Cool Brand Awards 2010

MTV Networks and InSites Consulting have looked into the coolness of brands and the impact on the purchasing decisions and brand loyalty among young people for several years now. These cool brands are awarded annually at the Cool Brands Award (initiative of MTV Networks).

Over the past years it has been demonstrated that young people buy twice as many cool brands as non-cool brands and that there is a strong positive correlation between brand loyalty and coolness. For the fifth edition of the Cool Brand Awards, we went a step further. The Coolness study was expanded with two new parameters: emotion and conversation.

The emotion that a particular brand evokes among young people is directly related to the purchase intent. Thus, young people will choose brands that make them happy or give them a good feeling. These brands linger in their memory. The happier a brand makes young people, the more tempted they will be to buy this brand again.

The second parameter focused on is conversation. It turns out that up to 2.4 brand names are cited per conversation between young people. Clichés are seemingly confirmed here, as women talk significantly more than men about chocolate and salty snacks during these conversations, while more men than women talk about mobile phones, mobile phone operators, beer and spirits. The brands that both men and women most frequently discussed during these conversations are Proximus, Nivea and Red Bull – three brands that were running advertising campaigns at the time of the study.

Brands that want to score with the young target group better make sure that their brand is part of the conversations between young people. The coolness of the brand is the decisive factor here as the cooler the brand, the greater the chance that young people will discuss it. Coolness also increases brand loyalty and has a positive impact on the purchase of the brand.

Contrary to popular belief, young people do not solely communicate by way of social media. In fact, 86% of their communication takes place via face-to-face conversations and only 9% takes place online. The importance of these conversations is demonstrated by the fact that a change of opinion takes place in 60% of these cases.

These are the results of the Cool Brand Awards – 2010 edition

  • Coolest Mobile (Smart) Phone: iPhone/Apple
  • Coolest Mobile Phone Operator: Generation MTV
  • Coolest Beer Brand: Jupiler
  • Coolest Spirits Brand: Bacardi Mojito
  • Coolest Soft Drinks: Coca-Cola
  • Coolest Energy Drink: Red Bull
  • Coolest Chewing Gum Brand: Mentos
  • Coolest Chocolate Brand: M&M′s
  • Coolest Mints Brand: Tic Tac
  • Coolest Bank: Mine (BNP Paribas Fortis)
  • Coolest Female Beauty Care Brand: Nivea
  • Coolest Male Beauty Care Brand: Axe
  • Coolest Male Razor Brand: Gillette Fusion
  • Coolest Female Razor Brand: Gillette Venus
  • Coolest Salty Snacks Brand: Lay′s
  • Overall Coolest Brand: Coca-Cola

Joeri Van den Bergh (Youth Expert and Managing Partner at InSites Consulting) was awarded Coolest Research Expert at this 2010 edition, a special edition Award for his contribution to the MTV Cool Research. Congratulations Joeri!

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