FUTURE PERSPECTIVE: ASIA Voices of the Future is a new series that will help you to prepare for the changes happening in Asia, and understand how to apply these to help your business get ahead. This issue introduces the new generation impacting Asia, made up of those born 1997 onwards – the Centennials. Read on to see what they want to change, how they’re planning to do it, and why you and your business need to know! VOICES OF THE FUTURE INTRODUCING THE ASIAN CENTENNIALS
Transcript
FUTURE PERSPECTIVE: ASIA
Voices of the Future is a new series that will help you to prepare for the changes happening in Asia, and understand how to apply these to help your business get
ahead. This issue introduces the new generation impacting Asia, made up of those born 1997 onwards – the Centennials.
Read on to see what they want to change, how they’re planning to do it, and why you and your business need to know!
We are at a generational inflection point. Although Millennials still dominate the discussion, it’s increasingly their younger siblings and children – the Centennials, born from 1997 onwards, experiencing their first taste of independent purchasing power and navigating their first steps into the workforce– who will be the real drivers of change.
Nowhere will that change be more dramatic than in Asia. By 2030, there will be more than 700m Asian Centennials. That’s 55% of the global centennial population, and more than double the population of the United States!
They’re already beginning to make their presence felt. From Malala Yousafzai to the new Instagram “beauty boys,” Centennials are tearing down barriers, redefining categories, and demanding society evolve for the better.
They are the Change-maker Generation, and understanding their key differences and values will be increasingly important for brands to thrive over the next decade.
VOICES OF THE FUTURE INTRODUCING THE ASIAN CENTENNIALS
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WHAT WOULD CENTENNIALS NAME THEIR GENERATION? ‘The Two-Minute Generation.’ Saachi Mishra, 14 , Mumbai, India
‘The Lost Generation’ Aniushka Joshi, 19, Mumbai, India
‘The Connected Generation’ Zoey Sang, 17, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
‘The Generation of Realization’ Miuicca Worthington, 14, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
UNDERSTANDING THE ASIAN CENTENNIALS"we" not "Me" The world today is increasingly volatile and uncertain, with growth increasingly harder to come by. It can feel like the world is against a teen’s success- sometimes literally, in the case of the environmental stressors that bedevil many Asian countries – especially as this persistent struggle is all Asian centennials have ever known. In a world where structural concerns, rather than innate capability or drive, is often what holds them back, their starting point is often “we,” not “me.”
They’re sophisticated and savvy social media/digital users - wary of its ills, seeking authenticity and connection above all, but also strategic and creative in its employment.
Unlike Millennials, they are deeply engaged by the changing world. They’re aware and involved at ever earlier ages, driven to fix the problems and in the process build a better future for all, not just their own generation.
Global Monitor 2017
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AsiAn MiLLEnniALs Vs. CEntEnniALs
Grew up expecting a life better than their parents – and caught off-guard by slowing growth.
Usually worked within and around the system to drive growth.
Digital explorers – eager to join the latest networks and ready to give up data for access.
Growing up knowing that the career paths that worked for their parents will not work for them.
Actively working together to transform the system rules.
Digital natives – no longer dazzled by digital, protective of their data, and pragmatic about its use.*
"(Centennial) change-makers are positioned at a crucial crossroads of impending unemployment, and a constant exposure to new technologies and research initiatives; this drives them to find new solutions on their own terms." Yashveer Singh, director of Ashoka, a Centennial ventures program operating out of South Asia
For Asian Centennials, personal benefits are inextricably bound up in communal benefits. While tech often tears down barriers to knowledge, they’re still held back by old structures and beliefs that limit their
56% of Asian Centennials said it is very or extremely important for them to buy products from companies that support causes they care about – four percentage points higher versus millennials who felt the same way.
1 in 5 of them volunteer for a cause they care about once a week or more.
61% say it is extremely or very important for them to buy only ‘ethically produced goods’.
potential. Unlike millennials, however, they’re growing up expecting a hard future, rather than being blindsided by it. They know that in order to help themselves, they have to change everyone else.
13-year-old Akshat Mittal from Delhi came up with an innovative solution to a problem faced by many in congested Indian cities – namely, that toxic levels of pollution have forced the government to institute an ‘Odd-Even Rule’ only allowing cars with odd and even number plates to drive on alternate days. Akshat saw how this problem was inconveniencing commuters in Delhi and built an app that allows commuters travelling in similar directions to car-pool. Speaking to Times of India recently about his latest project changemyindia.org, he said the country had social problems but that "Some people just curse and hope that someone someday will solve these issues. I have
How do Centennials view their cultural heritage (and responsibilities?) Click to hear from Filipino teens.
made a platform where the people who want to see the change and who are bringing the change come together. They will share their experiences and success stories. This will inspire others to make a better world.”
