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15 DECEMBER 2023

Welcome to this week’s edition of Culture Wire, a newsletter brought to you by Singapore-based pop culture marketing agency Culture Group.

This is a special year-end edition, recapping the five key pop culture moments in 2023 — primarily in Southeast Asia, but also beyond — and exploring the implications for marketers. Let’s dive in.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW: 5 KEY MOMENTS FROM 2023

👛 OPENING THE CULTURE WALLET

What do #girlmath, the growth of bubble tea, and the explosive consumer demand for live entertainment have in common? They all demonstrate the power of the Culture Wallet — consumers’ disproportionate propensity to spend when it comes to their passion points. Some examples of the culture wallet in action? BLACKPINK fans in Vietnam spent more than three-quarters of the average monthly salary on a ticket to see their idols, while the majority (80%) of Gen Z is willing to take on credit to see their favorite artists live.

 

💡 OUR TAKE

We’ll discuss live music & entertainment in greater detail in the next piece, but for now, let’s talk about the Culture Wallet, as observed through the pop culture happenings over the last few months. Fans are willing to spend on their passion points, viewing these purchases — which are primarily driven by emotions — as an essential lifestyle spend versus a ‘nice to have.’ To capture a share of the culture wallet, brands should consider the shift from utility- to passion-driven spending and focus on experience-based offerings (discounts are soooo 2019). Forget functional, the future is cultural!

🎟️ LIVING THE LIVE

Live music and entertainment is having its ✨moment✨ Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran did very brisk business in Southeast Asia, dominating headlines with the buzz around their ticketing periods. Consumers’ Culture Wallet for live events has also had a spillover effect on the rest of the economy — following Taylor Swift’s concert announcement, Agoda reported a 160x increase in Singapore hotel searches while Traveloka saw a 6x increase in flight bookings. Beyond the current slate of events, one-third of Gen Zs are looking to spend more on live entertainment in general.

 

💡 OUR TAKE

You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that the culture economy will go from strength to strength in 2024. But here’s the thing: the frenzy we’ve seen so far? That’s just the ticket sales. The actual events will take place in 2024, meaning we have not even seen the peak of consumer excitement yet. By Culture Group’s own estimation, in Q1 2024, about 1.2M people in SEA will see a live event, just across the three global acts mentioned above. These events will represent huge pop culture moments that brands would do well to be part of. So, if you need help being a part of the movement, drop us a note.

💖 SWEET, SWEET SUPERSTAR

TIME magazine’s Person of the Year. More than 26.1B streams on Spotify. The most searched for songwriter. And the topic of countless thought pieces (including Culture Wire)… we cannot do a 2023 pop culture review without mentioning Taylor Swift. In 2024, the Eras Tour continues globally, with stops in Singapore and Tokyo, and Swift could break (more) records at the Grammys. Devoted Swifties will continue to set new standards around what it means to be a fandom, creating plenty of opportunities for brands to tap into Swiftonomics.

 

💡 OUR TAKE

Beyond just Taylor Swift, it’s worth noting that 2023 was dominated by female-led pop culture moments. It started with Michelle Yeoh winning big at the Oscars and finished with the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie topping USD 1B in box office sales (in the midst of all that was Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour). Two thoughts: hopefully these success stories will finally dispel the notion that female-centric narratives are not universally appealing and lead to more diverse stories. Second, that the playful fandom behavior that was the hallmark of Eras, Barbie, and Renaissance is here to stay. Are you looking out for moments when escapism and pop culture collide?

🎮 GAME OF THE YEAR

Gaming continued to extend its influence into mainstream culture: think the highly successful The Last of Us TV adaptation, Genshin Impact and its music, and the GTA 6 trailer drop becoming a cultural moment. But the biggest title of the year is one that is perhaps not as familiar to non-gamers: Baldur’s Gate 3. The classic RPG from Larian Studios became one of the highest-rated games of all time and most-played games on Steam, beating out evergreen titles like DoTA 2 and PUBG.

 

💡 OUR TAKE

The success of Baldur’s Gate 3 can be attributed to several factors: revival of the classic RPG genre (hello Stranger Things and D&D!), a great narrative, and most uniquely, scrapping microtransactions. It was a well-made passion project and fans — jaded by the same-old, slightly-upgraded yearly releases from big companies — responded positively. Gaming presents a dichotomy for marketers to work with. Big titles crossing over to the mainstream means a wider pool of casual enjoyers to engage, but appealing to the core fans will require an understanding of what makes gamers truly tick. What’s your play?

🤖 GENERATING INTEREST

At the start of 2023, interest in generative AI was high. The technology quickly infiltrated pop culture with AI-generated images going viral (did you create a ‘90s high school photo?) and creators exploring cultural mash-ups – think Wes Anderson x Star Wars or Harry Potter x Balenciaga. More recently, Nicki Minaj fans used AI to create a pink-colored fictitious world, known as Gag City, ahead of the launch of the rapper’s new album launch. The seemingly organic movement was a win for fans and brands.

 

💡 OUR TAKE

Fans create internet culture. It’s not surprising that they jumped on generative AI to highlight the depths of their fandom or – in the case of Nicki Minaj – worked together to realize elaborate narratives around a new release. Are you attuned to the way that fans are taking the lead in shaping use cases for generative AI? Could these new tools help fans play with your IP in playful ways? See how Coca-Cola opened up their IP for consumers to experiment with.

🚀 OVER AND OUT!

Thanks for reading Culture Wire this year. This newsletter will hit pause for the next two weeks, but do keep an eye out for some special editions with some inspiring holiday reading 👀

If you’ve enjoyed reading this newsletter over the past few months, gift it to your colleagues. Subscribe, forward this email on, or share the love on social media.

 

Your Culture Mavens,

Acacia, Angela, Kiko, Teri, & Vicki

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