Singapore – VICE Media Group’s multinational digital media platform Refinery29 announced that 29Rooms, its ten-week immersive event celebrating culture, cause, and creativity, will be making its debut in Asia. 

The event is made in collaboration with VICE’s creative agency Virtue APAC, alongside lead producer Two Four Seven Group, The Carrot Collective, and partner brands. They will be providing strategic, creative, and marketing consultancy capabilities and will help activate innovative brand experiences for 29Rooms.

Beginning in Singapore from February to April next year, 29Rooms will be featuring creations curated by special collaborators, partners, and creators. This aims to showcase the contributors’ creativity and deliver a series of thought-provoking experiences that reflect today’s culture and conversations.

The inaugural edition of 29Rooms Asia will centre on the ‘Lost & Found’ theme, aiming to encourage guests to ‘rediscover, reimagine and redefine the meaning of possibilities’, through experiences from art, culture, fashion and beauty, and music, amongst others.

“In a region with diverse cultures, creativity and causes, there is no better place to mark the international launch of 29Rooms Asia than in Singapore,” said Lesley John, managing director of Virtue APAC.

She further explained, “Guests across ten weeks can expect a broad program that will entertain, inform and offer fresh perspectives. Virtue, which builds brands from inside culture, is excited to be working with our other creative partners to deliver this landmark experiential event.”

Cory Haik, chief operating officer of VICE Media Group also commented, “Singapore is undeniably one of the most exciting international cities in the world. 29Rooms brings people together in a celebration of creativity, and there’s no better place for its international debut than Singapore; the hub of art, culture and technology in Asia. We can’t wait to inspire the local community with the magic of 29Rooms.”

The event is officially backed by the Singapore Tourism Board and is set to become one of the city’s biggest calendar events.

29Rooms, launched in 2015, has been gathering creatives, artists, and visionaries in the USA. It has also reached over 300 million through online and offline platforms and welcomed guests from over 24 countries.

Hong Kong – HSBC’s flagship executive exchanges series, ‘Wisdom of Wealth Talk’ (WoW Talk), will be releasing its third episode to focus on Hong Kong’s arts and culture scene. This will be done through a conversation with Suhanya Raffel, museum director of M+, Hong Kong’s global museum of visual culture, and Maggie Ng, head of Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC Hong Kong. 

In each episode of WoW Talk, HSBC has been inviting prominent leaders across different sectors to discuss Asia’s booming wealth opportunities, as well as to share their secret to success and wisdom on wealth generation. In the last two episodes, the series discussed the relationship between the metaverse and healthtech and wealth opportunities. 

In the latest instalment, Raffel and Ng will be talking about the connection between HSBC and the museum and how HSBC’s lead partnership with M+ will raise public awareness of arts and culture. Located in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, M+ is Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture that reflects Hong Kong’s unique time and place and is built on Hong Kong’s historic balance of the local and the international to define a distinctive and innovative voice for Asia’s twenty-first century.

The spotlight on the topic emerges as well from one of the growing value propositions of HSBC. According to the financial services, there has been a rapid rise in investment in the art market in recent years. HSBC’s younger generations of customers and emerging entrepreneurs are now more interested in arts than ever, while millennial collectors and enthusiasts are increasingly spending more on this new asset class, said HSBC.

“I think Hong Kong has great artists, creative makers and designers. With the support of large business institutions like HSBC, we have seen Hong Kong’s cultural scene becoming more cohesive and visible. In the last decade, Hong Kong has developed into one of the world’s cultural capitals,” said Raffel. 

Starting November 2022, HSBC will become the first lead partner of M+. HSBC will be the lead sponsor for M+’s first Special Exhibition titled ‘Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now’, featuring the works of internationally renowned visionary artist, Yayoi Kusama. The two parties will work on organising a series of free guided tours for NGOs, schools, and staff events to promote contemporary visual culture to the world. 

Ng commented, “HSBC has always been rooted in Hong Kong and has grown up with all Hong Kong people, we are honoured to be the first lead partner of M+ to actively promote the development of the arts and culture.” 

On the partnership with HSBC, Raffel said, “HSBC has a strong presence in Hong Kong throughout the years and shares with M+ a common vision for bringing contemporary visual culture within an Asian context to the world. The partnership with HSBC will enable M+ to take a significant step towards greater accessibility of contemporary visual culture as the partnership will substantially enhance our ability in audience engagement.” 

