Genting Rekindles With The Youth

Genting Malaysia is taking a new direction to appeal to the youth, in an attempt to stay relevant and fresh in people's minds.In an exclusive interview with A+M, Chow Wei Heng (pictured), vice president of marketing of Genting, said Genting, which started 48 years ago, is a traditional and long-standing brand that most Malaysians have grown up with."The problem is that Genting's audiences are getting older. The younger generation is aware of Genting but it is not a brand they can relate to, as they associate it as a place to go with their parents or families," Chow said."We have a likeability problem. Genting is in their heads but it's not in their hearts," Chow adds.To better understand its audiences, Genting leverages heavily on data gathered through various avenues such as its loyalty and membership programmes."Data has enabled us to gain an in-depth understanding of our customers - their spending habits, behaviours, the trends and what attracts them," Chow said.Media communications agency OMD works with Genting to gain insights on the brand's audiences.Andreas Vogiatzakis, chief operating officer of Ominicom Media Group, said that through research, it understands that there are four elements in Genting that appeal to youths -  food, cold weather, music and art."We have them all in Genting. Where does it disconnect? Once we make it a cool destination for them to express themselves, it will be amazing," said Vogiatzakis.In line with this, Genting together with OMD will soon launch a pilot project that gives youths a voice and avenue for self expression and personalisation.Chow says the project is very much about reinforcing Genting as a brand among youths and to better understand the younger generation."This project is not about generating sales. It's an ongoing effort to learn and find out what makes them tick," Chow said.Stay tuned to A+M to find out what Genting has in store.