HCM CITY — In the evolving realm of advertising, the focus is shifting towards quality over quantity, emphasising the significance of storytelling, emotional connections, and respecting users' time to ensure campaign success in a competitive and attention-deficient environment, industry insiders said.

Click-through rates have globally declined, and a substantial portion of ads are being disregarded. 

Thư Nguyễn, business development manager at Yango Ads in Việt Nam, highlighted that advertising is undergoing a transformative phase. Traditional methods such as banners, click-driven strategies, and volume-based campaigns are progressively becoming less effective.

Research shows that over the past three decades, click-through rates have drastically dropped from 44 per cent in 1994 to a mere 0.5 per cent. 

Customer acquisition costs have surged by over 200 per cent, attention spans have decreased to just eight seconds, and close to 80 per cent of users tend to skip, block, or overlook ads.

This trend is even more pronounced in Việt Nam. According to insights from YouGov, approximately 43 per cent of Vietnamese consumers find online ads intrusive. 

Conversely, around 25 per cent of respondents find online advertising appealing, and 30 per cent perceive it as creative. Despite the positive sentiments, nearly 47 per cent of consumers express a desire to skip online ads consistently.

“Vietnamese users appreciate relevance, not repetition," remarked Thư. 

"A campaign resonates when it provides value precisely when a user needs it, rather than causing distractions."

Industry experts assert that successful advertising today is not solely about formats or touchpoints; it's about meticulously crafted user journeys that evoke emotions.

Effective campaigns integrate storytelling that captures attention, emotional connections that drive engagement beyond clicks, and a user-centric approach to deliver meaningful interactions without overwhelming audiences.

These principles are especially vital in Việt Nam, where digital consumers are nimble, discerning, and increasingly critical of traditional ad formats. Campaigns that fail to engage thoughtfully risk losing both attention and resources.

To excel in Việt Nam, experts recommend that brands and agencies prioritise journey design by mapping out the complete user experience to focus on depth rather than mere volume. 

Quality should take precedence over quantity, with fewer but more impactful touchpoints. Predictive interaction ensures ads are displayed only when they align with a user's immediate needs. 

Lastly, leveraging cross-vertical insights enables brands to reach audiences in the right context, seamlessly integrating brand experiences into everyday activities such as ride-hailing or food delivery.

For Vietnamese advertisers and agencies, embracing campaigns designed around human insights today will equip them for sustained growth and competitiveness in forthcoming years. 

An exemplary case in point is a recent campaign by Marvelous agency for Belgroup, a 5-star luxury hotel and resort chain with properties in Việt Nam.

Amidst a competitive hospitality landscape, Marvelous departed from conventional branding and leveraged AdTech to implement a dual strategy: utilising search ads to capture highly motivated users in the travel planning phase, and deploying display banners to bolster brand awareness among new users. The outcomes surpassed industry benchmarks in the hospitality sector.

The campaign achieved an outstanding 5.89 per cent click-through rate – nearly 12 times higher than the industry average. Beyond the performance metrics, the campaign significantly enhanced brand visibility and booking volume, with two Belgroup properties ranking among the Top 10 most-booked hotels in Nha Trang and Việt Nam, based on data from the OTA platform within Yango’s travel ecosystem.

The need for adopting these strategies is particularly urgent in rapidly expanding sectors like tourism, where digital interest is soaring. — VNS