The third episode of WoW Talk is now available on HSBC’s official YouTube channel.

As countries across the Asia Pacific learn to live with Covid, Asia’s youth are reemerging from two years of restrictions and lockdowns with significantly altered perspectives that are set to redefine culture in the post-pandemic world.

Today’s youth are not sitting around doing nothing, waiting for the pandemic to pass. Instead, they are rewriting the rules and with it, the next chapter of culture. What is clear is that we are not going back to normal and for brands and marketers, this means a major rethink on how to best connect with this cohort.

Across Asia Pacific, Gen Z and millennials are reevaluating their relationships, careers and mental health as a result of the Covid crisis. They are making significant changes to how they live, socialise, and consume, reshaping a world that will be living with the virus for a long time to come. 

According to the study by VICE Media Group, ‘The Next Chapter – Re-Emergence’, which was conducted among 1,740 Gen Z and Millenials from the different markets in Asia Pacific, seven in ten say the pandemic has changed their perspective on what’s important in their lives, with more than nine in ten making lifestyle changes they plan on maintaining.

Meanwhile, almost sixty per cent say the way they work will be the most lasting societal change, with half reporting that looking after their health has transformed forever. These are fundamental shifts with significant implications on how brands should be marketing to them.

Media – from consumption to contribution 

One area of particular concern for young people in APAC is their relationships with the media. Both online and across social media, attitudes have changed markedly over the course of the last two years.

While the pandemic has dominated coverage across traditional media channels, other issues such as those around social justice, climate change, and misinformation that have been running alongside it, overwhelming young people and making them aware of their overconsumption of online content. One in three say the media and news have caused them the most fear and anxiety during the pandemic, with just four per cent trusting the media more since COVID-19 started. 

As one millennial respondent in Indonesia from the said study commented, “I change the way I view media. I used to believe what the media said. But now, I realised media is such a fear-mongering outlet and that’s how they make money, causing panic in public. I really hate the media now and I don’t want to listen/read/watch news ever again.’’

As an escape, they have sought solace in entertainment. According to the study, six in ten have sought out more entertainment content since the start of Covid-19 and 65 per cent say entertainment helps them take their mind off everything else.

In Southeast Asia, 41 per cent have subscribed to a new streaming service and 36 per cent have downloaded a new social media app, with 30 per cent attending a virtual content or event, demonstrating the continued growth and pivoting to alternative communication and entertainment channels. 

Reimagining brand content beyond passive consumption

Young people no longer want to mindlessly consume media. They are seeking content that provides truth, allows for respite and builds resilience. Almost seven in ten want content that provides information based on facts and uncover stories that others aren’t telling them. About 68 per cent want content that makes them laugh and helps them escape, while just almost two-thirds want content and information that inspires self-growth, gives them hope and will enable them to make a positive impact on the world.

Brands need to reimagine content that allows the region’s youth to go beyond simple consumption. There is a clear desire for content and information that is both based on truth and can enable them to make informed decisions to help create a world that reflects their hopes and aspirations. The successful brands will create safe experiences and spaces for young people to connect with them in a meaningful way, providing a sense of belonging and connection. 

As they re-emerge from the pandemic, the region’s youth have changed and their intentions are plain and are here to stay. We have known for some time now that brands are no longer just competing for attention with other brands. They need to look for a visible and valued role that is based inside culture, rather than looking at ways to interrupt it. The after-effects of the pandemic on Asia’s culture shapers is only set to accelerate this further.

This article is written by Lesley John, managing director at Virtue for APAC.

The article is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series What’s NEXT. This features marketing leaders sharing their marketing insights and predictions for the upcoming year. The series aims to equip marketers with actionable insights to future-ready their marketing strategies.

If you are a marketing leader and have insights that you’d like to share with regards to the upcoming trends and practices in marketing, please reach out to [email protected] for an opportunity to have your thought-leadership published on the platform.

Singapore – Short video platform TikTok and media marketing solutions IPG Mediabrands have announced a new partnership to aid brands in connecting with culture through exclusive creator programs.

