How can brands in Asia keep Gen Z consumers interested in their campaigns?

There are over 600 million Millennials and Gen Z individuals in China, and they’re set to become a key growth engine of global consumption, according to Investcorp, a global manager of alternative investment products. That’s why it is important for brands in the region, and perhaps in Asia, to understand the lifestyle, the investing and the consumption habits of the Gen Z and Millennial demographic.

However, brands are still looking for the right way to market to this new group of consumers as Gen Z is a tricky segment. “So essentially, you've got someone who's just about entering high school [...] someone who's probably in their second and third job already. So the terms and channels they use, language and brands that they're interested in are very different,” said Sidhanth Gopishetty, regional general manager, marketing, customer engagement and communications at Toys”R”Us Asia.

Gopishetty was speaking at a panel discussion of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Content360 event, a conference featuring influential content creators, marketers and advertisers. He was joined by Jaslin Goh (pictured second right), chief marketing officer at PayMe by HSBC, Gordon Lo, head of marketing at Jebsen Beverage Company and moderator of the panel Joe Yu (pictured left), marketing director at Futu Bull.

How to keep Gen Z interested in a brand campaign 

Despite Millennials being the main target audience of Toys”R”Us Asia, Gopishetty said the brand is also trying to figure out what Gen Z consumers are interested in. For example, the exploration of short-video format, he said. “Toys have been around for 1,000 years. That same sort of stone, which was a toy 1000 years back has just morphed into a more plastic version [...] how you play with the toy is the same [...] Gen Z consumers just want to get the information and the fun in that eight seconds, and they're done with it. So, we don't have the time to educate them with everything that we need to,” he added.

In fact, attractiveness, affinity and action are important to keep Gen Z consumers engaged. PayMe’s Goh pointed out PayMe’s sponsorship of Songkran Festival in Hong Kong later in August as an example. “How do we get affinity by relating to the Gen Z and millennials with events that are more controversial and bolder [...] And how you drive to action. So we have exclusive payment dates, where you can buy the tickets with only PayMe, we did it on the first day and the sales reached record high in a couple of minutes,” she added. Tickets went on sale exclusively for PayMe users last week.

Another great example of tapping into Gen Z audience is PayMe’s lowering of age threshold for users to 12 years old. Goh said in modern times parents will want their children to be exposed to digital technology when it comes to financial management in a transparent and digital way.

“It's like the first sign of adulthood. You can then have your own finances and you will not be able to lose or drop the coins and dollars again, because it's all in your mobile phone,” she added.

Meanwhile, bringing new experience to the target consumer is also key. Jebsen's Lo said for the beer brand, it needs to tailor customers’ experiences. Currently working on a rejuvenating project for Blue Girl, Lo said the company has started to have a play on music platforms since two years ago. “We actively sponsor different concerts [...] it offers us the brand exposure and a memorable experience for Gen Z consumers, ‘because of the concert, you can enjoy your Blue Girl’, that’s what our brand stands for,” he added.

The role content marketing plays

When brands try to convey their message or engage with Gen Z consumers, content strategies play a huge role. For Toys”R”Us, Gopishetty said the brand has been trying to look at content as a holistic communication strategy, including social media and every single touchpoint that the customer is looking at such as emails, an eCommerce product description, games and mobile app experience.

“When you're talking about a service or a product, do I have the right facts about it? Do I have the right key selling points about it? How are we pushing a price message? Is this going to appeal to our customers? All of this planning is what we're trying to look at when it comes to content. And not just the end delivery, which is that social media, emails, so on and so forth,” he added.

Instead of jumping straight into an ad campaign, brands need to understand what they stand for. Jebsen’s Lo said that for the beer brand, it aims to make consumers happier and more comfortable as they engage and socialise with different people. In response, Jebsen Group has developed a new product with lower alcohol content, as Gen Z consumers prefer low calories and moderating their alcohol consumption. “The second thing is how to get them to reach our product. So we have widened our distribution channels at different spots,” he added.

PayMe’s Goh suggested that brands should avoid creating many conflicting multiple messaging. With this in mind, the brand’s Chinese New Year campaign came with a gigantic billboard with QR codes, “This was for people to be super curious when they crossed the road in Soho junction, and then they would be wondering what was that for [...] just give a gigantic QR code naturally people will scan it, you'll be very surprised.”

Related articles:
Interview: Marketer Jaslin Goh on how to market to Gen Z the right way
Interview: Marketer Sidhanth Gopishetty on how brands can better engage with Gen Z consumers
Interview: Why marketer Anthony Tsang believes true storytelling is important for brand building