Be 'consistently inconsistent' to win in Asia

The focus of the study:

#Asian Life, today and tomorrow. What are people's hopes, dreams and biggest need states?

#What are the fundamental building blocks of a great brand in Asia Pacific?

#What are the Asian consumers calling for in advertising and marketing?

The Pulse of the Region:

People are seeking greater control and balance over their lives to devote more time to personal pursuits for a sense of connection:

#92% stated they wished their life contained more fun (85% agreed that doing enjoyable things are more important than prized possessions)

#84% wished they had more time to focus on their spiritual life

#82% felt life wasn't complete without spending time on cultural pursuits such as music, art, theatre, etc

#95% stated their family is the most important part of their life

#85% stated that children don't see enough of their parents

#85% wish they had more contact with people in their community

#90% agreed that modern life is becoming more stressful

#85% stated they are looking for ways of getting more control over their life

Lifestyle Parameters 

Finance:

#While many in Asia want life to be more care-free, money is necessary for security

#97% agree that financial security is very important to them

#96% want to get ahead financially

Environment:

#While Asia is an engine of growth, many recognise the need to preserve the environment and seek out brand choices that help them attain this

#87% would give up convenience products and services that they now enjoy if it meant helping preserve the environment

Indulgence:

#The pressures of modern life are also driving people to indulge in life's pleasures

#85% believed in treating themselves to life's pleasure

#85% felt that the stress of modern life were driving them to indulge

Health:

#Overwhelmingly, health is a main concern for Asians. It's the #1-ranking aspiration:

#91% wanted more information about health and well-being

#84% felt there is conflicting information on what is healthy and what is not

#The leading aspiration among all people surveyed is to take better care of their health

Technology:

#Technology continues to be a source of growth and advancement:

#83% believe technology makes the world a better place

#Only 26% were not interested in continued advancements in technology

Information:

#Asians feel they are bombarded with too much information

#82% believe there's too much information out there

Future Of Their Country: What changes people would like to see

#The top five attributes in order of highest score are

#1 - More inventive

#2 - More accepting of modern ways

#3 - More dynamic

#4 - More part of the world

#5 - More economically competitive

About advertising today #People generally like advertising and want to be entertained and engaged with advertising.

#89% agreed that advertising should be more entertaining

#Only 32% felt a dislike for advertising in general

#Only 44% felt that foreign brands are usually better than the same ones in their country Brands The top three qualities people desire in great brands are:

#1 - Credibility

#2 - Trustworthness

#3 - Best quality

The top four qualities people desire when choosing a brand are:

#1 - High quality

#2 - Practicality

#3 - Durability (Whether it lasts long)

#4 - Price

Greatest Aspiration For The Future

In order of priority ranking:

#1 ranking aspiration is to take better care of one's health

#2 - Pursue hobbies and interests

#3 "" Spend more time on travel and new experiences

#4 - Spend more time with family

#5 "" Have a greater sense of well-being

How India Fared:

#Only 13% of Indian respondents were "very satisfied" with their life.

#48% said money is very important to personal happiness.

#Importantly, 26% of Indians ""the highest per cent in Asia - said they were influenced by trends in the country. For example, the survey points out that iPod-ready Levi's jeans is a hot seller at present in India.

#India was also among the top three Asian countries, behind Vietnam and Indonesia, where consumers believed that the future is likely to be better than the past.

#However, there were also the pressures of modern life that took a toll on consumers. Twenty per cent of Indian respondents from Mumbai and Delhi wanted the pace of life to slow down while 48% said they did not enjoy their job and were working only for a living.

#The lesson: people need more time for themselves to refresh and escape the routine. Marketers could help people find time by providing them convenience in products and services.

The Internet:

#People are increasingly better informed and connected with like-minded communities (Web 2.0) telling them 'how it is'.