The partnership will initially co-create a series of custom programs for IPG Mediabrands’ clients, helping them build an authentic presence on TikTok by tapping into the platform’s community of creators. 

In addition, the two companies will form a bespoke Creator Collective, bringing together a select group of forward-thinking and diverse creators who will provide hands-on guidance to IPG Mediabrands’ clients ensuring that their content is culturally connected, inclusive, and resonates with the TikTok community. 

‘Creator Camps,’ a quarterly session where creators will provide IPG Mediabrands clients strategic counsel and feedback on their upcoming campaigns, will be the first program of the series. 

“As the most improved platform from a media responsibility perspective based on our latest Media Responsibility Index, TikTok has earned this partnership through backing its words with action and integrity,” said Daryl Lee, global CEO at IPG Mediabrands.

TikTok and IPG Mediabrands have also committed to identifying new ways to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion on and off the platform. The two companies will collaborate to develop innovative, creative strategies to benefit nonprofit organizations and elevate underrepresented communities on the platform; and TikTok was a recent participant in the Equity Upfront, hosted by IPG Mediabrands’ MAGNA, the centralized company resource that develops intelligence, investment and innovation strategies for agency teams and clients.

Dani Benowitz, president of MAGNA commented, “As audience reach declines in traditional formats, it is critical that client budgets fund new ways to connect with audiences. This partnership will deliver incredible value to our clients and, as importantly, will help all of us learn the power of creating content communities at scale.”

For Blake Chandlee, president of global business solutions at TikTok, the partnership speaks for the company’s vision for brands that have the unique ability to become creators and storytellers by listening to the community and adopting an always-on approach to their content.

“We’re delighted to partner with IPG Mediabrands and help their clients tap into trends, create a steady stream of content that resonates with our community, and embrace the creativity and culture that makes TikTok such an incredible platform,” Chandlee stated.

Seoul, South Korea – Big Hit Entertainment, the South Korea-based entertainment group which handles various K-pop artists, including world-known group BTS, has announced it is entering an expanded strategic partnership with global music corporation Universal Music Group (UMG).

The partnership entails both companies working closely together in increasing opportunities for artists through innovation and technology, while expanding the global reach of K-pop music and culture around the world.

Furthermore, the partnership will allow UMG artists to explore enhanced ‘direct to fan’ communications through Big Hit’s Weverse, a dynamic community-based platform that allows loyal artist fans to engage, share and interact, see and hear new content and purchase new products.

“Our two companies indeed share values and visions in that we both pursue constant innovations and are committed to providing our fans with genuine music and content of the highest and uncompromising level of quality. In this sense, I strongly believe that UMG and Big Hit will create a synergy that will rewrite the global music history,” said Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman and CEO of Big Hit Entertainment.

The partnership, announced through the recently-established live-streaming platform of Big Hit Entertainment called KBYK’s VenewLive, also stated details about assembling and debuting a new global K-pop boy group together in the U.S. for the first time.

“We will strive to secure competitive platform leadership and develop a top group of artists through the close partnership between our two companies, enabling K-pop to transcend all borders and languages. This project is especially significant as it will apply Big Hit’s ‘success formula’ established over the past 16 years to the U.S., the center of the global music market,” said Lenzo Yoon, CEO of global and business at Big Hit Entertainment.

Members of this new boy group will be selected through a global audition program, which is on track to begin airing in 2022 and will be launched in conjunction with a major U.S. media partner. The debuting global act will work based on the K-pop system – a full production that combines music, performance, fashion, music video, and communications with fans.

Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said, “With their innovative approach to developing artists and embracing new technology, Big Hit has become one of the most dynamic companies in music entertainment. We’re thrilled to be working together as we launch a new joint venture between our companies that will further accelerate K-pop as a global cultural phenomenon.”

The upcoming audition program will also seek the help of Geffen Records, leveraging their extensive industry network and partners to oversee the music production, marketing, and global distribution operations. Big Hit will utilize its global expertise to lead the discovery, training, and development of new artists, fan content production processes, and management of fan communications through the Weverse platform.

John Janick, Chairman, and CEO at Interscope Geffen, commented, “We are all incredibly excited about this joint venture project between Geffen Records and Big Hit. This partnership offers both of us an incredible opportunity to work together helping to shape the future of music globally to the benefit of artists and fans alike.”