1106 mwhiz 00 june

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1106-mwhiz-00-june 1/18

08 Special Feature: Youth Marketing:

Avoiding theMinefelds o SocialMedia & Harnessing

Youth Passion w w w . m r s m . o r g . m y

| T h e O f c i a l B u l l e t i n o t h e M a r k e t i n g R e s e a r c h S o c i e t y o M a l a y s i a

Marketing to& Researching

the Youth:

Challenges &Opportunities

JUN I s s u e

2 0 1 1

10 News Across:

The Great Malaysian Tech Splurge... & Other Findings

14 Spotlight:

Khailee Ng ExecutiveDirector,

Youth Asia

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InsidethisIssue

3 President’sMessage

4 Editorial Director’sMessage

5 CoverStory

8 SpecialFeature

10 News Across

14 Spotlight

17 Industry

Updates

18 MRSMEvents

18 On TheMove

Unless otherwise noted, all content on MRSM-Whiz, including images, text, graphics, is the property of the Marketing Research Society of Malaysia,

except for material provided by other organisations, where copyright ownership is indicated. Where the documents exist that are the responsibility

of individual authors, the views contained in this bulletin, do not necessarily represent the views of MRSM. Circulation of MRSM-Whiz is permitted,

provided : i) the content is for non-commercial use, ii) you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices, (iii) you make no modications to

the materials, (iv) you do not use the materials in a manner that jeopardizes the image and integrity of MRSM.

Marketing to & Researching the Youth: Challenges & Opportunities

Youth Marketing: Avoiding theMinefelds o Social Media &Harnessing Youth Passion

Consumer Trends 2011, The GreatMalaysian Tech Splurge & more

An Interview with Khailee NgExecutive Director, Youth Asia

Asia Consumer Index Q4‘10 etc

MRSM Congress Event& Bowling etc

JUNE 2011

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Youth &

the Digital Age

“At no time in recent historyhave we seen the full powerof consumer-

ism...”

WELCOME TO THE 2ND issue of our very own Whiz. Let me kick

this issue off with a quote by our Prime Minister in April 2011 at a local

investment conference.

“1Malaysia is about uniting everyone behind our country's transformation…

it is about clear-headed, performance-based management – for I have long believed that

history favours [those] who produce results over those who are great orators but who fall

short when it comes to delivering on the promises they make.”

The message is clear; i.e. the call is to further strengthen ournational unity and economic justice. But it is implied that we also have to

leverage our strength. It is not enough to just utter promises and mantras.

We have to follow through on our promise. We have to live our mantras.

We can no longer use the dire economic climate as an excuse.

The country is starting the year in the right note: FDI rose 400% last

year; accumulated domestic savings remain healthy; and the various

initiatives under the ETP and GTP are gaining traction. The services

sector still grew 10.1% in Q1 2011 despite the smaller economic growth

of 5.2% in the same period (vs a 7.2% growth for 2010).

The MR industry is also enjoying the ride based on the conversations

we’ve had with each other over the last few months. Good news indeed.

MRSM has gained further traction in 2010 as highlighted in the

AGM in April. We have brought some life back into the website, we

have launched our inaugural WHIZ, we followed through on our calen-

dar of networking and training events, and arrested the decline in mem-

bership. But it is no time for celebration as there is still work to be done.

The time is ripe for us to push through a number of key initiatives for the

benefit of our members. The MRSM Congress is earmarked for the third

quarter of this year. Several training and networking events are already lined

up through the rest of the year. A more concerted effort to increase member-

ship is to kick off. The beefing up of our website is also in the works to makeit more interactive, informative, and relevant for our fellow practitioners.

Meantime, do enjoy this latest issue of Whiz. We are focusing on

the YOUTH this time around – very apt as these are the current and

future consumers. At no time in recent history have we seen the full

power of consumerism like the youth have exhibited today. The digital

age has truly revolutionized the world of marketing and media, and these are

the very people who are embracing the digital world with delight and vigor.

Enjoy!

Yours sincerely,

Yazid Jamian

President, MRSM

President’sMessage

03

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Youth is a Sourceof Talent Pool

“...understanding

the young can be

a challenge due

to its many

nuances and

ever evolving

mindset..”

IN THIS 2ND ISSUE, we’re focussing on Youth. This consumer

group is being targeted by marketers as more than 30% of the

population are from the age of 15-35 years old. They’re not just

being targeted as consumers but also as a source of talent pool to

meet the human resource needs of this country.

The youth represents a unique culture and occupies an

important position in our society; this country even has a ministry

for the youth (Ministry of Youth and Sports). However,

understanding the young can be a challenge due to its many nuances

and ever evolving mindset. Youth conjures up images of energy and vitality. Defining this segment is not an easy task as written by Sidd

in the cover story.

There’s also a special feature, sponsored by TNS Research

International, highlighting the importance of social media as a

powerful marketing communications tool with the young. Its

significance is aptly demonstrated by a recent event and some brands

which have successfully deployed the digital media to engage with

their consumers.

There’s a saying, ‘youth is wasted on the young”. However,

this is not necessary the case as proven by Khailee Ng. He’s

well-known for his work in harnessing young people to action. This

young chap is blazing new trails, pioneering Youth Asia, an online

community for the young. Read about his insights into young people

and those young at heart.

