“As attention spans get shorter and shorter, brands want to encourage customers to different touchpoints and our ears are a great place to start,” said Sea Yen Ong, head of sales for Spotify Southeast Asia.
Generation Z and millennial Filipinos are spending more time than ever on their digital devices, leading them to consume more online content than ever, which includes streaming music on Spotify.
“We see that Filipinos are streaming more than ever. Music and audio (was) there to accompany them in normal times before. And now during the whole COVID period, it’s now the new norm,” he explained.
In his talk at Digicon on Thursday, October 8, Ong shared a marketing survey listing 4 emerging trends among Generation Z and millennials of Southeast Asia that give insight into their evolving relationship with culture, brands, content, technology, and their communities.
Understanding this relationship lets brands find the most effective ways to engage this generation of consumers.
Super-serve microcommunities
Ong’s first advice for brands is to not only target the larger communities but also the micro-communities that make it up.
“The world we live in has become more diverse and cross-cultural than ever before. And young people are creating communities that stand across the globe,” he said. They are “made out of these self-forming tribes, which share the same microcultures, passions, and social causes.”
For Spotify, the existence of these micro-communities and cultures is evident in how the platform has over 4,000 microgenres of music available for streaming.
“The streaming generation appreciates the ability to connect with like-minded individuals. And they’re not just connecting, but they’re learning from each other, influencing other cultures, and even creating new cultural norms themselves,” he added.
“This also means you have to think about these digital natives and how they’re discovering and forming relationships with your brand locally and regionally.”
Amplify values and be their ally
Ong pointed out that in today’s pop culture, politics and social issues are almost unavoidable.
He added that 47% of Generation Z and millennials from Southeast Asia believe that politics has become a cultural obsession for their generation.
Because of this, they expect these topics to be part of pop culture and social conversations. More importantly, however, they expect brands to be part of this social debate by way of brand messaging, their products, and the causes they choose to support.
Flex to their state of mind
When it comes to these values, the two generations expect more than just promotion or support; they expect action.
Spotify’s survey cited that 73% of Philippine Generation Z and millennials said they expect brands to promote more progressive values and play a more meaningful role in today’s society.
That’s why brands have to know how to appeal to their state of mind and mood.
Ong said that during the recent Black Lives Matter protests in the US, the song “This Is America” from American hip-hop artist Childish Gambino saw a streaming 2,126% spike in the Philippines in June.
The song was first released in 2018 and it shines a light on issues on violence, racism, and gun crimes.
“While this is not a marketing opportunity, it’s crucial to understand that their state of mind reflects how your brand will be perceived in terms of the values that you represent,” he said.
Craft your brand’s surround sound
“As the world stays home more, we see music and podcast listening change in a variety of ways,” Ong mentions. “With Filipino listeners, they are streaming on Spotify for more than two hours on multiple devices.”
Because a lot of the physical day-to-day activities have completely shifted online, Spotify expects more people to get screen burnout in the months to come, which is a prime opportunity for audio-based content to shine.
The firm’s survey found that 61% of people in the Philippines believe that if there’s too much visual stimulation today, audio becomes a really nice escape from it.
Before the pandemic, driving, commuting, exercising, running were some of the top moments Generation Z and millennials streamed music. These streaming habits, however, have drastically shifted in the past few months.
“Now, we see an up lift in playlists that accompany working, gaming, online shopping, household chores, and also a huge rise in the consumption of sleep music,” said Ong. “And as audio innovation and creativity grows, we know young Pinoys here are also exploring formats like podcasts.
“As attention spans get shorter and shorter, brands want to encourage customers to different touchpoints and our ears are a great place to start.” – Rappler.com
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