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Foreign production firms dominate the market
Vietnam's 7,000 or so advertising production companies are all jostling for position in a market which is expanding by 30 percent a year.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that despite the growth, most are losing out to companies from abroad.
Higher production values, more talented casts and the latest in computer generated imagery (CGI) have left many of Vietnam's marquee brands choosing foreign companies over their domestic counterparts.
Advertising in the country has grown by 30 percent annually since 2006 - one the highest growth rates in the Asia Pacific region, according to global market research group Taylor Nelson Sofres.
Television advertising alone has grown by 26 percent each year, according to the firm.
It is estimated that about 3,000 advertising clips are made annually at a minimum cost of US$40,000 for each clip, Saigon Economic Times reported.
Usually, businesses operating in Vietnam hire local companies for concept design and then farm out the production to international film makers, Nhip Cau Dau Tu (Investment Bridge) Magazine reported.
Sixty percent of ads in Vietnam are produced by foreign outfits which are chosen for their modern equipment and teams of experienced professionals.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, marketing director of milk producer Vinamilk, said as some campaigns cost millions of dollars to produce he is reluctant to hand over the conceptual and production reins to local firms, which do not have the track record of some of the bigger international companies.
“The director is the key factor when it comes to choosing the producer of our ad,” he said. “However, no Vietnamese company has its own director.”
Henri Tran Anh Dung, managing director of Ho Chi Minh City-based advertising firm South East Asia Production Services Ltd. (Sudest), said that there just isn't enough work for companies to keep full-time directors in house.
“A number of Vietnamese directors used to work with us but they have now switched to television and movies,” Dung said. “ We have no choice but to hire foreign directors. I hope to see the emergence of young Vietnamese directors when the market expands further.”
Nguyen Lien Huong, marketing director of water producer La Vie, said businesses rarely chose domestic advertisers because they lack equipment and modern technology, especially for special effects.
But Sudest director, Dung, said hope is in sight if investments are made to develop human resources within the industry, local firms would be able to compete with their foreign counterparts.
According to the Vietnam Advertising Association, the country currently has more than 7,000 advertising companies, employing nearly 100,000 workers.
Industry revenue is expected to reach $3 billion by 2020.
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