25 brands that Gen Z says are on the way up

Ad Age asked The Harris Poll to identify 25 brands with the highest brand momentum among Gen Z consumers—brands that the emerging generation agrees are “on the way up.” The result is an eclectic list of brands that resonate with Gen Z. The ranking is a mix of brands new (ChatGPT, the generative artificial intelligence chatbot launched in 2022) and old (Coca-Cola, introduced in 1886). Harris Poll’s QuestBrand, a brand management software tool, ranked the 25 brands with the highest brand momentum along with breakouts on the highest-ranking brands in five key categories from retail to personal care. Consumers were asked: “How would you describe where the following brand is headed?” Response options were “on the way up,” “holding steady” and “on the way down.” The charts below rank brands with the highest percentage of respondents who said the brand is headed on the way up. The charts also include an index score that measures brand momentum with Gen Z vs. the universe of adults 18+. An index of 100 means the same brand momentum score for Gen Z and adults 18+. Above 100 means a higher brand momentum score for Gen Z. Below 100 means a lower brand momentum score for Gen Z. Harris Poll defines Gen Z as those born from 1997 through 2012. Gen Zers under age 18 were excluded from the survey. Top 25 brands Some brands with high momentum and high index scores aren’t surprising. That would include such newer digital brands as TikTok, DoorDash and Uber Eats and video game platforms PlayStation and Nintendo, all of which have more relevance to Gen Z than to the overall adult population. TikTok, which ranks No. 7 in Gen Z brand momentum, has an index of 164. That’s the highest index score among the top 25 brands, a sign of TikTok’s connection with younger consumers. Thank you for being an All Access subscriber! Check out our newly launched TikTok Trends Tracker, exclusive to All Access members, featuring the latest viral moments and tips on how brands can engage. Justin Pincus, QuestBrand’s managing director, noted the high scores for digital brands in general—and the strong showing for ChatGPT in particular. ChatGPT ranks No. 14 in momentum—impressive for a new brand that to date has done comparatively limited marketing. (ChatGPT has garnered enormous media attention, and parent OpenAI did spring for a Super Bowl commercial last month.) The brand has an index of 150, connecting far better with Gen Z than with adults at large. Pincus sees Gen Z’s affinity for AI as a paradigm shift in how Gen Zers approach education, productivity and self-expression. Rather than viewing AI as a novelty, they’ve integrated it into their daily lives—whether it’s ChatGPT revolutionizing how they search or Grammarly refining how they write. ile Grammarly didn’t crack the top 25 in brand momentum, its index score of 173—higher than TikTok—underscores Gen Z’s deep-rooted comfort with AI-driven tools. “For Gen Z, AI isn’t just a tool—it’s a competitive edge,” Pincus said. “They’re turning to ChatGPT for smarter searches and Grammarly as an always-on writing assistant. No generation has embraced AI faster or been more eager to harness it for productivity, learning and growth.” Grammarly, TikTok and ChatGPT are examples of brands whose index scores demonstrate special relevance with Gen Z. But it’s intriguing to look at brands in the top 25 with an index score at or near 100—an indication that Gen Z and adults at large both think they are on the way up. Amazon, for example, holds the prime spot in Gen Z brand momentum, ranking No. 1. Amazon also scores highly among adults 18+, leading to an index score of 100. So Amazon has an impressive brand momentum grade, but it has strong multigenerational appeal rather than some unique connection with Gen Z. Apple and Alphabet’s Google and YouTube brands have similar broad appeal across generations. Some iconic blue-chip brands generated high grades for Gen Z momentum while also significantly over-indexing for Gen Z compared to adults overall. That’s the case for Nike and Adidas—good news for two athletic shoe and apparel brands in the midst of turnaround plays. A full plate of restaurant and food brands also delivered on Gen Z momentum while over-indexing compared to adults overall. That included McDonald’s, Dunkin’, Oreo and Coca-Cola—more signs of how brands that built relationships with past generations have every opportunity to keep rising with Gen Z. Top marketers, brands and agency ventures Ad Age Datacenter’s definitive rankings of the biggest U.S. and global advertisers and agency companies Click here Five key categories Retail The five retail brands with the highest momentum scores for Gen Z are all massive merchants—Amazon, Costco, Target, Best Buy and Walmart. For context, Walmart, Amazon