Slav’s post on Youth Trends from MAGIC reminded me of a recent report from SnapDragon Consultants and Kate Rigg on Ten Things Every Brand Should Know About Asian-American Youth.

The 10 "key insights":

  1. Many Asian-American youth feel excluded and misunderstood by most
     brands. It’s made worse by the fact that they see advertisers actively
     wooing the African-American and Hispanic markets.
  2. Mixed race kids are proudly identifying as Hapa, a once derogatory word
     in Hawaiian to mean "half." Hapa is also slang for marijuana in
     Japanese (spelled Happa). Hapa is supplanting terms like Amerasian,
     biracial, and blasian.
  3. Asian-American youth are secret fans of "easy listening" adult
     contemporary music. Lite FM is a hidden passion.
  4. There’s a "hero gap" among Asian-American kids, which is being filled
     for many by activists from other cultures. Martin Luther King is a role
     model and hero to many young Asian-Americans.
  5. Most Asian-American kids refer to white people as "white people" the
     same way African-Americans do.
  6. Underage gambling is huge. The "new" American poker obsession is
     nothing new to Asian-American kids. Gambling has a long history in
     Asian culture. Many students Rigg spoke with are avid online gamblers
     and card players. Some organize private online poker tournaments.
  7. Asian-American kids want an end to the hyper-nerdy images of
     themselves on TV and want to see more punked-out skater and graffiti
     DJ images which reflect a different energy. The feeling is:  Enough with
     the math geeks, future doctors and violinists. Asian-American kids crave
     street credibility — not just academic accolades.
  8. Asian-American kids universally hate the question:  Where are you from
     — especially since the answers are usually something like
     "Westchester" or "Boston."
  9. All things Korean are hot and getting hotter. Fashion. Foods. DJs.
     Online communities. Korea is the new Japan.
  10. The 15 minutes of seemingly benign American Idol fame for William
      Hung had a surprisingly negative effect on Asian-American students.
      There’s a feeling that Hung perpetuated the worst stereotypes about
      Asian people and gave non-Asians permission to indulge in two years
      of racial stereotyping and mocking.

Interestingly enough, the report was based on interviews that Kate Rigg conducted with Asian-American youths from 14 to 23 in preparation for a performance piece scheduled for the Smithsonian.

Official Site:
SnapDragon Consultants