Enjoy this issue.

Your sincerely,

Barry Ooi

MRSM-Whiz

Editorial Director’sMessage

4

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Marketing to &Researching the Youth:

Challenges &Opportunities

CoverStory

05

These are the best of times, these are the worst of times.

NOTHING AS DRAMATIC AS the state of Paris

as described by Charles Dickens in “A Tale of Two

Cities,” but with much at stake in terms of markets

won and lost, marketing dollars and careers being

placed on the line.

In these choppy times, when the need to make

every buck count (more) is much more pronouncedthan before, marketers are sleeplessly identifying

and tapping into new consumer segments. While

the Youth has always been a lucrative segment,

there is much that confronts marketers for whom

they form a key Target Group. This article attempts

to start a discussion on some of these “issues”.

1: Youth Vs Youthfulness: Arriving at aclear definition of “Youth”

Today the easiest way to describe the youth would

be to use pre-defined age boundaries. For example,

the United Nations defines the youth as those who

fall between the ages of 15 and 24 years. In Malay-

sia, the official upper age limit stands at 40 years.

However, as those under 15 years tend to mature

faster owing to advances in education, nutrition,

media images and earlier instances of getting pocket

money, and those over 40 embrace new trends in a

bid to remain “in the loop”, we can expect moreemphasis on behavioural manifestations of “youth-

fulness.” These would include earl(ier) and more

varied adoption of digital devices and grooming

products, spending more on “apps” and even shifting

loyalties on favourite musicians. Increased purchas-

ing power would also mean a greater propensity to

buy into multiple products for multiple occasions

for FMCGs and media, and products better suited

to one’s lifestyle in case of durables and digital

devices.

So even as Taylor Swift rules the “young

romance” market, don’t be surprised if 40-some-

things hold forth a discussion on how the Lady

Gaga of today matches up with the Madonna of

yesterday, whether Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach

said more than Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”

At an operational level, researchers would need

to go beyond numerical boundaries and ensure

regular update on of those “indicators of youthful-

ness” in their Screener Questionnaires, especially if

the study is Qualitative. This logicallly sets the tone

for more intense discussions of target groups and

true indicators of particular psychographic profiles.

2: Determining where personal spaceends and intrusion begins

Sometime back, I came across a rather amusing

case of inter-generational tug-of-war. A dominat-

ing mother was trying to ensure that her college-

going daughter was not straying from a traditionalupbringing. “No boyfriends” was the norm, and

Tiger Mom began monitoring the calls of Daugh-

ter Dearest’s handphone. The solution? Enterpris-

ing Boyfriend readily gifts her a new handphone

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with a SIM card linked to his own. Hotline estab-

lished, Tiger Mom is kept out.

At another distant kampung, a set of young

boys fiddle around with an internet-enabled

computer. The mother of one of the boys laments

that she would like to know more, but her son will

not teach. “Perhaps he is afraid that I will bekeeping tabs,” she says helplessly, literally calling

out for someone who will teach older people like

her, minus the embarrassment.

Gen X (or Y or Z) seems to work at cross

purposes. On the one hand, it reaches out through

social media. On the other, it keeps “unwanted”

elements out through privacy controls. As research

techniques become more and more intrusive (Eg

video diaries, etc), research practitioners would

need to be extra vigilant to ensure that the tech-niques concerned do not become too invasive and

elicit responses that are more politically correct /

safe. Solid checks and balances need to be in place

to maintain respondent confidentiality and prevent

“leakage” of footage.

3: Separating Buzz from Noise

In the current proliferation of both consumer and

manufacturer-induced social media, it is important

to separate the wood from the trees, or the buzz

from the noise. Much of the problem rises from

the fact that one is either not sure of who has

posted a comment, or whether it has been “doc-

tored” or “moderated” by an intermediary.

While new data collection methods such as

Online Bulletin Boards and Facebook pages are

creating much excitement, it would fall upon good

old observation and common sense to adopt such a

method.

4: Re-emphasising Trust, RenewingBonds

Linked to the above is the never-ending debate on

whether an autobiography is a true reflection of a

person’s life, or does a biography provide a more

objective analysis. While manufacturer-sponsored

media is expected to tow the “official” line,

consumer forums / reviews / etc provide the other

side of the story.

Today’s Youth loathes being taken for a ride,

and can be quite unforgiving in seeking retribu-

tion, as many Middle Eastern leaders are finding

out rather late in the day. While nobody expects a

consistently clean slate, one does expect a certain

amount of transparency throughout, and quick

re-dressal when things go wrong. Much of the ire

in the Middle East has been directed at un-kept

promises and an uncertain economic environment.

In such a situation, one would expect marketers

to be more proactive in communicating trust and

transparency through their regular Marcom initia-

tives and Corporate Social Responsibility, on a

sustaining basis... Empowerment and Skill

Enhancement, rather than temporary gratification, in

partnership with governmental and non-governmental

agencies, are bound to come to the fore. Researchers

may expect a rise in both ad-hoc and tracking

studies on Corporate Imagery.

