As a sign of summer days being spent poolside or on the shore, White Claw is gaining ground with younger consumers. The hard seltzer tops the latest Ad Age-Harris Poll Gen Z brand tracker, which ranked brands that made significant progress in gaining attention from Gen Z in the second quarter of 2023.
Known for its hard seltzers, White Claw expanded into spirits earlier this year, releasing a line of vodka, including black cherry, mango and pineapple flavors. It also rolled out a line of canned vodka sodas in pineapple, peach, wild cherry and watermelon varieties. The brand tapped J.B. Smoove to appear in ads from VCCP, Edelman and Hayworth promoting the new beverages. Other marketing has included an out-of-home campaign from Edelman calling the vodka “the World's Smooovest Vodka.”
20 brands catching Gen Z's attention right now
White Claw's new canned vodka sodas.
“White Claw Hard Seltzer’s new line of vodkas and canned cocktails have been well-timed to capitalize on summer beverage consumption, but the brand is doing more to link their products with summertime,” said Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson. “White Claw’s recent sponsorship of live events has potentially tied their brand identity with festival season and summer fun in the minds of consumers.”
White Claw is in the middle of sponsoring a slew of U.K. music festivals, including London’s British Summer Time Hyde Park. It also sponsored Austria’s Snowbombing Festival in April.
Conducted quarterly, the Ad Age-Harris Poll ranks brands by how much their equity has changed with Gen Z—that is, how much this generation’s perception of these brands is changing from quarter to quarter. It surveys U.S. consumers ages 18-24; younger members of Gen Z are unable to answer without adult supervision, so are excluded from the analysis.
Other brands cracking the top five in the second quarter include Kind Snacks, Pandora Jewelry, La-Z-Boy and Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
Top Gen Z brands by brand equity growth
See the last Gen Z brand ranking here
Snack time
Kind Snacks came in second this quarter, joined by other food brands including Philadelphia Cream Cheese (fifth), nut butter brand Justin’s (eighth), Halo Top ice cream (12th) and M&M’s (17th). Kind Snacks, a Mars-owned brand like M&M's, released a new caramel peanut protein bar in June and is continuing to embrace the ice cream space with its plant-based frozen treat bars.
Kind's dark chocolate, almond and sea salt plant-based frozen treat bar.
Consumers who still want a whole pint of ice cream can reach for Halo Top (and maybe carry it in a specially made bag). The lower-calorie ice cream brand has also started making frozen yogurt pops and microwavable “cake in a mug” mixes.
“Summer is synonymous with spending time outdoors with friends and family, and consumers are hungry for ways to spend quality time with loved ones while beating the heat,” Johnson said. “Kind’s foray into plant-based Frozen Treat Bars and Halo Top’s new Frozen Yogurt pops may find a receptive customer base for those looking for an ice cream alternative during the scorching summer months.”
Mars Wrigley Chief Brand Officer Rankin Carroll spoke with Variety at Cannes about connecting with Gen Z through the seven M&M’s characters. In January 2022, M&M’s mascots underwent a makeover to be more inclusive, with Red becoming less bossy, Green trading in her go-to boots for white sneakers and Orange embracing his anxiety—all of which resonated with Gen Z, according to Carroll. The chocolate candies recently partnered with Krispy Kreme for limited-time donuts, including one filled with M&M’s.
Krispy Kreme partnered with M&M’s for a donut filled with the chocolate candies.
Clothes and accessories
Many Gen Zers care deeply about the planet, which has led to an increased interest in second-hand or thrift clothing. ThredUp, which ranked ninth, has gained more ground with younger consumers. Sixty-four percent of Gen Zers search for an item secondhand before considering a new purchase, according to the online thrift store. Celebrities such as “White Lotus” star Haley Lu Richardson have also been more open about shopping second-hand.
Gen Z seems to be turning to Pandora (third) when it comes to jewelry. The brand partnered with Disney in May to create a themed jewelry line as part of marketing for “The Little Mermaid.” The jewelry company also recently kicked off a new influencer campaign including “Euphoria” actress Barbie Ferreira and “Gossip Girl” actor Evan Mock.
Here is a look at how some of the other brands cracked the top 20 in this quarter’s poll.
La-Z-Boy last month hired Colle McVoy to lead a refresh of the brand, which ranked fourth this quarter, and “provide strategy, design, public relations and influencer marketing to reposition the La-Z-Boy brand from one that is steeped in nostalgia to an active, dynamic and distinctive brand for modern audiences,” the agency said in a statement. La-Z-Boy had worked with celebrity Kristen Bell since 2019.
Kobalt power tools, sold exclusively through Lowe’s, seem to have received a boost in familiarity as summer home projects picked up. The brand, which ranked sixth, also celebrated its 25th anniversary with a sales event in May.
Halls placed ninth, which might have come as a surprise given that we're still months away from peak sore throat season. U.S. pharmacists named Halls among the most-trusted over-the-counter brands in April.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) gained attention following its tiff with Pete Davidson. The organization, which ranked 10th, called out the comedian and actor after he bought, rather than adopt, a dog. Davidson responded by leaving the PETA exec a voicemail that he is “allergic to certain dogs” and was trying to replace his mother’s dead dog with the same breed.
Shopify (11th) made headlines earlier this year for cutting down on meetings and even implementing “No meeting Wednesdays” as a way to help employees be more productive. The company even introduced a meeting cost calculator to show how expensive a potential meeting would be.
Shopify's meeting calculator shows how expensive a meeting can be.
IBM (13th) has been leaning into generative artificial intelligence lately through partnerships with Adobe and a digital fan experience for Wimbledon, where AI generated commentary for video highlight reels.
Zillow (14th) has also been using AI to make more detailed home listings, including having AI choose the listing’s lead photo and provide more detailed floor plans. The brand has also likely benefited from social media accounts that post the craziest homes listed on Zillow.
Volvo (15th), which ranked fifth in the fourth quarter of last year, gained attention in the second quarter from a six-minute unboxing video for its EX30, a new electric SUV. The brand recently hired a new global head of marketing from L’Oréal, Gretchen Saegh-Fleming, and has adopted Tesla’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Amazon Prime Video (16th) got a boost from the fourth and final season of “Jack Ryan” and the last season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Season two of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” began being released in July.
Emirates Airlines (18th) was recently voted as the best airline to fly premium economy, and the fourth overall best airline, according to Skytrax. The airline also recently announced a closed-loop recycling initiative to reuse plastic trays, bowls and snack dishes.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (19th) partnered with power tool brand Dewalt on a Nascar helmet and NFL player DeMarcus Lawrence spent Father’s Day visiting patients at the hospital. YouTuber Tom Grossi recently wrapped a series where he visited all 30 NFL stadiums in 30 days to raise money for the cancer research center.
Instacart (20th) rolled out a worker rewards program and is testing AI-powered smart shopping carts that scan products as they are added, allowing customers to pay at their cart and walk out.
