Spotify
Decoding Premium in Indonesia
This project was a collaboration between Beyo and Spotify. Before moving into data collection, the team needed a clearer understanding of the definition of luxury and premium in Indonesia. The research was conducted at an early stage, to allow further research in local language, relevant cues, and getting the right participant profile.
The research looked at how Indonesians define luxury, premium, and high-end value in daily life.
This included the language people use, the products and experiences they associate with status, and the emotional and social meaning attached to those choices. It also examined how these ideas appear across technology, media, and audio. The goal was to build a stronger base for recruitment, discussion guides, and stimuli, so the next phase of research could reflect how premium is understood locally.
What we did
Category
People often describe expensive purchases as “worth it” because they last longer or perform better. That explanation matters, but it does not fully explain the appeal. Premium purchases also help people manage how they are seen. In image- conscious settings, certain brands, devices, and experiences signal taste, credibility, and readiness for a particular social world. This helps explain why someone with an ordinary salary might still spend heavily on a designer bag, Apple product, or expensive perfumes. The purchase is useful in daily life, but it also helps them look like they belong in a certain circle.
Premium carries both use value and social value. People are buying something good, but also buying security in how they present themselves.
The Strategy
The research approached premium as a cultural behavior rather than only a pricing tier. It combined social media listening, local language mapping, and competitive review to understand how premium is expressed in Indonesia.
This gave the team a clearer understanding of which signals people already connect with premium, how those signals appear in online conversation and everyday behavior, and how this understanding could shape the next stage of research. The findings helped sharpen participant recruitment, discussion prompts, and stimulus development by grounding them in local language and recognizable status cues.
Cultural Code #1 Image
Many people describe expensive purchases as reasonable and worth the cost. A branded bag, designer perfume, or owning Apple devices are often seen as something that fits the life they want to live and the impression they want to give. When a purchase helps someone feel more presentable and more at ease in a certain setting, the spending feels easier to defend.
Cultural Code #2 Visibility
In Indonesia, premium often gains value when other people can see it.”Flexing” often shapes how these purchases are seen and understood. People do not only buy expensive goods or experiences for themselves. They also share them, talk about them, and invite others to react. Expensive meals, branded items, large bills, and visible spending often become social content. In many cases, this is accepted and even encouraged. The value of the purchase grows when other people recognize what it signals.
Cultural Code #3 Experience
Among younger consumers, premium is increasingly tied to being in the right places and taking part in the right moments. Luxury is no longer limited to expensive objects. It also appears through selective experiences, trend participation, and culturally relevant spaces. A listening cafe, a trending destination, or a place with the right social meaning can feel premium even when the cost is moderate. The value comes from relevance and cultural awareness as much as price.
The research points to a shift in how premium works in Indonesia. Quality and price still matter, but they do not carry the full meaning of premium on their own.
Premium becomes stronger when it helps people maintain a certain image, gain recognition, and stay connected to current culture.
This matters for Spotify. If premium is understood only as better access or added features, the offer risks feeling too narrow for the role premium already plays in people’s lives. In this market, premium has social weight. It helps people express taste, keep up with cultural signals, and feel aligned with the world they want to be part of.