“Today’s Youth loathes being taken for a ride,and can be quite unforgiving in seeking retribution...”

Cover StoryMarketing to & Researching the Youth

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5: New Icons

The change in youth expectations is bound to bring

about fresh youth icons and the need for marketers

to keep up. While performing celebrities such as

Dato’s Siti Nurhaliza, Michelle Yeoh and Shah Rukh

Khan are expected to retain their fan clubs, the

spotlight will be on home-grown achievers with a“person next door” image who have had humble(r)

beginnings.

Some time back, I noticed how a glamorous

soccer star with the initials DVB went hand-in-hand

with the winner of Star Academy, a Middle Eastern

Reality show similar to Akademi Fantasia. “He

inspires us,” said respondents in Focus Groups, “We

feel we also can achieve much, starting from

scratch,” they added. The increasing hoarding space

hogged by hardcore achievers such as Dato’s LeeChong Wei and Nicole Anne David in Malaysia,

World No 3 in Women’s Badminton Saina Nehwal

and India’s cricket captain, M.S. Dhoni (who rose

from what was once considered an extremely under-

developed part of India to be India’s highest-paid

endorser of brands) are cases in point.

Dogged activists such as Aung San Suu Kyi of

Myanmar would continue to enjoy support, specially

in their crusade for a change in national order that

would promise a better economic and social environ-

ment for the youth. And we are bound to see “for the

moment” celebrities such as the young lady who

inspired Egyptians to congregate at Tahrir square in

Cairo, and the “shoe-thrower” on President George

W Bush to enter the “zone”. One can safely expect

more and more movie stars (especially those who

have depicted such “crusaders” on celluloid) to jump

into politics to cash in on their real popularity and

“reel” personas. Followers of Tamil movies in Malay-

sia and Singapore can look forward to a lot of thisespecially in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Cover StoryMarketing to & Researching the Youth

07

At the same time, don’t expect them to be blind

followers. In true “Asian” spirit the youth would

tend to be less appreciative of talents who have

fizzled out, but nevertheless show too much

“attitude”. Ask Britney Spears. Or even Sania Mirza,

once WTA’s Most Improved Player of the Year and

Asia’s hottest star, who now struggles to get past

the first round in most of her tournaments, t-shirtsproclaiming “Whatever” notwithstanding.

So what’s up in Malaysia?

And, things are changing in Malaysia too... Reports

indicate that Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Ministry is

to undergo rebranding in the effort to empower

youths to face bigger challenges. A committee

headed by Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, is to

be set up to undertake a comprehensive study of the

ministry's structure. The study is to take intoconsideration the staff, resources, its structure and

role in coordinating various agencies and working

closely with youth organisations throughout the

country. There has also been agreement within

government circles to review the National Youth

Development Policy 1997 to align it to the current

needs of the youth and focus on specific groups

among youths.

So watch out for more excitement.!!!

Thank You

About the author:

Siddhartha Ghosh, or “Sid” as he is popularly known as, has been a journalist and a marketing researcher for the past 15 years acrossthe Indian Subcontinent, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North

Africa and Southeast Asia. Sid is currently Research Director,Qualitative Practice Group, at Synovate Thailand. Prior to this, hehas worked at Indica Research and IMRB International in India,The Nielsen Company in Cyprus, the UAE and Malaysia. Sid was

part of the Executive Committee of the Marketing Research Societyof Malaysia in 20010-11. He can be contacted [email protected].

“...one would expect marketers to be more proactivein communicating trust and transparency...”

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Youth Marketing Avoiding the Minefelds o Social Media

& Harnessing Youth Passion

IN LATE OCTOBER 2010, barely days after an

ambitious project to erect a 100-storey tower in

downtown Kuala Lumpur was announced, a

Facebook page called “1M Malaysians Reject100-storey Mega Tower” was growing at a breakneck

speed of over 1,000 fans per hour. Quietly set up, it

spread like wildfire amongst the Malaysian

Facebook community through referrals from friends

and word of mouth (or in this case, word of news

feed). Sentiments spilled over onto Twitter where it

became a hot trending topic and the page propelled

itself exponentially to over 200,000 fans in sundry

weeks. Only much later did its planners step into the

fray, coming into a defensive position and having the

Prime Minister partaking in its testudo formation.

Now superimpose this scenario onto your brand.

Consider that 8 in 10 youths access social

networks daily; and that we meddle in the belief that

youths on average have a lower awareness of social

and political issues, it would not at all be haphazard to

believe that a brand which youths consume, interact

and have come to be emotionally impassioned with,

could potentially react in a more explosive way to the

scenario above. After all, within the infancy of 2011itself saw governments in the Middle East topple

through the network of social media.

American clothes retailer Gap was an early

casualty of the social media crusade when it had to

take an embarrassing U-turn at an attempt to

change its iconic logo without engaging with its

consumers first. By the time it tried to backtrack to

crowd sourcing, it was seen as feeble and insincere.

If social media was around in 1985 when New Coke

was launched, we might now be more familiar withits blue adversary instead.

