Do consumers support commercial efforts to get people vaccinated?

Amid vaccine rollouts in the United States and United Kingdom, several high-profile brands are offering sweepstakes, giveaways and other promotions to incentivize people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Campaigns promoting vaccinations come from a range of non-health brands– from food retailers to dating apps to beer companies – but do consumers want brands to be involved at all? In a new poll, YouGov asked adults aged 18 and over in the US and Great Britain whether they support brands encouraging consumers to get vaccinated or not by offering giveaways of their products.

In the US, one in two adults say they support this type of vaccine promotion. Americans aged 18-24 stand out for their likelihood to support brands getting involved in the nationwide vaccination campaign (57%).

Some caution may apply to companies that market to older consumers. While 48% of Americans aged 55 and over say they support brands offering giveaways like this, roughly three in ten say they oppose brands doing so (29%).

By household income, Americans who earn less than $40,000 a year are less likely than the overall US population to support brands getting involved with vaccine promotions (35% vs. 50% of US adults). Similar shares of people in this income category seem indifferent toward (27%) or oppose (30%) brands offering giveaways related to vaccination efforts.

In Great Britain, people are nearly as likely to support brands getting involved in vaccine campaigns (33%) as say they oppose brands doing so (28%). Britons who reside in London, however, are significantly more likely to say they support brands getting involved in vaccine promotions (43%).

Again, age plays a key factor in consumer feelings toward brands offering vaccine incentives. Young British adults aged 18-24 are more likely to support brands who encourage getting vaccinated with giveaways of their products (44%). That figure falls to 26% among 50- to 65-year-olds.

Receive monthly topical insights about agencies, straight to your inbox. Sign up today.

Discover more agencies content here

Start building a survey now with YouGov Direct

Methodology: 9,357 US adults and 2,244 British adults aged 18+ were surveyed online on June 3rd, 2021. Results from the United States are weighted to age, gender, region, political affiliation and income level. Results from Great Britain are weighted to age, gender, region, politics and social grade.