Market research firm Smarty Pants found in its annual Brand Love study that YouTube is the No. 1 brand among kids 6-12.
“Findings from the 2019 study of more than 8,100 American children reveal that kid affinity and use of YouTube continue to rise,” Smarty Pants wrote in a news release. “Nearly all (97%) children ages 6-12 say they ‘love’ or ‘like’ the video platform — up from 95% in 2018. Ninety-two percent of kids now use YouTube, making it their most widely used brand.
“Three in four (78%) kids engage with the brand at least once per day,” the firm wrote.
Netflix ranked seventh, and YouTube Kids came in the No. 50 spot. The new Disney streaming service, which is set to launch in November, is already quite high on the list at No. 56, and 80% of kids report they “definitely” or “probably” will use Disney+ in the next year.
Prime Video and Hulu moved up the list to No. 105 and No. 113, respectively.
Conversely, affinity among kids for traditional children-focused networks Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Carton Network declined, according to Smarty Pants.
Most of the brands in the top 50, outside of content platforms, were candy and salty snacks. Technology-related brands Google and iPad also made the list, as did Xbox.
The lone fresh produce representative in the top 50 was Halos, the brand for mandarins marketed by Los Angeles-based The Wonderful Co.
“The pure goodness of Halos’ sweet, seedless and easy-to-peel mandarins continues to win over the hearts and minds of parents and kids year-over-year, as America’s most-loved healthy snack brand,” Adam Cooper, senior vice president of marketing for Wonderful, said in a news release. “We are thrilled that parents and kids also recognize and adore Wonderful Pistachios as a healthy snack that’s gaining popularity on their grocery lists.”
In addition to listing the top 50 brands among kids, Smarty Pants included the full ranking of all 350 brands they examined for the study.
Halos ranked 49, and Wonderful Pistachios ranked 311.
Other produce brands that earned a spot on the list were Cuties (57), Dole (135) and Chiquita (157).
Nearly all the produce brands on the list ranked more highly among girls than among boys, with the exception of Wonderful Pistachios.
- Halos — 32 among girls, 84 among boys
- Cuties — 41 among girls, 92 among boys
- Dole — 131 among girls, 166 among boys
- Chiquita — 148 among girls, 174 among boys
- Wonderful Pistachios — 304 among girls, 293 among boys