When the sun is out, most of Changsha’s youth escape the overbearing heat, but come nightfall, everyone emerges from their air-conditioned sanctuaries. Restaurants turn sidewalks into dining rooms as collapsible tables stretch as far as the eye can see. McDonald’s and KFC compete for attention in downtown areas, while the new kid on the block, Papa John’s, starts to develop it’s own fan-base.

Fortunately for the myriad mom and pop restaurants, local dishes are still the favorite for Changsha youth. Given the choice between a Big Mac and Kou Wei Xia (a heap of spicy prawns), most youth would choose the latter.

After dinner it’s time to take a stroll down Changsha’s broad walking avenue – Bu Xing Jie. If you’re into athletic apparel, you’ll have an excuse to pop into a shop or two, but most people go there to stroll hand-in-hand with friends or romances.

On weekends, creative and alternative types check Douban for event listings, then head to 4698 Livehouse or the chilled-out Freedom House in hopes of a good live show. Indie and alternative music are most welcomed, while electronic music draws much smaller crowds.

Hordes of other youth take over rooms in KTVs, or get tables at their favorite club (Soho seems to be the most popular). Once in the KTV or club, it’s time to throw down some cash on whiskey. If you are not drinking Chivas, you’re probably not going to have the most attractive girls sitting with you (mind you, most girls here don’t like whiskey). In the club, groups generally keep to themselves. There isn’t much dancing since your typical Chinese club has no dance-floor. Dice games decide who drinks. The more the guys drink, the more they chat up accompanying girls — although talking over the loud Korean electro-pop that’s been on repeat for the last two years can be quite difficult.

Come two or three in the morning, most are in a cab headed home. Still, some refuse to call it a night, but rather, they gather up the pals to go for round 2 of Kou Wei Xia accompanied by a round of Changsha’s local beer: Bai Sha.

Below are some shots I took around Changsha’s downtown. Click to enlarge.

On Friday, January 29^th, 360quan.com hosted their 90后潮流先锋榜 (post-90’s generation pioneering trends list) awards ceremony in Beijing. Actor Li Chen emceed the event featuring stars such as Jade Liu Li Yang and Yico Zeng, who came to receive their award and perform for the cheering crowd of Chinese teenage fans from all over China.

These same cheering teenagers and their peers voted on actresses, actors, artists, bands, brands, musicians, and works of art of various types for their influence and pioneering abilities in their respective industries. In collaboration with Mogo, 1626.com and YOHO!, 360quan.com invited their post-90’s generation members to vote within two categories, one for most ‘pioneering spirit’ and the other for ‘must have’ product or brand.

eno won the award for ‘must have independent brand.’ Among the list of ‘must have’ were: HP (notebook), Samsung (mobile phone), ONLY (women’s apparel), Adidas (sports apparel), New Fei Fei 新飞飞 (Netease’s 3-D online game), YOHO! (e-commerce site), Twice (jewelry accessories) and Mito Xiu Xi 美图秀秀 (image processing software).

Here’s who they voted for pioneering spirit: Jade Liu Li Yang 刘力扬 (singer), Xiao Song Jia 小宋佳 (actress), Lucky Monkey 跳猴乐队(fusion punk band), Shi Yan Fei 施艳飞 (up & coming actress), Chang Si Si 常思思 (up & coming folk singer), Zhang Xiao He 张小盒 (online character), Chen Chen 陈晨 (written work). And here’s who they voted for the pioneering spirits of the post-90’s generation (meaning they were actually born in the 1990’s): Yico Zeng 曾轶可 (singer), Li Chen 李晨(TV host), 杨紫 Yang Zi (pop star), BY2 (Singaporean music duo), Caffiene (band), Ai Shui Shui 艾水水 (TV & Film work).

360quan.com is China’s fastest growing social media network for post-90’s generation youth. With close to 25 million registered users, 360quan.com is devoted to providing an online home for people with similar interests, online clans, and super-connectors. The platform provides all the basics of an SNS, including personal space, blogs, music, videos, photo albums, games and other multimedia services and content. Their users have a distinct urban youth culture; they are the hip-hop artists, the make-up stylists, the snowboarders and the parkour clubs that  are leading China’s youth revolution.

Once again thank you 360quan.com and special thanks to our post-90’s generation fans!

