Sticky’s new edition explores Inspiration and Trust: Millennials talk about finding inspiration and building trust with brands.

Behind family (mum, dad, partner) Millennials are most inspired by musicians. Celebrities play an important part in their spheres of inspiration, with 4 in 10 saying they are inspired by a celebrity. Just behind are professionals who also inspire this generation.

Interestingly, younger Millennials (12-24) are +50% more likely to be inspired by professionals – people they admire for their hard work, talent and expertise. This supports what we know about the Millennial generation and their respect for genuine achievement, their sense of ambition and their entrepreneurial spirit.

Brands also inspire and are trusted pillars in a world where young people are less likely to trust state institutions and their country’s Government.

We found that the most inspiring brands (spontaneously mentioned) are Apple, Nike, Samsung, Adidas… as well as some designer brands which represent the aspirations of Millennials like Chanel and Dior.

So what does it take for a brand to be trusted? The #1 attribute is honesty, 93% agree. This is followed by quality and being experts in what they do/produce. 85% think it’s important for a brand to be socially/environmentally friendly to be trusted. The least important attribute we tested was the length of time the brand has been around for, but 72% still said this was important.

Females seem to have higher levels of trust for brands generally. Their most trusted brands tend to be fashion-orientated (H&M, Zara at #1 and #2), but they’re also twice as likely as males to trust Facebook.

However, males are twice as likely as females to say brands are important to them and they’re also more likely to talk about brands to friends.

9 in 10 Millennials say they talk about brands with friends (1 in 5 do so all the time/often) and they’re actually more likely to do this face to face than virtually on social media.

Be Viacom Insight ran a survey with the Viacom YourView consumer panel of Millennials (12-34 year-olds)  to understand what inspires them, who/what they trust and how brands fit into their lives. The fieldwork took place in early December 2012 across Europe (UK, DE, FR, IT, ES).