China :: Youth Trends and Implications for Your Sustainability & CSR Programs

Since I arrived in China, I have always been fascinated by the Youth here (my peers, I am still below 30), and especially the post-90s generation which has now emerged from the great changes the Chinese society has experienced over the last decades: a whole society shifting from a planned economy to a market economy, from a traditional society to a modern society, and now a risks society (recession, etc.)

Well, the other day I came across a very interesting marketing research “China Youth Trends and Business Implications” published by China Youthology (青年志) – an innovative agency which works on brand-youth connection in the China market – and I found great insights on deep-rooted changes in Chinese youth’s values and lifestyles, and how it affects the ways companies in China should approach and leverage their Sustainability/CSR programs to better engage and ‘connect’ with the Chinese Youth. ‘Sustainability’ and ‘CSR’ are the social currency that the young generation will identify themselves and build relationships with others in their communities.

See the slide share presentation below that gives a great overview of China Youthology’s findings (or download the full-report here).

I have liked this research report so much that I have also extracted some of the sustainability-relevant parts of it, Enjoy!! no matter how long it is

1. The emergence of a ‘New Citizen’

The young generation grew up with Chinese economic reform and open-door policy. As the single child generation, they have been coined as ‘little emperors’ and labeled as selfish, irresponsible, and rejecting of traditional values. In 2008, when youth spoke up during the Tibetan unrest, showed concern during the Sichuan earthquake, and great pride at the Beijing Olympics, it caught many people by surprise. This generation is now known as the ‘bird nest generation’. Issues of social justice and equality have become relevant and visible to common people. And the Internet has empowered youth as a tool to express their opinions, exchange ideas, form communities, and make a difference.

• Marketing/Communications implications?

- Corporate Social Responsibility under scrutiny: CSR is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a must-have quality of corporations.

- Stop talking, Prove it (Walk the talk and talk the walk): Empty slogans are transparent and out of date. Even donation and charity campaigns now risk the perception of trading money’ for media attention. Young people respect sincere and long-term efforts.

- Get it Louder through Communities: The long-term, down-to-earth efforts need to be connected with the local communities through which young enthusiasts are taking small actions. Only by this means will efforts become ‘social currency’ for young people to talk about.

2. New Life: From indulgence to sustainability; pains of modernity and risks awareness

While the youth enjoy the ‘fruits’ of modern life, they’ve also started to feel the ‘pains of modernity’ at the same time: the polluted environment, the growing incidence of diseases in younger age, the severe issues of food safety (melamine crisis), and now the economic crisis. They have realized and experienced the many risks in the society and in their life, and they aspire a life and world that is more sustainable.

• Marketing/Communications implications:

- Knowledge marketing: The trend of sustainability has been seen in the developed markets for years. However what’s different (and more challenging) in the China market is the presumption of guilt of corporations. When news (true and false ones) about product safety/ quality breaks, they spread dramatically and usually devastate the brands. Aside from reacting to the crisis responsively (by various ways of conventional crisis PR), companies still need to learn better ways to constantly communicate with their customers to ease the tension and concerns caused by asymmetry of information.

- Sustainable products: Safe is not good enough. The increasing needs for environmental friendly, natural, and healthy products has become inevitable. Concerns about health issues have become big barrier for many brands in the categories of food, skincare, home furnishing, and others. And it marks the precursor for innovation towards higher sustainability for many brands.