#Recent researches show that people trust blogs more than advertising

#The choice of new products and services is multiplying, yet at the same time, consumers have become more skeptical about product claims. As shoppers gain unprecedented strength, customisation, differentiation and consistency are business imperatives

#Most respondents across Asia expressed a desire to be more in touch with people from their community

#The once isolated haven of hierarchy, consensus, mutual obligation and order is being replaced by societies that are less protected and controlled, more market driven and more outspoken. Individuality and personal freedom are of the utmost importance

#An impressive 57% of Indian consumers expressed a need for more information on health and well being

#Overall, there was a high level of aspiration among Asian consumers with India and China leading the pack. For example, the highest number of Louis Vuitton bags sold per square feet was in Delhi

#Nokia is widely recognised across the region in a very positive inspirational and aspirational manner

#Among Indian brands that got a vote of confidence from Indian consumers were Tata Tea and Satya Paul. For Indian consumers, especially, a foreign brand was no longer as motivating as in the past

#While brands are becoming more integral to Asian's lifestyle experiences, it is unlikely brand loyalty will increase. That's because people in category after category wish to have different experiences and engage in 'repertoire' buying

#Indians, however, gave the country's advertising a reason to cheer as 32% respondents found advertising in the country exciting "" the highest in Asia. Nearly 40% were interested in ads while 26% were confident that Indian advertising was world-class

#However, a majority of Indian respondents said advertising could be more entertaining while many felt the need for more regulations in marketing and advertising indicating that most consumers do not believe marketing claims

Five Success Factors To Building Brands In Asia

Based on Grey Global Group's latest Eye on Asia research, Chris Beaumont, the company's chief strategy officer/sia Pacific, identified five key factors that are essential for creating and building brands that connect with the region's consumers. Together they work in tandem to increase marketing ROI for business.

1. Value(s) Creation: Brands are moving quickly from a focus on functional excellence and style to a focus on more culturally relevant meanings. New brand ideas will emerge increasingly from the cultures of Asia, in fact, possibly more so than from any corner of the world, to shape the dynamic Global Culture within which we all participate. We are all in the business of creating cultural brands.

At another level, every branded product and service provides a perceived value. Too often, the word value means cheap. It should mean satisfaction. Marketing value should not be synonymous with price promotions. But marketing will have to be more skillful to produce better results from slimmer margins and budgets.

2. InfoLust: By enabling unparalleled access to information, technology is already changing consumer expectations, bringing more transparency and accountability to society. In the era of choice, there is lust to know the best price, the quickest card, the healthiest option "" immediately. "How do I make the right decision?" The power that marketing departments typically had in terms of being able to manage customer expectations will disappear. Marketers need to feed the thirst for knowledge and to use information wisely.

Information, knowledge and communication are the very heart and sinew of the newly emerging post-industrial societies of Asia. The focus of all such societies is always on those areas and activities which produce new wealth. Here, the idea is king. In this sense, we can hypothesise that, with web 2.0 communities, we will see innovation overload as the natural extension of information overload.

3. Being Brand: Successful brands must be based on a point of view their owners care about deeply and be backed by the delivery of a powerful product experience. The marketing imperative is to understand and improve the consumer to product connection. Brands which focus on this connection, like Apple, see the consumer experience at the centre of their innovation process and are leaders as a result.

4. Operational Efficiency and Innovation: As a first step for meaningful innovation, brand building needs to be recognised as a key success factor in both business strategy and operational excellence. To win this recognition, marketers need to accept the increasing use of metrics and ROI focus for marketing initiatives; to quote John Quelch at Harvard, " Today's boards want CMO's who can speak the language of productivity and ROI and are willing to be held accountable. Today's boards don't need CMO's who have creative flair but no financial discipline. They need ambidextrous marketers who offer both."

Consumer research and dialogue has only one critical objective: to improve marketing decisions. In Asia's new commercial environment, marketing will, through technology, move more toward being a science. However, as in music, modern technology gives the composer a greater degree of control and allows creativity to flourish. Successful marketers will need to utilise consumer research to uncover the art in science.

5. Segmentation: While we consider massclusivity, so we need to think of the 'long tail'; there are riches in those niches. We also need to think in a different manner about how people communicate and absorb messages; communications architecture will become more important for all brands as we better understand the interplay between the type of content that is appropriate for the specific context or medium that's being used.

The nature of the communications model has moved on. It's not about the 'new media' but rather how to employ new marketing principles recognising that the old marketing communications paradigm of interruption will no longer suffice. Marketers must think differently about the 'f'-word: Fragmentation.