Ten Things Every Brand Should Know About Asian-American Youth

SnapDragon Consultants, a NYC-based research & branded entertainment boutique, recently released a report entitled: “Ten Things Every Brand Should Know About Asian-American Youth“. With the help of Asian American comedian & entertainer Kate Riggs, they interviewed hundreds of students aged 14-23 all across the US. It’s part of an “ongoing initiative to deliver qualitative research and high-level insights on Asian-American youth to marketers interested in reaching this influential and growing demographic.”

Some interesting points from this study:

• “Hapa” was once a derogatory word in Hawaiian (I didn’t know that, huh) and “Happa” is slang for “marijuana” in Japanese.
• So if a gun-totin’ Japanese gangsta says, “I just smoked a Hap(p)a,” you’ll have no idea what he really means.
• “Asian-American youth are secret fans of ‘easy listening’ adult contemporary music. Lite FM is a hidden passion.” – WHAT? REALLY?? Okay, you young readers of 8 Asians, admit it: You secretly covet Kenny G, right?
• “Most Asian-American kids refer to white people as ‘white people’ the same way African-Americans do.” – HAHAHA! So true! I don’t know why that line cracks me up, but it does.
• “Underage gambling is huge.” – Um, I think adult age gambling among Asian Americans is pretty huge too.
• “All things Korean are hot and getting hotter. … Korea is the new Japan.” – Wow, really? Hey Min Jung, does this mean you’re the new Yoko Ono?
• “The 15 minutes of seemingly benign American Idol fame for William Hung had a surprisingly negative effect on Asian-American students.” – Like Paul Kim said: “I’m not hating on William Hung, but, I mean, come on…”