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Brands need to rethink strategies to target new wave of young Asians, according to Vice

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By Danielle Long, Acting APAC Editor

February 23, 2023 | 6 min read

The traditional aspirations and definitions of success for young people in Asia have changed significantly and brands need to evolve if they wish to engage this new young Asian consumer.

Vice Media

Vice Media's research reveals the emergence of a new wave of young Asian consumers

The aspirations of a dream job and the single-minded focus on a career have lost their importance in the pst-pandemic world, according to new research from VICE Media Group.

The State Of Youth Report, which surveys 15 to 41-year-olds in South Korea, Indonesia and India, found a significant shift in priorities when it came to definitions of success. More than half (57%) believe achieving a good work/life balance is a significant marker of success, with 55% rating success as “when they felt happy or content” and 44% said success was achieved when they made a positive impact in their company, community or the world.

This shift in values also played out in young people’s views of traditional milestones such as finding a significant other (22%) and having children (17%), which are no longer viewed as critical measures of success by Asia’s youth.

The research revealed this new wave of young people are proudly expressing their identity through thoughts and opinions (63%) their appearance (43%) and the people they associate with (37%).

Significantly, the majority of Asia’s youth say they do not derive their identity through the brands they buy – just 23% of respondents still believe this to be the case. And only 16% said celebrities were influential when it comes to identity expression.

The findings reveal a need for brands to rethink their strategies for engaging Asia Pacific’s young people if they wish to remain relevant, says Huiwen Tow, head of strategy, APAC at Virtue, the creative agency powered by VICE.

“It is clear that the traditional perception of young people in Asia is evolving quickly. No longer happy with what were once seen as the traditional markers of identity such as age, sex and orientation, proud young Asians are opting to use values and opinions as their form of expression. They see themselves as creative-first and open-minded, which is powering their ability to bring about social change. They are also more motivated by internal indicators such as work/life balance, over big brand names as a measure of success.

“This group is unapologetic about spotlighting their identities and as a result brands need to champion the under-represented to match this bold assertion of identity. There is now an opportunity to collaborate with local creators and personalities from emerging subcultures who are able to tell stories authentically and dispel notions around the stereotypical, monolithic Asian identity.

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“Blind material aspiration is dead. Brands need to elevate the everyday moments to connect with the evolving definition of success to audiences. They need to tap into underlying sentiments around hope-punk and techno-optimism to create with them, not just for them, be it with new products, initiatives or campaigns.”

The research found that similar to their peers around the world, Asian youth are concerned about the direction their country is heading (68%) but they remain optimistic about their personal abilities to drive change, with six in ten believing positive change in society will be driven by their powers of creativity and curiosity.

In fact, 39% see themselves as innately creative while 35% say they are open-minded.

One of the most significant shifts is the embedding of gaming within youth culture as an important space for self-expression. No longer viewed as a silo-ed activity, half of those surveyed said the total immersion experience of gaming enables them to process emotions around difficult subjects such as climate change, death, exploration of identity and self-expression, enabling them to take the first step towards finding solutions to real-world problems.

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