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25 OCTOBER 2024

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

In this week’s edition:

  • Innovation of the Week: Southeast Asia is picking up the pace
  • Fax, No Printer: Can you guess ByteDance’s latest venture?
  • Before You Leave: Fandom and activism, Spotify remixes, taking it back to 2004… and more! 

Innovation of the Week

🏃‍♀️RUNNING RAGE

The Jakarta Running Festival recently took place from 12-13 October, attracting over 16,000 local and international participants. In July 2024, Media Indonesia reported that the number of runners in Indonesia has tripled.

Some 10 years ago, running became all the craze with corporations organizing a host of running events for charity, motivation and social engagement (who can forget the Standard Chartered Marathon, forever etched in the minds of Millennials and Gen Zs watching their dads train for the big race?) Back then, the running scene was dominated by more serious athletes – people who trained tirelessly to achieve a specific goal.

Fast forward a decade later, a new cohort of runners have emerged – casual runners. Running is now all the rage in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and beyond, inspiring a new wave of fitness enthusiasts and competitive running events that thrive off each other’s energy to drive the boom forward. While the running trend itself is part of a much larger, global fitness trend, that alone doesn’t explain its meteoric rise – especially in car-centric, polluted cities that lack the ideal infrastructure for daily runs. There’s something deeper fueling this movement. Let’s unpack that in more detail!

💡OUR TAKE 

👫Not my parents 

It’s common knowledge that Southeast Asia is home to some of the most common health problems – Malaysia leads ASEAN in obesity, Indonesia has the 6th highest number of diabetics worldwide. Diabetes is also the 6th leading cause of death among Filipinos (as of 2021, there are over 4.3M Filipinos suffering from diabetes).  

Like Gen Zs and Millennials in any part of the world, young Asians are determined to break away from unhealthy patterns. Where their parents might’ve been preoccupied navigating the economic recession and raising families, today’s youth are embracing fitness and wellness as a lifestyle. With more awareness of the health struggles they’ve seen their parents endure and a desire to avoid that, this motivation goes beyond aesthetics. 

🥇A social sport
Much like the social nature of most Asian cultures, for many new runners, it’s a chance to be part of a community. Running clubs and online communities are growing in popularity across Southeast Asia: the 5AM Gang Run Club in the Philippines has seen a surge of new members over the last year and now has more than 26K followers on Facebook. As run club numbers tick up, so does the FOMO factor. When friends share activity stats or non-runners see running-related activities on their feed, they feel inspired to join in too. Running might not be a team sport, but the premise of working towards a common goal is increasingly making it a communal activity. Despite the lack of accessibility to runner-friendly routes, the socialising aspet makes the commute worth it. 

🥈Easy access
Compared to the traditional gym culture – typically male dominated and often expensive – running can be both less intimidating and more affordable. The beauty of running lies in its simplicity. Just lace up your sneakers and go (and there are plenty of free running apps to help). 

And another point on those run clubs: many are free and emphasize inclusivity, with beginners and veterans welcome. PUMA Southeast Asia‘s recent campaign shines a light on ‘everyday’ runners—the ones who run not for records or medals, but for the joy of moving. Their message: you don’t need fancy gear or elite status to call yourself a runner. Clearly running is about more than status — community and feel-good participation are more important factors. 


🥉Lockdown to life long 

The running boom can be traced back to COVID-19. With gyms closed, people turned to outdoor activities, and many haven’t looked back. Local running continues to mature – the recent HOKA Trilogy Run Asia saw 8,000 participants (pre-pandemic, the marathon averaged 4,000-5,000 runners) – and clubs catering to more specific interests are emerging. The Trailista Run Club is aimed at those interested in nature-led adventures. Even the recent cost-of-living crisis isn’t dampening enthusiasm, lending weight to the idea that road running really is recession proof.

Fax, No Printer*

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’

Which industry does ByteDance want to disrupt next?

Scroll to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!

Before You Leave

This Week's Trivia Answer

A. Print media 📚

Following the company’s push into hardware, last week ByteDance announced that its publishing imprint, 8th Note Press, will publish print books. Starting in 2025, 8th Note Press will team up with Zando, an independent publishing company, with the goal of releasing 10 to 15 books. The focus will be on romance, romantasy and YA fiction.

It’s no coincidence that these genres are wildly popular among Gen Z and #BookTok, TikTok’s influential community of bibliophiles (38 M posts and counting). But physical books? ByteDance started publishing digital books last year but with younger readers in particular (re)embracing print media in the quest to reduce screen time and scrolling. And of course, physical books look so much better for TikToks. Note that 8th Note Press editions will be stocked in physical bookstores, which are also popular with this demographic

From dumb phones to vinyl to cr*ppy cameras, Gen Z’s love of analog is well documented. Two things to consider: 

  • Young people are looking for something that makes them feel, and that’s increasingly not digital. How will you respond to this need for physical objects that transport users to another time and place? 
  • Is there something ‘outdated’ in your industry that could be repackaged to appeal to younger consumers? What can be learned from ByteDance’s strategy? 

🚀 Over and Out!

Pop culture insights are better when shared. Subscribe, forward this on, or share the love on social media. Thanks for reading!

 

Your Culture Mavens,

Angela, Catherine, Teri, Twila, & Vicki

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