Next Great Thing

There are 300 million people under 30 in China, and they are much more politically passive and self-involved than their activist, community-centric parents. Time magazine’s article “China’s Me Generation” found that “On their wish list, a Nintendo Wii comes way ahead of democracy.”

The article points out that the rise of this new generation has far-reaching implications for the foreign policies of other nations. Experts have long predicted that economic growth would eventually bring democracy to China, but this new generation could shatter such assumptions. As the beneficiaries of China’s increasing economic success, young professionals have more and more tied up in preserving the status quo.

As China becomes an increasingly sophisticated economic force, and one with vast opportunities, the need to understand and connect with this young demographic is mis en relief. The average Chinese Internet user is young and well-educated and spends a good deal of time every week online seeking and creating information. By the end of the decade, according to eMarketer, China is likely to overtake the US as the largest Internet market in the world in terms of sheer numbers. They predicts that there will be over half a billion Internet users in China in 2025.

It is essential for marketers to understand the China’s youth to reach and engage them. Here is our guide to the “Me Generation” in Asia…

New Mindset
Youth in Asia are adopting a new mindset of networked individualism. They are being empowered by user generated networks, i.e. blogs and social networking sites (SNS), and forming communities of interest. These networks empower youth and give them choice and freedom of self-expression—something new to the Chinese in their newly Democratic climate.

Asian youth now have 50 million personalized youth media channels to chose from.

Lifecasting and Lifegration
Through user-generated content (UGC), youth can broadcast their entire life online— a phenomenon called lifecasting. The most popular user-generated youth media platforms in the world are in Asia, namely Cyworld, Mixi and now MySpace. These all serve as identity producers—the customization opportunities available to them online enable them to frequently differentiate their identities. In lifegration, SNS are becoming a hub as a variety of products (widgets) bring favorite sites and activities together in one destination.

Cyworld has 22 million unique visitors and 20 billion page views per month

Indifiliation
While Asian youth craft identities online, they are also seeking out affiliations and relationships. This new generation is “hopelessly addicted to the hive” as they are basically starting to rely on their networks to aid in their decision process.

50% of South Korean teens have met someone offline that they met online

This struggle to both “fit-in” and be an individual— indifiliation—affects how they dress as well as communicate. Asian youth are brand conscious and image driven. The right clothes help them to gain the respect and approval. They want products that appear off-beat and unique, but instantly identifiable as a luxury brand. Called “Little Emperors,” this generation of only children equates success with money and status.

Urban “young white-collar“ workers in China still live/eat with parents and in-turn have almost 100 percent disposable income.

Korean Influence
As Chinese youth look to their peers for style cues, they look to a neighboring country—South Korea—for macro trends. South Korean popular culture, or “Hallyu” (han-liu) acts as a “filter” for Western exports like Hip-Hop music and messages about rebelliousness and freedom, making them more palatable to Chinese youth.

The Future
Just as their lives have moved online, soon they will move to the handset. Wi-Bro (Wireless Broadband) in Korea will enable anyone, anytime, anywhere to wirelessly access high speed Internet connections. This “active mobilization” is going to revolutionize the way we communicate with youth.

Currently there are 400 million cell phone users in China, with over 6.1 million of them connecting online.

Reaching the Community
Value and engagement will become a key differentiator for the Asian market. In order for brands to stay relevant, they must become “useful” (Apple + iTunes) and integrate “utilities” (widgets) into their offerings and communications. Through Behavioral Targeting (BT), companies can host content or place it somewhere that an interested audience will pay attention to it. SNS—rather than homepages—are perfectly adapted to this.

Once you reach and engage them, young people anywhere in the world will be able to tell millions of members of their community about it though SNS, Blogs, RSS, Search, Wireless and whatever is next…

Also: Asian Youth [NGT]