Stagwell's (STGW) National Research Group Releases 'Exploring Indonesia,' Second Edition of its 'Capstone Series' on Emerging Markets
On April 12, 2023, Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) announced the release of "Exploring Indonesia," a comprehensive study by the National Research Group (NRG) in collaboration with Coconuts Media. This research delves into Indonesian consumer behavior, tech adoption, and content preferences, revealing significant insights about a mobile-first market poised for growth. Key findings indicate that 75.4% of respondents own smartphones, with 92% using Android. The Indonesian gaming industry ranks first in Southeast Asia and the study highlights the impact of super-apps like Grab and Gojek. As Indonesia is projected to become one of the top five global economies by 2050, brands are encouraged to engage authentically to capture the growing market driven by a young and urban population.
- Research highlights Indonesia's strong mobile-first practices; 75.4% smartphone ownership.
- Indonesia's gaming market is the largest in Southeast Asia, growing at 37% annually.
- The study showcases the potential of super-apps, familiar to 96% of respondents.
- Research predicts Indonesia will be among the top 5 global economies by 2050.
- 69% of low-income Indonesians do not subscribe to paid streaming services due to high costs.
- Limited high-quality internet access restricts streaming accessibility for many consumers.
"Indonesians consider themselves a hospitable nation: honest, respectful, and family/community-conscious, with
"As Southeast Asia's largest economy with a population 270M strong, of which
"Working on the Capstone Series has allowed us to really delve into the diverse nature of our audience in
Exploring
- In mobile, they trust: Cost-effective Android products released since the mid-2010s have made smartphone ownership accessible across income levels – in 2022,
75.4% of respondents owned a smartphone, with92% on Android. - Super-apps: Apps like Grab and Gojek that consolidate services (e.g. finance, messaging, ride share, food delivery) are a unique phenomenon. In the country,
96% are familiar with both. - Gaming: The Indonesian gaming market is ranked 1st in
Southeast Asia and 17th in the world, with the local gaming sector growing37% annually (Indonesian Gaming Association ). Of these,88% use a smartphone to play. - Cash is king, with mobile pay close behind: While cash makes up
49% of payments, mobile wallet transactions (33% of payments) are diverse, with the most popular uses including mobile recharge, fund transfers, family/friends reimbursement, and investing. - Paid streaming is for the wealthy: With limited high-quality internet access, paying for streaming is a luxury that has not trickled down to lower-income or rural populations;
69% of low-income Indonesians do not subscribe to any services. - Fifty-seven percent of respondents list lower cost options/tiers as the top reason to pay for a new service
- Sports fandom goes "all out": Indonesians express excitement and support for their favorite teams on TV and social media in sheer numbers.
- Sixty percent of men watch live sports on TV or streaming services weekly
- According to Safenet Indonesia Co-founder Damar Juniarto, "To have the highest ratings for TV in
Indonesia you have to have sports channels – especially football, and second you must cover badminton. It's about national pride, they also connect with the national league." - Move over, Netflix? Vidio is "really, really Indonesian," but Western services are fast learners: Investment in live sports broadcasting, including access to FIFA World Cup and the
Premier League , as well as local content has made Vidio the fastest-growing streaming service inIndonesia - Affordability is another plus, with plans starting at less than
– a metric not associated with Western services$2 USD - That said, younger streamers (under 35) demand variety in their content, with
59% saying it's "very important" a service has new, relevant content to watch, something Vidio may have trouble keeping up with compared to its Western competitors - K-Dramas are critical: A variety of streamers have tapped into the "K-Wave" of growing popularity around Korean dramas ("Drakor"), which makes up
51% of Indonesians' favorite streaming genres in movies, and48% on TV. - Short-form social reigns: Ranked the no. 1 entertainment activity, Indonesians turn to social media most (
30% ) over music (17% ), streaming movies or TV (15% ), or watching an online short-form video (13% ), when they have a short period of time. - Instagram is the most frequently used social media app, while
TikTok is quickly outpacing Twitter –61% useTikTok multiple times a day vs. Twitter (55% ). Seventy-nine percent useTikTok to view entertaining content, while72% of Twitter users visit to keep up with news. - About 8 in 10 Indonesians watch short-form content daily, consuming an average of 14.6 hours of online video content a week.
- YouTube: Still the fan favorite: The platform Indonesians enjoy using most – by a wide margin – YouTube is used by
84% of Indonesians weekly for their entertainment needs, primarily to watch how-to tutorials (28% ), comedy content (28% ), and sports (23% ). - YouTube also outperforms top streamers on leading attributes such as ease of use and content variety, affordability, diverse representation, and for teaching positive lessons.
Boundaries and guardrails
- Explicit content is unwelcome: Pornography and nudity is banned in all entertainment – along with platforms such as Vimeo and Reddit – while nearly three-quarters of Indonesians would refuse to watch or be less likely to watch a new film with LGBTQ+ themes.
- Podcasters, such as PODKESMAS, a comedy talk show, and other online content creators are the ones who push the boundaries with controversial discussions on sexuality, drugs and religious taboos.
- Crypto is surging, despite being banned as a form of payment: 1 in 4 currently trade/invest in crypto; with more than 14M crypto users in the country, it surged
300% over the pandemic. - Women are more open to content that pushes the boundaries of gender roles, such as not wearing hijabs on TV and playing important job roles.
NRG's planned upcoming Capstone Series research markets include
Study Methodology
NRG conducted an online survey in
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