Digital Lane

Web metrics provider Alexa just announced the New Alexa Rankings with new algorithms that pushed most of Vietnamese websites’ ranking down overnight. In fact it is a good news for marketers in Vietnam since Vietnamese online publishers used to set Alexa ranking as a norm of traffic measurement and monetization. Last year a news portal in Vietnam even posted a headline saying VnExpress in Global Top 100 Websites and near the line of CNN.com and BBC Newsline. Ironically it said Alexa was the only independent and objective ranking system of web metrics worldwide. Actually many international marketers and advertisers had left Alexa for other web metrics/analytics service such as comScore, Hitwise, Compete and Nielsen//NetRatings. Among the fierce competition, comScore had became the leader with reports can send Google’ shares down significantly.

Since online advertising is emerging as an important piece of media and branding communication strategy of marketers in Vietnam, the need for more accurate web metrics is so strong and a pretty room for web analytics services. AC Nielsen Vietnam can catch up the opportunity monitoring online media landscape with its acquired services such as NetRatings, BuzzMetrics while TNS dominates old media tracking.

What about Vietnamese online publishers? Be prepared to be more transparent and look into other measurements beyond traffics such as SEO, SEM, engagement, behavioral advertising.

Early 2004 a new milk brand from Korea called XO of NamYang Dairy Products Co., Ltd quickly became a top choice among young urban mothers for their children. Different from European and US competitors, XO did not bombard Vietnamese customers with TV and print advertising. With word of mouse marketing on major online forums (or BBS) for young mothers, XO put its price tag as premium brand of 255,000 VND/can-800gram, sometimes customers had to buy for nearly 300,000 VND as demand rocketed (20% - 30% higher than European and US imported). At that time, social media marketing is strange word anywhere and NamYang Dairy was lucky to have leagues of volunteers recommending forum’s members to try XO.

But NamYang Dairy did not enjoy the crown for long as some rumor on forums started spreading 9/2005 about some bad things for their kids. Through out yearend 2005 to first quarter of 2006 young mothers hold wait and see attitude toward XO milk. Second quarter of 2006 was a nightmare for NamYang Dairy as bad news flooded online forums and news websites. Many mothers collected articles and posts from Korea mentioned “harmful germs in Namyang Dairy Products’ baby formulas”. Vietnamese parents started thinking NamYang Dairy cheated its customers with premium price and hiding side effects. A boycott campaign initiated on a leading forum pushed NamYang Dairy into branding crisis. There is no chance for NamYang Dairy to bounce back again.

It is not in US or Korea but in Vietnam, consumers control your branding, so that marketers should start take social media seriously. It is a new battlefield that small and new marketers can play against the giants.