Brands And Social Purpose: Engaging Singapore's Millennials

Flamingo Group recently hosted a Culture Breakfast series, SG51: Who cares? in June 2016 and shared their research findings which showed that over half of 16-25 year olds wanted a career that can make a social difference, and not just for making money.  

Elly Chiu, associate director of insight and strategy consultancy Flamingo Group said that, "From having material possessions, they are moving towards valuing people and relationships. They also value personal satisfaction and happiness." Other speakers included her fellow Flamingo associate director Regina Tan, The Thought Collective co-founder and director Tong Yee and Logue founder Jean Qingwen Loo.

There are three types of brand purpose behaviour when it comes to social purpose:

• The Cheerleader: Brands that fall into this category motivate and encourage a particular way of living.
• The Community Worker: These brands work with on-ground facilitation with the community, translating tangible actions into visible and immediate impact.
• The Change Maker: Brands that play this role challenge the status quo and provoke societal debates.

There are three do’s and don'ts for brands in social purpose among Singapore's youth:

Don't –

• Use the rhetoric of change or resort to lazy sloganism;
• Expect people to willingly explore new paths;
• Put up symbolic acts that present no enrichment value, or are simply dull and not interesting.

Do –

• Link brand purpose clearly to tangible and visible outcomes;
• Provide a springboard and safety net to guide young Singaporean millennials and aid them in getting started;
• Offer a variety of valuable experiences that can help them gain new skills to add to their resume of life.

Check out the Flamingo Group’s Lens on London.

Also, How to Market Effectively to Millennials lists the potential for success strategies:

1.       Communicate a higher brand purpose

2.       Be authentic and transparent

3.       Leverage digital content smartly

4.       Recognize loyalty with experiences and exclusive access

5.       Reflect diversity beyond traditional multicultural casting

Success Principle # 3 – Leverage digital content and social media smartly. 

1.       Give the consumers a degree of control. To operate effectively, brands must relinquish some of the control they have held for so many years. They have to let the consumer set the terms for ongoing conversation – how often, how deep, etc.

2.       Let them find you / come to you. Millennial consumers want to ensure that nothing alters their social media experience or turns it into something its' not "supposed to be", and they want to preserve the sense of discovery that makes social media fun.

3.       Be interesting. Companies need to move away from the traditional content model and use the consumer as the content creator. Ultimately, content that entertains – or information that is presented in a unique way – works best.

4.       Listen first, then talk – create a dialogue. Millennials want dialogue – a conversation – where brands listen to what they have to say rather than just pushing their messages without taking into account what consumers think, feel and want.

5.       Be relevant. Millennial consumers want to see content that relates to their lives, their interests, their desires, and their needs. It means making every post, link or article, personally relevant and meaning to each individual.

6.       Be open and honest. Millennials want brands to be candid. They don't trust and respect brands that do not post "the good and the bad" on their fan pages. They expect an "open book" approach where brands tell consumers who they are, what they expect/want from them, and what exactly they're offering.

7.       Be accountable and humanize. Brands often suffer in social media because they don't have anyone that answers to the consumer. It is so important for brands to find ways to humanize themselves – and the best way is to have real people who speak on behalf of the brand in social media.

8.       Talk like a friend, not a corporate entity. Millennials want brands to communicate in simple, casual language that is conversational. Don't try to sell, but rather talk in a friendly, casual way about finding ways to meet the needs of the consumer.

9.       Let the consumer talk for you. The best-case scenario for brands is that Millennial consumers take the initiative and advocate for a brand. For this to happen, brands must create the opportunity for consumers to spread the word.

10.     Offer something of value. Millennials are far more likely to respond to brands that offer them something real and tangible, preferably without something in return.

Source: WARC