Singapore – Top Singapore brand for online multi-dimensional virtual community and game environment for teens releases the results of its 2009 market survey for some revealing data on Southeast Asian teens. Habbo has communities in 32 countries on six continents with 100 million Habbo characters created. The brand has 9.5 million unique users worldwide each month.
The 2009 Global Habbo Brands survey polled 112 000 respondents that were aged 12 to 18 years, from more than 30 countries. When compared to teenagers in South East Asia, Singaporean teens were more independent in their choices and less likely to be influenced by their friend’s choice of brands. The research also revealed teens in South East Asia prefer brands that make them appear well off, when this trait was compared with the global average.
Filipino teenagers list Bench and Nike as their top fashion brands for clothing, shoes and sportswear; while brands Gatsby and Avon ranked highest for personal hygiene and styling; and make-up, respectively.
“Advertisers wanting to connect with the elusive teenage demographic should study their brand choices and their brand loyalty,” says Ken Lim, Habbo Singapore country manager. While, traditional FMCG brands are very popular amongst Singaporean teens, survey results show Southeast Asian teens have similar brand choices when it came to consumer electronics, game consoles, fast food and beverages. Noticeably, Singapore teens prefer YouTube as their favorite website, while Malaysian and Filipino teens listed social networking websites.
“What is obvious from the results is that globally, Sony is a very popular brand amongst consumer electronics and game consoles categories and that sports brands are the most impacted by brand deterioration amongst teenage audiences. While Nokia and Nike scored high amongst Southeast Asian teens, the same brands also listed among the top brands “losing appeal” across the globe.
Across the Region, teens prefer brands that are targeted specifically to their market (58%) and prefer brands that make them look well off (54%). These characteristics demonstrate that South East Asian teenagers are brand savvy and they like advertising. “This generation has not only grown up within a digital playground, they are completely used to advertising as part of life – and they like it”, adds Lim.
