HCM City needs to make comprehensive zoning plans for the advertising industry and create mechanisms to facilitate its development, a seminar heard in HCM City on Wednesday.

Nguyen Trung Minh of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies said the city’s advertising industry has a long history and has always led the country in terms of new development trends and growth.

There are no official figures on the advertising industry’s revenues, but market research organisations estimate them at US$1 billion with HCM City accounting for 30 per cent, he said.

Under the national strategy for the development of the cultural industry by 2020, the Government has set a revenue target of $1.5 billion from advertising by 2020 and $3.2 billion by 2030, he said.

But the industry, especially the outdoor advertising segment, has faced difficulties due to overlapping regulations and lack of zoning plans.

Nguyen Quang Nhut, head of the HCM City Outdoor Advertising Club, said demand for outdoor advertising is high, but the lack of zoning plans has stymied its development.

It usually takes much time for firms to get permits for outdoor advertisements and the city should consider simplifying the process, he said.

“Currently customers do not run the same advertising campaign for one or two years as they did previously, and their ad campaigns usually last only a few months.”

“To develop the industry, the city must have zoning plans. Our advertising technology is not inferior to that of foreign countries, but a lack of zoning plans has prevented the industry’s development.

“In the zoning plan, the city should spell out how many outdoor advertisements will be allowed in a certain area rather than regulate where they are placed. This will make it easier for advertising firms.”

Delegates said outdoor advertising is too tightly controlled and regulations need to be loosened to suit the current development trends, enabling firms to make advertising more creative.

Nhut said online advertising, especially on mobile phones, has increased strongly, with Google and Facebook being the largest players, but this kind of advertising is still not optimally regulated.

Duong Huy, deputy chairman of the HCM City Advertising Association, said: “We are integrating into the international market, we need to learn from other countries how they manage the advertising industry.”

Vo Trong Nam, deputy director of the city Department of Culture and Sports, said it is necessary to have specific zoning plans for the types and methods of advertising and technologies applied in the industry.

The city’s advertising industry is aiming for a high growth rate in line with global trends while also ensuring harmony with Vietnamese culture and the national cultural identity.

With the rapid development of technology and communications, the advertising industry needs to reform constantly to keep up with, he said.

Organised by the HCM City Institute for Development Studies and the city Department of Culture and Sports, the seminar sought to gather ideas from business groups and advertising companies to develop the advertising industry in the coming decades. — VNS