In a day and age of fast moving technology and tech savvy generation, it is no surprise that smartphone giant iPhone is the most positively talked about brand amongst millennials in the UAE while Facebook is the most popular brand with youngsters in Egypt. Although Saudi Arabia’s state airline Saudia is the most favourably discussed brand among Saudi youth, iPhone is next in line as the second most popular brand among millennials in the country.
YouGov’s daily brand tracking tool, BrandIndex, considered the opinions of respondents aged between 18 and 34, collected online over the past year, to discover the 10 brands they’ve talked about the most positively with friends and family, whether in person, online or through social media.
Digital brands dominate the rankings in the UAE and Egypt. Although iPhone continues to charm youngsters in all three countries, Apple receives accolade in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, ahead of rival brand Samsung.
Quick-service restaurant chains are demonstrating strong resonance with this age group in the region with the presence of brands like KFC, Al Baik and McDonald’s in the rankings. Although in the UAE, KFC has moved up the rankings to number eight, in Egypt it has moved down to the seventh spot this year.
Banking and travel are also proving to be engaging topics of discussion among youth with airline brands like Emirates, Saudia and Egypt Air leading to positive conversations among millennials in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Alrajhi Bank and National Bank of Egypt rank high for millennials in Saudi Arabia and Egypt respectively. Ride-hailing service providers such as Uber and Careem are also becoming increasingly popular with the youth in Egypt.
YouGov also looked at brands that have experienced the biggest uplift in positive word of mouth over the last year. Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts has seen the greatest improvement among the UAE millennials this year, while Aquafina and Telecom Egypt have seen the biggest uplift in their word of mouth among millennials in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively.
Scott Booth, Head of YouGov BrandIndex in MENA commented, “YouGov BrandIndex enables us to cross-reference WOM with positive Buzz and allows us to measure the most talked about brands among young consumers. The dominance of technology brands in the rankings suggests that youth today are constantly engaging with technology and these brands have been able to build a positive image among the digital natives. The appearance of the airline, banking and quick service restaurant brands in the top ten indicates that these brands have rightly used their marketing strategy to charm the youth that has led to positive chatter among the Middle East millennials.”