Certainly in Malaysia, the youth’s passion fortheir brand is not ignorable, with 54% of them

having ‘liked’ a brand in the previous month as

opposed to 37% of over 30s. Malaysian youths on

average have 6 ‘brand friends’ on Facebook which

eclipses the global average of just 4. This indicatesthat the youth of today will advocate brands,

actively diffusing ideas and opinions across their

personal networks.

The idea sounds easy enough; the youth display

far less inertia towards change, they are generally

more technologically savvy and on the surface this

makes them the ideal test bed to any marketing

manager. However, there are other characteristics

that hint whispers of caution.

The youth of today represent the most educated

and hence, sceptical generation ever. They have a

deeper understanding through over exposure of the

traditional marketing and advertising tactics

employed. WoM recommendations from peers and

friends hold far more credibility, as today’s markets

are flooded with an array of brand promises making

it impossible to distinguish between the righteous

and the dissolute. 30% of Malaysian youths have

‘shared’ brands with their online networks in the

previous month- a testimony of how new media andthe emergence of digital platforms gives the youth

an opportunity to congregate in virtual spaces to

effectively promote or snub brands.

Previously, a marketer was charged with getting

the message out there, in places likely to be seen or

heard by their potential consumers. In today’s day

and age, consumers are in a position to choose

exactly which communications he or she wishes to

receive and more importantly how and when they

wish to receive it. Throw in cynical distrust and thegrouping culture of the youths, and suddenly a

frightening image comes to light- rather than simply

identifying their target consumers, marketers must

SpecialFeature

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“...an increasingly

infuential and afuent youth

set is a beacon o internet youthcrowdsourcing.”

Its success – largely built on the support of internet

savvy, and an increasingly influential and affluentyouth set is a beacon of internet youthcrowdsourcing.

The Threadless phenomenon has grownexponentially since its humble beginnings – set upby two friends for a measly $1000 in 2000, its onlinecommunity had reached 70,000 members in 2004,growing to more than 700,000 in 2006. At the closeof 2010, the site had logged 2.5 million unique

visitors, a 50% increase over the corresponding

period the previous year. The best part is that thepotential of replicating this successin Malaysia is not unachievable,considering that Malaysian youthson average have about 300 friendson their networks; almost 3 timesthe global average.

The evolution of a brand’smarketing practice has to beginnow and it has to look towards the

uncharted waters of the digitalworld. Like Christopher

Columbus, the first to venture with valour will takeclaim on new territories and create their ownstronghold of compatriots. Certainly it goes withoutsaying, such adventure requires the right tools, andTNS Digital Suite™ solutions is a treasure map tothe Newfoundland that provides all the informationand insight into consumer’s online behaviour. TNSDigital Life™ is able to provide a brand with a startoff point, whilst Digital Behave™ and Mobile Life

™ can advise a brand on where their consumerswant to go. Finally, the sail to success is through theuse of TNS ConceptEvaluate™. Through thesesolutions, and by understanding the segments ofconsumers and the way they consume online media;only then would a brand be sufficiently equipped tonavigate through the mysterious waters onto thepath of discovery.

Contributed by Guan Lee, Mark Leong, and Ryan Ridu of

TNS Research International

now also further isolate and reach the keyinfluencers within the group.

The game has changed, and so has the landscape.The days of monolithic agency-led advertising andmarketing are slowly slipping into distant memory;with shows such as Mad Men romantically relivingthe days when marketing was relatively simple –smart taglines, neat graphics and perhaps a scantily

clad model – key ingredients to success on anymedium. Brands were effectivelyautocratic in nature; dictatingboth supply and demand to

varying degrees of success. Today’scompetitive landscape is however,

very much characterised by ademocratic unity between brandsand consumers, the relationship alltied together by the myriad ofdifferent ‘touchpoints’ of the

internet and more increasinglysocial media.

The abundance of choice and channels ofcommunication has meant that more than ever,brands have to be increasingly wary of theirconsumers. Engagement with consumers from theinfancy of an idea, through planning and designing, and its eventual launch isabsolutely critical – the old adage of “bouncingideas off someone” holds clear, only this time it is

done with a much greater audience – what we nowknow as Crowdsourcing. Greater consumerengagement not only ensures your content andideas are marketable, it also acts as a megaphonewith WoM amplifying every action you take. To be

The American online clothes retailer Threadlessis a great example of a successful crowdsourcingmarketing platform targeted at youth. The Threadlesscrowdsourcing formula essentially relies ondesigners and consumers to spread the word about

the site’s products. Designers campaign for votesand the approval of the internet public by postinglinks on blogs, Twitter and Facebook, all of whichamplify WoM and drive traffic to Threadless’ website.

Special Feature Youth Marketing

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Privacy and Ethics in Social Media Research

Global – To coincide with theESOMAR launch of the

consultation on social media

research guideline, Manfred

Mareck talks about how best to

preserve consumer trust and

researchers’ reputations.

(Source – RW Connect ESOMAR)

EsomarLaunchesConsultation on SocialMediaResearchGuideline

Global – Social media research isa hot new technique for gaining

insights that has also attracted

significant media attention

because of consumer concerns

that they are being observed or

tracked without their knowledge.

An ESOMAR team of experts

has developed a new guideline to

help researchers understand the

key fundamentals of transparency

and professionalism in respectingconsumers’ concerns.

