Don Peppers, one of the founders of the Peppers & Rogers Group on the stage of the Asian Advertising Congress. He said that marketers could attract customers by treating customers in the way they want people to treat them. Photo doisongphapluat.com

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamese businesses in the advertising and communications industry should make basic, strategic and deep changes in order to accommodate modern advertising trends.

The experience of world top businesses like Google and Yahoo! shows that it is crucial for enterprises to ceaselessly change and refresh themselves to create best services, thus growing and meeting customers' demands.

During the 28th AdAsia, John Merrifield, Chief Creative Officer at Google Asia-Pacific, said advertisers are changing just 10 percent of their structure compared to many years ago, while Google changes its entire structure every two years.

Merrifield said chances for creativity are brighter than ever, as technology has been changing in a way that marketers can increase customer interaction.

Meanwhile, Rose Tsou, Vice President of Yahoo! Asia-Pacific, also shared the firm's restructuring stories.

She underlined the future trend of content marketing - which focuses on creating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behaviour to attract and retain customers.

Up to 90 percent of marketers believe in the next year, content marketing will be more important than ever, she said, adding that this is inevitable when technology has changed and personalised users' experiences in a maximum way.

According to Don Peppers, one of the founders of the Peppers & Rogers Group, in order to succeed, marketers should win the trust of customers by applying a principle of "treating customers the way you want people to treat you".

Experts said that Viet Nam has a promising advertising market with impressive growth of 30 percent per annum, attracting increasing numbers of investors.

According to the Viet Nam Advertisement Association, the country now has more than 4,000 service providers in the sector. However, the firms are still small, focusing mainly on the processing stage and providing support services.

Only 50-100 enterprises are considered genuine advertisers. Meanwhile, 20 foreign firms hold up to 80 percent of market share, the association cited.

VAA President Dinh Quang Ngu said Vietnamese advertisers should restructure to further penetrate into both domestic and international markets, effectively exploit the potential of modern communications and advertising trends based on Internet and digital technology.

Recognising the significance of the industry, the Vietnamese Government has paid much attention to the area since the country opened its market, especially in the current period when the Vietnamese economy has actively integrated into the world.

Particularly, the Advertisement Law, approved by the National Assembly on June 2012 and made effective on January 1 this year is considered a step forward in the building and perfecting of a legal system for the industry in Vietnam, contributing to making the sector integrate deeper into the world for the interest of both customers and enterprises and boosting the common development of the economy.

According to Ngu, Vietnamese advertisement service providers should consider two key aspects, the market opening level and creativity, in their restructuring.

When the market is opened, the flow of goods from foreign countries will bring with it the development of the advertising and communications sector, he said.

Ngu added that creativity reforms can be implemented through training personnel in a methodical and professional way.

David A. Aaker, Vice Chairman of Prophet (a global marketing consultancy supplier), said during the restructuring process, communications businesses should consider creativity as a top priority.

In order to build a successful brand, they need creativity, crafting a new area that is not seen in any competitors, while attracting public attention.

In addition to the business aspect, their brands should associate with global and social issues such as environmental protection and energy saving, he added. — VNA/VNS