Why brands in Vietnam should be ditching Millennials for Gen Z
Around the world, the Millennial cohort, is one many brands focus on thanks to their stupendous global buying power and this is no different in Vietnam, but it should be.
A new report by international market research company Epinion, and media agency OMD looked at Vietnam’s Generation Z (13-21-years old) uncovered some very important findings for brands on why and how they should be connecting with this elusive group.
Firstly the figures: With 14.4 million of them each with an average 2,441,509VND (109 USD) to spend every month in disposable income they have huge spending power.
But on top of that, thanks to having only ever known a world with the internet Generation Z are born researchers and as such wield huge power when it comes to making household purchases, it is they who are the decision makers, not the person paying (i.e. parents).
Clearly they are important, but how can brands connect with them?
Despite being only years’ younger than their millennial counterparts, they couldn’t be more different. You won’t find them at public events or hanging out in coffeeshops or parks. Instead Vietnam’s Gen Z really likes to spend being online, cocooned at home.
In fact, the most popular hobbies of this cohort is ‘Reading the news on Facebook’ followed by ‘Listening to Music on Spotify’ and ‘Chatting on chat apps’ – only 42% of Gen Z said they enjoyed hanging out with their friends in a public place, with the number rising to 59 per cent if the face-to-face socialising took place in the comfort of their own home.
So for brands to connect with Gen Z they need to rapidly swap their field marketing strategies for an almost solely digital strategy.
But there’s more, as mentioned above, this is a group of people who have only known a digital life and are savvy operators. Unlike their millennial predecessors they are unlikely to fall for internet scams, click clickbait or share images or statues that don’t align with their core values.
In fact, only 17 per cent of Vietnam’s Gen Z say they trust comments or feedback on Facebook, with a minute 9 per cent saying they trusted friends they met online. They were instead much more interested in advice from their parents or experts.
Here, brands too have to be savvy and use genuine information and expert insight to entice this group in.
On top of this, Vietnam’s Gen Z has grown up in a time of awareness on social issues and has a strong desire to get involved. They are more likely to support businesses that serve a higher purpose.
