Building Gen Z Brand Loyalty in Southeast Asia:
A Marketing Balance 

Published on December 24, 2024

Understanding Southeast Asia's Gen Z Digital Landscape

Southeast Asia is experiencing a digital revolution, with over 63% of its young population already on social media, and millions more are joining the digital realm each year. In fact, Southeast Asian Gen Zs now spend more time online than the combined hours of both China and Japan.

International players, most notably Korean brands in the BPC market, have capitalized on the opportunity, leveraging social media and digital gateways to communicate to a Gen Z demographic with rising consumer aspirations and disposable income. However, homegrown brands are closing down the gap.

By accurately targeting specific needs and deploying effective lead nurturing strategies, prominent Indonesian brands such as Wardah and Telkomsel by.U, or even the Myanmar-rooted Gabar have solidified their market positions in a sea of global competition. 

Balancing Brand and Demand Marketing for Gen Z

Having a brand that stands out to Gen Z consumers is especially crucial online, with over 50-60% of their primary influence for decisions coming from social media and online channels. So, how can brands effectively harmonize brand building and generate sales to achieve sustained growth? 

The old 60/40 rule – 60% on brand, 40% on demand – is a good starting point, but it’s not always the right answer. The key lies in developing an unified, long-term strategy that connects both capabilities across the entire customer journey. Here’s how Gabar and Wardah implemented a multi-platform ‘brand to demand’ marketing strategy that effectively reached and engaged with Gen Z audiences.

1. Wardah: Building Gen Z Brand Loyalty Through Authenticity

By recognizing Gen Z's evolving preferences for traditional values with modern skincare innovation, Wardah effectively adjusted its media strategy to communicate more effectively with their desired target audience:

• Initially, Wardah only leveraged exclusive partnerships with Indonesian fashion designers, film stars, and mega-celebrities, as well as sponsorships of fashion shows and movies, to build its brand image among fashion-forward and affluent Muslim women.
• To cater to the increased demands for content authenticity and transparency, Wardah adopted a micro-to-medium influencer strategy.
• By partnering with influencers who have smaller but more engaged followings (1,000-100,000 followers) and focusing on authentic and relatable content, Wardah not only drove significant growth in online traffic and engagement, but also cultivated a stronger brand image and digital presence.  
• This strategic approach had led to a 134% increase in organic traffic and a shift towards direct and organic search from consumers, now accounting for 22% to 72% of the brand’s key traffic sources, respectively.
  
• Additionally, the brand's extensive product range, featuring a wide spectrum of foundation shades and makeup suitable for both hijab-wearing and non-hijab-wearing women, further demonstrates an understanding of Gen Z’s diverse preferences, and their need for product hyper-personalisation and a radical focus to inclusivity.

Also Read: Influencer Marketing in Southeast Asia: Impact & Strategy Guide

2. Gabar Fragrance: Connecting Through Values and Social Impact

Gabar, a Myanmar-rooted fragrance brand with strong international presence, leverages its cultural heritage to appeal to Gen Zs, a generation of social-conscious consumers who prioritize values over traditional luxury.

• Gabar defies traditional gender norms in the perfume industry by marketing its fragrances as unisex, appealing to a diverse range of individuals. This approach greatly resonates with Gen Z, who prioritize self-expression, individuality, and inclusivity.
• The brand is committed to sustainability and social causes, actively supporting organizations such as Prospect Burma. By incorporating social impact into its marketing, Gabar taps into Gen Zs, who are 10 times more likely to purchase sustainable products than previous generations.
  
• Gabar also leveraged the power of influencer marketing, primarily collaborating with micro and medium-sized influencers on TikTok and Instagram. This enabled the brand to directly engage with Gen Zs and create authentic content specific to them.   

Adapting Marketing Strategies to Gen Z Preferences

Another thing to note for brands is to regularly fine-tune the brand-to-demand ratios based on your goals, product, campaign, and especially customer (namely, Gen Zs’) feedback. Here's how successful Southeast Asian brands are adapting their strategies to build stronger Gen Z brand loyalty:

1. Telkomsel by.U: Personalization Drives Gen Z Engagement

As Indonesia's largest mobile operator with over 170 million subscribers, Telkomsel identified a gap in its market share among Gen Z consumers in 2019. To address this, the brand launched by.U, a new product specifically tailored to their needs and preferences:

• In terms of product positioning, By.U is a customer-centric service that prioritized Gen Zs' choice and control. By.U's SIM card services are fully operated online, eliminating the need for users to visit physical retail stores.
• Moreover, by.U offered highly-personalised service packages tailored to each consumer's unique needs and preferences. Leveraging its database and analysis of over 9,000 data points per customer, by.U gained a near-real-time understanding of consumer behavior, enabling the creation of precisely targeted services.
• By.U’s campaigns also utilised a highly organic approach to marketing by employing Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and tech reviewers on YouTube and Instagram to discuss topics most relevant to Indonesian youth communities (i.e. technology, lifestyle, sports, parenting, etc.)
  