and Costco rank as the three biggest U.S. retailers, according to the National Retail Federation. Target is No. 7 and Best Buy is No. 16 in the trade association’s ranking. Amazon, as previously noted, has the highest ranking for Gen Z brand momentum across categories, meaning by definition it also is the highest-ranking retailer. Among the five retail brands, Costco may be the most surprising. The membership warehouse retailer is known for selling goods in large quantities or sizes. That packaging is well-suited for families. So, Costco is a logical fit for young Gen Z parents—the oldest members of that generation are now 28 years old—yet it doesn’t seem like a typical retail brand of choice for younger Gen Zers. Costco has gone through life stages with boomers. The first Costco opened in 1983, when boomers were aged 19 to 37. The oldest boomers are now age 79, and Costco is selling lots of hearing aids. The fact that Costco ranks second among retail brands among Gen Z (just edging out third-place Target) suggests Costco is well on its way to building a lifelong relationship with a new generation. Automaker brands Among the five auto brands with the highest momentum scores for Gen Z, there’s only one domestic brand—Elon Musk’s Tesla. The end date for this survey data was Nov. 30, so it’s not clear whether Musk’s controversial work to reengineer the federal government under President Donald Trump has affected Gen Z’s view of Tesla. The list includes two aspirational German brands, BMW and Porsche. It also includes two Japanese brands, Toyota and Honda, that have long been considered benchmarks for reliability among mainstream automotive marques. Toyota and Honda built their reputations for quality and fuel efficiency starting with boomers in the 1970s. It’s noteworthy that Toyota and Honda have index scores of 102—meaning Gen Z’s views on brand momentum essentially track with the views of adults at large. That’s good news for the two brands as they—like other legacy automakers—try to port their brands to an electric-car future where they don’t have a technological edge. Consumer electronics For Gen Z, it’s all about gaming. Sony’s PlayStation, Nintendo and Microsoft’s Xbox scored three of the top five positions among consumer electronics brands with the highest momentum. Apple and Samsung also made the list, ranking third and fourth. Apple indexes at 100, meaning Gen Z and adults at large give it the same score for brand momentum. Samsung, though, under-indexes with Gen Z, an indication that the generation is less likely than adults at large to say the brand is on the way up.Read more about Apple and Samsung here. Financial services Among financial services brands, only one old-line brand made Gen Z’s top five—Visa. The rest are mobile payment or digital payment brands that have found their ways into the wallets—phones—of Gen Z consumers. Apple’s Apple Pay, unveiled in 2014, ranks No. 1 among the financial brands and sharply over-indexes among Gen Z consumers compared to adults at large. That demonstrates both the power of the Apple brand and the company’s ability to push the brand into new markets relevant to a new generation. (Apple Pay, as a sub-brand of Apple, is not included in the ranking of the 25 brands with the highest brand momentum scores.) Block’s Cash App, launched in 2013 under the name Square Cash, ranks second among financial brands. PayPal Holdings commands the fourth and fifth spots for financial brand momentum with PayPal (started in 1998 under the name Confinity) and Venmo (introduced in 2009). (There is a Musk connection here, too. Confinity merged with Musk’s X.com Corp. in 2000, and X.com Corp. in 2001 changed its name to PayPal Inc.) Personal care Powerhouses of packaged goods took the top five spots for personal care brands deemed by Gen Z to be on the way up. The top five were Dove (Unilever), CeraVe (L’Oréal), Old Spice and Crest (Procter & Gamble Co.) and Huggies (Kimberly-Clark Corp.). Among the five, skin care brand CeraVe had the highest index, showing significantly stronger appeal to Gen Z than to adults at large. That’s no surprise given CeraVe’s high-profile influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok and other social media platforms. Crest indexed at 100, a sign of how the brand has found success across generations. P&G launched Crest in 1955, when the oldest boomers were nine years old. Huggies stands out as a brand that scores well with a generation in the early stages of parenting. It’s likely that plenty of Gen Z parents stock up on Huggies at Costco. More exclusive content for All Access subscribers Agency Review Tracker Leading National Advertisers 2024 World’s Largest Advertisers

25 brands that Gen Z says are on the way up

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