]]> http://enovatechina.com/blog/post-90%e2%80%99s-chinese-youth-vote-eno-as-a-%e2%80%98must-have%e2%80%99-brand/feed/ 1 http://enovatechina.com/blog/local-chinese-food-retailers-battle-strong-international-pressure/ http://enovatechina.com/blog/local-chinese-food-retailers-battle-strong-international-pressure/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:33:58 +0000 Joey http://enovatechina.com/blog/?p=1896 A Search for Peanut Butter in Panjin

My eyes shifted, darting back and forth, spotting feather-less chickens, pieces of pig, bloody beef being chopped into digestible meat. I was lost in the heart of an outdoor meat market in the middle of Panjin, a tier three city in northern China. My sneakers traced mud across the cold, hard concrete and I covered my face from both the obtrusive airborne particles, as well as the unbearable meat-locker like conditions.

I walked into Panjin’s most affluent food shopping market in the center of the city, pried my hands out of my pockets, and slid through the plastic door sliders supposedly protecting the inside from the outside. This market represented a food shopping destination for Panjin’s elite. Delicate slices of tender beef were marked at unaffordable prices, a special Japanese import section was carefully displayed behind velvet ropes, and a row of JIF Peanut Butter shined like gold at the bottom of a dark mine.

Panjin’s City Center

Alas, I was buying Peanut Butter at this upscale shopping center. However a typical Chinese tier three city food shopper is most likely not purchasing peanut butter, instead spending around 200 to 300RMB per month at outdoor fresh markets such as the outdoor meat market mentioned earlier. However, as the income levels of these tier three cities continue to rise, and Chinese people seek safer, sanitary, and convenient food shopping methods, the amount of wet markets in small (and large) Chinese cities will continue to diminish. The unpackaged meat industry (aka meat markets) alone in China is set to drop below 10% of all accounted purchases by 2016.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Supermarket Expansion

The recent global economic crisis in 2009 also makes these second and third tier Chinese cities ripe for foreign supermarket expansion. Wal-Mart, playing catch-up mode to Carrefour’s strong presence and brand image, opened 17 new supermarkets in China, most in second and third tier cities including Yancheng, Jiangsu, Xiangfan, Hubei, and Changde.

However, Walmart, Carrefour, and Tesco are not alone in Chinese supermarket expansion. They may have set the standard for all local supermarkets to follow but local Chinese supermarket chains such as Lianhua (controlled by the state-owned group Bailian Group) intend to go head to head with Walmart in 2010 and beyond. In 2008, Lianhua set targets to open 15 hypermarkets per year and at that time controlled over 120 plus-sized supermarkets across China. In Xi’an a tier two city located in central China, the supermarket scene is dominated by a local Guangdong controlled retailer named Vanguard which has 22 supermarket locations, compared to one Carrefour and three Wal-Mart’s.

There are signs however of supermarket saturation, Japanese supermarket retailer, Aeon Co Ltd. is likely to miss its target of opening 70 supermarkets in China by the end of February 2011 due to local delays. Another supermarket in Beijing, “C-Mart” uprooted and disapearred overnight last year, leaving behind unpaid bills and taxes. This leads me back to the small city of Panjin. It does not represent China’s wealthiest tier three city, however as of my count there were around 5 to 7 “super” wet markets and 3 supermarket style food shopping centers. None of these supermarkets were owned by international food retailers, yet most contained similar service and products. Much like the former Wal-Mart force outs of local food retailers in America, we may yet see a similar type of supermarket strong arming occur in China’s second and third tier cities.

Shopping Habits of Chinese Youth and the Future of the Food Shopping Industry

The presence of grocery stores in large and small cities in China does not mean that young Chinese are shopping at these locations. Convenience stores, online shopping, parental reliance, and well, no shopping at all, represents more typical shopping habits of Chinese youth. Leon Ni, a 23 year old Shanghai resident claims to only use his kitchen for instant noodles, seaweed soup, or for cutting fruit.

So if Chinese youth aren’t shopping anymore, then this diminishes all hope for future growth in the industry correct? Well no. Food shopping is not going anywhere. What’s changing most amongst Chinese youth in the food shopping industry is the habits and overall shopping experience. As Leon states, he and his friends enjoying shopping at Carrefour because it’s wide aisles and excellent selection make food shopping interesting as well as having the ability to “quarrel and fight with friends.” Enhancing the overall shopping experience is a huge opportunity for food retailers to tap into the Chinese youth market.

