2020 was one whirlwind of a year for marketing in Vietnam. Looking forward, here are the latest developments in the Vietnamese marketing scene to help you make the most of 2021.
COVID-19 hasn’t been easy for anyone. We’ve been lucky to be here in Vietnam, where case numbers are low and (knock on wood) we’ve only had a single month-long mandatory lockdown. Of course, the pandemic has raised tremendous challenges for businesses across Vietnam, especially in the tourism, service and hospitality sectors, which have at last plateaued after nearly a decade of exponential growth.
Though the pandemic economy has introduced widespread cuts to marketing budgets, it has also massively accelerated digital transformation. Globally, businesses are going online, adapting their service offerings, marketing and sales techniques for internet audiences. And Vietnamese enterprises are no exception.
Here’s what you need to know to do marketing in Vietnam in 2021.
The Rise of Tiktok
Between remote learning on Microsoft Teams and Zoom, Vietnamese Gen-Zs continue to surf short video content on TikTok.
By the end of March 2019, the platform reported having 12 million users (that’s about 10% of the country’s population). Decision Lab recently reported that TikTok had been downloaded by up to 30 percent of all mobile users in Vietnam by August 2020.
On 26 June 2020, TikTok launched Tiktok for Business in Vietnam. Marketers now can access the Tiktok Ads Manager to run conversion funnels targeting the burgeoning Vietnamese youth demographic.
A number of household name brands have seen marketing success on the platform, such as Viettel, VNG and Maybelline New York. Check out the following screenshots of Viettel’s TikTok campaign promoting their customer service; featuring Vietnam’s beloved singer Bích Phương and football player Quang Hải.
V-Rap is the new V-Pop
Rap is nothing new for Vietnam. But ever since the launch of the madly successful reality TV shows Rap Việt and King of Rap in September 2020, young rappers have been winning over the hearts and minds of Vietnamese audiences like never before.
Novaon Communication’s recent survey showed that more than 82,9% responders identified Rap as the trending genre of 2020, a trend that seems all but guaranteed to continue on into the year ahead.
So how are brands getting involved in the local Rap scene?
Pepsi has been sponsoring Rap Việt 2020. Momo (one of Vietnam’s top e-wallet services) worked with Binz (mentor of Rap Việt 2020) to produce a music video named “021” (zero-to-one). It won 10 million views within the first 2 weeks and dramatically boosted Momo’s brand with Binz fanatics.
Live Streams & Online Events
COVID-19 forcefully stitched social distancing and remote work into the fabric of daily professional life. In lieu of attending workshops or in person networking events, virtual conferences have swiftly become the norm. Everyone’s on the internet now, meaning that just about anyone can join a virtual event—anywhere and anytime.
Livestreams have been trending for B2C and D2C businesses in Vietnam since 2019. From social networks like Facebook and Instagram to E-commerce apps like Shopee, it now seems like just about anything can be sold via live stream. Getting to see the products and interact with sellers has made developing trust with buyers a relative breeze.
For B2B enterprises, events and seminars remain key to building relationships with prospective clients. Naturally, B2B networking events were among the first to “go digital,” with businesses hosting more webinars than ever before. Webinars have the additional benefit of being easily recorded and edited for high quality video content (and eventual publication).
Vietnam Digital 4.0 – a Google initiative in Vietnam, has moved all of its in-person classes to online webinars on Youtube. Since making the shift online in 2020, they’ve gained thousands of additional viewers.
Online Shopping
54.7 million people made online purchases in Vietnam in 2019. That’s half of the nation’s total population. The top four players on the e-commerce scene are Shopee, Tiki, Lazada, and Sendo.
Shopee only came to Vietnam in Q2 2017, but has been rising fast and strong ever since. It now leads the domestic e-commerce game by a healthy margin. By Q3 2020, they were already earning 62.7 million visits quarterly.
From small businesses to big FMCG brands, just about everyone is setting up shop on the major e-commerce channels. It’s safe to say that e-commerce is well and truly the future of retail in Vietnam.
Super Apps
Super Apps (aka all-in-one apps) like WeChat and Alipay originated in China – Vietnam’s Northern neighbour. It’s no surprise that the trend has been influencing the Vietnamese app market ever since.
In Vietnam, there are two main “genres” of super app:
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Service-based apps: These apps build an ecosystem of services first, then integrate with a payment platform. Thanks to their wide services offerings, they have a large user base but are limited in payment options. Some popular examples include Grab, Now, Baemin, and Be (all ride-hailing apps) and VinID (online mall).
