Meaningful Engagements: Insights, Innovation Drive Regional Initiatives to Connect with Younger Generation

In today’s dynamic global market, brand awareness is vital, especially among the younger generation—a digitally savvy and socially conscious demographic with significant influence over consumer trends. Brands that successfully capture their attention build trust, loyalty, and a strong sense of community. Cultivating brand awareness is not just about visibility; it’s about creating lasting connections. 

A survey conducted in 2021 showed that awareness of the Panasonic brand among people in their 20s had declined in Japan and in some overseas regions. Panasonic communication teams around the globe swiftly mobilized to address the issue, implementing targeted initiatives tailored to their specific markets with the goal of reconnecting with young consumers through innovative and authentic engagements. Thanks to these sustained efforts to engage, brand awareness among this key demographic continues to deepen.

Let’s delve into the insights and efforts from the company’s regional communication teams, exploring how their tailored approaches successfully revitalized brand awareness among the global youth.

In North America, Panasonic maintains a respected brand image among Baby Boomer and Gen X consumers due to a strong legacy of high-quality consumer products. While the brand is still supported by consumer affinity for premium products, we’ve experienced a shift in image and awareness as Panasonic emerges as a trusted B2B solutions provider powering industries and enterprises.

That shift means young people have grown up with fewer Panasonic products in their homes, so it’s more likely they know Panasonic for our work in EV batteries and overall commitment to sustainability in the face of the climate crisis—a front-of-mind issue for Gen Z and Millennials.

The challenge is maintaining broad brand recognition despite having fewer visible, physical consumer touchpoints, so we seek to engage with younger audiences by leading with who we are and what we believe.

Our goal is to be consistent in our stories, language, visual design, and how we measure impact. We are dedicated to ensuring the quality of creative, credibility of content, and that our messages are showing up in the right places. We are focusing more on video content—especially on TikTok and Snapchat—to drive engagement around Panasonic GREEN IMPACT, Team Panasonic, and STEM education initiatives.

Panasonic has a strong reputation among consumers in the APAC region as a brand offering durable and reliable household products. This reputation that dates back to the time when Panasonic was known as National, and while qualities such as quality and reliability have long appealed to older generations and household decision-makers, they don’t attract the interest of younger generations, who always wants to be better than their peers.

Another reason for this is strong competition from Korean and Chinese brands, which actively use product design and advertising to cultivate a youthful and technologically advanced image. The Panasonic brand has room for improvement when it comes to being the top-of-mind brand among younger generations of consumers.

One approach we are taking is collaboration with our regional consumer team to improve Panasonic branding on brand and social media content to more effectively raise awareness and engagement on the various platforms used by our target audience. Meanwhile, we have also supported Panasonic Vietnam’s efforts to promote Panasonic GREEN IMPACT sustainability initiatives to the younger generation. This involved a series of activities, including the Gen G Ambassador Program and school tours, and positioned Panasonic as the leading sustainable brand in its sector among younger Vietnamese consumers.

Recent brand awareness surveys in Germany, the UK, and France indicate that many people are familiar with our brand, which is positive, but there is still room for growth. Our goal is for Panasonic to be recognized not only for high-quality products and solutions but also for its commitment to sustainability, reliability, and technological innovation.

The survey also revealed that 18- to 34-year-olds were less familiar with the Panasonic brand than business professionals aged 30 to 50. Young people know the brand name, but don’t know what Panasonic actually does—a gap that may be due to the emphasis on B2B products and solutions, which are less relevant to them.

Connecting with Generation Z can be tough! Everyone wants their attention, so brands compete with a constant flood of info and distractions, making it even harder to stand out.

Ahead of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are sponsoring four incredible athletes from the UK, Germany, and France who are sharing their sustainability stories while learning about and engaging with Panasonic’s initiatives, such as Panasonic GREEN IMPACT, to communicate with their audiences in a more understandable way. We will also continuously update our messaging to educate the younger generation about Panasonic’s efforts to achieve our net-zero goals by 2030!

