Marketers gathered at the Venue, in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on the evening of 28 May 2009 to get insight on what goes on in the minds of tweens, teens and youth.
The research, which is conducted by HDI Youth Marketeers in partnership with the Sunday Times, aims to uncover insights into how the youth perceive and respond to brands, as it is said that the youth are the driving force behind purchases in most households.
The number of categories for this year's study was increased as is the research study from which the awards are derived, conducted by HDI Youth Markteers. “We met very ambitious sample targets this year and extended the number of categories to 56. Young South Africans, unshaken by economic downturn, are as brand conscious as ever. Although there were some interesting shifts in the top rankers in some categories, we see growing similarity in votes by region, gender, race and sometimes even age around the coolest brands,” says managing director HDI Youth Marketeers, Jason Levin.
“It's hard to topple über-brand Coke from its number one spot, but there were big and exciting shuffles in the order this year with strong showings from Nokia and Nike, particularly. So we may see a shake-up soon,” says Levin.
Nokia took first place in the Coolest Cellphone Category, ranking highest amongst teens and young adults. Samsung was placed second, dropping from first place in 2008.
The Coolest Fashion Label 2007 and 2008 winner, Billabong, ranked number 6 this year, with high ratings amongst tweens (aged 8-12). Adidas moved into first place with both tween and teen support. Nike came in second and Puma third. New in the category, Dolce & Gabbana took fifth place after the perennial Levi's.
A new category in this year's Sunday Times Generation Next Survey was Coolest Alternative Brand. The overall winner is lifestyle and clothing brand Ama Kip Kip, enjoying much favour amongst tweens (51.1%) and teens (35.6%). Converse took second place.
Sun City was voted Coolest Fun Destination for the third year in a row and Gateway the Coolest Shopping Centre. Coolest Domestic Airline, another new category, saw SAA taking the coolness trophy for overall winner, with its' sister brand, Mango's orange, lighting up second place.
Trace TV moved up from 4th position in 2008 to 1st position in 2009 as the Coolest Music channel, the music channel of choice for tweens and teens. MTV dropped to number 4 and MTV Base to third place from first and second positions in 2007and 2008.
Edgars won the Coolest Fashion Retailer category and achieved 4th places in both Coolest Brand and Coolest Company categories. “It's like the whole shopping centre in one store, without the food,” comments Iman, one of the participants in the survey. Pick n Pay won the Coolest Grocery Retailer for the fifth year running, as did ABSA in the Coolest Bank category.
Coke was ranked 6th place in 2007 and moving to top position in 2008. Nike moved up the ranks to 3rd place, from 9th in 2008, and Nokia took second place.
Eligible category winners can make use of the Sunday Times Generation Next Coolest Brand endorsement as of June this year. The market can use the mark for marketing and packaging purposes for a period of 12 months. For further information contact Charlene Naidoo at HDI Youth Marketeers on +27 (11) 706 6016.
