Businesses advised not to view digital media as panacea

• Instagram says advertising base tops one million businesses
• Business expo to boost ASEAN-Africa trade
• Police force destroyed illegal football betting ring, arresting famous businessman

Tran Thi Thanh Mai, CEO of Kantar Media, at the workshop ‘Affiliate Marketing & Programmic: Time for Asia’ held several days ago, said the Vietnamese market is ready for businesses to change their approach and communication. 

The proof is that the number of internet users and the time that Vietnamese aged 15-54 spend on the internet have been increasing rapidly in recent years. 

In 2014, the figures were 41% and 48 minutes per day, respectively. Last year, they were 59% and 141 minutes per day, respectively,

With 96% of Vietnamese households having mobile phones (by 2016), the time spent on internet on phones is relatively high. At least 34% of internet users access internet from their smartphones in 2014, while the figure rose to 74% in 2016.

In four large cities of Hanoi, HCM City, Danang and Can Tho, the time smartphone users use to access internet is up to 110 minutes per day.

Meanwhile, 28% of Vietnamese have bought or sold online with their electronic devices at least once. One out of every two women shop online for clothes, cosmetics and footwear.

However, a survey by Kantar Media found that TV remains the Number 1 medium in Vietnam with 95% of people watching TV in 2016, though the time they spent decreased from 197 minutes a day in 2014 to 158 minutes in 2016.

The survey found that people still like watching TV at the real time of broadcast, though they have internet TV. 

However, their habits have changed as people watch TV while doing other things, such as reading newspapers on smartphones or accessing social networks.

Mai said people and businesses are spending big money on digital marketing, but the effects of the campaigns remain questionable. 

Advertising videos on internet have to catch people's attention in the first five seconds, which is not an easy task. 

Kantar Media's TNS Media Vietnam in 2012 also released a report saying that in Vietnam, television remained the most powerful and effective form of mass media, with 85% of the population watching TV everyday.

In related news, US digital media and multimedia giant the Thoughtful Media Advertising Co. opened an office in Vietnam on February 16.