Emerging digital ad formats in Vietnam
Search advertising is by far the format with the largest digital advertising expenditure in Vietnam. As Google accounts for over 90 percent of the search engine market share in the country, the tech giant has been a major beneficiary of advertisers’ spending. This advertising format also saw the highest value growth rate within the Vietnamese market until video advertising overtook as the fastest-growing digital ad format in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has turned online entertainment activities, especially video and audio streaming, into the new norm for leisure time among internet users in Vietnam, which resulted in higher growth for video ads compared to other formats.On the other hand, social media was having a moment as the most used online advertising tool among Vietnamese enterprises in 2020, thanks to the affordability and accessibility of these platforms. Within the social media advertising segment, influencer endorsement has proven to be a highly effective strategy employed by brands. In 2020, around 84 percent of social network users in Vietnam reported following influencers, and a further 77 percent have purchased an item because of influencer endorsements. Social media advertising has been keeping a sustainable share of total digital advertising expenditure in Vietnam, and its role in the digital advertising market will remain significant due to the popularity of social media among Vietnamese people.
