Group said the latter had generated $163 million in media buzz, both positive and negative, including coverage of those against Kaepernick’s take-a-knee national anthem protest displaying their displeasure with the ad campaign by destroying their own Nike gear. Gartner L2’s Scott Galloway described Nike’s Kaepernick campaign as the “gangster marketing move of 2018.”
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To be sure, Nike is no stranger to landing in the No. 1 spot on these types of lists; it also took the top spot on BrandZ’s Most Valuable Brands report with $38 billion in value.
Speaking of value, millennials seem to love basking in the glow of money and lots of it, as just weeks ago No. 3 Apple became the first company to reach a market capitalization north of $1 trillion. But that didn’t last long, as Amazon ascended to those halcyon heights roughly a month later despite an ongoing war of words with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, whose petition calling for Amazon and its ilk to pay a corporate tax as an incentive to raise the wages of low-paid workers dependent on federal benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, escalated into the proposed Stop BEZOS Act, introduced earlier this week.
Sanders’ crusade builds on more negative press for Amazon, as earlier this year the Seattle tech and retail heavyweight took the No. 1 spot on the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s Dirty Dozen 2018 report detailing companies operating unsafe work environments. Amazon earned the dubious distinction for seven workplace fatalities since 2013, including a spate of three deaths in five weeks last year.
Still, this hasn’t deterred millennials from citing Amazon as a favorite, what with the myriad benefits of Prime and how the company overall has blown up base expectations for what online shopping should and could be.
Target took the No. 4 spot, with Walmart right behind at No. 5. But millennials revealed their sneakerhead stripes as the Jordan brand made a No. 9 appearance on the list, reinforcing the continuing trend toward comfortable footwear and the rise of coveted sneaker drops.
Adidas, at No. 10, also reflects the millennial preference for athleisure footwear and streetwear style. But No. 12 Gucci is the highest placement for a luxury brand on the Moosylvania list, pointing to the work the Italian house has done to speak to millennial shoppers and their increasingly disposable income, not to mention the resurgence of logoed fashion.
Chanel and Supreme tied for No. 85, along with Wendy’s. Shrugging off its streetwear roots, Supreme is officially on fashion’s radar following designer James Jebbia’s CFDA nomination for Menswear Designer of the Year in March.
Though sales have been struggling, Victoria’s Secret took the No. 21 spot, with its Pink brand 10 spots further down the list.
Among department stores, Macy’s (No. 16) and Kohl’s (No. 20) edged out Nordstrom (No. 30), perhaps signaling millennials preference for value and discounts. At No. 68, J.C. Penney trailed among millennials and is poised to fall further, given the retailer’s recent announcement that it’s trading in younger shoppers in order to focus on courting Boomer moms.
Lululemon is practically synonymous with millennials and athleisure, making its low No. 91 ranking relatively unexpected. Competition from other athleisure lifestyle brands could be harming its standing among young consumers.
Ethics-oriented outdoor apparel brands The North Face (No. 85), Patagonia and REI (both tied for No. 100, along with Coach, Bank of America, True Religion and Wegmans) also made an appearance on the list.
