Young Consumers in Singapore

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Young consumers in Singapore
Wang Hongjun, a young consumer and youth researcher, provides an insight into youth lifestyles in Singapore

YOUNG CONSUMERS tend to be more experiential and receptive to new products and images. They like to discover new ‘cool’ products for themselves and are constantly on the lookout for new trends and brands. This target demographic, more so than any other, is tremendously viral and connected. Young consumers are always on the lookout for fun and interesting new activities and they will then relate these experiences to their peers. It’s frequently all or nothing when it comes to making ‘either/or’ choices. While many companies focus on asking, ‘Do you prefer McDonald’s or Burger King?’, the truth is the ultimate choice is seldom as clear-cut as individual preference. In these cases, it’s a zero sum game and when a choice has to be made, it’s usually the decisive and vocal individuals in the group who will make certain decisions and you either benefit from the patronage of the whole group or lose the entire group at that particular moment. The group or social factor is also a key feature of young consumers and their interaction with brands and consumerism. Most of the more successful lifestyle brands among the teen market are those that are inclusive rather than isolated. Take, for example, karaoke. It is popular among teens not because they want to show off how well they can sing, but rather because this activity allows them to chill out, have fun and go crazy while shouting to songs together in a room of their own.
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What do youths in Singapore spend money on?
When out in groups, young people are often faced with the question of ‘What do we do now?’ Beyond the obvious pastimes, such as shopping and watching movies, Singapore youths are looking out for activities to relax over and bond together so they can forget about academic stress. A few years ago, we were probably wondering why anyone would pay $5 for a coffee. Now, more youths are paying this amount of money willingly because they want to chill, talk and enjoy the company of their friends without being thrown out by an over-zealous fast-food manager. Another noteworthy point will be the fact that most young consumers in Singapore seem to be primed and ready to buy. And they are more inclined to make that impulse buy because of group dynamics or the need for instant gratification. Girls, more than boys, are very likely to buy small things like gifts, figurines, stuffed toys, fashion accessories, jewellery and all sorts of small impulse items. Of course, they do not just buy things for themselves. They are buying for their parents, their friends and their boyfriends or girlfriends. Birthdays usually see a group of friends pooling money together to buy gifts and treat the birthday boy or girl. Youths also make decisions to buy IT products as well as other electrical devices, and make sure they are equipped with the latest information on which products are best, using the power
© World Advertising Research Center 2006

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of the internet and access to other consumer reviews.

Connectivity
Compared to previous generations, today’s youth is much more connected in many different ways. This connectivity, no doubt, was made possible by the internet and various services and programs that came with it. In this age of instant gratification, the internet’s strength stems from the fact that the user is in the driving seat. This empowers consumers to look for what they want and gain access to information that previously would have been difficult to access. While a salesman might tell you how wonderful the digital camera is, all a young consumer needs to do today is to simply Google the camera and, chances are, he or she will come across reviews and detailed specifications in just a few seconds. This, in a way, forces the retailer to

know their product well and to be honest in their transactions. The same connectivity that can make a brand can also break a brand with the power of a few reviews. Friendships in a technological age It can be unnerving the way the internet has made the world seem a much smaller place. Right now it is so much easier for young individuals to create and maintain relationships with their peers and others than it has ever been. The mobile phone number and the MSN account are usually exchanged when a new friend is made. For some the number of friends on online community sites such as Friendster serves as a status symbol. In Singapore Friendster in particular has become a very popular way for young people to interact and keep in touch – a phenomenon reflected by the popularity of both Friendster and MySpace in the US and, for younger teens, Habbo Hotel in Europe.
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Tools like MSN Messenger greatly aid connectivity and it is not uncommon for each individual to have 100-odd contacts from all aspects of their life. Chat can be initiated anytime, anywhere as long as someone else is online. News and cool links are frequently shared among youths while chatting with friends. As for my fellow students, MSN is a great way to organise net meetings for school projects, and other work can be done much more efficiently and comfortably. The mobile phone penetration rate is also high and it is rare to find a young person without one. For these young consumers, the mobile phone is not used just to make calls, it can be anything from a social symbol to a handy tool you can whip out while alone in public to show that you are alone, but not lonely. Connectivity is not only restricted to friends and family, but also to the global media and their influences. While, technically, the Media Development Authority censors and restricts content on local free-to-air television as well as cable TV, quite frankly if any one is looking for wilder stuff, there is always the internet. Television In Singapore, there is a rich mix and variety of both western and Asian media, including movies, books, comic strips, music and magazines. While most of the American programmes are probably aired at a staggered date after the American telecast, programmes like Desperate Housewives, Scrubs, Lost and Whose Line Is it Anyway? are being shown either on prime-time or in after-11pm slots on free-to-air TV. This is quietly building up a local following among youths as they flick on the TV at 11pm or midnight, having surfed the internet for a couple of hours. Besides western programmes,Taiwanese variety shows and entertainment programmes are typically made available on free-to-air TV at prime-time slots from 8pm onwards or in the
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late afternoon when secondary-school children can tune in for an occasional dose of entertainment news.

