Asian millennials; more global but not homogenous

Insights from APBN, who are the Asian millennials?

Following my trip to Seoul, South Korea for the Asia Branding Conference, here’s some insights on Asian Millennials.

Each country presented insights about their millennials and it was interesting to learn about some of the differences and more importantly, what they we all have in common.

Interestingly, with the focus on Asia, it is clear that millennials or Gen Ys are perhaps the first generation where some of the traditional west and east differences are fading away.

Asia branding, Asian Millennials
Could 2.5 billion people across the world be the first truly global generation?

Comparing millennials from Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India and Australia, they have a lot in common. Regardless of the country, millennials have all grown up ‘connected’ and in somewhat affluent times. While some of breakdowns in gender stereotypes may have happened faster in places like Australia, it was certainly also clear that across Asia this is also the generation that is fast tracking gender equality.

It was interesting to note that in countries like Australia, the UK and the USA there appears to be more negativity towards millennials. The ‘smashed avo’, ‘lazy’, ‘me’ and other less than friendly headlines for millennials were surprising and amuzing to many of our Asian partners.

Asia brand

Most of all, there was a recognition that, like any generation, we need to careful not to consider them as a homogenous group. While there are some definite characteristics of millennials, there at least four types of millennials and nuances within each of these that relate to their attitudes, beliefs, lifestyles and consumption habits.

Across Asia brands need to look beyond the millennials cliches and really understand their target audience to create more powerful and meaningful relationships.

Michael Hughes

Michael is Managing Partner and Strategy Director at Truly Deeply, a brand agency with 25 years’ experience working with brands to position them for growth. His deep expertise is in unlocking the strategic power of your brand to create a differentiated, compelling and authentic brand proposition that will engage all your audiences. Michael has extensive experience working across Australia and the Middle East working with leading Australian and International organisations across just about every sector.

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