1 DECEMBER 2023
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.
🎁 It’s that time of year again… for Spotify Wrapped! The highly-anticipated event came with new surprises this year — Culture Group’s favorite addition is the Sound Town, which matches listeners with a city based on your listening history and shared artists affinity.
Predictably, our own results came with ✨discoveries✨. While we have team members who hail from Edinburgh… get Edinburgh, the K-pop stans in Culture Group found out that Davis, USA had a specifically high concentration of fellow stans.
For more on how Spotify has created a cultural moment, read our deep dive into Spotify Wrapped here. In the meantime, scroll on for this week’s newsletter!
In this week’s edition:
- Innovation of the Week: A new audio-based app is helping Malaysians stay connected
- Fax, No Printer: What’s the unofficial 2023 word of the year?
- Regional Round-up: SEA on the map, sustainable celebrations, all about anime… and more!
Innovation of the Week
🐝 CREATING A BUZ
A new audio-based app is helping on-the-go Malaysians stay connected. Buz functions a bit like a walkie talkie, and users can send voice messages directly from their lock screen. The app is popping up on TikTok, with local creators showing how it fits into their day-to-day life. Buz was created by Singapore-based Vocal Beats; the company entered Malaysia earlier this year backed by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.
💡 OUR TAKE
Let’s start by acknowledging that the buzz around Buz might be short-lived, and the app might go the way of Lapse (more here on how it is running out of steam) and Bondee. But Buz does have several things going for it. First, the app serves two crucial human needs: communication and convenience. Second, it plays into an existing behavior shift among consumers, namely the move towards audio.
The preference for audio has impacted how people consume content – see the rise 📈 of podcasts – and how they communicate. Voice notes have boomed over the past few years: in 2022, WhatsApp users sent over 7B voice messages daily and – highlighting that this trend is also happening in more formal spaces – Slack users send 1.46M minutes of audio clips per week, up from 1M minutes in 2022.
Podcasts, voice notes and other audio formats are more intimate and effective, as it makes it much easier to convey emotion. In countries around the region where the Roman alphabet is not the standard, voice notes offer an extra benefit: it’s much simpler than fiddling with a keyboard that’s not really designed for Thai script, Hangul or Jawi. Almost 50% of Facebook Messenger’s voice traffic comes from Cambodia, because typing in Khmer is just too hard.
Amongst all this buzz, what are the key takeaways for marketers?
🎙️ Screen-fatigued consumers are eager to listen. What audio formats does your target audience prefer? How and where do they listen to audio content?
🎙️ Apps like Buz reflect the desire for more authentic and personal communication. Audio campaigns need to enhance the listening experience and not detract (or distract) from it.
Fax, No Printer*
For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’
What’s the unofficial 2023 word of the year?
A. Slay
B. Bussin’
C. Delulu
Scroll down to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!
Regional Round-up
🤤 Iconic Southeast Asian dishes like Nasi Lemak, Bánh Mì, and Sisig were seen all over Times Square as part of Grab’s latest efforts to champion the region’s flavors while putting SEA on the map for US travelers. Food is a big part of the region’s pride and identity — what could your brand do to spotlight local culture on a global stage?
💜 ARMYs in Singapore will be ending the year on a high note: both the ‘Space of BTS’ pop-up store and the BTS x James Jean: Seven Phases Exhibition will be in town until early 2024. In the new year, can you make fans’ dreams come true by bringing them closer to their passion points?
🎀 In up-and-coming Vietnam, MINISO unveiled a brand new Barbie-themed store in Hanoi. Leaning into the well-loved IP proved successful — the collection contributed to 42% of the sales, making it the best-performing store in Northern Vietnam. Creating an immersive experience that turns shopping into showstopping will build interest and expand your consumer base.
🏮Thailand just celebrated a greener Loy Krathong. Over 3000 digital krathongs (small buoyant containers) were floated, with 96.7% of physical ones made from biodegradable material. As Gen Zs grow increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment (see climate quitting), advocating for greener ways to celebrate tradition will win some love.
⚠️ ICYMI: Let’s end with some anime updates. Anime titles Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece rose to become some of the most in-demand TV shows worldwide this year. Closer to home, the much anticipated Anime Festival Asia 2023 happened in Singapore last weekend. Apart from the usual fanfare, this year’s edition featured Japan’s top women pro wrestling for the first time. One thing’s certain: the global demand for anime shows no signs of waning. What will 2024 hold for the genre?
This Week's Trivia Answer
C. Delulu
Last week, we featured an official word of the year. This week, it’s one that Gen Zs have co-opted. An abbreviation for ‘delusion’, being ‘delulu’ can be described as being unrealistic in order to end up in a desired situation. The phrase has gone viral on TikTok, with 5.7B views and counting. For many young people, delulu is the solulu (delusion is the solution).
This phrase cropped up a lot on TikTok during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) shopping frenzy. Think of it like this: even if your purchases aren’t something you need, but allow you to envision a better you, ‘delulu is the solulu’ will apply. Ultimately it’s a self-aware, humorous way for young people to own their choices and influence their reality.
Of course, TikTok trends come and go. But take a moment to consider how you might encourage Gen Z to navigate (or sometimes, escape!) challenging realities with a healthy dose of fun and humor.
🚀 Over and Out!
What’s your Spotify Wrapped Sound Town? We’d love to know.
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Your Culture Mavens,
Acacia, Angela, Kiko, Teri, & Vicki