(Source – ESOMAR)

Consumer Trends to

Watch in

2011Global – Eleven key consumer

trends to watch in 2011 include

acts of kindness from brands, the

developed world launching

products for emerging economies,

and online status symbols.

(Source – Marketing Charts)

Branding Seen as Key to Survivalfor Many Asian Companies

APAC – A new report from the

Economist Intelligence Unit

indicates that as Asia’s companies

grow ever more internationally

ambitious, the need for strong

brands will grow significantly.

(Source – The Economist IntelligenceUnit, The Economist Group)

GlobalRebalanc-ing Global – Although the worldeconomy has staged a

better-than-expected recovery in

2010 following the economic

downturn, both the recovery and

outlook highlight major global

economic divisions, while

rebalancing of world demand

will remain the key challenge.

(Source – Market Research World,Written by Euromonitor International)

Emerging EconomiesProvideConsumerInnovations,

Part 1Emerging EconomiesProvideConsumerInnovations, Part 2

Global – Emerging economies

are an increasingly importantsource of consumer innovations.

(Source – Marketing Charts)

News Across

Industry News

10

Contributed by: Megan Kuek

http://rwconnect.esomar.org/2011/02/22/privacy-and-ethics-in-social-media-research/




http://www.esomar.org/uploads/professional_standards/guidelines/ESOMAR_Social-Media-Guideline_Consultation_Draft-Feb2011.doc








http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/consumer-trends-to-watch-for-2011-15193/





http://www.businessresearch.eiu.com/branding-seen-key-survival-many-asian-companies.html






http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3571&Itemid=76



http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/emerging-economies-provide-consumer-innovations-part-1-14808/



















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How Well Do Women Know Their Money:

Financial Literacy Across Asia Pacifc,Middle East & Arica

Global – As financial products

become increasingly complex and

readily available, it is imperative

that financial literacy keeps pace.

(Source – MasterCard Worldwide Insights)

What’s Next in Asia?

APAC – China and India’s

optimism continues to boost

surrounding economies in Asia.

(Source – Market Research World,written by Harris Interactive)

Banks Shouldn’t Act ‘Cool’ withGen Y Consumers

Singapore – Generation Y users

prefer their bank to fulfill its core

functions rather than be "friends"

on social media platforms such as

Facebook, according to a new

survey, which highlights mobilephones as digital natives' key

access points for banking services.

(Source – ZDNetAsia.com)

Google Named Malaysia’s

Favourite Brand

Malaysia – Superbrand’s latest

brand survey conducted by

Nielsen has unveiled the country’s

top-ten favourite brands for

2011 with Google up two

notches from 2009, ranking first.

(Source – Marketing-Interactive.com)

Malaysia TopsOnline Banking in Southeast Asia

APAC – comScore, Inc. has

released the latest results from a

study of Internet usage in South-

east Asia. The report found that

an increasing number of

consumers across the region

turned to online banking

throughout 2010.

(Source – Adoimagazine.com)

Malaysian Consumers are

Most Likely toRetire Beorethe Age o 60within AsiaPacifc

Malaysia – 56% of Malaysians

expect to retire before the age of

60 but only 2 in 10 are financiallyready to retire.

(Source – The Nielsen Company, M’sia)

Social Media MostEvolved in

SingaporeSingapore – The city-state is

among the world's most evolved

social media markets and its

people's national pastime,

shopping, is clearly reflected in

their online habits, according to

a research conducted by Firefly

Millward Brown.

(Source – ZDNetAsia.com)

News Across

11

Research Findings

http://www.masterintelligence.com/ViewInsights.jsp?hidReportTypeId=1&hidSectionId=189&hidReport=263&hidReportSection=1206&hidViewType=null&hidUserId=null








http://www.zdnetasia.com/banks-shouldn-t-act-cool-with-gen-y-consumers-62207164.htm



http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/25350



http://www.adoimagazine.com/newhome/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6747&catid=1&Itemid=5



http://my.nielsen.com/news/20110217.shtml








http://www.zdnetasia.com/social-media-most-evolved-in-s-pore-62206580.htm











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A RegionalClose-Up on GlobalConsumer

ConfdenceGlobal – Consumer confidence

fell in 25 of 52 countries in Q4

2010 as hope for a global

economic recovery evaporated at

the end of last year, according to

the Nielsen Global Consumer

Confidence Index.

(Source : Nielsen Wire)

New Findings on MobilePhones & Youth!

Global – According to Nielsen’slatest report, young people

around the world are more

immersed in mobile technology

than any previous generation.

Usage patterns vary greatly

among youth throughout the

world, demonstrating how

culture, economy and age can all

play an integral part in mobile

behavior.


News AcrossResearch Findings

Why are Savvy

Brands Enriching

the Purchasing

Feeling or Their

Consumers?

Global – Why would consumers

be willing to pay up to ten times

more for a cup of coffee at a café

than one that is brewed at home?

The answer is simple – it's the

whole experience surrounding

consumption that keeps them

coming back for more.

(Source – Market Research World,written by Euromonitor International)

Hong Kong & Chinaconsumersmostoptimistic

Hong Kong – Slashing pricesmay not be the option for

retailers in Hong Kong and

China as their consumers are the

most optimistic and willing to

spend across Asia, a survey by

Synovate revealed.

