Ipsos study highlights media consumption habits of Asia’s affluent

The company conducted more than 18,000 interviews across 10 markets and 13 cities in Asia-Pacific, focusing on affluent individuals in India (Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore), Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Sydney and Melbourne.

As the slides we’ve selected from the presentation suggest (above), Asia’s affluent, aged 42 on average, still prefer traditional platforms such as print and television as a first source of information. The research however, highlights that content is consumed across multiple channels and that mobile penetration is high with this group, as this demographic tries to be “the first to adopt the most innovative technology”.

When questioned by Campaign Asia-Pacific, Claire Lui, Ipsos executive director, said that the data on traditional media, “isn’t necessarily age dependent” and that affluent individuals in their 30s also consume traditional media and vice-versa.     

Ipsos also studied media brand prefences, which is why CNN today announced that it holds the greatest multiplatform reach (34 per cent) among affluent users, with BBC news next at 24 per cent. Similarly for television reach, CNN’s monthly reach was 27 per cent and BBC, 18 per cent.

Other highlights from Ipsos Asia’s Affluent study include:

• Big earners are big owners: Affluent people in the highest income quintiles hold 47 per cent of the wealth distribution across Asia-Pacific
• The total value of investments of affluent individuals in Asia-Pacific: US$1.108 trillion
• The affluent in Asia are much like the affluent outside Asia: they believe they are the first to have technologically innovative products and believe that what they wear is a status symbol of who they are.
• The affluent are at the forefront of technology: 34 per cent of all respondents ‘get depressed’ when out of touch with their mobile devices.
• 3.7 million affluent individuals in the Asia-Pacific own three screens (laptops, smartphones, tablets)
• Luxury promise: 36 per cent value the high quality and exclusivity promised by luxury products
• Quality is a must: 47 per cent tends to go for quality rather than standard goods.
• On average, Asia’s affluent spend 5.7 hours using media everyday and they do this on the go.
• Targeting business decisions makers: TV programmes (3.2 million), paper copy (1.7 million), websites (1.1 million), E-copy (739 thousand), apps (539 thousand)