The 10 Most Popular Brands Among Millennials In 2018

With more companies vying for our attention than ever before, it's been argued time and again that young people are less loyal to particular brands and more likely to flick between whichever ones take their fancy (or are the "coolest") at a particular moment.

But how true is this really? YouGov BrandIndex’s Word of Mouth metric recently asked millennial respondents: "Which of the following brands have you talked about with friends and family in the past two weeks (whether in person, online, or through social media)?" and it's clear that actually, 18-34 year olds still have their favourites.

From an initial list containing 1,350 brands, the research deduced the 10 most popular from various industries and there was a very clear winner. Netflix is the most highly spoken about brand in 2018 for the second year in a row, scoring 77%. It's not all that surprising given all its gripping original content this year (how much of this is down to Queer Eye alone?), and the power of word-of-mouth recommendations among younger viewers.

Hot on its heels is another tech giant, Spotify (73%), followed by the low cost clothing and retail brand Primark, next came Apple, then Facebook and McDonalds.

The rest of the most popular brands span the gaming, travel and tech industries and include PlayStation and iPhone, as well as the famously "affordable" Airbnb and Ikea. (See the full list below.)

Certain brands improved their standing among millennials more than others over the last year: most dramatically the cinema company Vue, which is 11% more popular this year than in 2017, followed by comparethemarket.com (8.6%), Visa (8.5%) and the Google Pixel phone (6.9%).

1. Netflix (76.5%)
2. Spotify (72.9%)
3. Primark (71.2%)
4. Apple (70.7%)
5. Facebook (69.9%)
6. McDonalds (69.5%)
7. PlayStation (69.2%)
8. iPhone (69%)
9. Airbnb (68.8%)
10. Ikea (67.5%)