SMS Marketing in Vietnam

Live update from meetings with Indochina Capital's VP of Investor Relations and Managing Director of Mai Asia, an international brand development firm. *please excuse typos*

Text messaging (SMS mobile advertising) in Vietnam is a more effective strategy than email marketing for engaging consumers. Why? "Vietnamese people are more phone-friendly than email (on computers), explained Pham Bao Hien, VP of Investor Relations for Indochina Capital.

Mobile phones are more widely available and affordable than other forms of modern communication, like desktop computers/laptops or land-lines, which most Americans take for granted. Marketers and advertisers have taken note and adopted regionally appropriate strategies.

Berthold Heinmann, Managing Director of Mai Asia, an international advertising agency based in Hong Kong, explained that while SMS advertising is the most effective method for brand advertisers to reach Vietamese consumers, there are drawbacks.

"It's not untypical for consumers to receive SMS marketing messages every 20 min on your phone...and the carriers don't listen to complaints. The only solution is to change phone numbers with a new pre-paid card."

Heineman continued explaining the drawbacks, "Especially for Vietnamese, who travel abroad putting their cell into roaming mode, Vietamese advertisers will coninue to ping their mobile phones with text messages, and there is no way to block these messages from coming. Travelers get hit with LOTS of roaming charges due to SMS."