Boosting Vietnam's development with a national brand

But not everyone knew about Vietnam. A group of tourists from Mexico and Venezuela innocently asked me where Vietnam was. In Asia, they knew about India, China, Japan and some Pacific countries.

I was trying to think of some distinguishing features of Vietnam to share, but eventually gave up. "Vietnam borders China," I ended up saying, defeatedly.

That was not the first time I realized the limit of the global community's understanding of Vietnam. In the 2000s, when I was a journalist, I witnessed the tireless efforts of many American and Vietnamese statesmen in convincing American investors and populace that Vietnam had become a booming market and was not a battlefield any longer.

Then Vietnam was dubbed the "rising dragon" of Asia following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, and preparing for entry into the World Trade Organization.

Diplomatically, the message was "Vietnam is open and friends with the world; Vietnamese workers are smart and hardworking," instead of the past war-oriented messages.

Asian investors rushed to enter the Vietnamese market, opening the country to the first wave of foreign direct investments.

With its strong story and image, Vietnam was introduced to the world.

Internationally, the concept of "national brands" was first introduced in the mid-1990s. Experts in marketing believed that nation-states are in some ways similar to products and corporates; they can all be advertised and incorporate a brand to become more attractive.

Every country has an innate brand identity, typically attached to its geographical, cultural and social characteristics. For instance, Japan has plenty of earthquakes and Brazil is well-known for its football.

But these are not the characteristics that attract the attention of strategy-makers. With globalization and mobility of capital and human resources, the construction of a national brand should be aimed at helping the country attract commerce, tourism, investment, and human talent.

Last year Japan ranked first out of 60 countries in the Anholt-Ipsos national brands index.

Japan overtook Germany, which had led the index for six years, to become the first Asia-Pacific nation to top the index.

Following interviews with thousands of people globally, Japan was top ranked for scientific and technological contributions, product reliability and attractiveness, creativeness, and individual capability.

In this index, Vietnam ranked 47th out of 60 countries, a slight improvement compared to the 51st ranking of 2022. However, there were no distinguishing features.

To utilize international resources, countries, regardless of their levels of development, nowadays pay great attention to crafting their national brands through deliberate activities.

In 2022 The GREAT Britain strategy of the U.K. attracted GBP60 million (US$77.51 million) in direct investments and over GBP400 million ($516.7 million) in tuitions from international students.

In 2017 Singapore launched a national campaign called Passion Made Possible, focusing on an unending passion for the future, which helped the country fortify its status as the global hub for finance and businesses.

Last year, with assistance from international consultants, Mongolia launched the Go MonGolia campaign aimed at changing the global perception of Mongolia’s exports, which traditionally have been tied to the drilling and oil industries.

In Vietnam, national branding is uncharted territory. In 2021 the government issued the nation's cultural diplomacy strategy for until 2030 for fostering trust in other countries and its image.

Before that several ministries collected ideas to advertise the image, products and services of Vietnam, including the Vietnam Value programme by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Made in Vietnam programme by the Ministry of Information and Communication and the tourism industry's Vietnam – Timeless Charm.

However, these strategies are isolated and not integrated, and have had a limited impact at the national and international levels.

From a strategic perspective, building a national brand is not just to boost tourism or any specific product.

If done correctly, a national brand can inspire national pride and highlight strategic advantages, showcasing the country’s diversity and making an impact on the perceptions of not only the local populace but also the global community.

National branding should be seen not only as a tool to boost international commerce and investment but also a key component in taking society forward.

In the "rising dragon" narrative, there appears to be a large gap in national branding that Vietnam needs to fill. Proper investment to create a suitable national brand is a valuable investment, and requires the cooperation of economic, diplomatic and cultural agencies and independent branding and creativity consultants.

Having a strong national brand, with effective advertising, will enable strengthening of the economy and external diplomacy, which can have a lasting impact on Vietnam’s development.

*Cam Ha is an entrepreneur and communications specialist.