VINACHEM

Young people were the centre of population, economy and even politics in Asian countries, Vu told a discussion group at the forum.

They were the foundation of a country, and the leaders of the future, so if global brands wanted to penetrate a certain Asian market, they must understand the youth's culture, religious beliefs and consumer habits, the chairman of one of Viet Nam's leading coffee and cafe brands said.

Alternatively, for Asian brands to succeed globally, they must be original and have an Asian distinction when they build their brandnames, rather than follow brands in developed countries.

In the discussion, panelists focused on the differences between the young generation in Asia and other parts of the world.

Young people in different countries had different preferences and consumer habits especially when it comes to food, said Siddharth Varma, managing director of Yum! Restaurants International's Asia Franchise Business Unit, Singapore.

Mark Duree, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, Adecco, Japan, gave an another example – when young Japanese apply for jobs, they are more concerned about the brand they will be working for than the position.

On the other hand international graduates apply for jobs according to the position more than the company's brand.

Thanks to IT, the Asian young generation were closely connected via chat and social networks such as facebook, making them more independent, said Ken Mandel, vice president of Advertising Sales and Marketplace of Yahoo! APAC, Singapore.

They go online to talk and share information with each other. They think brands are important, but still must cater for their values and different genders.

Thomas T Lembong, director of Quvat Management, Indonesia, said that new technology kept brands on their toes as they constantly have to adapt to changing tastes and fads of young people.

(Source: VNS)