Smyths Toys, H&M and Subway are the youngstars in Q4 2022

Toys, trendy clothes and sandwiches - the latest wave of the quarterly Youngstar survey shows which brands are rated as the most vital brands in the country by young people and the young at heart.

In first place in the Goldbach Youngstar survey of the most youthful brands in Q4 2022 is the large toy store chain Smyths Toys, with a score of 53.9 points. The well-known Swedish fashion retail chain Hennes & Mauritz lands in second place with 52.2 points in terms of youthfulness among respondents, increasing its score by a further 1.6 points compared to the last survey at a high level. The sandwich brand Subway is also among the top 3 advertising brands in the perception of the young and young-at-heart in terms of vitality and is rated with 50.2 points.

Based on a quantitative survey by the Austrian Gallup Institute, the Goldbach Youngstar is regularly awarded to the brand that is considered the "most vital and youngest" in the young and young-at-heart target group. The score, which forms the basis of the result, is made up of 3 sub-scores: Brand - Spot - Before/After Comparison. The winner of the current wave, Smyth Toys, can decide the two elements spot and before/after comparison for itself. In terms of brand rating, H&M comes in first.

The results in detail

With 53% approval, "youthful" is the highest rated attribute of the current Youngstar winner brand Smyths Toys. The spot shown paid particular attention to the attributes original, (up 11% according to the spot's view) and powerful, energetic (up 12%). But also the vitality of the brand was perceived more than before, with plus 9% after viewing the commercial.

In terms of awareness, runner-up H&M came out on top with 97%. The brand was primarily rated by respondents as modern and youthful. The spot paid above average on the attributes powerful/energizing (up 13%), entertaining (up 8%) and funny.

For the American sandwich brand Subway, youthful and modern also ranked first in attribute attribution and may continue to grow at a high level after viewing the commercial. While 24% of the study participants assigned the attribute active to Subway before viewing the commercial, this figure was as high as 36% (plus 12%) after viewing the current commercial; the attribute entertaining also increased significantly by 12% in the view of the respondents.

About the Goldbach Youngstar survey

Since March 2011, Goldbach Austria, in cooperation with the Gallup Institute, has been examining 10 selected commercials or brands on a quarterly basis with regard to their vitality and youthfulness on the basis of a representative online survey.

According to the market research results, the criteria for being considered "vital" in the young target group are the authenticity of the current campaign appearance and being perceived by the respondents as young, trendy and contemporary. The winner is the brand that achieves the highest results in a combination of the brand's vitality index (young target group) and the advertising impact of the spot (in the young target group). The respective criteria are queried before and after viewing the current commercial. Thus, both the basic attitude towards the individual brands and the effect of the current campaign appearance can be included in the evaluation. In addition, a before-and-after comparison is also possible.

In the course of the regular Goldbach Youngstar survey, 500 Internet users between 14 and 29 years of age as well as "Youngminder" - i.e. people between 30 and 49 years of age whose "perceived age" is 29 or less - are asked about the attitudes and image of 10 different brands that were present with a video campaign on TV and/or online and/or advanced TV among the young target group. Priority was given to multiscreen spots shown in TV AND online plus digital out-of-home media, if applicable, during the respective survey period.

In order to be included in the Goldbach Austria shortlist - which is newly determined for each survey round - campaigns with classic TV, Advanced TV and/or online spots must be broadcast over a campaign period of at least two weeks and with a defined minimum advertising pressure in the Goldbach TV (COMEDY CENTRAL, DMAX, TLC, Nickelodeon, Digital out of Home network and (or) Goldbach Online/Mobile network. The selection also includes criteria such as originality of the spots and heterogeneity within the shortlist. The annual winner from the total of 40 brands measured within a rolling year is presented with the Goldbach Youngstar Award at the end of August as part of the Goldbach Summer Festival.