Tiger Moms are the past

Warc, 9 July 2014

SINGAPORE: Asia's millennial mothers are more likely to be happy and connected than to be "tiger moms" focused on pushing their children to become high achievers new research has argued.

Findings from the Dentsu Aegis Network's Consumer Connections System, a consumer panel of over 160,000 people in Asia Pacific, revealed that the connectivity of this particular group gave them a different perspective on motherhood. "They understand the importance of engaging with others to share learnings to support each other," said Marie Gruy, regional director/insight at Dentsu Aegis Network APAC.

Writing in Campaign Asia-Pacific, she highlighted how mobile and social were among the factors that defined Asian millennial mothers and set them aside from earlier Generation X mothers.

Thus, for example, 39% of millennial moms across the region went online every day using their mobiles, compared to 26% of Gen X mothers. That figure was substantially higher in certain markets, hitting 91% in South Korea, 80% in Hong Kong and 65% in Singapore. China, too, was above average on 45%.

They were also more likely to share, with the most active in this regard living in Hong Kong (57%), South Korea (47%) and Singapore (42%) and uploading photos at least once a week.

But even while they were social oversharers, millennial moms were more likely than Gen X mothers to be concerned about privacy on social network sites. The difference was most stark in Thailand where twice as many expressed this sentiment (20% v 9%).

The ease with which they can connect online and their greater inclination to share means that they are at ease with the idea of seeking help from others. Over half (56%) agreed with the statements that 'other people's opinions and recommendations are important to me' or that 'I am influenced by others' opinions on products'.

In part, this may be due to the fact that more millennial moms are more likely to be single – 11% of millennial moms across the region are unmarried. But there is a major divide between countries such as China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam where fewer than 1% are unmarried, and markets like Australia and Philippines, where 38% and 26% respectively are unmarried.

Marketers need to remember, said Gruy, that in some territories campaigns would be better focused on the mother-child relationship rather than on a traditional two parent family.

Data sourced from Campaign Asia-Pacific; additional content by Warc staff