Nike remains the ‘coolest’ brand among teenagers says a survey conducted by the Northbrook, Illinois marketing research firm Teenage Reseach Unlimited (see ‘Coolest brands among U.S. teens’ in KidScreen’s November 1996 issue, page 19).

The ongoing survey, called The Teenage Marketing Lifestyle Study, asked 2,025 teens between the ages of 12 and 19 what they considered to be the coolest brand on the market.

Nike scored the highest marks 44 percent with more than half the males and one-third of the females naming the brand. Levi’s ranked second with 14 percent, followed by Calvin Klein with 12 percent, Sony with 11 percent and Pepsi with 10 percent. Honorable mentions (scores of three to eight percent) include Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Guess, Cover Girl, Adidas, Sega, Reebok, Nintendo and Coca-Cola.

In a poll of the same 2,025 teens, the firm found that boys outspend girls by US$6 a week (US$70 vs. $64), but boys’ weekly income also surpassed the girls by approximately US$7. Other research from the firm indicates that teens spent more of their own money in 1996 (US$70 billion) compared with 1995 (US$67 billion), but family dollars spent on them had fallen from US$42 billion in 1995 to US$33 billion in 1996, resulting in a six-percent overall drop (not inflation-adjusted) in total spending on this age group.

The number of 12- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. has risen for the fourth consecutive year from 29.1 million in 1995 to 29.7 million in 1996, representing a two-percent increase. Teens make up 11 percent of the total U.S. population.

For more information about the study, contact Teen Research Unlimited at 847-564-3440.