Education
In Singapore, education is the best opportunity for children from lower income groups to break away from a vicious cycle of poverty. Many baby-boomer parents who were deprived of a good education give intense emphasis to good school results.While as youths we appreciate the well-meaning intentions of parents when they emphasise the importance of getting good grades and not being distracted by other nonacademic activities, the truth is, the youth of today have to do more than mainstream curriculum studies in order to achieve. Education is more than tests, exams and projects. With the government’s emphasis on equipping students with an enterprising spirit, what does this mean for companies and retailers? Simply, plan for your future. Youngsters who are poor today may not be poor for the rest of their lives. Priming the right messages in their minds is important. How else do you instill the fact that a Mercedes-Benz is an indication that you have made it? Giving attention to the youth market is not always about trying to part them from their cash. I’m sure most people have had bad experiences at a fast-food outlet when they are unceremoniously shooed away because they have not bought anything. Let’s be reasonable, we would understand perfectly if the place was packed and we were depriving potential customers of a seat, but not during off-peak hours. It just smacks of the restaurant trying its utmost to make money from you every time you step into its premises. There is, once in a while, however, a rare company that understands the importance of investing in the youth of today, tomorrow. UOB (United Overseas Bank Limited), which introduced a debit card for students aged over 18 and a campus card for university students, is one

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When out in groups the question is always ‘What can we do now?’ This generation want to be entertained, amused and want to share something with their peers such company. The carrot offered was a cool Visa debit card, free registration, no minimum sum and no monthly fee.What are the chances of these university students earning at least $30,000 a year within two years of graduation? Let’s not forget that UOB will be converting these accounts into full-service accounts once these young people hit 21. By giving them a debit card that provides a hassle-free payment method, as well as a cool image, these young cardholders will soon be converted into yet another pool of loyal UOB customers. And yes, even the kid of a below-average-income family has a very real chance of becoming such a bank customer.That is the power of education and investing in the future.

tated activity that usually results in a desired object like an iPod or concert tickets. Social interaction is a key aspect of youth lifestyle, together with group dynamics. Social outings are crucial if relationships are to be forged beyond just superficial interactions. This is one of the reasons why there always seems to be a constant flow of cash spent on going to the movies, bowling, karaoke, pool, coffeehouses and clubs. It is also generally accepted that part-time work experience is a plus point as future employers see it as a sign that the potential employee has a good work ethic.

The boredom factor
The boredom factor counts for a large part of youth culture. When out in groups the question is always ‘What can we do now?’This generation want to be entertained, amused and want to share something with their peers. Part of the popular appeal of blogs lies in the bored friend being able to take a peek into your personal life and leave a tag on the tagboard. Nosy parkers by nature, youngsters browse profiles on Friendster and access websites like newgrounds.com, break.com and ebaumsworld.com – a variety of content ranging from stunts gone wrong to flash games. While there is a variety of western (especially American) influenced content providers on the internet, my feeling is that these bored individuals are screaming out for good local content that speaks to them. As for ads, the preachy and scientific are major turn-offs for young consumers, unless of course there is a deliberate tongue-in-cheek approach. The youth of today are brought up exposed to advertising and are fully aware that paid ads are attempts to sell them something. What most youth look out for in an ad is not a miracle solution. Rather, most will be inclined to watch an ad because it entertains them. Therefore, selling should never be the main focus of any ad.
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Lifestyle: the ‘seventh pocket’
Asian consumers are described as having six pockets of income, that is income from the two parents and four grandparents (1), in Singapore more young people are reaching into the seventh pocket of income: part time work. While parents provide an already sizeable amount of pocket money, many teens prefer to take up a part-time job for one or two days a week to supplement their spending and lifestyle. The money from their part-time work is sometimes saved but, for most teens, the notion of saving is not the same as it is for the older generation. While older people save for a ‘rainy day’, saving for young people is a goal-orien1. Zhang, G. (2005)‘Youth trends in China’, Young Consumers, 6,2, pp. 28–33