(Source – Marketing-Interactive.com)

Youths StillTuned in to Mass Media

Malaysia – Most single

youngsters aged 15 to 24 years

have not yet abandoned mass

media, despite the image of them

as being glued to the Internet.

(Source : The Star Online)

Tapping theBuying Power o Indonesia’s

Young

ProessionalsIndonesia – As with other

developing countries, Indonesia’s

economy is strong and that

development has propelled a

growing middle class eager to

spend. (Source : Nielsen Wire)

Age Matters: Mobile Youth in Vietnam

Vietnam – Twenty percent of the

Vietnamese population is

between the ages of 15 and 24,

and half of these young people

already use mobile services. Like

their counterparts in other

countries, young people inVietnam use more data than

average. (Source : Nielsen Wire)

12

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/a-regional-close-up-on-global-consumer-confidence/






















http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/29/business/7698390&sec=business




http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/tapping-the-buying-power-of-indonesias-young-professionals/






http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/age-matters-mobile-youth-in-vietnam/










8/2/2019 1106 Mwhiz 00 June


News AcrossResearch Findings

13

2011 Outlook or the Retail &ConsumerProducts Sectorin Asia

APAC – Since Asia's successfulpassage through the global

financial crisis, multinational

retail and consumer products

firms have broadened and

deepened their interest in the

region, and with good reason.

Asian markets proved remarkably

resilient through the economic

downturn and continued healthy

growth over the next five years

looks almost certain.

(Source – PricewaterhouseCoopers)

A Rise in Ethical Spending in Asia-Pacifc

APAC – More consumers acrossAsia Pacific are shopping with a

conscience, according to the

results of the latest MasterCard

survey on Ethical Spending.

Social responsibility and

sustainability remain high on the

agenda for the region’s shoppers

with 70% of respondents saying

that they made fair trade

purchasing choices in the last

two to three years.

(Source : Adobo Magazine)

Conessions o aMalaysian ShopperMalaysia – Global marketing

communications agencies Grey

and G2 recently released the

2010 Eye on Asia – Retail study

with a host of fresh insights on

shopping mindsets across the

Asia Pacific region and its

implications to marketers.


The GreatMalaysian Tech Splurge

Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur's elite

consumer market is spending

high on mobile phones and

high-end TVs and the trend isn’t

about to fizzle out anytime soon,

Synovate's 2010 PAX study found.

(Source – Market Research World,written by Synovate)

IndustryEventsacross APACAustralia

2011 AMSRS National

Conference Sydney

Curiouser and Curiouser!

8 – 9 September 2011(Source – AMSRS)

ConsumerConfdence in

Malaysia Hits4-year High in 4th Qtr 2010

Malaysia – Malaysia ranked 9

globally in consumer confi-

dence as consumers feel more

positive about local job pros-

pects and the state of their

personal finances.

(Source – The Nielsen Company, Malaysia)

http://www.pwchk.com/webmedia/doc/634275111903090644_rc_ap_products_outlook_2011.pdf







http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/module.php?LM=news.level1&id=1292160885421













http://www.amsrs.com.au/files/Conference%202011/2011%20Academic%20Call%20for%20Papers.pdf














8/2/2019 1106 Mwhiz 00 June


Ng Thinks

Khaileeo Youth An Interview with Khailee Ng Executive Director, Youth Asia

Spotlight

In 2008, he applied his

ocus to Southeast Asia with Youth Asia. He built the onlineresearch panel, YouthSays.com.

He recently used his expertisecompile one o the largest online

studies in Southeast Asia "TheSEACHANGE Youth Report" collecting

105,502 stories rom youths in 6 weeks.In 2010, his team brought communi-

ties across Malaysia together or thelargest youth estival in Malaysia, YOUTH'10, which garnered RM6.7 mil-lion worth o PR Value and together88,366 people or the event.

They also launched a group buying business http://groupsmore.com whichwas recently acquired by Groupon, theastest growing company in the world.

Khailee's current ocus is growing Youth Asia's next big business, SAYS.my — to connect businesses with Malay-

sians via social media. He has alreadyhelped over 40 advertisers run 120social media advertising campaigns,including some o the nation's biggest brands, and award winning campaigns.

Khailee's

has a unique

track-record in organizing

people orcollective ac-

tions.In his student

days, his community orga-nizing eorts in social issues and un-

derground music won him local and international media recognition. He

completed his degree in business at thetop 2% o his class a Valedictorian

having studied in Sydney, San FranciscoState and UC Berkeley, and won the

Asian HSBC Young Entrepreneur Award in 2006, the frst (and only) time the

award was given to Malaysians.The early years o his career was

spent with Mindvalley, where heworked with entrepreneurs and

technologists rom 16 countries tomobilize online communities in the

US and UK.

14

Contributed by:

Kalavalli Sethu

8/2/2019 1106 Mwhiz 00 June


puzzle is wildly successful here, and not practiced

in the same way anywhere else in the world, evenin the US! In fact we are starting to see other

people cloning our business model. Being able to

pioneer something in a post-modern world of

innovation is something we are proud of.

