Of Vietnam's 76 million citizens, 80 per cent live in rural areas
and of the urban population 54 per cent live in Ho Chi Minh City and
Hanoi.
A particular feature of the Vietnamese population is its youth; 65 per
cent are under 28 years of age and 80 per cent under 40.
Vietnam has a relatively poor population with an average per annum
income of around US$300 - though this is a significant
improvement over previous years and does not realistically reflect the
growing affluence for some sectors of the urban population.
The Vietnam market is seen as being a small player in the Asian context;
approximately US$90 million in 1999 for TV and print.
However, this figure does not take account of other media, in particular
outdoor advertising which is somewhat chaotic though popular.
Additionally, this does not indicate the volume of advertising on
television.
This is easier to understand if one considers that a primetime national
spot on VTV3 is around US$1,800 and, on average, US$300 on
provincial stations (excluding Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City).
There is no doubt that TV is the most important medium here for many
marketers.
This is not only because of large audience delivery, but also the
distribution of that delivery, high penetration of TV ownership in
cities and a rapidly rising ownership of sets in rural areas.
There are, however, many print titles with strong, though usually,
unaudited circulations.
Radio is arguably an exception. Voice of Vietnam is national, however,
it has some way to go in terms of programme development.
Television has a two-tier structure, with VTV, the national station,
providing the equivalent of network coverage, with three channels
together and 61 provincial stations delivering localised
programming.
Additionally, there is a tiered rate-card system favouring local
advertisers versus foreign or JV companies.
This sounds like a simple structure and, on the face of it, it is.
However, there are challenges to advertisers seeking coverage beyond the
main urban centres - low transmitter power, cutting of advertising by
the local stations and substitution of locally booked TVCs into VTV ad
breaks.
Even this is not homogenous, with different stations transmitting
programming, cutting ads at differing times.
Local market knowledge is, therefore, essential in getting an
understanding of national and local channel delivery.
There is expected progress toward resolving some of these issues as VTV
builds more regional transmitters that it directly controls rather than
relaying through local TV stations.
Audience measurement is a relatively recent development in Vietnam.
Currently, TNS Sofres and ACNielsen provide continuous diary ratings
services for Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, with sweeps in Danang (Central) and
Cantho (Mekong Delta).
While this is far from ideal, it is a step in the right direction since
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh are by far the most expensive stations and face
the highest demand from advertisers.
VTV is also rated, but only by its performance in these local
markets.
In print, there have been moves to develop magazine titles, particularly
in the female category, and it is possible to have more creative
executions with sampling, for example, tip-ons and tearouts.
A stumbling block for development is the lack of auditing and research
to make them more palatable for advertisers requiring greater
accountability.
Newspapers suffer less from lack of auditing, having high distribution
in their cities, but a lack of research means they tend to be used more
on a tactical basis.
Vietnam doesn't lend itself to extrapolating future trends from the
past.
That said, research availability is improving and stations are beginning
to understand and look at their programming from a more commercial point
of view.
TV spend is up considerably for the first quarter of this year compared
with the same period a year ago.
For a media practitioner this is all to the good, though we always want
more and better.
Ultimately, the fact that clients are achieving real commercial success
in Vietnam reinforces the point that progress has been and is being
achieved.
