Apple’s iPhone, Amazon and Virgin Atlantic were named YouGov’s UK Advertisers of the Month for September after each brand saw a big rise in consumer awareness of their advertising.
According to YouGov BrandIndex, which measures the percentage of consumers who have seen an ad for a brand in the last two weeks, all three brands saw significant gains in ad awareness over the month.
Amazon saw the largest increase, rising from 26.5% on September 1st to 33.7% on September 25th – an increase of 7.2 percentage points. The rise followed the company’s UK Upfront event, which promoted new advertising formats across Prime Video and its growing retail media network.
The e-commerce giant also announced a groundbreaking partnership with Netflix on September 10, allowing advertisers to purchase inventory from Netflix’s ad-supported tier directly through Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP). The merger marks an important step in Amazon’s ambitions to become a global hub for connected TV advertising.
Apple’s Ad Awareness Score for iPhone rose from 12.0% on September 9th to 21.5% on September 25th, an increase of 9.5 points. The increase coincided with the company’s annual product unveiling in September, which introduced the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and new iPhone Air, as well as updates to the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and updated AirPods Pro.
The high-profile launch sparked extensive cross-channel marketing activity, supported by cinematic advertising campaigns and sustained media coverage in the technology and lifestyle sectors.
Virgin Atlantic also saw a notable increase in advertising awareness, rising from 7.9% on August 30 to 13.1% on September 25 – a rise of 5.1 points. The growth was fueled by the airline’s latest LGBTQ+ campaign, “Free to Be Me,” created in collaboration with Attitude magazine.
The campaign celebrated traveler inclusion and self-expression, combining digital storytelling with branded content and social partnerships to reinforce Virgin Atlantic’s positioning as one of the most progressive brands in aviation.
Together, the three brands demonstrated how major product launches, partnerships and targeted campaigns can lead to noticeable increases in advertising exposure – even in a competitive and crowded media landscape.
