Staying alive

In the face of evolving media forms in a region as diverse as Asia, you either get with understanding Asian consumers or risk losing them.

The evolution in the forms of media available in Asia today means companies wishing to market their products and services successfully in the region must use new tools to gather data and understand the needs and preferences of local consumers in multiple markets, according to John Smurthwaite, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa (ALM) chairman of Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS).

"Companies need innovative strategies to build and enhance the quality of their knowledge about consumers," Smurthwaite said.

Among other findings, TNS research in the region revealed common trends and themes such as the fact that Asia's economic success is increasing its population's feeling of self-importance, younger people are adopting advanced technology faster than their counterparts in other parts of the world, consumers are thinking more about their personal wishes and recognising that it is acceptable to indulge and pamper themselves.

The diversity of the region however, is just one component that marketers have to consider - the other key piece of the puzzle lies in understanding the change in media consumption and how consumers are interacting with the new forms of media prevalent today. With greater sophistication and more widespread adoption of technology by younger people in economies like Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore, there has been an increasing trend towards engagement marketing in a bid to keep pace and interact with the changing consumer through all stages of marketing.

In line with this, new methods of research would include online panels, blog discussions, derived methods like the use of photosets to identify the feelings of individual consumers, and engaging consumers in designing their preferred products interactively. Traditional methods like paper questionnaires and face-to-face or telephone interviews are no longer sufficient in the current sophisticated, diverse and dispersed markets.

"More and more it's not a case of finding people to influence and buy through traditional means but rather finding ways to get people to invite your brands into their lives. Asians today have a multitude of choices, are increasingly savvy, empowered and well-informed and we are faced with increased challenges to engage these new consumers and  identify the new binding relationships that bring them closer to their brands," Grant Bertoli, MD of TNS Singapore said.