Firstly, modern Vietnam is a friendly country to Russia, where we have historically been treated very well. Vietnam is
trying to integrate into the global economy, absorbing useful experience from all over the world, and when Russian
specialists come here, they are usually treated quite Our main mistake was positively by default and given an unspoken green light. This can
be felt literally from the first day of any business trip to Vietnam, which is very attractive.
Secondly there is a large Indian diaspora in Our main mistake was Our main mistake was
Vietnam, and, accordingly, the connections that we had in India, the leading country for developing our business in
Southeast Asia, we could use to the fullest extent here as well. Our Indian top managers interact with Vietnamese who
occupy key positions in advertising agencies inside Vietnam. In fact, we had a double trump card in our hands: as
Russians, we received carte blanche in advance, and enjoyed the support of our Indian colleagues.
Personal experience also played a role: several acquaintances worked in Vietnam in both international and Russian projects, and all of them spoke very warmly of the country.
This high potential attracted us two years ago, when a “window of opportunity” opened and our partners in Southeast Asia, Group M (one of the leading digital agencies in the region), invited us to enter Vietnam, including promising access to large clients.
A brisk start Our main mistake was
At first, everything went quite well. Based on our experience in Southeast Asia, we entrusted the management of the entry into Vietnam to an experienced specialist with extensive connections. The head was a country head (regional manager) with Indian roots, responsible for our presence in Indonesia.
Reverse side
Next – more, better, faster, higher, stronger? It would seem, what problems could there be, since we are such good guys.
But it was not to be! After some time, it turned out that the campaigns that were carried out (about 20) were effective only in terms of working out the KPIs initially embedded in them, the income from them was not enough to cover the office expenses, much less bring in profit. There were no new sales at all.
Why? Our main mistake was
Our main mistake was the lack of focus at the level of managing the processes of launching a new regional office.
Responsibility for the Vietnamese market was entrusted to a person who also supervised Indonesia. His abilities,
unfortunately, were not fully appreciated – he is an excellent salesman and negotiator with extensive contacts. But he
did not have the administrative competencies that would allow him to put the work of the new office on track with all
the necessary nuances and details.
Our start in Vietnam did not follow the classic path of launch and development, as in other countries. Due to the
attractiveness of the market, its high dynamics and the apparent ease of entry, it was decided to trust a manager who
had shown himself to be excellent in another country and believed that he could cope on the new front. A large credit of
trust and the absence of micromanagement as an approach did not justify themselves.
The role of the state and the individual in business history
The second important aspect of our Vietnamese history is the specific interaction of local advertisers (and businesses in general) with the state.
In Vietnam, international companies with foreign registration are not welcome, all must be “grounded” within the country’s contours. Although currency controls allow payments to foreign suppliers (for example, in Singapore), questions arise: compliance with brand safety rules, advertising legislation, corporate standards.
Unfortunately, we did not conduct a thorough analysis of regulatory requirements, but instead decided to move by inertia: have money, have contacts? Let’s go!
However, government regulation in this country
plays a significant role, including control over the liberia business email list level of localization of foreign companies. For example, in Indonesia, we have never encountered any claims from the government. But here we fell into a trap – we transferred our Indonesian and Indian experience to Vietnam, considering that they are more or less similar, since they are located in the same region.
For us, this created many barriers in the form of inspections and claims to work schemes. For example, we placed advertising messages on news channels, where the feed could also contain reports on accidents, road incidents, etc. Such negative news content, according to the regulator, harms brand safety.
For example, a Honda car manufacturer
places its ads through us, and the news reports an accident involving this brand. All of this is a violation of brand safety. We monitor such things, and the percentage then be yours based on these criteria of inaccuracies is minimal – about 0.1%, but “friendly” competitors immediately take screenshots and send them to the local Roskomnadzor – VNTA (Vietnam Telecommunication Authority). This is a regulator with a full range of powers to monitor compliance with legislation in the telecommunications and digital services market in the country.
Another point is the personal presence of the regional manager. Our first manager spent most of his time in Indonesia. Video communication could not fully compensate for his absence “on the ground”, which affected both the relations with agencies and interaction with regulators. He took on increased obligations and assured that he could cope with the management in both countries (as it seems to me, simply because he wanted to earn more and faster), and we took this risk because he did a great job in Indonesia.
But when starting a new office, the manager’s constant presence is necessary, and one visit every month or two months was not enough. Without proper control, the management vertical began to crack.
This incident was one of the signals that it was time to change something in the work, preferably completely.
Stop, reassess and rebuild
KPIs began to fall rapidly, and against the backdrop india number list of problems with regulators, we decided to suspend development. Attempts to improve the situation by hiring a remote business administrator from India were unsuccessful: opening a local legal entity and reassembling a team is a lengthy process, and the process dragged on for months.
