Nintendo, Spotify and Amazon are Gen Z’s preferred brands for social impact, outperforming 100 companies for their reputation on crucial matters such as sustainability, community engagement and behaviour towards the individual.
The findings come from brand and social impact agency We Are Futures’ 2023 Social Impact Barometer, which analyses the social media language and traffic of 85,000 16-24-year-olds across 22 million data points.
Entertainment brand Nintendo has now registered its second year at number one, with Spotify moving ten places to second and Amazon eight places to third. Despite finishing second and third respectively last year, Google and Adidas have both dropped out of the top 15.
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“This year’s findings confirm that young people perceive marketing in a much broader way than older consumers. More of their decision-making is led by social beliefs and they watch how brands behave in the round,” We Are Futures CEO Mark Fawcett said.
“The cost-of-living crisis has added a need for practical help. With so many support structures failing them – government funding, university lecturers on strike, older generations destroying the planet – they are looking for support from elsewhere. This survey tells us there is a gap that can be filled by brands.”
With young consumers increasingly judging brands on non-traditional marketing, the barometer surveyed 15,000 Gen Z-ers and found that 57% had backed out of a purchase due to sustainability concerns, and that 66% wanted brands to spend less money on ‘traditional’ marketing and more on initiatives that will have a ‘positive impact’ on their lives.