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Mobile-payment-based apps: These apps build their payment platform first, then connect to stores and shops to enable mobile payments. They have limited service offerings of their own. Examples include Momo, Zalo Pay, VNPay, Payoo, and AirPay (e-wallets).
What does this mean for businesses?
Whether you’re offering products or services here in Vietnam, it’s worth syncing up your business with these giant apps. Here are some solid options to start with:
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Set up online payment methods
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Set up an online store
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Give out promotions
Video Content
By January 2020, 95% of Vietnamese internet users regularly consumed online video content each month. The top video streaming platforms in Vietnam are:
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Youtube
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TikTok
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Instagram
As Vietnamese users spend more and more time-consuming video content online, a huge marketing opportunity continues to present itself to local and international businesses. Take advantage of this by:
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Creating your own business channel with valuable video content
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Partnering with content creators to promote your products or services
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Running video ad campaigns that play between videos
The possibilities for video marketing are very nearly endless, and different industries will need different strategies to succeed. Leave us a message if you’re interested in chatting with us about producing video content for the Vietnamese market.
Podcasts are on the rise
Podcasts have yet to become a buzzword in the Vietnamese marketing scene. But that doesn’t mean that no one is paying them any attention.
Besides spending a huge amount of time on Spotify listening to music, Vietnamese audiences are just now beginning to explore the world of audiobooks and podcasts. The stage is set for enterprising brands to make the most of this emerging medium.
Some notable trendsetters in the Vietnamese podcast scene include:
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Seven Million Bikes
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Saigoneer Podcast
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Vietcetera – “Have A Sip” Series
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Humans of Vietnam
Influencer Marketing
According to 7Saturday’s Report, 90% of Vietnamese buyers trust Influencer reviews, compared to only 33% who trust advertisements. The top five industries making the most of influencer marketing in Vietnam are:
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Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
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Technology
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Beauty
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E-commerce
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Finance – Insurance
There are currently more than 14 thousand influencers in Vietnam, including celebrities, talents, citizens, professionals and community pages.
The cost for influencers in Vietnam ranges from VND 500,000-1,500,000 for a nano influencer; up to VND 45-100 million for a more high profile personality.
From our perspective, influencer marketing in Vietnam isn’t always a cakewalk. It’s best to take note of all the things that can go wrong before getting your brand committed to an influencer partnership.
Marketing Automation
It’s 2021, everything can be automated. From marketing and sales departments right through to payroll, repetitive tasks are ripe for automation. On the marketing front, that means scheduling social posts, emails, and running ad campaigns.
Marketing automation tools have got you covered. Here’s what we mean, explained in a workflow:
We’ve experienced first hand the success of marketing funnels and well researched buyer journeys. This has helped us optimise and personalise our content for a dizzying array of audiences.
That doesn’t mean everyone’s ready for marketing automation. For one thing, it’s not cheap.
Automation is a big investment, but if you’ve already got a hefty database of organic leads, it’s often worth the investment.
Data-Driven Marketing
After more than 10 years of development, the Vietnamese digital marketing scene has at last outgrown its taste for vanity metrics. Comments, likes and shares will no longer cut it. To prove the effectiveness of their campaigns, marketing departments now need to be able to demonstrate real ROI to their C-suites. In other words, genuinely data-driven marketing is on the rise.
Luckily, if your business has already been running a digital marketing campaign for any considerable length of time, you’re sure to be sitting on much more valuable data than you’re even aware of.
From Google Analytics reports to Facebook & Linkedin Insights, a host of “new” user-friendly tools stand ready to help you put your untapped data to work in 2021. In addition to providing you with a better understanding of your target audiences, marketing automation tools will help you set up campaigns and workflows, track and optimise your content, and— most importantly—tie your marketing results to your bottom line.
TLDR
Marketing never stops evolving. Every year we’re bombarded with new tools and updates, but ignoring them will leave you and your clients far behind the competition.
Image Source: Tom Fishburne
But don’t let that distract you from the strategy.
Whether you’re test-running trends or preparing to launch a new platform, always keep your audience in mind.
Marketing strategies vary between fields and audience types. What works for education services is hardly going to work for a cosmetics company, and in an evolving economy like Vietnam, the devil is always in the details.
Don’t lose faith! With a bit of legwork, business here is ripe for the taking.