It is the fifth year in succession that Nike has maintained the top spot in the survey conducted by HDI Youth Consultancy, which polls more than 7 000 South African youths between the ages of eight and 23 on what they find on-trend and aspirational.
Nike was also awarded as the Coolest Clothing Brand, the Coolest Footwear Brand, and continues to hold the Coolest Brand Slogan.
Reardon Sanderson, GM group sales and marketing at Tiso Blackstar Group, says, "The Sunday Times Gen Next survey is considered the leading barometer of youth sentiment in South Africa, and organisations are increasingly guided by the results in driving their youth marketing strategies forward."
"As a result, we’ve realised the need to extend the scope of the survey, and a number of new categories were included in 2019 with the intention of increasing insights for marketers," Sanderson adds.
Fourteen new categories were introduced this year, including Coolest Online Fashion Store (Superbalist), Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth (LoveLife), Coolest Food Delivery App (Mr D Food), Coolest Entertainment Channel (Cartoon Network Dstv 301), Coolest Gaming Console (PlayStation 4 Pro), along with two personal brand categories: Coolest Politician (Nelson Mandela — current president Cyril Ramaphosa placed second), and Coolest Online Influencer (Bonang Matheba).
Brands that successfully maintained their number one position in 2019 are:
- FNB
- Samsung
- Mr Price
- South African Airways
- Colgate
- Protea Hotels
- Mall of Africa
- Vodacom
- KOO
- Mercedes-Benz
- CNA
- Engen
- Sun City
- FIFA
- Magnum
- Trace Urban (Dstv 325)
- Cartoon Network (Dstv 301)
- YouTube
- MetroFM
- Top Gear
- McDonald’s
- Spur
- Doritos
- Coca-Cola
- University of Cape Town (UCT)
- Pin Pop
- Stimorol
- Playgirl
- Always
- Dis-Chem
- Avon
- WhatsApp
- Dove
- Dark & Lovely
- Nutella
- Nivea
- Rosebank College
- Parmalat
- Toys R Us
- Sunday Times
Fifteen of the 76 categories saw new winners since 2018.
Trevor Noah (
Coolest Local Male Celebrity) and DJ Black Coffee (
Coolest Local DJ) remain perennial favourites. However, fresh celebrity winners in 2019 include Thuso Phala (
Coolest Local Sportsperson), and Lady Zamar (Coolest Local Female Celebrity). The Queen was awarded as the Coolest Local TV Soap.
“Being in our 15th year of Gen Next, HDI is excited by the new categories and how the market is responding. The categories that excite us most include the
Gaming Console/Computer Games category where, despite the global rise of Fortnite, FIFA still remains one of the most popular games in the eyes of SA’s youth," says Bongani Chinkanda, CEO of HDI Youth Consultancy.
"What we also found interesting was that when the youth was prompted to name their
Coolest Online Store, the one that came out tops was Superbalist, while the rest seemed to be normal brick-and-mortar retailers," adds Chinkanda.
"It’s similarly exciting to see that YouTube was voted as the
Coolest Music Platform. It’s going to be interesting to watch how YouTube relates to platforms like MTV and Trace in the future. So, as we move forward and the new categories become more refined and defined, they’ll definitely become more compelling and insightful too," Chinkanda concludes.
The polling results and analyses across all categories will be published in a supplement accompanying the Sunday Times edition on Youth Day, taking place on Monday, 16 June.
Sunday Times Gen Next is presented in association with HDI Youth Consultancy and partners Brand South Africa and Gautrain.
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