16-year-old Shanti Murmu from Oidsha created a peer-support group to help young girls in her village resist the pressure from their families to leave education and get married. By organizing plays, rallies, posters, leaflets and larger group discussions on these topics, she has helped an increasingly large number of girls in her village to pursue higher education and get married off only after the legal age of 18.
PRAGMATIC ENVIRONMENTALISM The environment is and will increasingly be a key priority for Asian Centennials. While this may seem a niche concern at first blush, with toxic levels of pollution already affecting many Asian countries, environmental degradation is a visible, urgent, and pragmatic concern for a generation that will still be around in 2080.
By 2025, pollution levels in China may be 70% higher
1 out of 4 people in Asia will be facing extreme fresh
water shortages by 2050
Coal emissions in SEA are projected to triple by 2030,
increasing pollution-related deaths
60% of Centennials said they have
‘made it a top priority to live a more
environmentally conscious lifestyle’
A stunning 41% of Centennials said they
would pay more for a product that would
last longer, versus only 18% of Millennials
62% reduce, reuse or recycle packaging
as much as possible
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
ARE ALREADy DRIVING THEIR
PURCHASE bEHAVIOR
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While Asian millennials lived through a time of mass digital, economic, and ecological disruption, Asian Centennials were born into this brave new world. As the first natives, they see everything filtered through the lenses of their devices, and the values of technology and the internet shape theirs too.
Whether it’s the idea of “perpetual beta”, “outsourced memory,” or collaborative knowledge and instant services, centennials have an innate understanding of dynamic and connected modern-day life, where change is constant and nothing can be taken for granted.
In Asia, however, tech is an indispensable part of life, rather than a toy. Often, the need is not
just convenience or having the latest gadget, but rather it’s about resourcefulness - connecting with others, or accessing necessities that would be out of their reach otherwise. Increasingly, they are consciously wielding tech to hack resource gaps, using connections to access knowledge and build the solutions themselves.
"Every day we wake up, thousands of information and data streams are crossing and updating. That is an absolutely different life to 10 years ago!"Ziran Zhang, 19 - Hangzhou, China
TECH AS TOOL, NOT TOy
72% of Asian teens use the
internet throughout the day.
65% of them said the internet best enhances their quality of life
'Gongbang’, or ‘study broadcast’, is the next iteration of ‘Mukbang’ (eating on camera). While there is no talking from the broadcaster, viewers can comment messages of encouragement. The comments can be seen by other viewers which can lead to a discussion. The live stream becomes a way to connect study partners from all over the country. Viewers do not feel alone when studying late at night, and can create a sense of community. Other viewers find these videos calming, if they find studying difficult and stressful.
With more than 938 million users, WeChat, known as Weixin in China, already serves as a one-stop-shop for everything from reading news and booking taxis to ordering takeaways and making payments. Half the users spend more than 90 minutes a day on its chat app, according to WeChat.
15-year-old Anurudh Ganesan invented the VAXXWAGON, is a portable refrigeration system that enables doctors to transport vaccines safely and effectively. No ice or electricity required. He was inspired by his own experience, as he was born in rural India and was not able to access viable vaccines. 1.5 million children died in 2008 from vaccine-preventable diseases.
From finding ways to deal with being alone, together
To utilising apps not just to catch up with social media, but to ”hack the city” and its inconveniences
To hacking systems themselves, in order to get around structural obstacles they’ve been born into
TECH AS TOOL, NOT TOy
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CONNECTING WITH THE ASIAN CENTENNIALS This generation comes with a completely different attitude towards change. While Millenni-als may have been blindsided by their own good (or bad) fortune in their adulthood, Centennials can anticipate the future that is waiting for them - and their values, attitudes and behaviors show they’re taking it upon themselves to try and shape that future as early as possible.
Brands talking to Asian Centennials need to consciously shape their strategies to match these new values around change. Here are four major strategy shifts that brands should think about.
1. Are you going through “we” rather than just speak-ing “me"?
Do you have a perspective on how your brand’s benefits need to change for this generation? If you already know what their community needs, what stake are you putting in the ground to deliver concrete change?
While talking to Millennials, brands have traditionally focused on self-expression, fitting in, or standing out. For Centennials, these self-oriented values are less valuable than community-oriented ones that guarantee a brighter future. Moreover, it’s crucial to trans-
late good intentions, into solid actions. If you aren’t risking a future with them, expect to fade into the woodwork at best or be ridiculed at worst. 78% of Indian Centennials say they feel anger over how big businesses maximize profit at the expense of community and consumers.
