Foreign firms, with their deep pockets, cornered a lion's share ofadvertising on television, with their local rivals, especially small andmedium-sized ones, unable to match them in the spending stakes.
Despitethe economic slump, advertising revenues saw strong growth in the firstnine months, rising 16 percent to nearly 600 million USD.
TV ads, mostly by multinationals, accounted for over 500 million USD.
Arecent poll by market researcher Kantar Media Vietnam found that in theperiod only seven Vietnamese brands figured in the list of the 20biggest spenders.
Luong Van Vinh, general director of My HaoCosmetics Company, said his company has chosen to expand itsdistribution network and virtually did not advertise due to high cost.
TrinhChi Cuong, director of Dai Dong Tien Plastic Company, agreed sayingthat most SMEs are reluctant to advertise on TV due to the costs.
A30-second spot normally costs 30-35 million VND (1,427-1,665 USD), hesaid, adding that a campaign will only be effective if the advertisementappears frequently on TV.
With their ability to spend millionsof dollar on ads, a figure that local companies can only dream of,foreign brands have gradually taken over the market from localbusinesses.
One shampoo manufacturer, for instance, spent 8.1 million USD on TV ads in the first nine months, Kantar Media found.
Ata time when local businesses are forced to cut costs, an internationalshampoo manufacturer has increased its spending on TV ads 10-fold tonearly 5.7 million USD.
The domestic food sector have been the worst affected.
LuuDuong, chairwoman of the HCM City Sauce Club, said with the bigplayers' massive spending on TV ads, many small sauce producers haveseen their market share shrink, with some even going bankrupt.
Afterthe 2008 scare when the toxic 3-MCPD asfound in soy sauce, smallbusinesses have updated technologies and production lines, but werestill unable to attract consumers because they could not afford ads toinform them of the changes , she said.
Ngo Thi Hoang Mai, deputygeneral director of Lien Thanh Fish Sauce Co, said the company hadrecently decided to run a six-month TV ad campaign until February nextyear at a cost of hundreds of millions of dong.
Giant foreign firms spend that amount in just a few days but her company has to consider it very carefully, she said.
Thedirector of another food processing company said every time the companylaunches new products, it also thinks of running TV ads but is unableto afford it.
The company instead has to depend on inviting shoppers at traditional markets and supermarkets to try its products, he said.
Somedomestic firms manage to reach their customers directly throughpromotion programmes, and so focus on displaying their products atsupermarkets.
They strengthen their distribution system and increase their sales staff and margins for agents.
Vinhof My Hao Company said after a year of not advertising on TV, thecompany has recently run commercials on provincial channels since theycost less than in big cities.
Some other companies too have chosen this route, especially since it allows them to reach rural consumers./.
Despitethe economic slump, advertising revenues saw strong growth in the firstnine months, rising 16 percent to nearly 600 million USD.
TV ads, mostly by multinationals, accounted for over 500 million USD.
Arecent poll by market researcher Kantar Media Vietnam found that in theperiod only seven Vietnamese brands figured in the list of the 20biggest spenders.
Luong Van Vinh, general director of My HaoCosmetics Company, said his company has chosen to expand itsdistribution network and virtually did not advertise due to high cost.
TrinhChi Cuong, director of Dai Dong Tien Plastic Company, agreed sayingthat most SMEs are reluctant to advertise on TV due to the costs.
A30-second spot normally costs 30-35 million VND (1,427-1,665 USD), hesaid, adding that a campaign will only be effective if the advertisementappears frequently on TV.
With their ability to spend millionsof dollar on ads, a figure that local companies can only dream of,foreign brands have gradually taken over the market from localbusinesses.
One shampoo manufacturer, for instance, spent 8.1 million USD on TV ads in the first nine months, Kantar Media found.
Ata time when local businesses are forced to cut costs, an internationalshampoo manufacturer has increased its spending on TV ads 10-fold tonearly 5.7 million USD.
The domestic food sector have been the worst affected.
LuuDuong, chairwoman of the HCM City Sauce Club, said with the bigplayers' massive spending on TV ads, many small sauce producers haveseen their market share shrink, with some even going bankrupt.
Afterthe 2008 scare when the toxic 3-MCPD asfound in soy sauce, smallbusinesses have updated technologies and production lines, but werestill unable to attract consumers because they could not afford ads toinform them of the changes , she said.
Ngo Thi Hoang Mai, deputygeneral director of Lien Thanh Fish Sauce Co, said the company hadrecently decided to run a six-month TV ad campaign until February nextyear at a cost of hundreds of millions of dong.
Giant foreign firms spend that amount in just a few days but her company has to consider it very carefully, she said.
Thedirector of another food processing company said every time the companylaunches new products, it also thinks of running TV ads but is unableto afford it.
The company instead has to depend on inviting shoppers at traditional markets and supermarkets to try its products, he said.
Somedomestic firms manage to reach their customers directly throughpromotion programmes, and so focus on displaying their products atsupermarkets.
They strengthen their distribution system and increase their sales staff and margins for agents.
Vinhof My Hao Company said after a year of not advertising on TV, thecompany has recently run commercials on provincial channels since theycost less than in big cities.
Some other companies too have chosen this route, especially since it allows them to reach rural consumers./.
