Gen Z’s favorite brands revealed in new study

Shocking research this week from Morning Consult: Gen Z adults like YouTube more than TikTok.

The finding is part of its inaugural Gen Z’s Favorite Brands report based on the company’s brand intelligence platform, which polls consumers about more than 4,000 brands and products daily. Data for this report was pulled from surveys conducted May 1–August 21, including an average of ~2,000 Gen Z adult respondents—those born between 1997 and 2004—per brand.

Tech brands dominated the top of the rankings, but TikTok didn’t even make the top 40. Gen Zers also have a particular affinity for food and beverage companies, especially those in the snack and candy categories.

Gen Z ❤️s YouTube: It clocked 86% favorability with Gen Z adults, meaning that share said they have a “somewhat” or “very” favorable opinion of the brand.

Google ranked at No. 2 with 84% favorability, followed by Netflix at 82% and Amazon at 80%.

TikTok scored 69% favorability among Gen Zers, lower than many other brands on Gen Z’s list of faves. But it’s more popular among this group than it is with the general public and the generation just above them.

• 39% of US adults said they have a favorable view of TikTok.
• 54% of millennials said the same.

Snack time: M&M’s came in at No. 5 with 80% favorability among all Gen Z adults. The snack brand is more popular among women than men, so perhaps its marketing team had that in mind when it announced its latest character, Purple, the first female peanut M&M.

Doritos, KitKat, Oreo, Gatorade, Cheetos, Sprite, Pringles, and Capri Sun also made the top 40. Maybe it’s time to lay off the sweets, Gen Z.—AM