Dive Brief:

• YouTube was ranked the “most intimate brand” among millennials, according to the MBLM Brand Intimacy 2019 Study shared with Marketing Dive. Brand intimacy examines how consumers emotionally bond with their favorite brands. 
• Apple and Netflix took the second and third spots, respectively. Last year’s top three on the annual ranking were Apple, Disney and YouTube. 
• Other brands in the top 10 include Disney, Nike, Target, Xbox, PlayStation, Google and Walmart. Millennial men listed Xbox, PlayStation and Spotify as their top three, while millennial women listed Target, Amazon and Disney. 

Dive Insight:

YouTube topping the list of most intimate brands is the latest researching illustrating how the video platform has bounced back from a series of brand safety and transparency issues that plagued the platform over the past couple of years. Parent company Google has worked to rebuild trust on YouTube by more carefully vetting videos, and YouTube has been rolling out new services, including YouTube Music in 2018, in a continued effort to connect with consumers.

Millennials are experience-driven and expect relevant, personalized experiences from their favorite brands. The vast amount of content on YouTube can offer unique, memorable experiences for users. YouTube is one of the most popular platforms for millennials, and 54% of millennials visit the site at least once per day, according to eMarketer research cited by The Drum. Also, about a third watch YouTube ads all the way through. 

Emotional connections can foster brand loyalty. Brands that build trust and focus on customer experience stand the best chance of connecting with millennial consumers. But, consumer experience is an area where brands have struggled, with most remaining “mediocre” in the quality of their customer experiences, according to Forrester research. YouTube appears to be doing things right by focusing on the quality of its customer experiences. 

YouTube’s ad revenue increased 11% from Q3 2017 to Q3 2018, and the platform saw a 51% advertiser renewal rate, according to recent MediaRadar research. Media and entertainment brands, like Hulu and Twenty-First Century Fox, accounted for 30% of its revenue, while Geico, Samsung and Disney were the biggest spenders on the platform.