The breakdown of tribal borders

The concept of youth tribes is nothing new in Asia. Indeed, it is natural for young people to be drawn to a group with shared, specific interests as they seek to define their identity and gain recognition as an individual from the outside world.

But while groups of manga and technology enthusiasts continue to band together, marketers who look at these individuals within fixed ‘tribal’ borders are missing the point - and a major opportunity brought about largely by the rise of social media.

A tribe is a quite loose concept; basically a group of people with common interests - fashion, music or sport, for example. Obsessive ‘tribe’ culture has in the past been associated with Japan; in particular, the 80s and 90s saw the rise of the otaku (nerd) phenomenon of fan culture around anime/manga, video games, pop stars and other interests. But as Japanese youth culture has spread across Asia in tandem with a growing consumerism, similar developments have been noted elsewhere. Converse in China and Bajaj Auto in India are examples of brands that have successfully tapped into niche youth sub-cultures.

Beyond mere sociological curiosity, there is one major reason that marketers have kept an eye on tribes. Although they often begin with small, obsessive groups, they can end up influencing the mainstream. And if a tribe has brand preferences (a type of shoe, for example), those preferences can move into the mass market.

Indeed, some tribes are extremely brand-focused; one in China is the Tech Geeks, devoted to the latest in technology and gadgets. According to Lisa Li, founder of Chinayouthology, which works with brands such as Nokia, Pepsi and Nike to track youth trends, they form around websites such as ifanr.com, where they discuss new releases and swap tips. There are even sites devoted purely to followers of a brand, such as apple4.us.

The problem for marketers is that this has become an extremely fluid world, where the traditional notion of a tribe as a fixed entity holds less relevance than in the past. While some ‘tribes’ are borderline cults, most are loose groupings of individuals with a common interest.

Some groups will influence others; some will influence the mainstream; others will remain self-contained and become little more than footnotes to consumer culture. Most importantly, individuals can pass between groups, and tribes can come and go with startling speed, especially in fast-developing societies such as China.

“They may be into skateboarding, but they can also be avid volunteers and lovers of Chinese pop music. And they may switch from interest to interest in order to maximise experiences,” says Angie Chan, research manager for Greater China at Starcom MediaVest. “This is a country where youth collect experiences as a social currency.”

This fluidity is becoming even more complex with the role of the internet. As China’s Tech Geeks have shown, social media has helped group members find each other, maintain contact and organise real-life meetings. This applies outside the tech world.

Japanese social network Mixi was at the heart of a group called Mori Girls, who dress like fairies or other beings from the ‘forest’ (mori in Japanese). This started with a small group on the network and by June last year had 35,000 followers. Their goal is to look unique but not glamorous. They have favourite magazines and particular role models, and favour certain brands such as accessories company Q-pot.

In China, Douban has arisen as a compendium of social groups. Many are focused on art, literature, animation or music — though there is even a Douban group on how to grow grass in your home. However, according to Adam Schokora, partner at Neocha.com, a showcase for an extremely influential group he refers to as China Creative Youth, members also use bulletin boards, forums or QQ chat groups to stay in touch.

Many groups expand beyond borders thanks to the internet. Achara Masoodi, Mindshare’s trend-tracking scout for Asia-Pacific, points to the role of the web in the Cosplay tribe (people who dress as anime/manga characters). A central site, cosplay.com, has an event calendar of cosplay, manga, and anime conventions around the world, covering Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Australia, with a marketplace to trade accessories. She also points to the Fixies, fans of fixed-gear bicycles, who interact through a variety of local and international websites, including specific sites in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

Important here is the concept of ‘influencers’: individuals who lead opinion and draw followers around them. The internet gives them a platform to speak to a broad audience, though one thing that hasn’t changed is the idea of a close-knit in-crowd.

“It’s always about direct connections and networks,” says Dave McCaughan, Asia-Pacific strategic planning director at McCann Worldgroup. “Although there are social network pages created by influencers, they use them to communicate with the general public, not others who are ‘in’ that they should know already.”

He points to street fashion-related blog sites like honeyee, zozotown and hypebeast. “Within these are people from all sub-cultures who have taken on the role of shaping their own tribes’ image and informing a broader audience about it.”

Keeping up with this ever-shifting scene is not easy. Li, previously a researcher at TNS, bemoans the state of most research into young consumers, which fails to acknowledge the role they play in specific groups.

