Waggener Edstrom Communications (WE) today released the second edition of its proprietary Asia-Pacific research study, Content Matters: The Impact of Brand Storytelling Online in 2015.
This year’s report explores the correlation between devices and social media platforms as it relates to purchase behaviour, revealing the factors that drive consumer brand advocacy and how those dynamics vary across industry and geography in Asia-Pacific. This theme is a natural progression from last year’s report, which covered the impact of digital content, revealing that Asian consumers spend up to 3.5 times more on brands they follow online.
The 2015 study surveyed over 4,000 consumers in nine key markets across Asia-Pacific, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and South Korea. It also covered nine industries, including Beauty Products, Consumer Electronics (excluding Mobile Devices), Finance & Banking, Food & Beverage Products, Healthcare, Mobile Devices & Tablets, Personal Care Products, Restaurants & Dining, and Travel & Tourism were explored.
“Riding on the success of the first Content Matters report, we wanted to take a deeper dive into what consumers really think in relation to brands they see online. We took what we learned last year and evolved it, and the research provided some fascinating facts,” said Henry Wood, APAC Lead for Waggener Edstrom’s Studio D practice. “Simply put, we learned that content – irrespective of how fresh and compelling it is – is not a sole panacea. Effective content is a cocktail of geography, platform, industry and device, and every brand’s scenario is unique. Additionally, every day the space grows increasingly complicated. In order to stay ahead of the curve marketers must have data-driven insights that help prioritise their investments and capture value.”
It’s all about the ecosystem
The data shows that consumers want cross-channel experiences, and brand engagement is strengthened by multiple assets. Effective brand storytelling requires an ecosystem of media with both online and offline touch points. However, the dominant platforms shift according to industry and geography. In South Korea, for example, regardless of industry, blogs dominate purchasing decisions, particularly for Travel & Tourism (20%), Restaurants & Dining (19%), Beauty Products (16%), and Mobile Devices (15%). But in the Philippines, social media carries the greatest purchase influence. And in the majority of APAC markets, corporate websites are key for Finance & Banking decisions, while Restaurant & Dining purchases rely most heavily on word of mouth.
Content is a local game
Consumer platform preference varies considerably across markets. Although Facebook and WhatsApp currently dominate the region, the third most preferred social network is different in almost every market. Singapore consumers are hot for Instagram, Indonesians love to tweet, and China is bonding via WeChat. Furthermore, willingness to engage with brands and motivation is market-led. In Australia, only 53% are somewhat or very likely to follow a brand on social media, whereas in China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines this figure is closer to or over 90%. And while access to promotions and discounts is the key reason consumers follow a brand in Hong Kong (46%) and Indonesia (38%), in China, it’s simple love for the brand; in India, it’s because consumers find the content inspirational. What this means for campaign strategy is that Southeast Asia should be promotion-led, while marketers will need to focus on brand in China and charm in India.
Multiple devices matter
Cross screen experiences are essential. The data indicate that consumers are using multiple screens to engage with brands and gather information prior to purchase. Most often consumers appear to pivot between two devices, typically a smartphone and a desk or laptop computer. Additionally, not only are they amalgamating branded content before taking action, but they do so in different ways depending on their location. For example, in Singapore, 94% of consumers have access to a smartphone and 46% use it as their primary device for information searching; while in South Korea, 91% of consumers have access to a smartphone, yet they prefer to use their computers to search for information, with 63% choosing computers as their key device.
“As an integrated communications agency, we are committed to making sure everything we do maps to business needs and is backed by data. Using our own internal insights and analytics tools and experts, we’re able to conduct APAC-level research to ascertain what drives consumer interests when it comes to brand advocacy, and use this data to help our clients create more relevant, engaging and impactful content that links to commercial outcomes,” said Matthew Lackie, Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific at Waggener Edstrom.
***Key Conclusions***
Some of the key market-level findings from the study include:
AUSTRALIA
- 65% of Australian consumers have accessibility to Tablets, of which 18% ranked it as their primary device for information search;
- Nearly half of Australians, 47%, are unlikely to follow a brand on social media;
- 19% of Australians want to keep their social media feeds personal but 16% also find social media brand content not interesting;
- 55% of Australians will recommend Restaurants & Dining and 53% of Australians will recommend Travel & Tourism to friends, family and colleagues.
CHINA
- 65% of China consumers have accessibility to Tablets, 26% have accessibility to E-readers and 17% also have access to 2-in-1s hybrid devices;
- 18% of consumers in China refer to Review Sites regarding Restaurants & Dining options;
- 92% of consumers are likely to follow a brand on social media, 24% because they just love the brand.
INDIA
- 13% of Indian consumers have access to E-readers, though computers are still the most accessible at 91%;
- 90% of Indian consumers are likely to follow a brand on social media with 23% seeking better customer service;
- On social media, 20% of Indian users like to share Inspirational Content first and foremost;
- Indian consumers are also more inclined to recommend brands, with over 40% of promoters across all industry sectors, except for Finance & Banking which still received 39% of promoters.
INDONESIA
- Traditional Media is a particularly influential source of information for Food & Beverage Products (21%), Personal Care Products (22%) and Healthcare Products (20%);
- 90% of Indonesians will follow a brand on social media, 38% are seeking promotions and discounts.
HONG KONG
- 67% of Hong Kong consumers have access to Tablets, however only 10% choose it as their primary device for information search;
- 84% of Hong Kong consumers will follow a brand on social media, 46% are seeking promotions and discounts but 24% simply do so because they love the brand;
- Facebook is the most popular social media for 31% of Hong Kong consumers, wherein 22% say Personal Status Updates are the most commonly shared content;
- Majority of Hong Kong consumers are unlikely to recommend brands of any sector, at most 26% of Hong Kong consumers indicate likelihood of promoting Restaurant & Dining options.
MALAYSIA
- 75% of Malaysian consumers are likely to follow a brand on social media, 20% are seeking exclusive content;
- WhatsApp is the most popularly used social media platform by 29% of consumers in Malaysia.
PHILIPPINES
- 60% of Philippines consumers have access to Tablets but a minor 9% use it as a primary device for information search;
- Social Media is a common information source for purchases in all sectors, specifically Restaurants & Dining (18%), Travel & Tourism (17%), and Food & Beverage Products (16%);
- 59% of Philippines consumers are likely to recommend Restaurants & Dining options and 54% are likely to recommend for Travel & Tourism, Beauty Products are the least likely to be recommended although 42% are still likely to do so.
SINGAPORE
- 94% of Singapore consumers have access to a smartphone and 46% use it as their primary device for information searching;
- 29% of Singapore consumers use WhatsApp as their primary social media platform;
- 30% of Singapore consumers like to share Funny or Entertaining Content.
SOUTH KOREA
- 91% of South Korea has access to a smartphone, however only 33% use it as their primary device for information search while 63% choose to use computers as the key device;
- Blogs have considerable influence on purchasing decisions, with 20% of Korean consumers referencing blogs for Travel & Tourism information, 19% view blogs for Restaurants & Dining and 16% visit blogs for Beauty Product decisions;
- Only 60% of South Korean consumers will follow a brand on social media, 15% don’t follow a brand on social media without a particular reason.
The complete study from Waggener Edstrom can be downloaded here