How did marketing look in the past? An expert from Insider, a global tech company in the US, tell us, “Previously for one client to approach the brand, they had to see the ads on the streets or hear the voice on the radio and they were praying and hoping the end users would go to the store and buy the products.”
But the bloom of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, and Twitter was truly a game changer. These platforms were a golden opportunity for Gen Z to show themselves. The New York-based Social Media Today reported that 94% of brands believed that influencer marketing is ten times more efficient than traditional methods. Influencers now seem to be essential to any marketing campaign.
 CEO Do Tuan Hai (Photo: The A List) |
Do Tuan Hai, an influencer himself and CEO of The A List – an influencer booking agency, talked about the biggest trend of new generation influencer marketing in Vietnam last year, “The hottest searches last year were undoubtedly Rap Viet and King of Rap. Rap is not a new musical genre but it caught a wide public interest last year thanks to these two rap competitions. Almost all sponsored music videos released at the traditional Lunar New Year festival featured rap verses. Rapping is thought to make slogans or brand names sound more smooth and rhythmic. Collaborations between rappers and young influencers are a big thing. One of the most successful stories was ‘Em la Chau Bau’ (I am a treasure) featuring rapper Tlinh and MCK and hot fashionista Chau Bui at the request of Phu Nhuan Jewelry for its new collection. The MV has racked up 30 million views on Youtube.”
 "I am a treasure", a collab of rappers TLinh and MCK and fashionista Chau Bui for PNJ's "Style" collection, is phenomenal at the beginning of 2021. |
Hai went on to say, “Another successful MV was ‘Di Ve Nha’ (Coming home) by Justatee and rapper Den Vau sponsored by Honda Vietnam. Shortly after its release, ‘Coming home’ was a huge hit because it took inspiration from a family reunion, one of the core values of the Lunar New Year festival. It hit the audience in the heart and has garnered 92 million views so far. When brands see something hot, they immediately follow. My company The A List has received tons of orders featuring Justatee and Den Vau in their MVs.”
Google Trends, a website by Google that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in Google Search, reported that by last August, Vietnam had approximately 22,000 influencers. From 180-280 new influencers emerged every quarter, a huge number of them on TikTok, where influencers and hashtag challenges take us by storm. People sing, dance, and transform to the surprise of their audience. One of the biggest hashtag challenges of 2020 was “Phieu cung xe chat” (Chill with your cool vehicle) by Vinfast to market its e-scooters.
Hai said, “The hashtag ‘Phieu cung xe chat’ registered 200 million views and 101,000 videos just six days after its launch, becoming one of the most successful campaigns on TikTok. To make this challenge go viral, we booked 40 hot tiktokers to create their demo videos. The campaign was honored by MMA SMARTIES Awards - the world's only innovation award recognizing leaders, brands, agencies, and tech providers that use technology to pioneer new approaches in modern marketing.”
 "Phieu cung xe chat" challenge was a big thing on TikTok in 2020. |
According to Hai, influencers are not necessarily humans. Virtual influencers are created by technology. They have name and outlook that fit the brand’s image. They are not scandalous and always punctual at events.
Hai elaborated, “Last summer, Toc Tien Clear Head was the hottest virtual influencer. Clear hair care built up Toc Tien Clear Head, resembling singer Toc Tien, for all of its marketing campaign. If you log onto Facebook, you can chat with Toc Tien Clear Head, the virtual influencer.”
 Toc Tien Clear Head (left) is a virtual influencer inspired by singer Toc Tien (right).(Photo: Toc Tien Clear Head Facebook) |
The next influencer marketing style trending in Vietnam at the moment is affiliate marketing. Brands used to pay for KOLs (key-opinion leaders) for photos featuring its products, reviews, posts, checks-in at events. Now, they shift to KOCs (key-opinion consumers) who have little follow and smaller coverage but have huge influence on their followers that lead to higher purchase.
“Brands don’t pay for KOCs in advance. They give KOCs commission depending on the number of purchases linked to their account. You can see stories posted on Facebook and Instagram that you can swipe to take the links of the products, the tracking links on Lazada or Shoppee, for instance. This marketing style works best for beauty products,” Hai explained.
A 2020 report by We Are Social and Hootsuite, said 67% of the Vietnamese population are available on various social media platforms. The number of social media users were up 9.6% against 2019. Social media will be a “gold mine” for marketing that influencers are part of it. And Hai said Vietnam is catching up with the fast growth of the influencer marketing industry.