On the other hand, what major challenges did

you face?

Internal doubt amongst the whole team is the

biggest one. When you want to go something

which has never been done before, or exceed your

pre-conceived limits, doubting yourself is the

biggest challenge, and not being bolder, faster,

sharper, and to fully live our biggest ambitions is

the number one reason we’re not even more ahead

than we can be.

Since you run an organization focusing on the

Youth, can we presume Youth is very different

from other human species?

We use the word youth to symbolize “This Gen-eration”. Every next person seems to have a differ-

ent ‘age bracket’ to define what ‘youth’. But we see

that this ‘youthful’ spirit is best embodied by what

we see happening in the social media space today.

In what way, do you find marketing to youth

different than to others?

This generation demands more authenticity,

because they are used to finding the truth, and

getting the truth shared with them really quickly.

Bad, irrelevant marketing campaigns are more

obvious, and great ones spread faster and can have

huge impact when shared.

SpotlightKhailee Ng, YouthAsia

15

MRSM Whiz : A bit about your family.

Khailee Ng : Dad an engineer, mom a housewife,an older brother and younger brother, both of

which love the internet!

Hobby or pastime?

Reading and laughing.

Your name is synonymous with youth commu-

nity in Malaysia. Can you tell us how did it all

start?

Accidentally, I guess. It was never the plan. I guess

it started from me learning web design on my own

when I was 15, which led to me getting addicted

to using the internet to bring people together. And

it's a coincidence Malaysia is 65% under the age of

35, and is also one of the high ranking countries in

the world in terms of social media usage. So this

lead to more and more youth focused projects, and

there you have it! :)

Can you tell us a bit about your organization

and what exactly do you do? What is yourvision and mission?

Youth Asia group of young people from around

the world who grow businesses related to social

technology and the collective power of people.

We maintain a youth research panel. We have a

group buying business http://groupsmore.com We

have a community of social media users who can

help clients accelerate the spread of their advertis-

ing messages via social media.

As we understand, you run an organization

staffed by youth. Can you tell us a bit about

that?

The average age of our staff is 25, and they come

from all over the world. It’s intentional that we

recruit people who ‘get’ what this generation is

about, considering we are providing services and

creating businesses for the future.

What would you acclaim as your major

successes?

The way we have designed the SAYS.my commu-

nity and how solves a piece of the social media

“Being able topioneer something in

a post-modern world of innovation is

something we areproud of.”

8/2/2019 1106 Mwhiz 00 June


SpotlightKhailee Ng, YouthAsia

to recategorize “teens” as 13 to 28. Haha! Sociolo-

gists coined the term “teenage” in 1900 to describethe in-between state of child to adult, and in this

century, they are fighting for a term ‘emerging

adulthood’ to describe this new, prolonged

in-between state.

Do you see clients focusing more on youth

now? What industry would that be? And, what

kind of focus do you see happening?

In a Malaysian context, the population distribution

demands for businesses to be relevant to the ‘youth-

ful’ mindset, not just to attract the youth, but to

attract the older audiences who aspire to feel

younger. But again, back to my belief that ‘youth’ is

not about age, but more on mindset, clients across

the board are increasing their investment on social

media because that is the language of the youth.

Has marketing research helped you and your

organization in Youth marketing and communi-

cation?

As one of our businesses involves providing a panel,we do use it very often to aid decision making,

reduce doubt, and increase boldness to pursue what

we ‘think’ is right! And I guess things have been

going on quite well

Going forward into the future, how can Market-

ing Research play better role in Youth Market-

ing?

Marketing Research can play a bigger role as an

ongoing mechanism to help products and commu-nications evolve and adapt faster to shifting

consumer preferences and more aggressive and agile

competitors.

How can MRSM be a partner in achieving the

Youth agenda in Malaysia through an organiza-

tion like yours?

We can collaborate together on helping the ‘truth’

about our consumer spread faster. Many decision

makers are ‘wishing’ things were like the old days,and it is not, and if we allow them to spend money

on irrelevant ideas and efforts, then our country

won’t be engaging with our biggest natural resource

– our youth.

Is Malaysian youth different from those from

other Asian countries? How does that thencompare with youth of other continents?

There are plenty of similarities and differences,

many of which become very obvious not just from

research, but via observation. Even in Malaysia,

different segments respond very differently to

celebrity endorsement, and have different ideas of

aspirations. But one big thing which still makes me

wonder is… youth from less ‘rich’ countries are

more interested in helping others in their commu-

nity vs youth in Singapore and Malaysia who are

more likely to prioritize wealth and material

accumulation.

Trend wise, what changes have you seen in the

youth community in the last 10 years? You

must have been in your teens 10 years ago

and hope you can still give us an answer.

Tough question to answer. There’s a lot we need to

discover together. But broadly speaking, The

attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and

‘adolesence’ as we know it will bleed further andfurther into young adulthood. Pretty soon we need

“...‘youth’ is notabout age, but

more onmindset...”