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More than anything, advertising serves three main purposes: to engage young people’s interest in your product; to entertain them and to make them talk about it; and to play up to their inner desires. If an ad can achieve these goals, the chances are that buzz currency is created and the young community will soon be abuzz with the news. Memorable ads never fail to illicit buzz. Remember playing football in a cage à la Nike? These ads were talked about by young people not because of the celebrity endorsements. Rather, they cleverly used celebrities to communicate a message. Therefore, to hit the right buttons with young consumers in order to generate buzz currency, new, fresh, interesting, funny, ironic and irreverent is good. The boredom factor is pushing the demand for video games. Whenever Singaporean teens, particularly boys, are alone they tend to play video games. Gaming is viewed as an outlet for de-stressing, while some youths derive selfworth and personal satisfaction from their status within a game.

Instead of being afraid of the liberation and empowerment that technology brings, music makers and publishers should really focus on finding new ways to generate revenue, instead of trying to protect existing methods and sales distribution channels

Legality and downloading
While young consumers are ready to buy, let’s not forget they are also guided by the same common sense as most other consumers. There has been much debate over the online distribution of music and related content. Music labels need to find new ways to create revenue in addition to selling music. Whatever action is taken by the industry at present – be it the use of technology to prevent copying or clamping down on illegal internet sites and programs distributing music and movie downloads – it has one aim: to protect the revenue and profit of the company. From the young consumer’s point of view, this seems greedy and selfish. With technology liberating content and facilitating its transmission globally at rates previously unimaginable, it is not advisable to try to go against the advances in technology by trying to restrict its growth and the distribution of information. Given the
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choice, young consumers would rather not pay for information. They have been brought up in the internet age where online content should be free. It makes as much sense as saying that people have to pay for the music they listen to on the radio. However, it is obvious that those in authority are choosing to ignore this and, in Singapore, a group of these people were very pleased with the setting up of a one-stop centre ‘to license works for digital distribution’ in an agreement between the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) and eight major music publisher-members of MPS (Music Publishers (Singapore) Ltd). They noticed a number of bloggers uploading and playing music content on their blogs and COMPASS recommended the bloggers should acquire a licence costing $1000 to play no more than 10 songs on their blogs. The blogging community and youth in general have expressed disgust and disbelief at this suggested new policy. This move effectively criminalises podcasts as well as the sharing of favourite music and lyrics on a personal website. Many young people liken their blogs to their home/identity on the internet. Therefore, crimi-

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nalising the act of having embedded players on their blogs with their favourite music is akin to an invasion of personal space and interference in their unique personality and taste. From an observer’s viewpoint, I would say let them play all they want. The same people who upload and openly share their music tastes are usually the opinion leaders of their own social circle and influence the tastes of other members in the community. In today’s cluttered marketing environment, with thousands of budding musicians and their music, it is becoming harder for mass-market hits to make it – unlike in the late 1980s and early 1990s where the likes of Michael Jackson were able to capture the imagination of the masses. With more niche categories of music popping up, a consumer is more likely to get music recommended to them by friends or seek out their own by downloading songs from artistes they have heard mentioned. Music can only captivate when heard and no young consumer, or any consumer for that matter, will buy a CD or pay for downloads of music they have never heard or that have not been recommended by friends. Instead of being afraid of the liberation and empowerment that technology brings, music

makers and publishers should really focus on finding new ways to generate revenue, instead of trying to protect existing methods and sales distribution channels. I am confident there must be a solution that provides legal free options to the consumers, which will be a very popular take-up.

Conclusion
So what approach should you adopt? Make it all about them not about you. Learn more about them and their lifestyles, and make your brands relevant to them. Understand, entertain, connect and specialise your local marketing mix to include some local content and reference that will tie in with your global strategy and direction. Most importantly, generate positive buzz. What can make a brand can also kill a brand.
Wang Hongjun is part youth researcher, part young consumer, at times a youth volunteer and all these while being a student. He is in the midst of co-founding Jivin’ Hive, a youth-on-youth research agency based in Singapore. [e-mail]

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