Also look for a growth in convenience stores in first, second, and third tier cities. In addition to the myriad of convenience store options that already exist in China, Wal-Mart entered this competitive market by opening three shops in Shenzhen last year. Convenient stores represent an opportunity to “hyper-localize” both experiences and products. Chinese college students looking for a study boost find more of these types of products, working individuals find more lunch options and so on.

The idea of mixed-race beauty has been a mainstay in Asia advertising/film/tv over the last two decades. Japanese fashion magazines are filled with half-Japanese, half-something models. Daniel Henney, the dashing American-born mixed-race Korean celebrity, has made a name for himself without being able to speak Korean.

Despite China lagging behind in this trend, we are now seeing a rising interest. Chen Luyu, aka the “Chinese Oprah Winfrey”, broadcast an episode of her enormously popular show featuring four 7yr old mixed race children raised in China. She remarks whilst talking to a half-Canadian, half-Chinese child “just like all other mixed race children, you’re so cute, pretty and clever.”

The douban group “I want a mixed race baby” has almost 1000 members who discuss the practicalities and notions of having a mixed race child. Some boast of their “white fever” while others wish they could play with “cute” mixed race babies without having to have a foreign husband. Having a mixed race baby can also be a shrewd financial decision, as images of this rare species are in high demand from ad agencies and magazines such as cookieworld , who describe their target readers as “elite households and fashionable parents of children aged between 0-7.”

Being a half Malaysian mongrel myself, I’m perhaps overly sensitive to the issue. Despite the marketable aspect of a mixed-race person in China, the reality of being a different race in homogenous China is a difficult path to tread for many. Last year saw the ugly reality of being mixed race in China during Lou Jing’s appearance on “Jia You! Oriental Angel!”.  Chinese netizens were quick to spew racist comments and abuse Lou Jing’s mother, a situation a world away from the cute half white kid’s selling milk powder.

We start this theme with an article by new enoVate team member, Nicolas Peden. He takes a look at the evolving dynamic between this new generation of parents, their children, and Western influences.

Recent tendencies in parenting beg the question: are young Chinese parents Westernizing their kids? The two most noticeable portals through which Western culture is being siphoned into these unsuspecting toddlers are baby-products and leisure activities. Gerber and baseball, the great Western forces.

Little Emperor

China’s typical family structure — one baby, two parents, and four grandparents — means those little toddlers get a lot of attention. It’s arguable whether or not the new generation of parents will continue the Little Emperor tradition, but the fact remains: Chinese parents spend a lot on their children. Up to 50% of a family’s income goes into baby-food, schools, piano lessons, clothes, and various other infant products and services. (Euromonitor.com)  And due to a constant stream of scandals regarding baby-formulas, kids’ toys, and clothes, product safety is a tremendous concern for today’s parents. A large majority of mothers across 15 cities expressed a willingness to spend 20% or more for baby products if they felt they could trust it was safe. (Forbes.com)

Western brands are benefitting. The ’80s babies are now the highest-earning age group in China. As they become parents, they want nothing but the best (and safest) for their children. Being that Western brands are perceived as much safer, a new generation of parents are willing to fork over the extra cash for them.  Lisa Zheng, a recent mother, says she prefers to buy Western when it comes to her baby because “I know there is a very strict standard for baby food, baby clothes, and toys in some Western countries.” She adds that she also likes the design of western products. Some wealthy parents go so far as flying to Hong Kong or Korea just to buy foreign baby formula.

Homeruns and Homework

Obviously, wearing American Apparel and eating American baby formula won’t make you American. But this tendency of “westernizing” kids goes beyond brands. For parents with the means, it’s becoming common to immerse their children in non-traditional Chinese activities. Besides the stereotypical learning of an instrument like piano or violin, young parents are opting to push their kids towards various foreign pass-times.

Sam Maurey, a former coach in Pudong, says more and more young parents are eager for their kids to play Western sports. He’s coached kids as young as 4 in baseball and tennis, and states: “despite parents not understanding a thing about baseball, they’re still pushing their kids to play it because its Western and therefore seems beneficial for children.”

And of course, who can forget the abundant english language schools that employ all my career-impaired friends. Parents are enrolling their kids earlier on; sometimes as young 3. Ian Steinmo, another foreigner living in Shanghai, is paid by a wealthy young couple to just hang out with their 4 year old son so he can pick up on Western culture.