Li says there are already a lot of brands operating on sites like Douban, but largely without success. “Many of these attempts fail to activate or engage with a tribe. They don’t really understand the tribe, and see it as a medium to talk to consumers.’

However, there are examples now of brands successfully engaging with some of these sub-cultures. Unsurprisingly, brands in Japan have more of a history in this area, and McCaughan cites Nike, Red Bull and Zippo as companies that have had success. But brands in emerging markets like China are following suit. Converse recently built on its celebrated ‘Lovenoise’ campaign, which targeted China’s indie music scene, with ‘Spark10’, an initiative to engage art collectives across Asia.

Other brands have tried to do similar things since, such as PepsiCo’s ‘Voice of the new generation’ battle-of-the-bands talent show. And Neocha last year launched NeochaEDGE, a service to link China Creative Youth with brands.

Analysts agree that the key is for a brand to become an insider itself. Websites devoted to a specific topic can be good forums for brands to share information with a group. And a brand can take this further by targeting the influencers and working with them. Li cites Nike’s recruitment of leading people within relevant communities to help it generate insights.

Ultimately however, such time-consuming efforts are beyond many brands. Sometimes, Chan adds, it is more important to draw general truths from tribe culture that can appeal to a broader range of consumers. Some brands have played on the importance of being ‘in the know: Bathing Ape opened near Tokyo’s Harajuku area with no sign on the street, meaning only a select few would find it. The brand has since become part of mass fashion.

But rather than targeting a single niche group, knowing which young consumers are leading opinions and setting trends is crucial. Keeping track of the influencers and their interests is a must if marketers are to understand Asia’s fast-moving youth culture.

Living multiple lives

Dave McCaughan, director of strategic planning at McCann Worldgroup Asia-Pacific:

A decade ago, whether in the US or Hong Kong, we used to classify the youth market into tribes. They were usually associated with a particular music style that acted as a common bond. There are still teens in markets across Asia who strictly define themselves to one tribe. But the reality is that they are the minority. Most teens are ‘shifting sands’, moving between different groups of friends, styles and interests.

The advent of digital world has only increased this behavior. Increasingly we are seeing that teens have multiple relationships and personalities as they try to fit in. Often, online personalities are different depending on how a community is forming. And online is seen as a means to ‘re-create’ yourself over and over.

This is something we have seen developing in markets across the region. What is interesting is a growing need to be seen as ‘having a deep knowledge’ of something in order to make the right connections. In the old world of tribes we saw that everyone dug deep to have a full knowledge of that tribe’s lore and codes. A goth had to not only wear the right clothes and make-up, they had to know the right music, read the right graphic novels, never waver in private or public in their imagery. What we are noticing more now is a broader sense that everyone has to have their own ‘specialisation’. They need not just to know the group ‘knowledge’, but also to contribute in a special way. That specialised knowledge may then act as a gateway to multiple groups of friends.

As always Japan acts a leader in terms of these trends. Japan is still seen as highly influential across North and Southeast Asia, and more indirectly elsewhere. The continuing growth of manga culture, the influence of Japanese style and fashion brands both as something teens copy and something that their own favourite stylists look at for inspiration shows no signs of abating. And the story of tribes in Japan is one that is being picked up elsewhere.

Case study

Bajaj Auto targeted bike stunting, a niche youth sub-culture in India, to raise the profile of its Pulsar 220 bike among young males. The brand had been suffering in comparison with Hero Honda’s Karizma. Bike stunting, which was largely carried out on Pulsars, was seen as a skill, and this tribe had its own heroes. Taking place at night, it was still largely an underground movement.

Bajaj Auto, working with Ogilvy & Mather, decided to build on the association of stunt biking with Pulsars and turn it into a ‘mass cult’. The result was Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania. The show started with nationwide auditions followed by selection of the final participants, training and competitions. The primetime show lasted eight weeks, with a stunter eliminated each week.

MTV signed up stunt expert Allan Amin, a name associated with India’s biggest action movies. He teamed up with MTV VJ Deepti Gujaral to host the show. The total investment was just $0.8 million and 32 new bikes.

“We legitimised this underground cult, and gave its members what they yearned for - recognition,” says Abhijit Avasthi, national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather India. “We recognised, acknowledged and then popularised.”

The strategy worked. The brand saw sales jump 415 per cent between September 2008 and August 2009, and the Pulsar 220’s market share rose from 20 per cent to 71 per cent.

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This article was originaly published in the 22 April 2010 issue of Media.