MANILA, PHILIPPINES – COVID-19 changed the world almost overnight. Suddenly, the world is smaller, and movement almost screeched to a halt. The millennials are indoors, but not bound. They are taking the situation rather positively. They know how to live large in a much smaller space. It is almost as if they were born for it.
“Millennial Codes Unlocked: Lockdown Edition” is an open access eight-part webinar series co-produced by adobo magazine and Havas Ortega Group that will help marketers and creatives understand just how this generation is dealing with the lockdown.
Over a span of eight years, The Havas Ortega Group invested in building the Millennial Thick Data Set. Using a Life-stage Approach that allows for a holistic picture of the Millennial Mindset. In 2015, Havas Ortega revealed the results of the study “Millennial Codes: How Filipino Millennials Interact with the World and Brands”, made up of 7 codes that reveal attitudes and motivations of millennials in the Philippines. Havas Media Group Asia Pacific took notice of the groundbreaking research and saw the potential to expand the study to reveal a regional perspective. What followed was a dedicated qualitative research done simultaneously in 10 primary cities (Bangkok, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, New Delhi, Sydney, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.)
By gathering stories and immersing with this target group, the Ethnography, through visual and aural reverberations, defined the tipping points for this generation and developed a regional perspective on how the APAC Millennial thinks, feels and acts. “MILLENNlAL” is a term coined by Western marketeers. Taking into consideration its Western definition, the context of being a Western Millennial is different from the context of being a Millennial in Asia specifically the Philippines where they comprise more than 30% of the current population.
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CODES are cultural imprints that unconsciously influence human behavior and how people regard things around them. The culture in which people grow up, their family values, experiences from living constitute the codes that define and make individuals process information in different ways. Codes are how we see the world.
In this webinar, we unlock seven millennial codes that drive and shape the life of the Single Filipino Millennial, and find out how brands and agencies can connect with them further.
The Speakers
The webinar will be moderated by Jos Ortega, Chairman & CEO of Havas Ortega, who has been in the communications industry for 35 years. Prior to this joint venture, he was the CEO of J. Walter Thompson, Chairman of BrandLab, Vice Chairman of BBDO Guerrero Ortega and Strategic Planning Director of Ogilvy & Mather. He was also the Regional Training and Development Director of BBDO Asia. Jos was the Golden Year President of the Philippine Marketing Association. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the Asian Institute of Management and the Advisor of the De La Salle University College of Business for Marketing. He is also a strong advocate for mental well-being in corporate culture.
Joining him “onstage” is Havas Ortega Group Planning Consultant Vicky Ortega. Vicky’s passion is communication strategy for building brands. She began her career in account management at SSC&B: Lintas, now known as Mullenlowe. Her passion for brand planning led her to form and head Lintas Manila’s first planning team. She continues to follow her passion for communication planning through teaching strategic message development to NGOs – Probe Media Foundation, which focuses on proper use of media for social development, and the Dilaab foundation, a Christian foundation focusing on community development.
To discuss with them their findings is Gayia Beyer, Director of Applied Anthropology of Havas Ortega Group focused on understanding contemporary life, particularly on the economics of living according to life-stage. She has 25 years of extensive fieldwork experience in the study of people’s mindsets, behavior and culture. Her work footprint has enabled her to contribute and lead research programs in in the Academe, Development and Corporate Environments.
Gayia has pioneered the use of ethnography as a major tool in the design of communications campaigns and marketing strategy for companies in the Philippines and abroad for over 12 years. Understanding the Millennial has been an ongoing passion since 2013.
Epicode 2’s special millennial guest is Kassandra “Kass” Barnes, a gender equality and human rights advocate. She has led powerful programs for girls’ education and advocacy campaigns that promote women empowerment, such as the #RespetoNaman Campaign, and the Initiative for Marawi Women. Her work in gender equality has focused greatly on gender and development, gender-based violence, and women’s economic empowerment. In her spare time, she is an aspiring home cook and a Rupaul’s Drag Race megafan.
Epicode 2 goes live on April 30, 2020 at 3:15 pm, and conversations begin by 3:30.
Webinar Schedule
Millennial Epicode 1: Millennials Unbound
April 23, 2020 | 3:30 pm
The virus seemed to have pushed Millennials into a corner. At home they are reintroduced to analog living after being intermittently out of touch. But they remain unfazed. In this new albeit smaller space they are in, Millennials get crafty in finding ways to further realize themselves. Not even the lockdown can stop them from pursuing what is called the 1st Millennial Code: Meta-Me.
With special guest: Paui Peña, a Movement Coach at The Movement Studio, Indoor Cycling Instructor at Ride Revolution, and an art director.
Watch Epicode 1:
Millennial Epicode 2: There Will Always Be Me in Meaning
April 30, 2020 | 3:30 pm
The doors may be shut, but Millennials still have a lot to offer. They are subscribers of many apps. They are members of digital tribes. There are wired to be unwired. They follow the 2nd Millennial Code: Take Pride in Passion Over Profession. And they don’t shy away from contributing in the best way they know: create and connect. After all, if this is not a good time for them to find purpose and continue creating a legacy, when else?
With special guest: Kass Barnes, gender equality and human rights advocate.
Watch Epicode 2:
Millennial Epicode 3: Millennials on Turf Wars
May 7, 2020 | 3:30 pm
The parents are around. The siblings are about. Millennials aren’t only working with a smaller space. They are also working with a shared one. They are at home. That means they are currently in a constant strife for turf, privacy, and independence. And as with all conflicts, there will always be negotiation. They are bound by the 3rd Millennial Code: Negotiate Life.
Millennial Epicode 4: It’s Not the End of the World
May 14, 2020 | 3:30 pm
In the time of lockdowns and social distancing, Millennials are still at-large–virtually. They live large by way of the 4th Millennial Code: Into the Comfort Zone. They are at home with immersing themselves in the virtual world. They convene, connect, and make new social circles with their phones. They get together for parties while being apart. They take trips using technology right from the comfort of their couches. They fight battles and play games through screens. To them, it seems (at least virtually) the lockdown is merely a suggestion.
Millennial Epicode 5: Welcome to the Me Show
May 21, 2020 | 3:30 pm
Vlogging. Tiktok. Instagram stories. Millennials cannot distance themselves from themselves. They have an account and platform for every curated piece of themselves, and they continue to share those with the world. The 5th code is “For Squad Eyes Only”, and they always see to it that screens are windows to their soul.
Millennial Epicode 6: Saving All My Love…For Whom?
May 28, 2020 | 3:30 pm
While everything is on hold, the desire for love and romance is not on lockdown. Still millennials are, in a way, in LDRs. Technology takes this to the next level. With quarantine measures in place, this is a test of Millennials’ approach to developing, maintaining, and terminating relationships. It is the 6th Millennial Code, Reformat. Reboot. Delete., in action.
Millennial Epicode 7: Save the Best for Later
June 4, 2020 | 3:30 pm
Born into the era of mobile technology, millennials are never short in their arsenal of service and shopping apps. They are masters of their coin, and believe in the 7th Millennial Code: Trust In The Cloud. They get their parents on board to keep them safe and indoors, but also for their own personal economic reasons. After all, when the crisis blows over, millennials will be released back into their natural habitat. And that would need resources.
Millennial Epicode 8: Millennial Codes, Unlocked and Loaded
June 11, 2020 | 3:30 pm
A look back at the seven codes, and a conclusive discussion on the collective findings, realizations, and reactions from the previous epicodes.
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See you there!