Down the Road

So will the next generation be less Chinese? We won’t dare try to answer that question. It’s a fact that Chinese youth will have even more contact with Western influences. But that alone does not precipitate a loss of domestic culture and values. We can, however, propose two possible outcomes. One, unless China’s brands don’t change their image by avoiding scandals, consumption trends in infant products could increasingly lean towards foreign products. Two, as more Chinese children get accustomed to Western goods during their formative years, they may be more inclined to buy Western in later years.

We are a global partnership of youth specialists – youth marketing and insights agencies in Africa, The Americas, Europe and Asia. We collaborate to share insights, best practises and better serve our clients.

Clients from around the world can now tap into our network and gain global insights as they launch products into new markets. For our first collaboration this year, we combined on the ground trend insights we were seeing into one Youth Trends 2010 report. This shows the power of the network to show both common and distinct patterns across the global. Below is a list of the partners:

Company / Location / (twitter)
Graham Brown London (t)
Ben Marks London
Gordon Parkin Cape Town (t)
Kei Shimada Tokyo (t)
Francis Oghuma Lagos (t)
Mikko Ampuja Helsinki (t)
Faisal Muhammad Jakarta (t)
Bernard Hor Kuala Lumpur (t)
Samyak Chakrabarty Mumbai (t)
John Solomon Shanghai (t)

Here is part 1 of the 2010 Youth Trends Report, the next 2 parts will be posted throughout the week.

At age 23 Chen Yu, a graduate student in software engineering at a top school in Hunan province, unexpectedly became a father. Though traditional in his choice to start a family young he also represents a newer, educated generation in China that is marked by opportunities far surpassing those of their elders. Hailing from a small city in southern Hunan province, and only one generation removed from his grandparents toiling life as farmers, Chen Yu offers a unique perspective on raising a family as a member of this transitional generation of Chinese youth. Says Chen Yu,

“Within ten years I want to become a man who is able to take care of the people I love very well, is able to understand them, to help them, and to make them feel comfortable in our life together. We worry about our future, our dreams versus our reality. It is a struggle. Maybe we cannot plan the future because we don’t know what opportunities will come or not come. I think during two people’s lives the process is always a struggle. We need to set a clear target to chase and, when we finally achieve that target, we may realize that the process was the truly beautiful part.”

In the world of endorsements, this summer will be remembered for the idol drama “一起来看流星雨” (Let’s go to see the Meteor Swarm together ). The TV show was adapted from Japanese manga artist Yoko Kamio’s “Boys of flowers,” a piece that had already spawned successful TV series in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Hunan TV Station released the mainland version this summer with great fanfare. The response was overwhelming, though not necessarily positive. Many decried the show as the worst example Shanzhai on Chinese TV. Others supported the show. Either way, few predicted the amount of attention and commentary the show would generate.

While some will remember the show for its ability to take 5 former reality TV contestants from obscurity to instant stardom, we at enoVate are more interested in the show’s ad placements and impact.

Fans and detractors of the show were most vocal about the never before seen level of advertising. A product placement ad appeared almost every 5 minutes. From the MG car that the characters drove to the school uniforms that were created by Metersbonwe, many scenes were filled with obvious product placements. Even the shampoo was clearly an ad placement.

Many online started to protest against the show’s level of sponsorship. Netizens complained that they felt inundated with hard sells and ads and that they were no longer watching a drama but rather an extended commercial.

If we ignore the online noise for a moment, we can find some insightful takeaways. The show quickly topped Hunan TV station’s list of most watched programs. Since the show launched online, up to 30 million people searched for its name on busy days. The program’s two main actors, Zheng Shuang (郑爽) and Zhang Han (张翰), have both made it into the top 3 “most searched entertainers” list. Other actors（Yu Haoming 俞灏明and朱梓骁 Zhu ZiXiao) are also ranked within the top 20.

While we cannot quantitatively access the impact of these product placements, if the above example of actors catching fire is in any way representative of the power of the show, brands should be pleased with their strategy. The show’s audience was the 15 ~ 28 years old segment, the most important consumer group in China. Despite the grumbles from some about the saturations of ads, these brands were tied to some of the biggest stars in China over the summer and anyone who tuned into the show is now more aware of these brands and their products. Even if there wasn’t a direct increase in sales from some of these brands, they were, at the very least, still the topic of conversation for millions of young Chinese this summer. This author thinks that is a great example of the old adage “any publicity is good publicity.” As a viewer, sure, I would have appreciated a few less obvious ad placements, but as marketer I can appreciate the power of the strategy. A more creative use of ads will hopefully appear next summer, but until then, we can sit back and appreciate this summer’s most impactful marketing.