Panasonic is known for its rich legacy, innovation, and quality products. Given the breadth of our offerings in India, Panasonic is positioned as a “diversified technology company.” A significant portion of our revenue comes from consumer appliances and electronics, so we also cultivate a brand image that is youthful, vibrant, and driven by innovation. Holistic campaigns for initiatives such as Panasonic Ignition promote our association with the startup ecosystem, while our brand narrative with e-waste campaigns (Diwali Wali Safai) and Panasonic GREEN IMPACT emphasize our sustainable credentials.

In a recent survey among premium household consumers aged 18–34, brand awareness was 74 percent. They perceive Panasonic as “innovative, modern, trusted, and popular.” The challenges we face relate to limits on media spend, which hampers our presence across the platforms and channels frequented by Millennials and Gen Z; the lack of tailor-made content and influencer partnerships that resonate with their lifestyle preferences and visual aesthetics; and limited engagement with popular interests, such as music, entertainment, and sports. 

“Welcome To Adulthood,” a flagship campaign launched in 2022, specifically targets younger generations and positions Panasonic as an empathetic provider of brand-agnostic guidance on choosing the right product for their needs. The award-winning campaign’s 53 million impressions, 7 million engagements, and 43 million unique reach are testament to its success.

Every year, we survey Chinese people aged 20 to 60 about their perception of the Panasonic brand, and the most recent poll shows that Panasonic’s favorability is steadily increasing and that we are building emotional ties with people 30 and over. Consumers associate the brand with advanced technology, high-quality products, and a low-carbon, eco-friendly lifestyle.

Brand recognition is lowest among people in their 20s, in part due to Panasonic’s business transformation in China over the past 15 years. With fewer products targeting young consumers and less advertising, they have fewer touchpoints. Young people today are more interested in “cool brands” in high-tech, gaming, and visual imaging.

Raising brand awareness among Gen Z is a significant and ongoing challenge, but resonating with young people and earning their attention and affection requires a fundamental change in approaches.

China has 325 million Gen Z internet users, 28.1% of total, tailored content to their taste is becoming our key communication strategy towards creating impact on our future consumers. We don’t push out business or product updates, but engage with young people. Our social media channels, including Weibo, WeChat, and TikTok, and our social media strategy prioritize creative images and videos and interviews with Gen Z employees. By producing content that aligns with their interests, we aim to boost Panasonic’s visibility and appeal among younger audiences.

General awareness of the Panasonic brand in Brazil is low among all audiences—and very low among young people—although prompted awareness* is at a good level due to past brand communication activity.

Our challenge is cultivating opportunities to engage with Millennials and Gen Z that complement traditional brand communication assets and channels. Since Japan is popular among Brazilians, Japanese assets, supported by a good campaign, can make an effective brand communication ambassador.

We’ve reworked our brand strategy with the goal of raising overall brand awareness up to 2030 by leveraging on Japanese assets, promoting unique Panasonic technologies, introducing a new brand ambassador for younger age groups, supporting the product portfolio with social media influencers from target audiences, and expanding Panasonic GREEN IMPACT activity with the support of Japan and Olympic athletes.

Under the 2030 strategy, we are discussing the creation of a Panasonic-sponsored Japanese home within JAPAN HOUSE Sao Paulo. JAPAN HOUSE is a project to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of Japan, and it operates three hubs—London, Los Angeles, and Sao Paulo—each featuring an exhibition area, multipurpose space, shop, library, and cafe. Our proposed installation would exhibit unique products not available in Brazil to foster a sense of desire and affinity among younger generations and families.

Our ultimate goal is to become the most desired brand in our segment by 2030. Achieving this goal will require a global commitment from top management to strictly control and define the brand consistently across all operating companies. As an organization we have many segments, but only one brand—and each part of the organization should use unified messaging, visuals, and brand identity to present consumers with a clear idea of what the Panasonic brands stands for.

* Prompted awareness is the ability to identify a brand after having been shown some form of stimulus (such as a list of brands)

For Panasonic, the incremental recovery in brand awareness among global youth is a positive sign, reflecting the effectiveness of regional strategies and initiatives. However, the journey is far from over. Sustaining and further enhancing brand awareness requires continuous innovation, deep understanding of evolving consumer preferences, and ongoing authentic engagement. To secure a lasting presence in the hearts and minds of young consumers, Panasonic must remain vigilant, adaptable, and committed to delivering genuine value and connection.