16

8/2/2019 1106 Mwhiz 00 June


New Data Collection Company RaydarSet Up in KLMarch 1 2011

A new company, Raydar Research, offering datacollection through mobile and online platforms

was recently set up in Kuala Lumpur. Raydar is

established by Kym Wong, a former Pulse Group

COO. With this establishment, the market is

open to more data collection or fieldwork services

to service the local market as well as the regional

and international market.

Asia ConsumerIndex, Quarter 42010

Insight Asia, with the quarterly publication on the

Asian Consumer Index, reports that Consumers in

Singapore are still the most confident in the

region, despite a 9 point drop from 137 to 128.

The very strong confidence in the domestic

economy has faded somewhat in Quarter 4,

though Singaporeans remain very positive abouteconomic circumstances.

Malaysia is the only country in the survey to

register a significant increase. The Consumer

Confidence Index rose by 9 points from 113 to

122, lifting confidence further above the neutral

level. The improvement is mainly driven by a more

positive outlook on the economy, though

consumers are also somewhat more positive about

their financial well-being.

Consumer confidence in other countries did not

change significantly:

• Consumers in China maintained their

confidence in on-going economic growth,

although the Consumer Confidence Index

dropped 4 points from 117 to 113.

• Despite positive GDP growth, consumers in

Indonesia feel their economy has worsened.

The Consumer Confidence Index remains

around the neutral point at 97.

• Thailand is still ranked at the bottom. The

Consumer Confidence Index changed 1 point

from 92 to 91.

• Confidence in Vietnam was strong and stable

in 2010. In Quarter 4 the Consumer Confidence

Index decreased by 3 points from 127 to 124.

IndustryUpdate

17

DOS Puts TradeData Online January 2011

The Department of Statistics has now

made available detailed external trade data

for Malaysia online. The database covers

2006 onwards on a monthly frequency and

one can query by country, countrygrouping or product codes (both HS and

SITC codes), with output in pdf or Excel

formats. This is a very good resource for

researchers, where one does not have to

travel to Matrade to obtain this

information.

Contributed by: Rozina Mat Rawi

8/2/2019 1106 Mwhiz 00 June


MRSM Events for 2011Contributed by: Chan Li-Li

Market Research

1. Teoh Weh Cheng moved to MetrixResearch as Senior ResearchExecutive

2. Ghosh Siddhartha has joinedSynovate Thailand as QualitativePractice Director

3. Stepfanie Woon has joined IpsosMalaysia as Account Director

4. Barry Ooi appointed MD ofKadence Malaysia

Others

5. Tony Savarimuthu elected 4As President

6. DiGi Telecommunications Head ofCommunications, Joachim Rajaram hasstepped down from the role to pursue a newcareer opportunity

7. Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) Malaysia hasannounced the appointment of JonathanAeberhard, to the position of ManagingPartner

8. Eliza Mohamed has accepted an offer by

Maybank as its new Head of CorporateAffairs and Communications

9. Dr. Milan Agnihotri, Regional PlanningDirector of McCann Healthcare SEA, hasrelocated to Malaysia as Group Director,Brand Planning and Innovation for McCannWorldgroup

10. Fonterra Brands has appointed David Rossas its General Manager

11. ING Insurance Malaysia has appointed

Darshini M. Nathan as Head of Brandingand Corporate Communications.

Quarter Month Events Venue/ Location

Q2 2011 Jun 2nd Publication of MRSM e-bulletin -

Q3 2011 Aug Networking event TBC

Sep Bowling TBC

Q4 2011 Oct MRSM Congress Event Sime DarbyConvention Centre

Dec Christmas party, Seminar TBC(topic yet to be determined)

MRSM EventsOn The Move

On The MoveContributed by: Lee Poh Chun

18

MRSM Events for 2011Contributed by: Chan Li-Li

Market Research

1. Teoh Weh Cheng moved to MetrixResearch as Senior ResearchExecutive

2. Ghosh Siddhartha has joinedSynovate Thailand as QualitativePractice Director

3. Stepfanie Woon has joined IpsosMalaysia as Account Director

4. Barry Ooi appointed MD ofKadence Malaysia

Others

5. Tony Savarimuthu elected 4As President

6. DiGi Telecommunications Head ofCommunications, Joachim Rajaram hasstepped down from the role to pursue a newcareer opportunity

7. Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) Malaysia hasannounced the appointment of JonathanAeberhard, to the position of ManagingPartner

8. Eliza Mohamed has accepted an offer by

Maybank as its new Head of CorporateAffairs and Communications

9. Dr. Milan Agnihotri, Regional PlanningDirector of McCann Healthcare SEA, hasrelocated to Malaysia as Group Director,Brand Planning and Innovation for McCannWorldgroup

10. Fonterra Brands has appointed David Rossas its General Manager

11. ING Insurance Malaysia has appointed

Darshini M. Nathan as Head of Brandingand Corporate Communications.

Quarter Month Events Venue/ Location

Q2 2011 Jun 2nd Publication of MRSM e-bulletin -

Q3 2011 Aug Networking event TBC

Sep Bowling TBC

Q4 2011 Oct MRSM Congress Event Sime DarbyConvention Centre

Dec Christmas party, Seminar TBC(topic yet to be determined)

MRSM EventsOn The Move

On The MoveContributed by: Lee Poh Chun

18

1106 mwhiz 00 june

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