BT’s Ad Awareness hits two-year high following ‘Behind Brilliant Things’ campaign

Key findings:

• BT’s Ad Awareness score rose from 6% when “Behind Brilliant Things” launched on May 8 to 13% by June 11 – its highest score in two years. 
• The uplift was seen across generations, with Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers all recording an increase in Ad Awareness following the launch.
• Baby Boomers recorded the strongest sustained levels, with Ad Awareness reaching 15% in late June.
• Attention around BT also increased following the launch, rising from 6% on May 8 to 10% by mid-May.

BT launched “Behind Brilliant Things”, its biggest campaign this decade, on May 8, 2026. The campaign aims to highlight the role BT’s people, technology and networks play in everyday life across the UK, from connecting homes and businesses to supporting public services and protecting customers from scams.

YouGov BrandIndex data shows that the telecom company’s Ad Awareness score has risen sharply following the campaign launch.

BT’s Ad Awareness reaches a two-year high

Ad Awareness measures the percentage of UK adults who say they have seen an advertisement for a company in the past two weeks.

At the time of the campaign launch on 8 May, BT’s Ad Awareness score stood at 6%. The score began rising in the days that followed, reaching 9% by 21 May and 11% by the end of the month.

The upward trend continued into June, with Ad Awareness reaching 13% by 11 June – marking BT’s highest Ad Awareness score in two years. The metric remained below 10% in the prior period since July 2024.

The uplift has been sustained since the campaign launch, with Ad Awareness remaining at around 12-13% for much of June and July.

Ad Awareness climbs across all generations

Breaking the data down by generation shows that the post-launch uplift was visible across age groups, though the scale and timing of the increase varied.

Among Gen Z, Ad Awareness stood at 5% on 8 May, before rising sharply during the second half of the month and reaching 14% in June.

Millennials recorded a steadier increase, with Ad Awareness rising from 6% on 8 May to around 10% by the end of May, before reaching 12% in July.

Among Gen X, the score rose from 5% at launch to 10% in early June, reaching 14% in mid-June and early July. 

The strongest sustained levels were seen among Baby Boomers and older. Ad Awareness stood at 6% on 8 May, climbed into double digits by the end of May and reached 15% in late June.

Attention around BT rises following campaign launch

BT also saw an increase in its Attention score following the launch of “Behind Brilliant Things”, standing at 6% on May 8. Attention measures the proportion of consumers who have heard something positive or negative about a brand, providing an indication of how visible a brand is in public conversation.

BT’s Attention score rose to 10% by mid-May and reached that level again on May 19. Attention remained elevated during the latter part of the launch month.

Methodology:
YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. BT’s Ad Awareness score is based on the question: Which of the following have you seen an advertisement for in the PAST TWO WEEKS? BT’s Attention score is based on respondents hearing positive or negative buzz about the brand. All scores are reported as percentages, based on daily surveys of UK adults. Data is weighted by age, gender, region, social grade, and ethnicity using a raking methodology. Figures for the Ad Awareness scores are shown as a four-week moving average, with a four day moving average for Attention scores. BT’s Ad Awareness scores are based on sample sizes of more than 2,300 UK adults between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026. The generational analysis is based on sample sizes of more than 230 UK adults per generation between 1 January and 31 July 2026. BT’s Attention scores are based on sample sizes of more than 350 UK adults between 1 and 31 May 2026.

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