Connecting With Hong Kong's Youth: 3 Key Strategies

Every month, hundreds – most probably thousands – of studies, articles, infographics, and opinion pieces are published worldwide in an attempt to unlock the secret to successfully engaging young consumer groups.

It seems fair to say that the marketing and advertising industry is obsessed with Millennials, Generation Y, and the Post-Generation, or whatever other names have been given to the post-Baby Boomer consumer segments.

This obsession is fueled by euphoria, but also by fear. Euphoria because these consumers will drive the economy in the decades ahead. And fear because, if you believe the latest Digital Dopamine Report, they are also the ones who are doing anything they can in order to avoid advertising.

The same report, however, also states that there is hope for advertisers, if they manage to provide real value to the lives of their target audiences, especially – you might have guessed it – by using digital.

Here are my three strategic principles for how Hong Kong marketers can be valuable to local youth, based on a recent youth study we conducted to find out what Hong Kong’s digital natives demand from brands.

1. Offer Experiences That Foster Relationships

We found that 80 percent of our respondents thought their lives were inseparable from digital technology; we’re far beyond the point discussing whether digital is an integral part of HK youth’s day-to-day or not.

It is only when you accept this fact that you start to realize a far more interesting truth: that for young Hong Kongers, meaningful and non-superficial relationships with friends have a significant impact on overall happiness.

Yet, a face-to-face conversation, the most obvious choice of communication aiming at deepening relationships, was perceived as being too confrontational at times.

As a matter of fact, more than 40 percent admitted to regularly communicating with someone via messenger services while in the same room with them.

We’ve now gone past the point of convincing Hong Kong youth to swap digital technology for more face-to-face communication. If you’ve ever taken the MTR in Hong Kong and watched the young people around you, you’ll know this is true.

The far more interesting challenge lies in finding a solution for how to “connect to truly connect.” 

If you find a method to use digital and social to help young people deepen their relationships, then you will be able to play an important role in their daily routines.

Ask yourself: in what situations do young people feel shy or uncomfortable talking to each other? How can I use social and mobile to help them break the ice? 

2. Sell Memories, Not Products 

This isn’t new news. In a world where brands are not only competing against other brands within the same category, but basically against any sort of content out there, marketers can’t always just focus on products. That’s because young Hong Kongers tend to choose memories and experiences over materialistic belongings.

One third of our respondents found experiences such as travel the most worthwhile to spend their money on, followed by education at 15 percent. Fashion products and luxury items came in at only 3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

This means that brands need to stop pushing out empty messages about their products. If you want to cut through the clutter and truly connect with young people, you will have to identify ways to infuse your product, or maybe even just its features into an experience that youths find worth remembering, and therefore worth sharing.

Just bear in mind to keep it simple – if you build dozens of registration layers into your experience, then you might as well just let it be. 

3. Help Them Make Their Voices Heard 

Our study identified the ability to affect positive social change as one of Hong Kong youth’s key aspirations. The Umbrella movement in Hong Kong, if anything, has shown us that young Hong Kongers have something to say and are willing to go to any length to have their voices heard by the public. As a natural extension, they are using digital technology to form social concern groups and bring public attention to matters of their interest.

So the big question is, how can brands play a role in this?

If you can leverage your brand’s exposure to further amplify the voice of youth, then you’ll matter to them and you’ll also earn their respect. But don’t forget to always look at things through your brand’s lens. After all, you might not be credible to be part, not to mention, host of any conversation.  

Image via Shutterstock.