• Online testimonials by micro influencers and everyday users were highly valued, yielding higher engagement rates with the younger demographic.
• By.U upheld a high level of transparency to its consumers, openly discussing pricing, actively listening to customer feedback, and even addressing system issues openly on the brand’s official social media page, the brand fosters a culture of trust among its Gen Z user base.

Creating Authentic Content to Drive Gen Z Loyalty

As brands seek out tactics that will lead to achieving the proper ratio, there has been a trusted hero of the brand-and-demand approach – Content.

Through authentic content creation and strategic storytelling, brands can build lasting connections with Gen Z audiences throughout the entire customer journey. Through a strategic genuine storyline approach, brands can extend key narratives and create meaningful audience interactions throughout the entire funnel, ultimately nurturing prospects to conversion, recommendation and ultimately, loyalty.

1. Tokopedia: Empowering User-Generated Content

Take the Indonesia-based e-commerce platform, Tokopedia:

• While macro-influencers (1M+ followers) reach a wider audience, 51% of Gen Zs are increasingly turning to micro-influencers for their authenticity and relatability.
• Capitalizing on this shift, in 2022, the platform launched the Tokopedia Affiliate initiative, in which consumers become influencers to promote brands/vendors, while earning commissions of up to 10% for every product sold from special affiliate links.
  
• Since its launch, the Affiliate program has seen a 16-fold increase in participation. Additionally, Tokopedia sellers who employed the Affiliate feature experienced a nearly 4-fold increase in product page visits compared to those who did not.

2. Skin Inc: Leveraging AI for Personalized Engagement

Another example is the strategic partnership between Singaporean skincare brand Skin Inc and Singaporean AI-powered data platform startup, Supermom Business. 

• The collaboration aimed to launch a campaign that showcases Skin Inc’s innovative +SABI AI App – an AI-powered virtual skin health coach that delivers personalised skincare story-based recommendations on the users' lifestyle and environmental factors.
  
• Through a strategic social media campaign, Supermom activated 300 Key Opinion Mothers (KOMs) across Singapore and Malaysia.
• The KOMs then shared their Sabi+ App skin analysis personal experiences and customised skincare results, creating content that deeply resonated with communities of young Gen Z mothers and women across both countries.
  
  
• The campaign's authentic approach soon exceeded targeted reach by 5x across both markets, delivering $720,730 in impacted media value.

Also Read: AI in Skincare: How Skin Inc Singapore Reached 3M+ Users 

Key Strategies for Building Gen Z Brand Loyalty in Southeast Asia

Deeply rooted in the digital age, Gen Zs present a unique opportunity for brands across Southeast Asia. To effectively engage and convert this tech-savvy generation, a strategic balance between brand building and demand generation is crucial.

• This involves developing compelling brand stories, leveraging micro-influencer marketing to amplify reach through quantity, while creating genuine experiences that resonate with their core values. Through strengthened brand equity, brands can foster trust even in highly-competitive markets such as Southeast Asia.
• Simultaneously, the implementation of demand generation tactics can further enhance these efforts. By effectively gathering and analyzing consumer data, brands can identify key segments and tailor marketing strategies to resonate with specific audiences and drive immediate sales.
• Personalized marketing, limited-time offers and strategic partnerships with everyday consumers as affiliate sellers to build brand trust and relatability with audiences can also incentivize purchases and increase customer acquisition.

Here’s a framework to optimise brand perception among Southeast Asian Gen Zs and enhance the effectiveness of brands’ brand & demand marketing:

By effectively blending these approaches, brands can create a powerful marketing pipeline that speaks to Gen Zs. Meanwhile, data-driven insights and collaborative efforts are also vital to adapt to their rapidly changing preferences, while gaining a deeper understanding of this tech-savvy and demanding generation.

Want to expand your brand's reach and effectively connect with Gen Z in Southeast Asia? Contact Supermom today to explore our tailored digital solutions for demand generation, brand amplification, which enable brands to leverage data-driven insights to propel growth and customer engagement.

Also Read: Gen Alpha: How This Group Drives $300B in Family Purchases