2. Are you providing solu-tions, or tools, that help them compete despite their (currently) low purchasing power and knowledge?
Are you “talking down” to them – or worse, not talking to them at all – when it comes to real issues that concern
CONNECTING WITH THE ASIAN CENTENNIALS
them? If you are, what tools and services are you providing that help them supersede their current limitations?
Give them access to tools and products without demanding the financial capital or know-how of their older counterparts. Xiaomi is now the top smart-phone brand for Chinese Cen-tennials, offering home-grown quality within their reach, while Apple is now only the eighth most popular smartphone brand for them – as opposed to the fourth most popular with everyone else in China.
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CONNECTING WITH THE ASIAN CENTENNIALS
3. Is environmental activism already non-negotiable for your brand?
If your brand is already focused on sustainability, what are you doing about it, not just in terms of CSR but even in your supply chain and production cycle? Are you prepared for the com-petition coming from environ-mentally-friendly, high-quality alternatives?
Centennial consumers no longer see organic/good-for-the-environment products and stances to be mutually exclusive from pre-mium products with effective
ingredients. As transparency becomes table stakes, and options diversify, it will be-come difficult for brands with eco-unfriendly systems, ingre-dients and positioning to even enter the consideration set.
In India, MTV recently launched a project working with young people in to #dunkthatjunk by cleaning abandoned urban spaces and transforming them into music venues. With comments on Facebook like ‘Let’s everyone act like this’ and ‘Waiting for the revolution #dunkthatjunk’, it has proved a huge hit with Centennials and generated over $2MN worth of coverage over six months.
4. What does your tech and digital strategy help turn into reality?
Can you go beyond digital content that simply enter-tains, to apps, services and knowledge that help them bridge their resource gaps?
Stand out from the crowd by focusing on driving real change, rather than momen-tary likes. Rappler (a Filipino local news outlet) has created Social Good, an annual forum that explores ways to use social media to drive real change. Last year’s summit featured 13-year-old Isabel Sieh, who learned to code at
10 with tools online. She recently founded the Philippine chapter of Girls Who Code to inspire other girls to code as well. “I could be doing lots of other things but the reason I do this is because ever since I started coding, it changed my thinking,” she said. “Coding can help solve world problems. The internet has brought so many communities together and it just gives everyone the opportunity to create.”
What change will you create?
As the older members of this generation enter the workplace and rapidly increase their spend-ing power and influence, we will witness the emergence of a consumer landscape shaped by their belief in making an impactful change to the world around them. Brands will ally them-selves to this generation by being real agents of change themselves and continuing to take a stance on relevant social and political issues.
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We asked teenagers across Asia to come up with a name for their generation. The below responses give us a snapshot into their lives, and what it’s like being young today. Their answers show a keen sense of the diversity, openness and interconnectedness of their world – and a matching sense of its consequences, both positive and negative.
WHO ARE WE?Soundbites from Centennials around Asia Aniushka Joshi, 19
Mumbai, India
We are ‘The Lost Generation’, like the 1920s in the USA. The reason for this is the large differences in opinions and outlooks of this generation, as compared to the earlier ones. The advent of globalization, westernization and industrialization have caused radical changes in beliefs regarding social, political, and even religious issues.
Saachi Mishra, 14 Mumbai, India
We are ‘The Two-Minute Generation'. Ours is the first generation where we don’t have to wait in queues for concert or movie tickets, everything is simply one click away.
Zoey Sang, 17 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
We are ‘The Connected Generation’. A lot is placed on connections and inner circles, people can connect globally and can find friends/partners through the internet, people are easily influenced because they feel more connected to their role models or because people around them support certain things – like the movement against Donald Trump, even for people who know nothing about American politics.
We are ‘The Instant Generation’ because of the internet and social media, we have created instant connection, forming relationships is simple as sending a friend request online, family and friends are just a click away. Our generation has made forming relationships easier, and therefore creating bonds easier. Our generation builds bridges!
Miuicca Worthington, 14 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
We are ‘The Generation of Realization’.
The legalization of gay marriage in several countries has happened in the last decade, equal rights in many terms have been recognized. There has been a rise of acceptance in society, whether it’s to do with race or gender.
Renata, 16 Jakarta, Indonesia
We are ‘The Multifaceted Generation’. Difference is what really pushes us to be creative, wide-minded, innovative, and always moving to a better situation.
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